BOSTON, Mass. -- Cocoon Biotech, Inc. a biotechnology company focused on the development of osteoarthritis and other drug-delivery therapies, was the winner of BioPharm America’s Start-Up Day Pitch Competition, besting 19 other emerging biotech companies as having the most appealing idea for investors.
The company was given the Most Investable Company award by a panel of biotech VC and investment experts, in addition to Best Pitch and Best Overall Company.
Cocoon Biotech, Inc. is an interventional medicine company leveraging silk protein as a drug delivery material for osteoarthritis and other unmet medical needs. The company’s lead program is an intra-articular injection of silk fibroin loaded with a validated small-molecule drug that is released slowly into the joint space, potentially providing extended relief of pain and inflammation and delaying the progression of disease. This platform leverages several unique properties of the silk protein fibroin, including strength, lubrication, and biocompatibility.
Attended by more than 800 international biotechnology executives and representatives from partner firms, BioPharm America was held in mid-September at the Boston Marriot Copley Place. As part of the three-day meeting, 20 qualifying startup companies were chosen to make a four-minute pitch to a panel of judges comprising venture capitalists and industry experts. The startups had to be developing new therapeutic products or technology platforms, have fewer than six employees, and have aggregate funding of no more than five million dollars.
A panel of judges picked the winner based on the quality and effectiveness of their pitch as well as the invest-ability of the idea. They included: Peter Feinstein, Managing Director, BioVentures Investors; Brian Gallagher, Jr, Partner, SR One; Hakan Goker, Senior Investment Director, M Ventures; Martin Heidecker, Director, Investment Manager, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund; Peter Kolchinsky, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, RA Capital; and Darshana Zaveri, General Partner, Catalyst Health Ventures.
As the overall winner of the competition, Cocoon Biotech will have the opportunity to present at BioPharm America 2017, a chance to receive a free software platform trial from Intralinks, Inc. and will receive guidance in meetings with a pharmaceutical company and professional consultants including law and investment advisors and public relations firms. ”We are honored to receive this recognition and we look forward to the next chapter in developing therapies that will help to provide freedom from serious, chronic diseases that impede the quality of life for millions of people,” said Dr. Ailis Tweed-Kent, M.D. Cocoon Biotech, Inc. founder and CEO.
Dr. Tweed-Kent founded Cocoon Biotech while still a resident in medical school, after treating patients whose chronic arthritis was having a serious negative impact on their ability to lead a normal life.
For more information on Cocoon Biotech, Inc., visit www.cocoonbiotech.com. To learn more about the silk technology and how the company got its start, visit http://techtransfer.tufts.edu/cocoons-bioinjectable-technology-spinning-silk-into-advancements-in-osteoarthritis-therapy/
About Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) currently affects 27 million adults in the United States, and that number is estimated to reach 65 million by 2030. The disease occurs when cartilage breaks down in the joint space, leading to inflammation and pain, and results in more than $128 billion in management and treatment costs. Current therapies, including intra-articular injections (hyaluronic acid and steroids) aimed to relieve joint pain can be either ineffective, require multiple injections, have significant side effects, or end up in total knee replacement.
About Cocoon Biotech, Inc.
The mission of Cocoon Biotech, Inc. is to use its platform silk protein technology to significantly improve the treatment of osteoarthritis and other degenerative joint disorders. The osteoarthritis treatment gap alone is currently quite large and new approaches that address both symptoms and disease progression are an urgent need. The company has completed seed financing, is raising a Series A preferred stock financing, and has begun testing prototype products in the laboratory, conducting preliminary safety and efficacy studies in animals.
