Why We Invested In Nostra:Biome
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) represents a set of disorders that cause chronic inflammation in the digestive tract. Primarily consisting of Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC), IBD globally affects up to 10 million people[1], burdening healthcare systems, impairing quality of life, and incurring vast medical costs.
Unfortunately, despite advancements in therapeutic options, the total incidence has increased by 33% since 2006[2]. This suggests that while traditional models of healthcare have been invaluable, there is a clear need for innovative treatments that can be scaled across diverse geographies.
Main symptoms include:
● Persistent diarrhoea (sometimes as bad as 10+ times a day)
● Abdominal pain
● Rectal bleeding/bloody stools
● Weight loss
● Fatigue
As the symptom list suggests, IBD is a complex clinical disorder that results in significant suffering for those afflicted by it. In addition to this, even when the disease is under control, the looming threat of relapse and the constant need for monitoring can have profound psychological effects, including depression and anxiety (not to mention the economic burden that can amount to thousands of dollars annually).
So, why hasn’t anyone solved this yet?
IBD, with its two main subtypes, CD and UC, has a wide range of contributing factors including genetic, immune, environment and more recently discovered, the gut microbiome. The inherent complexity of the disease introduces a large number of confounding factors, which stand in the way of accurate diagnosis and precise treatment. It is precisely because of this, that an AI simulation-based approach has been considered as one of the exciting groundbreaking solutions for IBD.
If you can’t find a solution, build it yourself!
That would be the best way to describe the attitude of Calin Popescu, founder and CEO of Nostra:Biome and the rest of his team.
It is not uncommon to see that startups are created out of founders’ own encounters with the problem. However, while others may try to emulate this philosophy, Calin and his team really epitomise this. While many founders bootstrap to a certain extent, you don’t see many founders who are so convinced in their vision that they are willing to go all-in with the proceeds of their previous exits (Elon excepted). We were lucky enough to follow the team over the course of months, seeing how they develop and more importantly see how they execute in their vision. We grew more and more confident that this is a team we would like to back.
Calin, a seasoned founder with successful exits under his belt, together with Valerio Lo Giudice, the CTO of Nostra:Biome, have worked together in their previous ventures, are accompanied by Dr. Radu Dumitru Dragomir, as the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder, and Valentin Moinescu, a pharma veteran and top medical entrepreneur himself, as the Chief Sales Officer. Together, the team exhibited all the traits that a healthtech impact driven fund such as ours were looking for.
Next generation diagnostics with actionable recommendations
Nostra:Biome is developing an AI-powered technology platform that processes data from your microbiome and your general lifestyle, understands the gut status and generates functional, accessible and actionable recommendations that can take IBD into full remission and bring daily life back to normal. This has the potential to be a game changer for a very horrible and expensive set of diseases.
The company is undergoing clinical trials currently and is already significantly impacting the quality of life of the people who previously had struggled with the clinical condition and were early testers.
Funding round
Verge is the first external investor in the company and we’re looking forward to helping Nostra:Biome reach their next technical and regulatory milestones and bring access to their innovative approach for IBD and more clinical conditions in the future.
What’s next?
Nostra:Biome is another example of the grit and ambition that we love to see in the teams we aim to back. When we meet an exceptional team that is working on something groundbreaking and can deliver what they promise, indeed, great things can happen.
We couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds for Nostra:Biome and the impact it will have on people’s lives. And if you’re building anything in the healthtech space that can impact millions, please reach out to us — we’d love to connect with you!
Sigvards Krongorns
Associate @ Verge HealthTech Fund
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[1] IBD Statistics 2022: Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis - https://ampersandhealth.co.uk/myibdcare/resources/ibd-statistics-2022-crohns-and-ulcerative-colitis/
[2] The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in UK — https://bmcgastroenterol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12876-021-01716-6
