NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J u l y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 7 S t a r t u p s , I n n o v a t i o n & T e c h n o l o g y Ireland-based Nuritas' New Haven expansion spurred by city's thriving bioscience sector A t A G l a n c e Company: Nuritas Industry: Bioscience Top Executive: Dr. Nora Khaldi, Founder & CEO HQ: Dublin, Ireland U.S. HQ: New Haven Website: https://www.nuritas.com/ By Matthew Broderick F or Dr. Nora Khaldi, her relocation to Connecticut this July signifies the next phase of her Dublin, Ireland-based biotech company, Nuritas, which is establishing its North American headquarters in New Haven later this year. e move is also evidence of the growing appeal of the Elm City's thriv- ing bioscience ecosystem. Nuritas' expansion has been made possible by a recent $45 million Series B capital raise, which is being used to support the company's commercialization phase. Nuritas, which Khaldi founded in 2014, said it has created a new artificial intelligence (AI) technology platform that can identify and develop bioactive peptides 10 times faster and 600 times more accurately than traditional dis- covery methods. Peptides are chains of amino-acids that can be used to help improve a va- riety of health-related issues, including anti-aging, muscle strength and mobili- ty, blood pressure and glucose manage- ment. ey are used in products from skincare and food to pharmaceuticals. "Our goal is to make the everyday products we use safer and healthier," Khaldi said. "We're the first company globally that has taken an AI-discovered [peptide] molecule all the way through clinical scaling and now to market." And that market, as consumers shi toward more health-conscious goods, is expected to grow rapidly. Zion Market Research projects that the oral proteins and peptides market will grow annually by more than 10 percent from $1.2 billion in revenue in 2021 to more than $8.4 billion by 2028. Why New Haven? e opportunity to be part of New Haven's bioscience network was one of the primary reasons Khaldi said she selected the Nutmeg State as Nuritas' North American operations. "Connecticut brings a great com- bination of talent, strong universities, [proximity] to major hubs [like Boston and New York], lifestyle, and [lower] costs," she said. e state also has coordinated eco- nomic development organizations that are exposing companies like Nuritas to Connecticut's ecosystems, including help with site selection. Peter Denious — CEO of Advan- ceCT, which helps Connecticut recruit and retain companies — has been working with Nuritas for more than nine months, he said. "We did a lot of research and spent time with [Nuritas] to understand what's important to them," Denious said. "en we work to convene the [relevant] players in economic devel- opment, including Yale, UConn, area CEOs and David Lehman, commis- sioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development." Denious said courting smaller companies like Nuritas is an economic formula that is most likely to produce results for the state. "e successful playbook for Con- necticut is to find these five- to 10-per- son rapidly-growing, highly-innovative, disruptive companies — in life sciences or other industries — and grow them into [bigger] companies," he said. Building talent pipeline Josh Geballe, senior associate pro- vost for entrepreneurship and innova- tion at Yale University, wants Yale to be a core part of those efforts. Geballe is also managing director of Yale Ventures, which launched this past April to support the translation of university research into impactful prod- ucts, services and social ventures, while helping to accelerate and expand New Haven's entrepreneurial ecosystem. "We want to connect the ecosystem in New Haven and in Connecticut to make sure our students — both under- graduate and graduate — have visibility into career opportunities in Connecti- cut," he said. Geballe noted that there have been five IPOs from Yale spinout companies over the past five years. Khaldi is looking to tap into that talent pool over the coming months to build Nuritas' U.S.-based team. She said her current focus is to hire 10 to 15 senior-level leaders for business development, marketing and regulatory compliance as the company embarks on commercialization. "Many of the ingredients in the foods we eat have not changed in 100 years," Khaldi said. Humans, she added, don't fully get the health benefits of peptides even in peptide-rich plants and beans we eat, because they're not fully absorbed by the body. "rough machine learning, we are identifying those hidden benefits that we are losing and we are creating ingre- dients [from peptides] that will make products we consume healthier, safer and [eco-friendly]," she said, noting Nuritas' discoveries will help the food industry to remove unwanted additives and ingredients. Since 2014, the company has discov- ered more that 5.2 million peptides and participated in 12 human clinical trials. e company currently has partnerships with major food and pharma companies including BASF, Nestle, Mars, Metagen- ics and Pharmavite, but also has its own proprietary product offerings. Khaldi said about 70 percent of Nuri- tas' revenue comes from co-developing ingredients with these larger players. e company also has two flagship products: PeptiStrong and PeptiY- outh, focused on muscle strength and preservation, skin health and cellular regeneration. ey account for roughly 30 percent of revenue. e longer-term goal, Khaldi said, is for the company's proprietary product line to drive revenue, but that will take more venture capital for research and development to continue to evolve tech- nology and conduct clinical trials. When she relocates to Connecticut later this summer, Khaldi will ink a lease to get U.S. operations up and running. Working with AdvanceCT, she said she's eyeing office space to start, but will need additional lab space down the road to support Nuritas' technology and further scientific discoveries. With a number of commercial real estate projects in the works to meet that demand, Khaldi said she is confident she's found the right home for her com- pany's expansion. "Connecticut," she said, "is a hidden gem." n Dr. Nora Khaldi is the founder and CEO of Ireland-based bioscience company Nuritas. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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