Avro Life Science
SeedRaised Since FeaturedTurning skin into medicine
Clinical-stage biotech developing topical drug delivery platforms that passively deliver novel therapies through the skin.
About
Avro Life Science is a clinical-stage biotech redefining the skin's potential as a target for novel first-in-class therapies. Founded in 2016 by University of Waterloo students Shakir Lakhani and Keean Sarani, the company developed proprietary platforms — TopiqIL and TransdermIL — that use ionic liquids to enable the passive transdermal delivery of small molecules, peptides, and gene therapies. What started as medicated stickers for delivering antihistamines to children has evolved into a pipeline targeting psoriasis (AVR-235), atopic dermatitis (AVR-335), and Parkinson's disease (AVR-101). A Y Combinator W18 graduate and Thiel Fellowship recipient, Avro operates from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario with a team of approximately 18 people and has generated $1.2M in revenue.
DailyDropout Take
Avro Life Science caught our attention as a bold biotech bet from two University of Waterloo students who started researching drug delivery as teenagers. Their transdermal platform turns the skin into a drug delivery target for everything from antihistamines to gene therapies — validated by Y Combinator, the Thiel Fellowship, and Bayer's accelerator before most biotech founders have finished their PhDs.
Discovery signal: Thiel Fellowship + YC W18 pedigree from teenage founders, novel ionic liquid drug delivery platform, clinical-stage pipeline targeting large dermatology markets
What Makes Them Unique
Avro's proprietary ionic liquid platforms (TopiqIL and TransdermIL) enable the passive delivery of novel drug classes — including RNA and gene therapies — through the skin without needles, patches, or microneedles, unlocking the skin as a target organ for therapies previously limited to injection.
$1.2M
Revenue
3 (AVR-235, AVR-335, AVR-101)
Pipeline Programs
~18
Team Size
Target Markets
Founders
Shakir Lakhani
Co-Founder & CTO
Started researching biomaterials at age 15, commuting nearly two hours from Toronto to work in a tissue engineering lab. University of Waterloo alumnus. Thiel Fellow.
Keean Sarani
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-founded Avro Life Science at University of Waterloo. Leads the company's commercial and operational strategy.
Funding History
Lead: Y Combinator
Investors
Firms
Individual Investors
Angel Investor