VascVersa

What VascVersa does

VascVersa is a pre-commercial medtech company headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, founded in 2018 as a spin-out of Queen's University Belfast. The company is developing advanced cell and gene therapies intended to regenerate the retinal microvasculature and thereby prevent irreversible vision loss caused by ischemic retinopathies, including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Its product portfolio centers on two proprietary assets: Angicyte®, a patented cell therapy built on endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) that promote vasculature regeneration and are scalable for transplantation; and AngiGenix™, the proprietary transcriptome analysis of Angicyte® cells, which functions as a "genetic operating system" used to identify gene signatures and define tractable therapeutic targets for rebooting retinal microvasculature in patients.

The company's intended business model is to license, co-develop, or directly commercialize cell and gene therapies to healthcare systems, hospitals, and ophthalmology clinics following regulatory approval. Today VascVersa is pre-revenue: it is funded by a small seed round (GBP ~100,000 in May 2021) and a follow-on ~$604,260 round (August 2022) from Co-FundNI, HBAN, and QUBIS, has 1–10 employees, holds one granted patent on the Angicyte® cell processing technology, and continues to operate in a development stage with no disclosed clinical milestones or commercial customers.

Name

VascVersa

Legal name

Vasc Versa

Website

https://vascversa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VascVersa is a pre-commercial medtech spin-out of Queen's University Belfast developing proprietary cell therapy (Angicyte®) and gene therapy (AngiGenix™) platforms to regenerate retinal microvasculature and prevent irreversible ischemic vision loss.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cell and Gene Therapy

akta.pro primary industry

Stem Cell–Based Regenerative Therapies (HLAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cardiovascular & Vascular Regeneration (vascular grafts, angiogenesis) (HLAAAGAJ), Cell Therapy Enabling Technologies (gene editing, cell engineering, delivery methods) (HLAAABAL), Neurology/CNS Gene Therapies (HLAAACAH)

Keywords

• Cell therapy biotechnology
• Gene therapy platform
• Vascular regeneration therapeutics
• Retinal microvasculature therapy
• Ophthalmology biopharmaceuticals

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Cell Therapy Commercialization: Pre-revenue biotech developing advanced therapies for retinal vascular diseases. Revenue model will likely involve pharmaceutical licensing, co-development partnerships with larger healthcare companies, or direct commercialization of cell and gene therapies upon regulatory approval.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

VascVersa is a pre-clinical biotech developing advanced cell and gene therapies for retinal microvasculature regeneration. Its core products are Angicyte®, a proprietary process for extracting and scaling Endothelial Colony Forming Cells (ECFCs) used for cell transplantation to treat vision loss caused by ischaemia, and AngiGenix™, a transcriptome/genetic analysis platform representing the operating system for designing vascular genetic therapies targeting patient-specific vascular cells.

Product overview

VascVersa is developing a dual-component therapeutic platform for retinal vascular therapy. The core product is Angicyte®, a proprietary cell therapy technology based on rare endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) that promote micro-vasculature regeneration in the retina. Complementing this is AngiGenix™, the genetic analysis and transcriptome profiling of Angicyte® cells, representing the 'operating system' that enables development of new gene therapies targeting vascular cells. Together, these products aim to restore normal micro-vascular supply to the retina, treating conditions like diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration by addressing the root cause of ischemia rather than just symptoms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Angicyte®: Proprietary cell therapy product - a rare type of blood cell that promotes vasculature regeneration for treating vision loss caused by ischemia
• AngiGenix™

Products and services

• Angicyte® Proprietary cell therapy product based on a rare type of blood cell (Endothelial Colony Forming Cell, or ECFC) that promotes vasculature regeneration. Angicyte® is the 'hardware' blueprint for therapeutic designs intended for cell transplantation to treat vision loss caused by ischaemia, manufactured at the scale and quality required for transplantation.
• AngiGenix™

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 million people will be afflicted by vision loss diseases by 2040, with healthcare costs exceeding $400 billion per annum

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Queen's University BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVascVersa is a medtech spin-out from Queen's University Belfast. The company builds on research from the university and has established and patented a robust process for extracting and scaling cells that promote vasculature regeneration. The university represents the foundational research partner and source of core technology IP.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Adverum Biotechnologies: Clinical-stage gene therapy company developing intravitreal AAV-based treatments (e.g., ADVM-022/Ixo-vec) for wet AMD and diabetic retinopathy. Highly comparable to VascVersa in retinal vascular disease target, novel modality strategy, and emphasis on improving durability over anti-VEGF injections.
• Oxurion: Clinical-stage European biotech developing novel therapeutics (THR-149 plasma kallikrein inhibitor) for diabetic macular edema. Highly comparable retinal vascular focus, sub-scale European company profile, and similar motivation to address anti-VEGF non-responders.
• 4D Molecular Therapeutics: Clinical-stage gene therapy developer using proprietary evolved AAV capsids for retinal diseases including choroideremia and wet AMD. Closely comparable modality (retinal gene therapy), target disease overlap, and similar size and stage profile to VascVersa.
• Kodiak Sciences: Clinical-stage biotech developing novel retinal therapeutics using its Antibody Biopolymer Conjugate (ABC) platform (e.g., KSI-301/tarcocimab) for DME and wet AMD. Directly comparable retinal vascular indication focus, proprietary delivery platform, and mission to improve on anti-VEGF durability.
• REGENXBIO: Clinical-stage AAV gene therapy platform company whose lead retinal program RGX-314 (with AbbVie) targets wet AMD. Comparable retinal gene therapy modality, target disease, and modality leadership in vascular retinal disease.

Broad incumbents

• Novartis: Co-markets Lucentis and developed Beovu (brolucizumab) for retinal vascular diseases. Comparable target market with significant commercial ophthalmology presence and direct interest in next-generation retinal therapy modalities.
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: Major biopharma whose Eylea franchise defines the anti-VEGF standard of care for retinal vascular diseases. Comparable target market and the dominant commercial incumbent VascVersa must differentiate against.
• Roche (Genentech): Holds Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Vabysmo (faricimab) for wet AMD and DME. Same competitive landscape as VascVersa with established anti-VEGF portfolio and deep ophthalmology commercial infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Humacyte: Late-stage regenerative medicine company developing tissue-engineered vascular grafts (HAV) for vascular replacement and trauma. Comparable regenerative medicine focus targeting the vascular system, though different modality (tissue construct vs. cell therapy).
• Aviceda Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing glycan-based immunomodulatory therapeutics (e.g., AVD-104) for geographic atrophy and other retinal inflammatory/vascular conditions. Comparable retinal disease focus with novel mechanism and similar stage profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vascversa
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/vascversa-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VascVersa