Oxeia Biopharma

Oxeia Biopharma is on a mission to bring the first potentially-effective treatment for concussions.

An estimated twenty-one million concussions occur in the U.S. each year. As many as four million Americans develop concussion-like symptoms — headaches, dizziness, memory problems, etc. Yet no FDA-approved treatments for this condition exists.

Many of these people don’t recover from their symptoms. The headaches continue. Cognitive function remains impaired. Memory loss gets worse.

Traditionally, medical establishments have treated concussions as minor injuries. When CT scans and MRIs show no bleeding or fractures, doctors typically prescribe rest and expect a natural recovery. Pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, typically direct their research time and money toward things like strokes and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

Now Oxeia is addressing those with concussions, led by a team that has achieved nine billion dollars’ worth of prior exits.

The inspiration for this company started with co-founder Dr. Vishal Bansal, who treats head injuries as a trauma surgeon at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego.

He operated on skull fractures and repaired severe tissue damage. He noticed that concussion patients were sent home to rest. When rest didn’t work, Bansal realized he was out of options.

That prompted him to begin research on ghrelin, a naturally-occurring peptide hormone. The body produces ghrelin in response to metabolic stress. But after a TBI, natural levels aren’t enough. The brain faces a cascade of damage — oxidative stress, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction — that persists long after impact.

In preclinical models at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), therapeutic doses of ghrelin reduced oxidative stress and inflammation, improved motor function, and reduced neuronal degeneration. This all happened within the first twenty-four hours.

These lab results led to human trials. And at the University of Kansas Medical Center, eighty-five percent of patients with persistent concussion symptoms improved with Bansal’s creation, known as OXE103.

OXE103 delivers therapeutic doses of ghrelin at an attempt to relieve and correct concussion symptoms.

Oxeia is supported by $100 million in development data. It has a licensing agreement to this data generated by Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company with a forty-two-billion-dollar market cap.

Oxeia is raising funds to complete its next round of clinical trials. Its Phase 2b round will enroll 160 patients with persistent concussion symptoms at major academic centers across the U.S. Enrollment is slated for 2026. Positive results here would validate the drug’s efficacy at scale and potentially establish the foundation for approval from the FDA.

Long-term, Oxeia could find success treating concussions in professional sports, specifically the National Football League. Multiple former players including quarterback Alex Smith and defensive back Richard Sherman are involved with Oxeia as investors and advisors.

Team Background

Michael Wyand - Director & CEO

Dr. Michael S. Wyand is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with more than twenty-five years of leadership experience in the life-sciences industry.

Before joining Oxeia, Wyand held senior leadership positions at Epirus Biopharmaceuticals, where he was President and Chief Operating Officer after serving as Chief Technology Officer, managing a portfolio of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies through development and commercialization with global partners.

He also led research and development at Percivia, a Johnson & Johnson/DSM joint venture, and held executive roles at BioAssets Development (acquired by Cephalon) and Therion Biologics. While at Therion, he directed the development of the PROSTVAC prostate cancer vaccine licensed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and managed construction of a GMP facility in Cambridge, MA. Earlier in his career he was President and Chief Science Officer of Mason Laboratory.

Dr. Wyand’s academic credentials include a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Purdue University, a PhD in Pathology, and a BS in Biology from the University of Connecticut, where he graduated with honors. He also trained in comparative pathology at Harvard Medical School.

Vishal Bansal - Co-Founder & CSO

Vishal is the Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Oxeia Biopharmaceuticals. Since 2015, Dr. Bansal is a Director of Trauma Surgery at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. From 2007 until 2015, he was on faculty at the University California San Diego as an Associate Professor of Surgery.

Dr. Bansal is a clinically active trauma and general surgeon as well as a funded surgical scientist focusing on the physiologic response to brain injury. He has been a principal investigator of three trials in traumatic brain injury. He has nearly 100 peer review publications, book chapters and invited reviews, sits on three national trauma committees, and is a referee for over twenty-five national and international scientific journals.

Dr. Bansal received his undergraduate degree in music from Kalamazoo College and his medical degree from Wayne State University. He completed his general surgery internship and residency at The University of Pittsburgh and his fellowship in surgical critical care at University of California San Diego.

Amit Munshi - Co-Founder

Amit is a biopharmaceutical executive with more than thirty years of global industry experience.

Most recently, he served as President & CEO of Orna Therapeutics LLC, where he guided the merger with ReNAgade Therapeutics and built operational and financing momentum for the RNA-focused biotech. Prior to this, he was President & CEO of Arena Pharmaceuticals, leading a dramatic turnaround that included strategic portfolio resets, significant capital raises, and ultimately the company’s $6.7 billion acquisition by Pfizer.

Earlier in his career, Amit held leadership roles as President & CEO of Epirus Biopharmaceuticals and Percivia LLC, each through transformational growth and exits. He was co-founder and Chief Business Officer of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, where he advanced the company’s lead asset (KYBELLA) and completed major licensing deals before the company’s acquisition. His industry tenure began with multiple roles at Amgen Inc., including General Manager of the European Nephrology unit and responsibility for inflammation/immunology marketing.

In addition to his role with Oxeia, Amit serves on several biotech boards, including Sensorion as Chairman, Arcutis Biotherapeutics, and others. He also advises investment firms.

He holds an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University and dual undergraduate degrees (BA in History and BS in Quantitative Economics) from the University of California, Riverside.

Co-Investors