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16 n e w h a v e n B I Z | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m By Norm Bell A scientist works at Artizan Biosciences' New Haven Lab in Science Park. T e c h 2 5 W hen James Rosen le his role leading the venture capital investment function for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to become president and CEO of Artizan Biosciences, it was a clear signal that Artizan was onto something big. Rosen's diverse background includes work in mountain rescue and as an ambu- lance medic. He's been involved in research at the National Cancer Institute and at the Duke and University of North Carolina cancer centers. He parlayed that medi- cal insight into work as an investment analyst, Carolina Venture Fellow and partner in the life-sciences team at Intersouth Partners. In 2010, he was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship to evaluate the prospects for healthcare innovation in China and South- east Asia. e man knows a good idea when he sees it. At Artizan, the big idea is using science developed in Yale labs — and exclusively li- censed to Artizan — to attack inflammation in the human gut. e immediate target is inflammato- ry bowel disease, but Rosen makes clear that cracking inflammation could unlock treatments for a host of other diseases from obesity, metabolic syndrome and autoim- mune disease to a variety of skin, lung, liver and central nervous system diseases. He cites statistics showing about 3 million people worldwide suffer from IBD. In the U.S., that number is 1.8 million. Roughly 45% of those cases are defined as Crohn's disease and 55% are ulcerative colitis Artizan's initial product uses monoclonal antibodies to disrupt the bacteria that cause inflammation in the bowel. Rosen explains the approach is on track to enter clinical trials before the end of 2022. Moving through the maze of steps to win Food and Drug Administration approval of a therapeutic is an expensive process. In March, Artizan raised $11 million in fund- ing from investors that included Connecti- cut Innovations and Elm Street Ventures. But the key to the deal was an agreement allowing Biohaven erapeutics the rights to commercialize three Artizan products. An earlier funding round netted $12 million and was led by Hatteras Venture Partners, Malin Investments, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc. (JJDC), Osage University Partners and Elm Street Ventures. at 2019 round included a deal with Brii Biosciences to allow commercial development of two Artizan programs in China, upon achievement of clinical proof of concept. Rosen sees similar commercial part- nerships as the path forward as Artizan develops more products. Rosen points to Artizan's "legendary" set of founders as a major factor in his decision to come aboard. at group includes Yale's Richard Flavell and Noah Palm as well as Marcel de Zoete, who has since le Yale to continue his work in the Netherlands. Ros- en also points to access to world-class talent and a supportive bioscience ecosystem as factors in New Haven's favor. Artizan has a core staff of 12 but Rosen said he expects that number to grow by 50% in the next year. e firm operates in a 4,000-square-foot lab. As part of its research effort, Artizan has assembled a unique "bio banking program" that includes some 1,500 samples from IBD patients and their families. It's a significant industry asset, Rosen says, that Artizan is willing to share with other researchers. n Artizan's Yale-backed therapeutic targets inflammatory bowel disease At a glance Company: Artizan Biosciences Industry: Biosciences Top Executive: James Rosen, President & CEO HQ: 25 Science Park at Yale, 150 Munson St., New Haven No. of Employees: 12 Company Website: https:// artizanbiosciences.com James Rosen, President & CEO Meet Greater New Haven's promising tech companies W elcome to New Haven Biz's inaugural Tech 25 issue, where we've identified 25 tech companies to watch — either because they are making moves with new products, raising capital or have a promising technology or drug that could not only make lots of money but also potentially save lives and create new jobs. In the pages that follow, we profile tech companies — many in the biotech space — in various stages of development. Some are just getting started with a promising new drug in the research-and-development stage. Others have established products and revenue streams and are growing. e companies were chosen with the help of Connecticut Innovations, the state's quasi-public venture investor, which has a stake in many of the firms on our list. e special section is meant to introduce readers and the broader business community to some of the companies that could make waves in the years ahead. Will all of them become unicorns? Most likely, not. But if just a handful catch fire with customers and investors they could serve as significant future job creators in the region and state. Let us know what you think of this section. Greg Bordonaro New Haven Biz Editor gbordonaro@newhavenbiz.com