Estonia: Seven biotech companies to reckon with

Estonia may be a small country with a population of just 1.3 million – about the size of Dallas, Texas – but it has quite a bit going for it when it comes to biotech companies.

Due to its relatively small size, the country managed to create solid connections between industry and academia, with Tehnopol being the largest science park in the country. Located in the nation’s capital, Tallinn, Tehnopol consists of more than 200 companies, the Tallinn University of Technology, and the IT College.

Tallinn, and the eastern city of Tartu, dominate the life sciences and biotech scene in Estonia. Tartu also hosts a notable science park, as well as the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences. 

Here are seven biotech companies based in Estonia to keep an eye on in 2024. 

Antegenes

Based in Estonia, Antegenes is a biotech company that has developed genetic tests to estimate the risk of common cancers. Its polygenic risk score (PRS) sums up information over hundreds to thousands of genetic variants in the human genome. By combining the PRS with a person’s background – origin, age, and gender – the company says it can calculate a person’s risk of developing cancer and provide medical advice on prevention and early detection.

Antegenes’ tests are integrated with clinical recommendations that help guide personalized preventive care. The company’s flagship product line includes AnteBC for breast cancer, AntePC for prostate cancer, AnteCRC for colorectal cancer, and AnteMEL for melanoma, all of which have received certification for use in the EU.

Antegenes aims to make personalized cancer risk analysis a routine part of healthcare.

Chemestmed

Chemestmed is a biotech company based in Tartu, Estonia, focused on developing therapies by targeting RNA methylation processes. Specifically, the company is exploring the therapeutic potential of N6-methyladenosine (m6A), a chemical modification found in RNA that is implicated in various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases, as well as cancer. Chemestmed’s work in epitranscriptomics aims to regulate RNA modifications to address these diseases.

The company’s lead drug candidate, CHMA1004, is currently in the preclinical stage and is being developed to treat Parkinson’s disease, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Early results from preclinical studies have shown that the company’s proprietary activators of the METTL3/METTL14/WTAP complex – enzymes involved in RNA methylation – demonstrate neuroprotective effects in animal models of Parkinson’s disease. These findings suggest potential for RNA regulation as a therapeutic strategy for diseases where traditional treatments are limited.

In addition to its work in neurodegeneration, Chemestmed is also developing inhibitors of RNA methylation for potential use in cancer therapy. 

Gearbox Biosciences

Gearbox Biosciences is a biotech company based in Tartu, Estonia, founded in 2021 as a spin-off from the University of Tartu. The company is developing a novel protein production technology that enables antibiotic-free production of industrial proteins, which is particularly significant in addressing the global concern of antibiotic resistance.

The company’s core innovation lies in decoupling bacterial growth from protein production, a process typically reliant on large amounts of antibiotics. Gearbox’s Pop-Out-Plasmid technology allows bacteria to halt cell division while remaining metabolically active, increasing the yield of proteins such as insulin without the need for antibiotics. This approach not only improves efficiency but also reduces the risks associated with antibiotic use in bioproduction.

In 2023, Gearbox Biosciences raised €380,000 in a funding round led by Specialist VC and UniTartu Ventures. 

GeneCode

GeneCode, based in Estonia, is an emerging biotech company developing treatments for neurodegenerative and immune system diseases. The company’s central technology revolves around its GDNF mimetic platform, which mimics the effects of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) – a protein critical for the survival and function of neurons. The GDNF mimetic approach aims to overcome one of the limitations in neurodegenerative disease treatment: the inability of therapeutic agents to cross the blood-brain barrier effectively.

GeneCode’s pipeline currently includes therapies for conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), retinitis pigmentosa (RP), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and Parkinson’s disease. These candidates are designed to slow disease progression by promoting neuron survival and function, with the aim of reaching proof of concept within the next 18 months​.

With the support of multiple funding rounds, including a €1.6 million R&D grant, GeneCode is positioned as a promising player in Estonia’s growing biotech landscape.

Nanordica Medical

Bacterial wound infections affect more than 100 million people worldwide, leading to millions of amputations every year.

Based in Tallinn, Estonia, Nanordica Medical works with nanotechnology to tackle bacterial infections in chronic wounds. Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, the company combined copper and silver nanoparticles to enhance the efficacy of traditional treatments.

The company’s flagship product is an antibacterial wound dressing designed to combat severe bacterial infections, such as those found in diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers. Nanordica Medical claims its technology inactivates bacterial infections up to eight times more effectively than conventional silver-based treatments, while also accelerating healing times. 

In a clinical trial involving 30 patients with diabetic foot ulcers, Nanordica’s dressing demonstrated improved safety and achieved twice the healing speed of leading silver-based dressings. The company is now preparing a larger clinical study scheduled to begin in 2024. 

Nanordica recently secured €1.75 million in funding to bring its wound care products to market, with the human-use product expected to launch in 2025. Additionally, the company launched a veterinary product, Ravimus Vet, in 2023.

Vectiopep

Vectiopep, founded in 2022 and based in Tartu, Estonia, is a biotech company focusing on developing mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies. Their technology enables the delivery of therapeutic mRNA directly to the patient’s immune system, teaching it to identify and eliminate cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered to antigen-presenting cells, which activate killer T-cells by instructing them to target and destroy abnormal cancerous tissue.

Rather than relying on external manufacturing of therapeutic proteins, Vectiopep’s technology enables protein production directly within the patient’s tissues, making the treatment more personalized and efficient.

In 2024, Vectiopep raised €450,000 in a pre-seed round led by UniTartu Ventures and several angel investors.

ZipPrime

ZipPrime supplies a solution to capture, detect, and preserve circulating free DNA (cfDNA) molecules at a single molecule level. The company has developed a technology that enhances the accuracy of cfDNA-based clinical diagnostics by capturing and tagging each cfDNA fragment at a single molecule level. This technology is particularly valuable for liquid biopsy applications, enabling early and more accurate detection of diseases such as cancer.

Liquid biopsy is a non-invasive technique that enables detection and monitoring of cancer biomarkers in blood, urine, and other body fluids at an early stage, even before symptoms appear. One of the most valuable biomarkers used in liquid biopsy is cfDNA molecules, the extracellular DNA floating freely in the blood circulation.

Estonia’s biotech industry: Still at the development stages

Estonia’s biotechnology industry is growing but is still in a developing stage compared to global leaders. The country scored 25th out of 54 countries in a Think Biotech innovation study. Most importantly, it ranked close to last (49th) in R&D intensity.

That doesn’t mean Estonia isn’t an innovative country; it is the home to several startups that have reached unicorn status, but none of them are related to biotech. Could this change in the future? Former acting Minister of foreign affairs, Andres Sutt declared at the 2022 Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) convention that although Estonia wasn’t home to big biotech companies, “there are lots of smaller, innovative companies, and if they come and team up with the big names, this is where I think innovation and science works.” 

Let’s hope Estonian Biotech will rise to this level of ambition and build a robust biotechnology ecosystem, although it might take time for the industry to mature and reach the status of more established players in Europe.