THE FIERCE BIOTECH FIERCE 15 AWARDS CEREMONY
Celebrate the biotech trailblazers shaping the future.
Join us for an exclusive cocktail reception honoring this year’s Fierce 15—visionary innovators handpicked by the editors of Fierce Biotech.
Celebrating the Boldest Innovators in Biotech.
The Fierce 15 is more than a list—it’s a statement. Each year, Fierce Biotech spotlights a select group of early-stage companies that are defying the odds, rewriting the rules, and pushing science forward with bold ideas and fearless execution.
From cutting-edge platforms to first-in-class breakthroughs, these are the startups turning heads—and turning the tide—in drug development and beyond.
Be part of the celebration as we celebrate the 2025 Fierce Biotech Fierce 15 honorees during a high-energy cocktail reception at Fierce Biotech Week, where innovation takes center stage and the future of biotech is unfolding in real time.
Nomination now open until July 18th for 2025 Fierce Biotech Fierce 15. Learn more here.
Meet the 2022 Fierce 15
VIEW THE FULL REPORT ON FIERCE BIOTECH
Agomab Therapeutics
CEO: Tim Knotnerus
Founded: 2017
Based: Ghent, Belgium
Clinical focus: Agomab Therapeutics' lead drug candidate is AGMB-129, a gastrointestinal tract restricted ALK-5 inhibitor in a phase 1 healthy volunteer trial. The asset is being set up as a possible treatment of fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease.
Amphista Therapeutics
CEO: Nicola Thompson, Ph.D.
Founded: 2017
Based: Cambridge, U.K.
Clinical focus: Amphista Therapeutics is developing a slate of bifunctional molecules designed to use targeted protein degradation to eliminate disease-causing proteins.
Arbor Biotechnologies
CEO: Devyn Smith, Ph.D.
Founded: 2017
Based: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Clinical focus: Arbor Biotechnologies is concentrating on genomic editors for genetic-driven diseases in the liver and the central nervous system.
AviadoBio
CEO: Lisa Deschamps
Founded: 2019
Based: London
Clinical focus: AviadoBio focuses on debilitating neurodegenerative disorders such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) through gene therapy.
Generate Biomedicines
CEO: Michael Nally
Founded: 2018
Based: Somerville, Massachusetts
Clinical focus: Generate Biomedicines' key areas of interest are oncology, immunology and infectious disease.
Lexeo Therapeutics
CEO: Nolan Townsend
Founded: 2021
Based: New York City
Clinical focus: Lexeo Therapeutics' pipeline has preclinical candidates for heart diseases and a central nervous system pipeline led by clinical-stage meds for Alzheimer’s and Batten diseases.
LifeMine Therapeutics
CEO: Gregory Verdine, Ph.D.
Founded: 2017
Based: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Clinical focus: LifeMine Therapeutics is aiming to drug the undruggable, with an artificial-intelligence-powered drug discovery platform that scours the sequenced genomes of fungi.
ReCode Therapeutics
CEO: Shehnaaz Suliman, M.D.
Founded: 2015
Based: Menlo Park, California
Clinical focus: ReCode Therapeutics is concentrating on primary ciliary dyskinesia, cystic fibrosis and other diseases of the lung, spleen, liver and central nervous system.
Scorpion Therapeutics
CEO: Axel Hoos, M.D., Ph.D.
Founded: 2020
Based: Boston
Clinical focus: Scorpion Therapeutics is concentrating on oncology.
Shape Therapeutics
CEO: Francois Vigneault
Founded: 2019
Based: Seattle
Clinical focus: Along with new partner Roche, Shape Therapeutics is working to solve Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cystic fibrosis, Rett syndrome and other rare diseases.
Storm Therapeutics
CEO: Jerry McMahon, Ph.D.
Founded: 2015
Based: Cambridge, U.K.
Clinical focus: Storm Therapeutics is working on developing RNA-modifying enzyme inhibitors for oncology and other diseases.
Strand Therapeutics
CEO: Jake Becraft, Ph.D.
Founded: 2017
Based: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Clinical focus: Strand Therapeutics' platform aims to create programmable, long-acting mRNA meds that could one day offer curative treatments in a single dose.
Synthekine
CEO: Debanjan Ray
Founded: 2019
Based: Menlo Park, California
Clinical focus: Synthekine is reengineering cells in the immune system to fight cancer and autoimmune diseases while cutting down on potential toxicities.
Verge Genomics
CEO: Alice Zhang
Founded: 2015
Based: San Francisco
Clinical focus: Verge Genomics aims to jump from an AI-enabled drug discovery company to a full-fledged neuroscience biotech.
Volastra Therapeutics
CEO: Charles Hugh-Jones, M.D.
Founded: 2020
Based: New York City
Clinical focus: Volastra Therapeutics is looking to target a hallmark of most cancer cells called chromosomal instability.