Investors
APERUS was founded and is majority owned by AVIDIN Ltd., a pharmaceutical research company. The major focus of AVIDIN is to identify novel small molecules which can be further developed into novel drugs to treat CNS diseases and cancer. AVIDIN has widespread international scientific and industrial partnerships in drug discovery (medicinal chemistry, screen development, HTS genomics, and animal models). Besides in-house drug development programs, the company provides services and products in the segment of pharmaceutical research, in the preclinical phase of analyzing drug candidates (target and phenotypic-based hit identification, medicinal chemistry and lead optimization, proof of concept studies in vitro and in animal models, preclinical non-GLP toxicity and ADME/Tox studies) in cancer and CNS indications.
AVIDIN has a Medicinal Chemistry Department where new drug-like molecules, and drug candidates are synthesized. The company runs an SPF-like animal house and is capable of working with different cancer models in immune deficient animals. AVIDIN can also conduct toxicology measurements in rodents in acute and chronic studies. The company develops molecular biology-based novel diagnostic solutions as well. Among these, one is exceptionally successful the high-density nanoliter volume real-time PCR technology (100.000 QRT-PCR/week capacity). This technology was applied to screen the expression of toxicology-related genes and genes coding for cancer stem cell and activated stromal cell related genes. In 2011, AVIDIN has specialized in single cell genomics, where the company enables digital measurements of mRNA, miRNA expression of individual cells with superior sensitivity and reproducibility.
CEO: László G. Puskás, PhD, DSc
NAVIGATOR Group offers services in the field of investments, placement of venture capital, property management and crisis management. The corporate group handles acquisitions of firms with lack of resources due to their earlier investments or going through a crisis and takes up reorganization of small and medium-sized enterprises wrestling with financial and organisational problems. NAVIGATOR Investments Zrt. is the principal unit of a holding-based corporate group; involved itself in professional property management. It is exercising strategic control over the group members, overviews the business achievements, manages the developments and investments, and provides (financial, legal) services for internal use.
The revenue of the companies managed in our portfolio in the past 15 years have exceeded a total of 500 million USD. NAVIGATOR Group has been investing in Hungary and the CEE for the last 20 years in 4 different groups of companies integrating nearly 100 individual business entities.
As an investment company, NAVIGATOR Group aims to build a balanced portfolio of investments, in which R&D projects with high return potential and stable, mature businesses are also included. In the field of biotechnology, their main focus is on experimental drug development, and the development and introduction of new kinds of nutritional supplement products that possess high growth and return potential.
Chairman and CEO: Zoltán Jutasi
Drem is a research and development company providing comprehensive solutions in IT, engineering, and health, lead by physics researchers from Eötvös Loránd Science University of Budapest.
The main profile of the company is the development of complete, integrated hardware and software systems, utilizing the latest research results, thus providing complete solutions in many areas of industry. A few of their bigger customers include General Motors, GE Lighting, ELTE University, University of Szeged. Its innovative solutions are based on research results carried out jointly with Eötvös Loránd University and the University of Szeged, for which the company holds patents.
In order to increase its competitiveness, Drem Ltd. places great emphasis on innovation, which is why it spends a significant part of its profits on R&D work, which is the basis for dynamic growth. Thanks to this philosophy, it has been characterized by dynamic growth since its foundation, and since 2017 its annual revenue has exceeded HUF 2 billion.
Drem is accredited according to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System. ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized standard for quality management of businesses whose requirements are aimed at achieving customer satisfaction by preventing non-conformity throughout all stages, from design to servicing. ISO 9000 certification is sought to demonstrate capability to our customers and as a mechanism for internal improvement.
CEO: István Pomozi, PhD
HÉGELY HOLDING
Hégely Holding Ltd. was established in March 2017, with its core business being asset management. The company primarily manages the investments of Sándor Hégely, who owns 75% of the company and is also the managing director of the company.
The first major investment of Hégely Holding Kft. Was Vascular Plasma. This company is engaged in the collection of human plasma in 7 major cities of Hungary; It has established centers in Nyíregyháza, Pécs, Szeged, Miskolc, Budapest, Eger and Debrecen. In May 2019, Vascular Plasma Ltd. was sold; the network was acquired by Japan’s Takeda, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies, which operates as part of Takeda BioLife plasma centers. (The activity of the company is the collection, freezing and forwarding of blood plasma from Hungarian donors to pharmaceutical manufacturers.) As the owner of the Plasma network, Sándor Hégely was responsible for setting up the centers and defining the marketing strategy of the operating company. Hégely Holding Kft. Is currently the owner of a shipping company, a wine company and Aperus Pharma Zrt.
CEO: Sándor Hégely