NESS ZIONA, Israel and NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SmartZyme, a biopharmaceutical company utilizing the proprietary Provolution™ platform for protein design and engineering of both new and better therapeutics, announces the closing of a $4 million investment by OrbiMed, a leading healthcare investment firm. SmartZyme also named Nissim Darvish, M.D., Ph.D., senior managing director at OrbiMed Israel, and Stephen Squinto, Ph.D., venture partner at OrbiMed, to its board of directors.
“OrbiMed is among the world’s most highly regarded healthcare investors and we are proud to have their backing and vote of confidence in our business,” said Shilo Ben-Zeev, co-founder and chief executive officer of SmartZyme. “The investment by OrbiMed will allow us to continue developing new therapeutics using our Provolution protein technology and to improve the administration of existing biologics as we prepare to license our innovative enzyme and device for diabetic blood glucose monitoring.
Doug Kohrs, chairman of SmartZyme said, “We are very excited to welcome the counsel and deep sector experience of Drs. Darvish and Squinto, and look forward to their contributions to the board. These talented individuals will provide additional depth to our team of advisors.”
Dr. Darvish is a veteran of the life science industry with 15 years of experience covering medical technology development, corporate leadership and investment management. Dr. Darvish also spent eight years with Pitango, where he was a general partner managing life sciences investments.
Dr. Squinto brings to the SmartZyme board more than 25 years of biotechnology industry experience. He was a co-founder of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and recently served as its Executive Vice President and Chief Global Operations Officer. Prior to 2013 he was Alexion's Global Head of Research and Development. Additionally, from 1988 to 1992 Dr. Squinto held various positions at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Commenting on the investment and his appointment to the board, Dr. Darvish said, “We believe that SmartZyme’s proprietary Provolution technology holds great potential to develop important biologics. We are particularly attracted by SmartZyme’s technology’s ability to quickly screen and take advantage of parallel multi-process workflow that can apply to every protein or enzyme for a quick evolutionary leap within several months.”
About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading investment firm dedicated exclusively to the healthcare sector, with approximately $15 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests across the spectrum of healthcare companies worldwide, from venture capital start-ups to large multinational companies. OrbiMed manages a series of private equity funds, public equity funds, royalty funds and other investment vehicles.
About SmartZyme
SmartZyme is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on its Provolution™ proprietary technological platform for protein design and engineering, in accordance with industry specifications. Founded in November 2013 by Shilo Ben Zeev and David Baram, Ph.D., the company aims to efficiently design and create proteins and potent enzymes with the specific characteristics required for optimal performance. For more information, visit www.smzyme.com.