“Brazil has an unparalleled biological diversity.
At Nintx, we are bringing together the most advanced technologies
with the best professionals, the strongest partners and investors
to generate a unique and scalable platform capable of creating a
therapeutic powerhouse fueled by our incredible biological richness.”
Miller Freitas
Co-Founder & CEO
“The advances in analytical, ‘omics’, and screening technologies,
which can now be augmented by data science and analytics
methodologies, are crucial to decode the molecular crosstalk
between the different species. This can boost research on microbiome
derived therapies and reboot natural products-based drug discovery. Natural
products will continue to inspire novel discoveries in chemistry,
biology, and medicine for many generations.”
Cristiano Guimarães
Co-Founder & CSO
“The potential for generating value from biodiversity is enormous but
remains largely untapped. Besides the science in Brazil and the technological
developments recently achieved, it is important to highlight the advanced legal
and regulatory framework to access the Brazilian Biodiversity currently operational
in the country, which is contributing to the formation of a perfect storm that can
reveal new players in the global R&D arena. We believe Nintx is such player and can
inspire others to follow.”
Stephani Saverio
Co-Founder & Non-Executive Board Member
MILLER FREITAS, PhD
Co-Founder & CEO
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Pharmacist, PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology, both at University of São Paulo (USP). Pharmaceutical R&D leader with a track record on translating formulation and analytical development into commercially successful multi-million dollar products. Accumulated nineteen years of experience in industry leading teams at top Brazilian and multinational pharmaceutical companies, in addition to academic research, with multiple patents and scientific papers as author. Solid knowledge on many pharmaceutical processes from bench to industrial scale, advanced analytical tools, and deeply connected to an extensive network throughout the entire sector. Board member of Supera Park, an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship that integrates universities, research institutes, startups and technology companies.
CRISTIANO GUIMARÃES, PhD
Co-Founder & CSO
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Chemical Engineer, MSc/PhD in Computational/Organic Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, followed by a 4-year post-doctorate in Computational/ Medicinal Chemistry at Yale University. Nine years of experience as a Scientist (Drug Design) and project leader in big pharma (Amgen and Pfizer), followed by seven years of experience as Director of the Radical Innovation Unit in a top Brazilian pharma (Aché), responsible for Scientific/Regulatory/IP strategy and preclinical packages of a pipeline of small molecule/natural products programs in discovery and early development stages. Author of 70 publications in high-impact factor journals and patents, with several academic, corporate, and international awards and recognitions.
KATIA SIVIERI, PhD
Head of Microbiome Research
RITA PESSOTTI, PhD
Senior Researcher
FELIPE LEMOS
Financial and Administrative Manager
Mateus Salgaço, PhD
Junior Researcher
LAIRA LORRAINE
AGOSTINHO
Assistant Researcher
Nintx secured a seed investment round of US$ 3 million, led by
Sao Paulo-based deep tech venture capital firm Pitanga, through its
newly launched investment vehicle Pitanga Redux. Pitanga was founded
in 2011 by the experienced scientist and investor Fernando Reinach and a
group of successful Brazilian entrepreneurs - including Candido Bracher and
Eduardo Vassimon (Itaú BBA), Guilherme Leal and Pedro Passos (Natura &Co) -
to selectively invest in highly innovative early-stage science-based companies
coming out of Latin America. Launched in 2020, Pitanga Redux builds upon the
successful track record of Pitanga’s first vehicle Pitanga Invest.
Mr. Guilherme Leal, founder of Natura &Co and a shareholder at Pitanga Redux,
has also invested at Nintx directly via his holding and family office, Maraé Investimentos.
Mr. Peter Andersen, shareholder of the Centroflora Group, which recently became a
partner of Nintx to build a research laboratory that houses Nintx’s proprietary xGIbiomics®
technology, completed the seed investment round in the company.
Pharmacist, PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology, both at University of São Paulo (USP). Pharmaceutical R&D leader with a track record on translating formulation and analytical development into commercially successful multi-million dollar products. Accumulated nineteen years of experience in industry leading teams at top Brazilian and multinational pharmaceutical companies, in addition to academic research, with multiple patents and scientific papers as author. Solid knowledge on many pharmaceutical processes from bench to industrial scale, advanced analytical tools, and deeply connected to an extensive network throughout the entire sector. Board member of Supera Park, an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship that integrates universities, research institutes, startups and technology companies.
Chemical Engineer, MSc/PhD in Computational/Organic Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, followed by a 4-year post-doctorate in Computational/ Medicinal Chemistry at Yale University. Nine years of experience as a Scientist (Drug Design) and project leader in big pharma (Amgen and Pfizer), followed by seven years of experience as Director of the Radical Innovation Unit in a top Brazilian pharma (Aché), responsible for Scientific/Regulatory/IP strategy and preclinical packages of a pipeline of small molecule/natural products programs in discovery and early development stages. Author of 70 publications in high-impact factor journals and patents, with several academic, corporate, and international awards and recognitions.
Currently working as Vice-President of Business Development at Knight Therapeutics, a pan-American (ex-US) specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, in-licensing, out-licensing, marketing, and commercializing innovative prescription pharmaceuticals in Canada and LATAM. Pharmacist with an MBA from the University of São Paulo (FIA/USP). A healthcare veteran with 20+ years of experience at Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Aché Laboratories in Brazil, achieving transformational results through the leadership of scientific and business teams. A track record of leading hundreds of deals and R&D programs, which resulted in the launch of 300+ products in several markets worldwide, as well as acquisitions and out-licensing deals valued at over US$ 500 million. Expertise on nutrigenomics and emerging life sciences technologies, passionate about personalized medicine and microbiome derived therapies.
Gabriel Perez is a biologist with an MBA degree at MIT and 20-year experience in strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation (BCG, Endeavor, Pitanga Invest). Gabriel is a Director at Pitanga since 2014.
Peter holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Faculdades Oswaldo Cruz (1987). He has been an executive and entrepreneur for the last 25 years. Peter is currently President and CEO of the Centroflora Group, a position he has held since 1985.
There are basically two discovery processes to identify active isolated
compounds, fractions, and extracts from nature: (i) Bioprospection and (ii)
Ethnopharmacology. The former is based on the fact that natural products possess
enormous structural and chemical diversity that cannot be matched by synthetic
small molecules. Thus, the chance of finding hits in high-throughput screening
(HTS) campaigns uncovering pharmacological activity in humans is greatly increased
when using libraries of natural products built from expeditions in different biomes.
Ethnopharmacology starts with the sociocultural knowledge that has mapped the
pharmacological activity of natural products over the years. However, differently
from the millenary accounts on the use of plants and microorganisms to cure and
prevent diseases, Ethnopharmacology makes use of systematic bioassays coupled
with analytical techniques to unravel their pharmacological and toxicological
effects. Nintx has a pipeline of innovative research programs, many of them in
partnership with companies and research institutes.
Bioprospection (in partnership with CNPEM). Nintx and CNPEM
(Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials) celebrated a
partnership with the support of Embrapii (Brazilian Company for Industrial
Research and Innovation) to exponentialize natural products from the Brazilian
biodiversity as a platform to develop three novel therapies for multifactorial diseases
(multi-target therapies) in the following therapeutic areas: cardiometabolic, immunology,
and infectious diseases.
Ethnopharmacology (in partnership with ADESTE). Nintx and Adeste, which has over 1,200
employees and business relationships in more than 40 countries in the food, human health,
and animal nutrition sectors, celebrated a partnership to develop novel therapies for
multifactorial diseases (multi-target therapies) and the first project is based on
promising compounds existent in a raw material from the Amazon with a potential
application in the cardiometabolic therapeutic area.
Ethnopharmacology (in partnership with CIEnP). Nintx and CIEnP
(Center for Innovation and Preclinical Trials) celebrated a partnership with
the support of Embrapii (Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation)
to map, select, and experiment on medicinal plants to develop multi-target therapies
against chronic multifactorial inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease
and ulcerative colitis.