Since early 2022, the first International Biomedical Pitch Competition, organized by the Boston Chinese Investment Club (BCIC), has gradually unfolded. The competition aims to identify high-quality, high-potential early-stage biomedical projects from North America and other regions, accelerate the transfer and commercialization of scientific achievements, and effectively connect startups with investors.
For this Biomedical Pitch Competition, BCIC served as the lead organizer alongside Zhangjiang Boston, Yael Capital, Q Bay, Mass Ave Capital, FengHe QiYun, SAPA DC, the Johns Hopkins Innovation and Entrepreneurship Club, and the Yale Entrepreneurs Society. The competition brought together successful entrepreneurs and renowned scholars from China and abroad, with industry experts providing professional guidance to participating teams.
The competition received over 50 startup applications. After multiple rounds of screening, 29 high-quality projects advanced to the preliminary roadshows. The preliminary rounds were held online. After six fierce preliminary roadshows, Paracyte Bio, Amytrx Therapeutics, Aikili Biosystems, ARIZ Precision Medicine, Biostage, and XSmart emerged as preliminary winners and advanced to the finals.
The finals took place on April 22 in Boston. The judging panel consisted of seven senior biomedical investment experts from FengRui Capital, FengHe QiYun, Yael Capital, Q Bay, Mass Ave Capital, Eisai Innovation Inc., and Nest.Bio. After fierce competition, the top three winners were announced.
First Place: Amytrx Therapeutics
Amytrx is a biotech company founded by VU's distinguished medical professor Louise B. McGavock and Department of Medicine Chair Dr. Hawiger. Amytrx has completed its second round of financing at a pre-money valuation of $36 million. Its product AMTX-100 is a fully human 28-amino-acid peptide for treating immune-mediated diseases. The product has successfully completed Phase I/IIa for atopic dermatitis and has received FDA clearance to begin Phase IIb.
Second Place: ARIZ Precision Medicine
ARIZ Precision Medicine is a pre-Series A biotech company founded by Brad Niles (CEO), who has over 20 years of experience in cancer research and has spent the last 5 years on product development. ARIZ Precision Medicine is developing potential therapeutics targeting a family of epigenetic regulators known as PRDMs, specifically targeting the genes and proteins responsible for cancer initiation while protecting healthy cells.
Third Place: Paracyte Bio
Paracyte Bio is a biotech company founded by Dr. James DiCarlo. Paracyte Bio aims to develop new compounds and strategies for treating autoimmune diseases through parasite immunomodulatory compounds. They generate intelligent libraries of potentially immune-interacting parasite proteins and use high-throughput screening to identify novel immunomodulators.
Fourth Place: Aikili Biosystems
Aikili is a seed-stage medical diagnostics (precision oncology) company founded by Dr. Hannah Peterson (Massachusetts General Hospital) and Laura Kelley, MBA, MPH (Harvard Business School). Aikili enables near-real-time serial analysis of the tumor microenvironment by quantifying the type and abundance of cancer and immune cells in minimally invasive needle-aspirate samples of <1,000 cells. The technology is based on novel bioorthogonal chemistry, with exclusive rights from Massachusetts General Hospital.
Fifth Place: Biostage
Biostage is a clinical-stage biotech company that uses a patient's own stem cells grown on a porous plastic tubular scaffold to regenerate the esophagus after surgical removal due to cancer, trauma, or birth defects. It was discovered by David Green, Chairman and Director of the Harvard Business School Health Industry Alumni Association. He co-founded Harvard Bioscience in 1996, took HBIO public in 2000, and in 2008 created Biostage (then Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology) as an HBIO subsidiary, leading its 2013 spin-off from HBIO.
Sixth Place: XSmart
XSmart aims to disrupt the medical big-data field by providing a cloud-based platform purpose-built for medical data analytics that integrates all functions into a one-click solution. The team's co-founders are seasoned medical data researchers and AI experts, supported by marketing specialists with extensive sales networks. Starting from data analytics tools, they are pursuing long-term, high-level integration of medical practice, clinical research, and product-driven business.
(Group photo of finalists, judges, and organizers)
In addition, the following innovation-potential projects received high praise from investors:
- BosEagle Surgical Inc:
The company designs, produces, and sells surgical robots for minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).
2. FeiYan Medical:
A fully automated minimally invasive surgical robot using AI-enhanced real-time imaging for precise lesion localization, assisted by FeiYan surgical navigation.
3. Aurid Medical:
An integrated diagnostic and therapeutic solution for pulmonary nodules — a CT-based laser navigation system. Leveraging CT's unique guidance and AI algorithms, laser-positioning guidance enables the puncture/treatment needle to reach the lesion accurately on the first attempt.
4. Jiuxin Medical:
Porous microsphere bone adhesive — completes comminuted-fracture reduction in 30 seconds, improving surgeon efficiency, accelerating fracture repair, and reducing the number of surgeries for patients.
5. Aolanding Biotechnology Co., Ltd.:
A novel-drug platform based on fungal secondary metabolites. The team has built a leading microbial-resource production and drug-discovery platform along with a comprehensive microbial-resource preservation center, with a GMP production facility (overall Class 10,000 with localized Class 100) and a complete biology lab.
6. Defu Biotechnology
Develops sustainable microalgae-based production systems to support green, low-carbon livestock production.
7. HengZhi Electrophysiology:
Motion-artifact-resistant flexible-electronic-skin arrhythmia-detection ECG patches, combining flexible materials, flexible packaging, 3D printing, and motion-resistant sensors.
8. HeYaTang:
Focused on R&D and manufacturing of Class III medical devices for plastic and aesthetic medicine, covering both passive and active medical-device products. Its "YanCeng Hydrating Therapy" includes the YanCeng water-light device — the first domestically approved water-light device in China, ranking first in incremental market share and highly regarded by clinicians.
9. Limax Biosciences:
Manufactures multi-faceted solutions for enhanced vascular reconstruction that help tissues heal from the inside out. The company has developed a fully degradable hydrogel-based material with strong adhesion to difficult surfaces (such as ruptured cardiovascular tissues) that can withstand high pressure, making it an excellent hemostatic tool.
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