Case Study: Finch Therapeutics
Case Study:
Finch Therapeutics
Venture Capital

Opportunity
In 2013, we were first introduced to emerging microbiome therapies developed in the lab of preeminent Australian clinician-scientist, Dr. Thomas Borody. These therapies showed promise to cure disease by re-establishing naturally occurring human gut bacteria, thereby restoring intestinal equilibrium. Through rigorous research of the underlying mechanism of action, compelling clinical data, and demonstrable commercial opportunity, the team saw incredible potential to develop a platform of drugs to disrupt decades of antibiotic-driven and immunosuppressant treatment paradigms.
In 2015, Shumway Capital funded the creation of Crestovo as a platform for microbiome-based therapies backed by the pioneering research of Dr. Borody and Dr. Alexander Khoruts. Shumway Capital provided assistance to Crestovo with strategic development, operational build-out, and recruitment of the senior management team to build Crestovo’s pipeline of orally-delivered microbiome therapies. Over the course of 2+ years, Crestovo established several clearly differentiated competitive advantages:
- Early partnership with pioneering key opinion leaders in the industry
- Development of a product candidate with attractive commercial attributes
- Accelerated and capital-efficient path to launch two sponsor-led Phase 2 clinical trials
- Investment in GMP manufacturing capability
- Creation of an industry-leading intellectual property estate
In 2017, Shumway Capital saw an opportunity for Crestovo to join forces with Finch Therapeutics, which had highly complementary, yet differentiated expertise, including:
- A highly capable, hard-charging and visionary founding team
- Robust data science platform
- A deep, global network of clinical partners
- A mature donor & CMC/manufacturing capability
- Vast pipeline of exploratory clinical programs
“The Shumway Capital team has been a tremendous asset and differentiating factor for Finch. From the onset, they’ve provided great counsel across all aspects of growth, tactical operations, strategy, and company-building. We are excited for what the future holds as we continue collaborating to build a transformational company.”
– CEO, Mark Smith
Inquiries regarding investment opportunities should be sent to ideas@shumwaycapital.com.
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