Amylon Therapeutics Targeting Central Nervous System Disorders Wins Startup Slam Competition at BIO-Europe® Berlin

BERLIN, November 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• Eight short-listed life sciences startups pitched to expert panel of judges at fourth Startup Slam competition at BIO-Europe® 2017  
• Startup Slam sponsor and co-host Johnson & Johnson Innovation recognise high calibre of diverse European entries, including France, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Switzerland 

Amylon Therapeutics was today announced as the winner of the Startup Slam competition at this year's BIO-Europe® 2017 annual conference in Berlin. Thomas de Vlaam, CEO and founder of Amylon Therapeutics, will receive a complimentary registration to BIO-Europe® Spring 2018 from EBD Group and the opportunity to enter a year-long no fee arrangement to become a Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLINX community member.

Eight international startups from the life sciences sector pitched at this special session, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Innovation for the fourth year running. All contestants had to present their company and innovation-either a new therapeutic product or medical technology platform-in only three minutes to a floor of experienced investors and potential collaboration partners.

Amylon Therapeutics targets Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders through an ultra-genetics approach, focusing on rare genetic disorders that can serve as a possible gateway to more frequently occurring indications.

Judge Regina Hodits, from Wellington Partners said, "The pitches from all eight finalists were extremely impressive, which made the job of selecting one winner very difficult for me and my fellow judges. We heard from startups involved in cutting-edge research, including using artificial intelligence to treat neurological disorders, developing pioneering products for skin lesions with exosomes secreted from umbilical cord blood cells and cultivating healthy gut bacteria for personalised microbiome therapies. However, Amylon therapeutics stood out because of the potential of their innovation to translate into transformative healthcare solutions for patients."

Tom Aelbrecht, Head of the Janssen Campus Office (JCO) and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLINX in Beerse, Belgium, added, "Congratulations to Thomas de Vlaam and we are excited to invite Amylon Therapeutics to be part of the JLINX community. This well-established session provides an exclusive platform for high calibre entrepreneurs to pitch their innovation to a room of influencers and investors who can help advance the most promising science."

The eight life science companies that presented at this year's Startup Slam were:

• Amylon Therapeutics
• biotx.ai GmbH
• Exogenus Therapeutics
• Lumobiotics GmbH
• MT-Medicals LLC
• Novadiscovery
• PharmaBiome
• ProteoFormiX

Previous Startup Slam winner of 2017 was Laura Soucek of Peptomyc S.L., and the winners of the previous two editions in 2016 were EpiAxis Therapeutics and QureTech Bio.

The expert judges included: Ann Beliën, Founder and CEO, Rejuvenate Biomed; Joris De Maeyer, Venture Coach, bioqube ventures in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLINX; Professor Craig Garner, Prof Charité, Founder SPARK-Berlin; Regina Hodits, General Partner, Wellington Partners and Pavithra Sundaresan, Senior Director, New Ventures and Transactions, Immunology, Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

Photos available on demand 

About EBD Group  

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group's partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.

EBD Group's conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:

• BIO-Europe® and BIO-Europe Spring®, Europe's largest life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
• BioPharm America™, the fastest growing partnering event in North America
• Biotech Showcase™, a unique forum in San Francisco for presenting to investors and business development executives, co-produced with Demy-Colton
• Digital Medicine & Medtech Showcase, at the intersection of technology and medicine
• BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co-organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO
• ChinaBio® Partnering Forum, the first dedicated biotech/pharma partnering conference in China, co-produced with ChinaBio® Group
• Cell & Gene Exchange, a partnering forum focused on the patient community in cell and gene therapy sectors, co-produced with Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM).

EBD Group's sophisticated web-based partnering service, partneringONE®, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world. Tune into EBD Group's Partnering Insight for timely coverage of news that influences the business strategies of the life science industry.

EBD Group is an Informa company. Informa is the largest publicly-owned organizer of exhibitions, conferences and training in the world.

EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.

For more information please visit http://www.ebdgroup.com.

Contacts 
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Sylvie Berrebi
+44-(0)-20-7282-1052
Sylvie.berrebi@citigatedewerogerson.com