At the forefront of biology: Our investment in Juvena Therapeutics
There are certain fields where human understanding remains limited, even naive. In biology, the ramifications of this are stark. While biotech companies and researchers have developed increasingly powerful tools to address a range of diseases, particularly in oncology, millions of patients suffer catastrophic degenerative conditions for which there is currently no cure, and, until now, little ability to find one.
That’s not to say therapeutic potential doesn’t exist, or sometimes seem right under our noses. The challenge is that finding them, historically, hasn’t been practical. We’ve lacked the mapping of basic biology, and our tools have at times seemed like blunt instruments or even an elaborate form of guesswork. Secreted proteins, for example, are a proven therapeutic class (just look at insulin or hGH), but they’ve been under-leveraged due to the complexity of screening such candidates.
Yet modern tools — like mass spectrometry and computational techniques such as machine learning and machine vision made possible by artificial intelligence — are finally becoming sophisticated enough to turn the proverbial lights on for our understanding of this basic biology. Together, they can deliver a deeper, more functional understanding where our knowledge is otherwise frankly limited, and uncover opportunities that would be life-changing for patients (and present untold market opportunities).
At Bison, we believe real progress in biology — and in human progress more generally — won’t be incremental. That’s why we’ve long focused on companies that are building the key infrastructure to address entrenched challenges. Today we’re excited to unveil our investment in Juvena Therapeutics’ $41 million Series A. Juvena has developed a novel platform that can systematically uncover the therapeutic links between secreted proteins and diseases, creating a fully integrated, end-to-end approach for accelerating the development of biologics for chronic and age-related diseases.
Juvena is led by a gifted team of researchers-turned-entrepreneurs who are uniquely positioned to build one of the most transformative biotech companies of this decade: Dr. Hanadie Yousef, an expert on the biology of aging and degenerative diseases, and Dr. Jeremy O’Connell, an expert on systems biology and proteomics.
I can still recall when our seed investors friends introduced us to Hanadie and Juvena. Our initial conversations happened during the peak of the Omicron surge over Zoom, but right away, it was clear that Hanadie is the archetype of a Bison founder: Brilliantly technical and at ease navigating deep complexity. Despite the flat, digital format of our conversation, Hanadie was able to lay out her vision with ease. Hanadie’s clarity of thought shows in her focus on building a deeply practical business with a clearly defined path to patients despite the ambitiousness of Juvena’s technical work. And it’s enabled by her co-founder, Jeremy O’Connell, who has worked to translate Hanadie’s vision into a true technological platform. Ultimately, their flywheel of learning will only spin even faster with time.
We hope and expect to look back in five to ten years and see this moment for Juvena as the landmark unveiling of its technology that will drive impact for so many patients around the world. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the team and for the exciting journey ahead!
(And read more about Juvena in the WSJ here!)
