Overview

o2h discovery InflexionTx is a match funding offer at the HIT ID Phase covering critical proof of concept studies that will unlock novel high value ideas, assets and near-misses. o2h discovery has evolved deep design experience for really focused and efficiently structured POC studies leading to an early signal that the science works. The expertise cuts across a range of modalities and integrates medicinal chemistry, biological assay cascade design, DMPK and analysis. The expertise has matured over two decades and benefits from a highly capital efficient east-west model.

A high velocity diligence and mobilisation phase will see the science move onto the bench within a month. In return o2h discovery is open to accepting a simple ‘off-the-shelf’ % share in the IP/program, sweat equity, or milestones/deferred payments/royalties providing a low-friction start point. The match funding offer for a proof of concept project comes in bundles of USD 100k, 250k or 500k in which the risk on a project is shared.

The Problem

The Problem

We are in an era of exciting new science. Pharma and biotech are often required to make extremely pressured decisions on the deployment of scarce funds and resources in order to meet stakeholder expectations. The competition for funding for early stage programs has become increasingly intense resulting in a higher data bar for further funding.

A shared risk approach assists with creating the throughput of ideas with the weight of data needed to cross crucial decision-making thresholds. The commercial biopharma paradigm requires companies to quickly move promising assets from preclinical to clinical along a focused strategic journey to help access critical stakeholder support for milestone payments and further funding. 

The InflexionTx thought process takes a step back from the funding deployed into development and stimulates a more forensic exploration of the early-stage pipeline. If the POC works, it enables a critical piece of insight/data that will open larger funding pots and then become a key component of the company’s core pipeline and front-line strategy.  Time lost on these novel or parked assets is value lost. InflexionTx mitigates against a delayed or missed opportunity by sharing some of the value in return for mobilising these ideas with a structured program towards the next key go-no-go position.

The Problem
From Pause to Go

From Pause to Go

InflexionTx can support where the science may still be experimental with few precedents in creating novel hit matter against a validated target or platforms that generates a pipeline of targets. It could look at those unexplored hunches which require a critical but cost effective POC study.
 
InflexionTx has also been designed to offer a new life to projects that may have been overlooked, de-prioritised or stalled/parked. It opens up new angles for a first/best in class drug where the IP position was not clear and the IP would be uncontested or has other unexplored indications. There are opportunities where a project rescue/turnaround could be considered where a clinical trial may have failed. 

Even projects that run counter to prevailing trends, or do not fit the latest therapeutic strategy, or might have fallen out of market favour, or the market size was not considered large enough, or just be missing a loving champion could be re-considered. Through InflexionTx, these projects could gain renewed focus, and a clear path forward, unlocking value and advancing scientific opportunity where others may have only seen risk

From Pause to Go

InflexionTx Case Studies

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New Modality

Explore alternative modalities against an existing asset to explore new IP space
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Novel Target Space

Using novel screening strategies combining in-silico for target identification
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Near Miss

An additional study boost may be required to crack a scientific bottleneck
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Novel Hit Matter

Design assay cascade/panel along with some early chemical matter
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Rescue After Setback

Stalled after pre-clinical study data or clinical trial setback
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New Indications

Assets not aligned with strategy but valuable in other indications
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Novel Contrarian Ideas

Projects that go by hunch against prevailing industry trends
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Funding Gap

Providing data to the program champion to unlock an asset
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Creating Backup Program

Building up the pipeline behind the development candidate

Why o2h discovery?

Founded in 2004, o2h discovery operates a multi-modality, integrated drug discovery platform from Cambridge, UK, and Ahmedabad, India, with core expertise spanning chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and the ongoing project management of pre-clinical development, from our state-of-the-art biotechnology incubator, we possess the in-house capabilities to execute comprehensive hit-to-lead and lead optimization programs, advancing projects toward patent filings and IND-enabling studies.

The o2h ventures division has supported seed stage discovery investment and is on standby to support eligible assets/companies during the second or third stage of the model.

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Meet our team

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Prashant Shah

CEO - o2h discovery and Co-Founder - o2h group

Prashant's Biography

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Prashant Shah

CEO - o2h discovery and Co-Founder - o2h group

Prashant is a serial entrepreneur in life sciences and tech in which one of those companies was acquired by a public company. He is currently active in seed investing (a portfolio of ~50 companies), product/IP development, services, and building lab/office infrastructure. The early career was with the Strategy group at Accenture. He has a BEng, an MSc, in which he worked on the Human Genome Program at the Sanger Centre, and an MPhil in Management from the Judge Institute. Prashant is also a General Partner in the o2h SEIS/EIS Human Health Funds.


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Sunil Shah

CEO - o2h Ventures and Co-Founder - o2h discovery

Sunil's Biography

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Sunil Shah

CEO - o2h Ventures and Co-Founder - o2h discovery

A serial entrepreneur having begun a career in the Life Sciences team at PA Consulting group followed by co-founding two companies in the information technology and life sciences sector. The second of these companies, Oxygen Healthcare Ltd was acquired by Piramal Enterprises Ltd (BSE: PEL). Sunil co-founded o2h ventures which involves discovery services / collaborations, seeding drug discovery, academic in-licensing and biotechnology incubation. Sunil has a degree in Biochemistry and an MBA from Cambridge University.


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Catherine Stace

Vice President - Business Development (East Coast USA) & Strategic Relationships

Catherine's Biography

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Catherine Stace

Vice President - Business Development (East Coast USA) & Strategic Relationships

Catherine holds over 18 years of post-doctoral experience in therapeutic discovery, with strategic roles in biotechnology, consultancy, and CRO organizations. She has contributed to small molecule therapeutics, peptides, health tech, and engineering. She started her career at Isogenica and Bicycle Therapeutics, establishing therapeutic platforms and discovery programs. She has also consulted for various biotech and health tech start-ups to develop platform technologies at the intersection of biology and engineering. Before joining o2h, she was EVP of Business Development at Domainex, collaborating with companies in the UK, USA, and Europe.


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Andy Morley

Chief Scientific Officer

Andy's Biography

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Andy Morley

Chief Scientific Officer

Andy is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at o2h Discovery. He also leads scientific evaluations for investments and provides strategic scientific support across key portfolio projects for o2h Ventures. With over 25 years of experience as a Medicinal Chemist, Andy has worked with major pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi-Aventis and AstraZeneca. He has contributed across all phases of drug discovery and has played a key role in advancing five candidates into clinical trials. Andy is also the author and inventor of over 55 publications and patents.


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Nilesh Dagia

Chief Special Projects Officer

Nilesh's Biography

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Nilesh Dagia

Chief Special Projects Officer

Nilesh leads the global operations of o2h group covering a wide range of innovation led investment, life-science and technology businesses. He is also overseeing the development and execution of the new o2h discovery Shirish Research Centre in Ahmedabad, India. Prior to joining o2h group, Nilesh worked with Piramal Group in various capacities including as an Alliance Manager for a risk-share oncology-based collaboration with a US Big Pharma and has also worked as the Head of Biology in Piramal Discovery solutions. Nilesh obtained his Ph.D. from Ohio University and completed a post-doc in Immunology, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the author and inventor of >30 life science patents and publications. He received the Young Scientist of India award from OPPI in 2010.


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Gayathri Sadasivam

Vice President - Biology

Gayathri's Biography

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Gayathri Sadasivam

Vice President - Biology

Gayathri leads the biology capabilities in Ahmedabad, India and Cambridge, UK. She also significantly contributes to the business development with the o2h customers world-wide, understanding the market requirements, contributing to technology transfer and investment evaluations. Prior to this, she has worked for more than 2 decades in different therapeutic areas in both industry and academia. She has led multiple programs in drug discovery projects through lead optimization to candidate selection and further development to late stage clinical trials. She has worked in a multi-disciplinary environment, leading chemical biology efforts creating chemical tools that modulate novel class of “undruggable” targets. Gayathri has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Brain Research Institute, Zurich, Switzerland.


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Tejas Upadhyay

Vice President - Business Development (USA)

Tejas's Biography

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Tejas Upadhyay

Vice President - Business Development (USA)

Tejas holds a master’s degree from Gujarat University, earned his PhD in India, and gained valuable post-doctoral experience at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. His professional journey commenced at Alembic, and he has since contributed his expertise to several contract research organisations, including Evotec, o2h, and Piramal. Currently, he oversees all projects in the USA region. With a background in chemistry, he boasts over two decades of experience in the field of preclinical drug discovery.


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Claudio Dagostin

Vice President - Business Development (UK & Europe)

Claudio's Biography

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Claudio Dagostin

Vice President - Business Development (UK & Europe)

Claudio obtained his PhD in Chemistry (Mechanisms of Organic Reactions) from the University of Rome in 2000. He went for a post-doc at Imperial College London where he worked on Alzheimer’s disease chemical probes. In 2004, he started working in several companies in the Cambridge biotech cluster where he deepened his knowledge in Medicinal Chemistry and in Fragment Based Drug Design. In 2012, he went back to academia at Cambridge University where he investigated challenging drug targets such as protein-protein interactions. He also co-founded the Entrepreneurial Postdocs of Cambridge (EPOC) society in 2015 to support postdocs in their pursuit of entrepreneurial careers. In 2017, joined Capital Cell with a role in Business Development, then Abzena in Cambridge and finally o2h in January 2021.


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