This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
Kris Siemionow successfully traded his medical gown for a suit in the United States. He now invests the millions he earned into innovations for physicians and patients. In Poland, he started by hiring software developers; today, through multiQure, he is working on what could become the first effective treatment for Huntington’s disease. The market values a competing approach at USD 3 billion.
A fresh breeze has entered Poland’s biotech sector listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Pure Biologics, which develops innovative oncology drugs and has been listed on the WSE since 2020, has undergone a transformation. A year ago, the company was close to collapse despite long-standing support from wealthy investors, including ACRX Michał Kojecki, eCapital Michał Lach, and Augebit FIZ Tadeusz Wesołowski.
Biofund Capital Management is set to acquire nearly half of the company’s shares. It has contributed the multiQure project, which focuses on a breakthrough RNA interference (RNAi) therapy for Huntington’s disease. Pure Biologics raised PLN 50 million (approx. EUR 11.6 million) from the market in June to finance the project, selling shares at PLN 1 per share.
At the current share price of PLN 2.4, the company’s market capitalization stands at approximately PLN 30 million (approx. EUR 7 million). Meanwhile, the value of the multiQure project at its current stage has been estimated by Baker Tilly at more than PLN 400 million (approx. EUR 93 million), according to a report commissioned by Biofund in connection with the planned in-kind contribution of the project into Pure Biologics.
“More than 100,000 people worldwide suffer from Huntington’s disease. There is no effective cure. Once symptoms appear and a diagnosis is made, patients have only access to symptom-relieving therapies. None of the approved treatment methods can halt the progression of the disease, let alone reverse its effects. We are talking about a condition that combines – in simplified terms – symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. It impairs cognitive and motor functions, meaning patients gradually lose control over both mind and body,” says Dr. Kris Siemionow, MD, co-founder of Biofund.
How he became a doctor and entrepreneur in the United States
The name of this physician, investor, and entrepreneur – strongly connected to Poland but based in the United States – is well known in the medical world. His mother, Professor Maria Siemionow, performed the first successful face transplant in the United States in 2008. Kris Siemionow says the path he chose was a natural career trajectory.
“My parents encouraged me to go in this direction – especially my mother – but what proved decisive was my interest in biology. I had both the aptitude and the passion, and that is the best combination. My choice of surgery was also driven, among other things, by my lifelong fascination with working with tools,” says Kris Siemionow.
He spent nearly a decade as a spine surgeon and head of department at a prestigious hospital affiliated with the University of Illinois. Prior to that, he completed his specialization at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the leading medical centers in the United States. His move toward entrepreneurship was driven by his interest in medical technologies and innovative therapies. From the very beginning of his career, he submitted ideas for medical innovations to a dedicated innovation department at the Cleveland Clinic – an entity that has since evolved into a significant investment fund.
“After several attempts, one of the projects finally succeeded. The method I developed for performing neurosurgical procedures using a robot was licensed in 2008 by Mazor Robotics. The first check – quite substantial for those times – convinced me that it was worth pursuing the business path. I combined the roles of physician and entrepreneur until 2020,” the entrepreneur recalls.
Expert's perspective
No breakthrough news in Polish biotech
On the Warsaw Stock Exchange, however, recent months have brought no meaningful catalysts for the sector – such as partnering agreements or positive clinical data readouts. Equity issuance has increased in scale, while access to grants remains constrained. Domestic companies are still at an early stage of development and tend to have relatively undiversified project portfolios. This translates into higher risk and requires patience from investors.
In the near term, several data readouts are expected: Molecure (its OATD-02 program in a higher-dose cohort; and OATD-01 with interim data around the turn of the year) and Captor Therapeutics (CT-01 program). In terms of partnering activity, Captor is in discussions regarding the NEK7 program, while Celon Pharma indicates a potential agreement for CPL’36 in the second half of the year. At Ryvu Therapeutics, following a decision to expand the RIVER-81 study by an additional 30 patients, any potential partnering is likely to be pushed into next year.
We assume that Pure Biologics’ successful equity issuance was supported, among other factors, by positive developments at uniQure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed a regulatory submission for AMT-130 to be based on existing clinical data. The potential of the multiQure project, which is still at the discovery stage, will depend on its ability to demonstrate advantages over competing therapies.
Medical innovations worth hundreds of millions of dollars
The first major commercial success came from HoloSurgical, founded in 2015. Together with Professor Paul Lewicki – still Kris Siemionow’s only business partner – they initially built a system for analyzing medical imaging specifically in neurosurgery, leveraging what was then still an emerging field of artificial intelligence.
“On that basis, we developed a platform that recognizes human anatomy and ‘instructs’ the surgeon during procedures, increasing precision and reducing the need for intense cognitive strain. In 2020, the company was acquired by Surgalign for USD 125 million [of which USD 83 million was contingent on meeting milestones – ed.]. Another company, Inteneural Networks, was sold in 2022 for USD 79 million. Within that venture, we developed biomarkers that determine the biological age of the brain. They help, among other things, assess the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and enable appropriate preventive measures,” says Kris Siemionow.
Each inflow of capital has been largely reinvested, together with his partner, into new medical technologies. Six months ago – 24 months after its launch – they sold Robotron Surgical Technologies. It was acquired by a spin-off of Stryker, a company specializing in spine surgery. The amount (undisclosed) was broadly in line with previous transactions.
“We modified a simple tool that has been used in essentially the same form for 100 years – a kind of ‘surgical spoon.’ We enhanced it with vision, meaning a millimeter-scale high-resolution camera, and intelligence in the form of algorithms that taught the computer to recognize anatomy in real time via the device’s imaging. This allows the surgeon to see detailed anatomical structures and classify them as either healthy or diseased,” explains Kris Siemionow.
Polish developers and supportive regulation
The physician-entrepreneur’s previous successes have not satisfied his ambition. By nature, he feels compelled to keep testing ever new ideas. This is where he directs both his time and capital.
“I accept that not every project will be a commercial success. As a general rule, I follow the principle that if a biotech project has spent USD 5 million and shows no promise, it should be shut down. Below that threshold, it is difficult to properly validate potential in a medical sector that requires extensive research and certification,” says Kris Siemionow.
Although he has lived in the United States since 1986, all of his projects carry a “Polish component.” He currently works with around 250 engineers and software developers in Poland and plans further recruitment. Poland is also an attractive destination for diversification due to certain favorable EU regulatory frameworks.
“The exemptions provided under ATMP-HE, the so-called hospital exemption, allow us to administer a treatment to a patient suffering from an otherwise incurable disease earlier than we would be able to in the United States. This enables us to obtain necessary data much more quickly and efficiently. While this does not open the door to full market authorization, it does help validate whether the chosen direction is sound,” explains Kris Siemionow.
Good to know
Business in the U.S. and Poland – two different worlds
In Kris Siemionow’s experience, running a business in the United States and in Poland requires fundamentally different approaches.
“In the United States, vision is key. When Elon Musk announces a mission to Mars, people start asking about the potential for flights to another galaxy – not about profitability. Paradoxically, the more ‘outlandish’ the idea, the more funding it may attract. In Poland, by contrast, the key question is cash generation. There is little tolerance for high risk. And given the stage of development of the Polish capital market, that is actually a good thing. It results in more stable businesses,” the entrepreneur explains.
He also notes another difference. Namely, he has observed that local projects tend to be favored in Poland.
“Investors see additional value in supporting Polish businesses with international potential. In the United States, however, it does not matter where the idea comes from or who is behind it. The product must work and solve a large problem,” says Kris Siemionow.
The edge of multiQure thanks to scientists from the Polish Academy of Sciences
This is particularly relevant for the multiQure therapeutic platform. It is based on discoveries made by a team of scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IChB PAN), led by Professor Marta Olejniczak. They secured intellectual property rights a year ahead of the Dutch-American company uniQure – valued at approximately USD 3 billion – which is working on a similar project. This helps protect against potential allegations of copying third-party solutions.
“Moreover, our approach is fundamentally more beneficial for patients. It is selective, meaning it ‘switches off’ only the mutated gene responsible for the disease. In contrast, uniQure’s therapy affects both versions of huntingtin: the diseased and the healthy one. While we do not yet fully understand all the consequences of suppressing the production of this protein, it is highly likely that it will eventually lead to some side effects. When a physician and a patient can choose between a selective and a non-selective therapy, the selective one will always be preferred,” says Kris Siemionow.
Just as some people enjoy searching for rare car listings out of passion, he regularly reviews medical projects and scientific research – particularly in his closest fields of neurosurgery and neurodegenerative diseases. That is how, in 2019, he came across the work of researchers from IChB PAN. At the time, they were at the in vitro stage, working on cell lines. Biofund financed the first studies in animal models.
“In 2020, we observed side effects in mice, including epilepsy. Some would have killed the project at that stage, but we had not yet reached the predefined limit in terms of cost or time. We went back to the molecule design phase. In 2022, we obtained a drug candidate that met both safety and efficacy criteria. We expect a new patent to be granted by the end of the year, significantly extending intellectual property protection,” says Kris Siemionow.
Fireside chat
Strengths and weaknesses of Polish biotechnology
XYZ: Is this a good time for biotech companies to raise capital?
Stanisław Knaflewski, co-founder and managing partner at Altamira VC: From an international perspective, I see a normalization of expectations after the period of excessive market overheating during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is visible activity in the partnering market, but large corporations are highly selective.
In Poland, there is an expectation of a transaction that would allow a long-listed company to deliver an attractive cash return to shareholders. Regardless of whether such a deal materializes, it is encouraging that the market remains open to equity offerings from biotech companies. This year, Molecure and Poltreg placed offerings of around PLN 20 million each, while Captor raised approximately PLN 33 million. In this context, the PLN 50 million raised by Pure Biologics for the multiQure project should be considered a major success.
How would you assess the maturity of Poland’s biotech market?
It is still young – roughly 20 years old by convention – and small compared to international standards. The number of companies developing ambitious and relatively advanced programs can be counted on the fingers of two hands. It will be clinical trial results, rather than overall industry sentiment in Poland or globally, that determine the prospects for partnerships with major international players.
Does the Polish sector have clear strengths and weaknesses?
A key limitation of Polish medical biotechnology is its limited capacity to discover new molecules – drug candidates. Leading companies such as Molecure, Pikralida, and Orphinic run research programs based on molecules discovered in the United States or the United Kingdom. The multiQure project follows the same trend.
However, Poland proves to be an attractive “recipient” of such projects. A strength of the country is the presence of highly skilled clinical practitioners with international reputations. Among them is neurosurgeon Professor Mirosław Ząbek, involved in gene therapy research for Huntington’s disease. It is also worth highlighting the relatively attractive grant-based funding system.
How serious is the disease in question?
Huntington’s disease is a genetically driven neurodegenerative disorder that is currently incurable and ultimately leads to the patient’s death. At present, only symptomatic therapies are approved, with limited efficacy and, in most cases, poor tolerability.
How advanced are potentially new therapies?
As a member of the supervisory board of Spanish company SOM Biotech, I am involved in the development of a new symptomatic therapy with a different mechanism of action, better tolerated by patients. The project has completed Phase II clinical trials and has received FDA approval to proceed to Phase III, the final stage of clinical testing in the United States.
In autumn 2025, the global biotech and pharmaceutical industry was electrified by news from uniQure about positive clinical trial results for the first disease-modifying therapy for Huntington’s disease. After some complications lasting until mid-June, the FDA ultimately confirmed that the data could support a marketing authorization application. The company’s market capitalization on the Nasdaq reached nearly USD 3 billion. This project serves as a reference point for multiQure, which Dr. Kris Siemionow presents as an improved version of uniQure’s approach.
What does this mean for patients?
The drug candidate offers hope for many patients suffering from this incurable disease. However, it must be remembered that only a relatively small proportion of patients will be eligible for this therapy due to the complex, multi-hour intracranial administration procedure.
In uniQure’s clinical trials, around 90% of patients were not eligible for inclusion. The multiQure project is at an earlier stage. One of its most important parameters will therefore be the proportion of Huntington’s patients who could potentially receive the treatment.
Pure Biologics projects under review
Raising PLN 50 million (approx. EUR 11.6 million) from the market through its June share issuance has secured the next stages of development for the multiQure program. These include manufacturing the therapy under GMP standards, conducting studies under the hospital exemption framework (ATMP-HE), and preparing for clinical trials.
“We plan to administer the drug candidate to the first patient in the second half of 2027. Preliminary results are expected after roughly six months. Then, in mid-2028, after collecting initial patient data, we intend to submit an application for clinical trials in the United States,” says Kris Siemionow.
Biofund holds a portfolio of more than 20 projects. In each of them it has invested – or plans to invest – at least USD 5 million. Around USD 10 million has already been allocated to multiQure. This helped justify bringing the project to the stock market and broadening the shareholder base with professional financial investors.
For the financially strained Pure Biologics, this move shortened the process from as much as two years to just a few months. Although multiQure remains the priority, the acquired portfolio of oncology projects will not be immediately abandoned.
“The work on them has consumed hundreds of millions of zlotys and years of effort by many people. I commissioned an independent assessment of their potential from five separate experts. If all of them conclude negatively, we will most likely discontinue the projects. However, we expect at worst mixed feedback, meaning conditions under which a potential partnership could still be found,” says Kris Siemionow.
In such a case, he would use available options. He assumes that by 2027 at the latest, he will have sufficient information to make a final decision.
Confidence in Medicalgorithmics’ potential reaffirmed
Pure Biologics is not the first Warsaw Stock Exchange-listed company in which Biofund has become involved. In 2022, it invested in Medicalgorithmics, a company operating in the field of cardiology telemedicine. Its current market valuation is close to PLN 300 million (approx. EUR 69.8 million), although at its peak it was several times higher.
The story began in 2018, when the fund acquired a license for a project developed by the Prof. Zbigniew Religa Foundation for Cardiac Surgery. The technology concerned the assessment of blood flow in coronary vessels.
“It had medical potential, but lacked a commercial concept. Based on it, we developed a predictive system called VCAST, using our artificial intelligence. To commercialize it, we would have had to invest heavily in building a regulatory and commercial team and in establishing relationships with cardiologists. A more efficient path proved to be bringing in experienced experts from Medicalgorithmics, thereby ensuring its financial liquidity,” explains Kris Siemionow.
He points to the company’s return to strong sales momentum and positive EBITDA. He maintains confidence in the potential of the joint project.
“That is why we are proposing a debt-to-equity conversion at PLN 33 per share, above the current market price. Without part of its R&D activities, Medicalgorithmics would generate monthly profit. However, we want to continue investing in the company’s innovative projects, building durable competitive advantages over a multi-year horizon,” says Kris Siemionow.
Key Takeaways
- Changes on the Polish Stock Exchange. Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2020, Pure Biologics raised PLN 50 million (approx. EUR 11.6 million) in a share issuance in June. The funds will be allocated to the development of the multiQure project, which was brought into the company by its new main investor, Biofund. This fund has previously been involved in another Warsaw-listed company: Medicalgorithmics. Biofund intends to assess Pure Biologics’ oncology projects in terms of their future development prospects, while maintaining confidence in the latter company.
- A physician and entrepreneur with a track record. Biofund is led by Dr. Kris Siemionow, a physician, entrepreneur, and investor born in Poland but residing in the United States since 1986. Over the years, he has combined a surgical career with the development of medical innovations. Together with his business partner, he has created projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars – some of which have already been sold. The fund holds a portfolio of more than 20 projects, each receiving – or expected to receive – at least USD 5 million in investment. Around USD 10 million has already been allocated to multiQure. To secure funding for further development and attract professional financial investors, he decided to bring the project to the stock market.
- A serious global medical challenge. The multiQure project is based on discoveries by a team of scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IChB PAN), led by Professor Marta Olejniczak. Kris Siemionow became involved in 2019, at the in vitro research stage. His Biofund financed successful studies in animal models. The first administration of the drug candidate to a patient is planned for the second half of 2027, with preliminary results expected roughly six months later. The Dutch-American company uniQure, which is developing a similar therapy, is valued at approximately USD 3 billion. More than 100,000 people worldwide suffer from Huntington’s disease, for which there is currently no effective cure.