NextGen Scientific | A cancer discovery born from ancient medicine
Preview build. Red markers show items that are not wired up yet.

Accredited investors can invest today · Everyone can join the Reg A+ waitlist

A Cancer Discovery Born From Ancient Medicine.Built by an Entrepreneur Who Already Created a $240M Company.5

NextGen Scientific is a clinical-stage cancer company1,2 with patented science3,4, completed human trials, and an operating consumer health business7.

Accredited investors can invest today. Everyone can reserve a place for the potential Regulation A+ round, opening to all investors at a $1,020 minimum. Reserving takes no payment and creates no obligation.

Arum palaestinum, the Black Calla Lily, held in a hand

The investment case

They Say the First Hurdle Is the Hardest.27 We've Cleared It.

Experienced Founder

  • Gene Zaid previously built Jacam
  • Company assets acquired for approximately $240M
  • Founder invested his own capital into NextGen
  • Has been investigating these compounds for nearly two decades

Clinical-Stage Oncology Program

  • FDA-cleared human studies
  • Completed Phase 1 trial
  • Published clinical data in Annals of Oncology
  • Active trials in additional cancer indications

Commercial Business Today

  • ~$1.7M annual revenue
  • Consumer products sold under the Afaya brand
  • Existing customer base and distribution channels

Protected Technology Platform

  • Two granted U.S. patents
  • Controlled supply: the company grows its own botanicals in its Kansas greenhouses, from raw plant to finished product.12
  • FDA New Dietary Ingredient clearances the company reports holding for both plants, a status generic supplements lack.8

As featured in

  • Annals of Oncology
  • USA Today
  • BioSpace
  • KMUW Wichita 89.1, NPR
  • The Hutchinson News
  • KWCH 12
  • Startup Grind
  • Healthcare Business Today
  • MediTech Today
  • PharmaTech News
  • Walmart

Origin

It Started With Solomon's Lily

Arum palaestinum grows wild in the hills around Jerusalem, where families have brewed its dried root into a tea for close to two thousand years, a use of arum first recorded by Dioscorides in the first century AD.33 Early medical writers recorded its use against many illnesses, cancer among them, and the practice survives today.

Gene Zaid, a PhD medicinal chemist who grew up in the region, rediscovered the plant on a trip home around 2005 and asked what was actually in it. Back in Kansas, his team isolated the active molecules, studied how they work together, and shaped them into clinic-ready compounds.

NextGen has since secured intellectual property, cleared human safety testing, moved into further trials, and built a revenue-generating consumer business. The company is now nearing the milestones that set its next phase of value.

Arum palaestinum, Solomon's Lily, growing wild among grass
Arum palaestinum growing wild. The dark spathe is the flower the tea is brewed from.

Clinical progress

From Discovery to the Next Value-Creating Milestones

  1. 2005–2007

    Discovery

    Solomon's Lily research begins

  2. 2007–2012

    Patents

    Two U.S. patents granted

  3. 2014

    FDA Clearance

    IND approval for human studies

  4. 2017–2019

    Phase 1 Complete

    First-in-human trial completed

  5. 2021

    Published

    Clinical data published in Annals of Oncology

  6. 2022–present

    Prostate Trial

    Active trial in prostate cancer

  7. Next

    Phase 2 and Beyond

    Phase 2 dermatology study enrolling Q4 2026. Advancing toward next clinical milestones

Structure

How the Companies Fit Together

NextGen Scientific, LLC

Delaware Issuer

Ionics Life Sciences Limited

Ireland Holding Company (~9.3% Equity)

  • Genzada Pharmaceuticals

    100% Owned

    Oncology / Biotech

  • Hyatt Life Sciences Inc.

    100% Owned

    Nutraceuticals / Supplements

  • Ankh Life Sciences Limited

    88.99% Owned

    Patent Holder

Corporate structure as supplied by the company.

Highlights

A New Way to Target Cancer's Master Switches

A Potential New Class of Cancer Drug: The Super-Enhancer Modulator

NextGen's lead candidate, GZ17-6.02, is being developed as a super-enhancer modulator:26 instead of blocking a single target, it regulates the genetic programs that drive cancer. Therapies that act on gene regulation are among oncology's fastest-growing categories, with the global epigenetics market projected to reach about $72 billion by 2034, up from roughly $20 billion in 2025.25

Zaid's own comparison: unscrewing one light bulb at a time, versus reaching the breaker box. GZ17-6.02 is investigational and this illustrates the intended mechanism, not a demonstrated clinical result.

The science

The Cancer Compound

The lead drug, GZ17-6.02, is an oral capsule for cancer treatment. What sets it apart is how it works.

Most cancer therapies block one target in one cancer type. That works until the tumor mutates. Then the drug stops working.

GZ17-6.02 is built to work at a higher level. Cancer cells lean on stretches of DNA called super-enhancers: regulatory hubs that switch on the genes a tumor needs to grow and survive. One super-enhancer can drive many of those genes at once, which is part of why cancer is so difficult to shut down one target at a time.26 NextGen classifies GZ17-6.02 as a super-enhancer modulator, a compound designed to disrupt those hubs rather than chase one gene downstream.

Zaid puts it in plainer terms: most cancer drugs unscrew one light bulb at a time, while this one aims for the breaker box, the switch that controls many lights at once.

That could matter in two ways. One compound can act against cancers that look and act nothing alike, which is what the company has seen across lung, breast, and prostate models, among others. And a tumor has a harder time escaping, because it cannot route around the drug by mutating a single target. If that holds up in larger trials, it points to a mechanism that travels across many cancer types rather than one.

Beyond NextGen's own research, academic teams at Virginia Commonwealth University, the institution also running the prostate-cancer trial, have studied GZ17-6.02 and published their results in peer-reviewed journals, including Oncotarget and the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. In laboratory models of kidney cancer, breast cancer, and uveal melanoma (a cancer of the eye), the compound killed cancer cells and often boosted the effect of existing drugs.91011

One compound

GZ17-6.02

Models the company reports

  • Lung
  • Breast
  • Prostate

Laboratory studies published in peer-reviewed journals

  • Kidney
  • Breast
  • Uveal melanoma (eye)
The tumour types named above. All are laboratory and preclinical models, not results in patients.

Super-enhancer modulation is an emerging area of cancer research, and GZ17-6.02 is investigational. Its classification reflects how the company is developing the drug, not an approved category.

Dermatology

Dermatology Applications

The same plant chemistry produced a second drug. Also in Phase 1b trials.2 GZ21T is a topical cream in development for actinic keratosis, a precancerous skin condition caused by sun damage, as well as eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions. If actinic keratosis lesions are left untreated, it can progress to squamous cell skin cancer, so clearing them is a form of prevention.29

It is a widespread problem. More than 40 million Americans develop actinic keratosis each year,30 and the U.S. market for treating it is projected to reach about $2.9 billion by 2030.28

Today's options work but are hard on patients. Dermatologists freeze or scrape the lesions off, or prescribe creams that leave the skin red and sore for weeks, which leads many people to quit treatment early.36 GZ21T is being developed to clear the same lesions with a gentler effect.

The company's COO, Cameron West, is a practicing dermatologist and dermatopathologist and a published co-author on topical-compound research, so a physician who treats this condition helps guide the program.

GZ21T is investigational and not approved by the FDA. Like any drug in development, it may not succeed in trials.

The clinical evidence

Phase 1 Complete, Peer-Reviewed, and Public1,9,10,11

Most drug candidates never make it to a single patient. Somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of research programs fail before human testing even begins. Of the few that reach the clinic, about 95 percent still fail.6 And the ones that survive take more than a decade to reach approval.

GZ17-6.02 has already cleared the stages that end most programs. It earned FDA clearance to test in humans, completed Phase 1, and produced data a peer-reviewed journal chose to publish. Each of those milestones removes a category of risk that sinks earlier-stage candidates.

Published Phase 1 Data

GZ17-6.02 successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced cancers who had exhausted standard treatments. The study, published in Annals of Oncology in 2021, demonstrated a favorable safety profile with no Grade 4 or 5 treatment-related adverse events. While Phase 1 trials are designed to evaluate safety rather than efficacy, one patient experienced measurable tumor shrinkage and several others achieved stable disease—results that supported advancing the drug into further clinical development.

A Study Enrolling Now

A follow-on trial in castration-resistant prostate cancer is open at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Its primary endpoint is radiographic progression-free survival at six months or longer.2

A Topical Program

A related compound, the cream GZ21T, is in development for actinic keratosis, a precancerous skin condition.8 (company-reported)

A note on how to read this: Phase 1 findings measure safety and early signals, not proven efficacy. Later trials can, and often do, change the picture. The page presents the data as published and labels company-reported figures as such.

Consumer health

A Sizable and Growing Consumer-Health Market

The same plant supports a second business. Sold under the Afaya brand through the company's store and Walmart.com, the supplement line targets immune support, glucose regulation, inflammation, and vitality. It brings in about $1.7 million a year with minimal marketing.78

The category is large. Global dietary supplements are projected to reach about $393.56 billion by 2033, growing roughly 8 percent a year.15 Inflammation and metabolic health reach far more people than cancer: in the United States, 40.1 million people have diabetes and another 115.2 million adults have prediabetes, both tied to chronic inflammation.16 Users of the Afaya Plus formula reported changes in their Type 2 diabetes management, which prompted a glucose-focused product.8

Two granted U.S. patents cover the turmeric, Peganum harmala, and Arum palaestinum blend, held by affiliate Ankh Life Sciences.34 It holds the only FDA New Dietary Ingredient clearances for both plants, and it grows its own supply in six Kansas greenhouses.812 Patents, clearance, and controlled cultivation give the line a footing generic products cannot match.

  1. 01

    Patents

    Two granted U.S. patents over the turmeric, Peganum harmala and Arum palaestinum blend, held by affiliate Ankh Life Sciences.3,4

  2. 02

    Clearance

    Holds the only FDA New Dietary Ingredient clearances for both plants.8

  3. 03

    Controlled cultivation

    Its own supply grown in six Kansas greenhouses, from raw plant to finished product.12

Meet the founder

Gene Zaid

Gene Zaid spent his career solving hard chemistry problems for industry before turning to a harder one: cancer. He founded Jacam, a specialty chemical company, and built it into a business whose assets sold to Canadian Energy Services for roughly $240 million in 2013.

He could have retired. Instead he chased a question that had followed him for years. Could modern science unlock a plant his region had used in traditional medicine for generations? That plant was Solomon's Lily (Arum palaestinum). Gene's team isolated its active compounds, mapped how they work, and started building a new class of plant-derived cancer therapies.

Now he's pouring the same discipline into NextGen Scientific. He has invested his own capital to advance the oncology pipeline, build the intellectual property, fund clinical development, and stand up a commercial health business around the same discoveries. The goal is direct: turn an old botanical remedy into a validated platform that treats real needs in cancer and human health.

Dr. Gene Zaid, Founder and CEO of NextGen Scientific
Dr. Gene Zaid, Founder and CEO

The team

Meet the Team

Dr. Gene Zaid
Dr. Gene Zaid
Founder and CEO

A medicinal chemist who built a chemistry company, Jacam, and sold its assets to Canadian Energy Services for approximately $240 million in 2013.5 He directed the proceeds into cancer research.

Jason West, JD, MBA
Jason West, JD, MBA
EVP

President and general counsel at Jacam through its growth years and its sale.

Stefan Proniuk, PhD, MBA
Stefan Proniuk, PhD, MBA
Chief Science Officer

Prior roles at Neuraptive, Arno Therapeutics, Neurocrine Biosciences, and Cima Labs.

Cameron West, MD, MBA
Cameron West, MD, MBA
COO

A practicing dermatologist and dermatopathologist, and a published co-author on the topical-compound research.

Dr. Daniel Von Hoff
Advisor

Dr. Daniel Von Hoff

World-renowned oncologist, cancer researcher, and clinical trial pioneer advancing innovative cancer therapies.32

Working with

Genzada Pharmaceuticals Hyatt Life Sciences

Escrow company Enterprise Bank & Trust, Texture Capital, Digital Niche Agency, Medical Funding Pros, L3 Payment rails, Kore investment platform, Grant Thornton, Blank Rome, Baseline Creative.

Value creation

How Value Is Created From Here

A highly respected independent firm that specializes in valuing early-stage biotechnology companies carried out a detailed review of Ionics Life Sciences Limited, the operating parent that NextGen invests in, and set out its findings in a formal valuation report.34 After examining the company's drug pipeline and its established supplement business, the firm arrived at a pre-money valuation of approximately $312 million.8

In biotechnology, value is typically created as scientific and regulatory risk is reduced. Each successful development milestone—from preclinical validation to human clinical data—can increase the value of a drug candidate because there is greater evidence it can ultimately reach patients. NextGen has already advanced its lead programs through several of the stages where many drug candidates fail.2 The next major value inflection is clinical data from its prostate cancer study, followed by potential expansion into additional indications, partnership discussions, and further clinical development.

  1. Preclinical validation

    Laboratory work supporting the compound.

  2. Human clinical data

    Trials in people generate evidence.

  3. Risk reduced

    Greater evidence it can reach patients.

  4. Value can increase

    Value typically rises as risk falls.

  5. Strategic options

    Licensing, partnership, acquisition, or continued growth.

NextGen Scientific

Each milestone runs the sequence again

This is also how many successful biotechnology companies have generated shareholder value. Pharmaceutical companies frequently acquire or license promising drug candidates after encouraging clinical results rather than waiting for full commercialization. Examples include:

Seagen

Acquired by Pfizer for approximately $43 billion in 2023, reflecting the value of its oncology portfolio.22

Trillium Therapeutics

Acquired by Pfizer for approximately $2.3 billion after advancing its cancer programs.23

Immunomedics

Acquired by Gilead Sciences for approximately $21 billion following promising oncology data.24

These examples illustrate how value has been realized across the biotechnology industry. They are not intended to predict or imply that NextGen Scientific will achieve similar outcomes.

NextGen does not hold these assets directly. It holds a stake in Ionics, and Ionics is where the value sits. Any of these outcomes would flow first to Ionics, then to NextGen through its stake, and finally to you as a NextGen unit holder. From there, investors could potentially realize value through one of three paths:

  • Acquisition.A pharmaceutical company acquires a drug program or the entire company.
  • Licensing or partnership.A strategic partner provides upfront payments, development milestones, and royalties while NextGen retains an ongoing economic interest.
  • Continued independent growth.The company continues expanding its pipeline while using supplement revenue to help fund operations rather than pursuing an immediate exit.13

See risk disclaimers.

The acquisition model

Big Pharma Acquisitions: We Fit the Profile

Large pharmaceutical companies do not invent most of their drugs in-house.31 Emerging biotech firms do: they originated about 67 percent of the industry's new drugs in 2022.17 The bigger players let smaller ones carry the early, higher-risk science, then move in through an outright purchase or a licensing deal once a compound has cleared enough trials.31

That is the model NextGen is built to fit. This is one of several possible outcomes, not a guarantee, and many promising programs never reach it. Each trial a compound clears makes it more valuable.

Capital at work

Use of Proceeds

Nearly all of the roughly $9.9 million in net proceeds will flow into Ionics, the operating parent, and will be used to help fund the two drug programs, with about 49% going to the GZ21T topical compound, 42% to the oral cancer capsule GZ17-6.02, and the small remainder to manufacturing and supplement marketing.

Proceeds 100%
  • ~49% 21T, the topical compound$3.0M preclinical, $1.85M for its lead indication
  • ~42% GZ17-6.02, the oral cancer capsule$2.0M breast, $1.15M prostate, $1.0M preclinical
  • ~8% Drug manufacturing
  • ~1% Supplement marketing (Hyatt)$100,000

Why invest now

An Entry Point Ahead of the Next Milestone

NextGen has already cleared the early, high-attrition stages of drug development, from first-in-human clearance through a published Phase 1.1 and its next clinical readout in prostate cancer is now in sight. In biotech, a program tends to gain value as each trial strips out a layer of risk. Today's stage lets you invest before the prostate cancer readout rather than after it. It also carries the substantial risk that comes with young clinical programs, including the possibility of losing your entire investment.

The structure is unusual for the sector. One botanical platform supports two businesses at once: Genzada, a clinical-stage cancer pipeline, and Hyatt Life Sciences, a supplement business that already earns revenue. Pairing drug development of Genzada Pharmaceuticals with a revenue-generating business like Hyatt Life Sciences that sells today softens the single-outcome profile most biotech investments carry.

How to invest

Accredited Investors Can Invest Today.

A Regulation D 506(c) round is open now to verified accredited investors, at a minimum of about $25,000. Review the offering materials and complete your investment without waiting for qualification.

Invest Today (Accredited Investors)

Everyone Can Reserve a Place for the Regulation A+ Round.

Reg A+ is expected to open to all investors, accredited or not, at a minimum of $1,020. Reserving now takes no payment and creates no obligation. When the SEC qualifies the offering, you receive the full offering circular and the ability to complete your investment.

Are you an accredited investor?

Reserving takes no payment and creates no obligation.

  • Security: Direct equity (LLC units) in the company
  • Broker-dealer: Texture Capital, Inc., a FINRA member and SEC-registered broker-dealer (CRD #300853)14

FAQ

Questions Investors Ask

Who can invest?

Accredited investors only. This offering relies on Rule 506(c) of Regulation D, which means your accredited status has to be verified before you can subscribe. You qualify if you earn over $200,000 a year ($300,000 with a spouse), hold a net worth above $1M excluding your home, or hold certain securities licenses.

A separate Regulation A+ round is planned for all investors, accredited or not, at a lower minimum. That round is not yet qualified by the SEC, so no money can be accepted for it yet. Non-accredited investors can reserve a place now at no cost and with no obligation, and we will notify you when it opens and confirm its final terms.

What is the minimum?

The PPM sets the minimum at 6,150 units, or $25,092, and the Company may accept less at its discretion.

What exactly am I buying?

Units in NextGen Scientific, LLC. NextGen invests those proceeds into Ionics Life Sciences Limited, the parent company that owns both operating businesses: Genzada, the drug program, and Hyatt Life Sciences, the Afaya supplement brand. Your units give you an indirect stake in the whole platform, drugs and consumer health together. The Private Placement Memorandum is the controlling document and describes the structure in full. Read it, including the risk factors, before you invest.

How do I invest?

Start with "Invest Now," verify your accredited status, review the offering documents, and complete your subscription through Texture Capital. Prefer to talk first? Book a call and the team will walk you through it.

Can I sell my units later?

Not easily. These units are restricted and illiquid, with no public market. You should expect to hold for an indefinite period and treat this as a long-term, high-risk position.

When does the offering close?

December 31, 2026, unless the maximum is reached first or the Company extends it. The raise is conducted on a best-efforts basis with no minimum, so the Company keeps what it raises.

What are the risks?

High. This is a speculative investment in early-stage science, and you could lose your entire contribution. Clinical programs can fail, timelines can slip, and the units may never become liquid. Review the risk factors in the PPM and speak with your own advisors.

What did the Phase 1 trial show?

GZ17-6.02 completed a Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced solid tumors and lymphoma who had failed prior treatments. Results, published in Annals of Oncology in 2021, showed biological activity across eight tumor types with no Grade 4 or 5 adverse events, and a reported 23.5% clinical benefit rate. The compound has since moved into an investigator-initiated Phase 1B trial at Virginia Commonwealth University in advanced prostate cancer. GZ17-6.02 is investigational, is not FDA-approved, and early results do not guarantee later outcomes.

How does the investment process work?

Once you complete your investment, the funds go to an escrow account held by an independent agent until NextGen accepts the subscription. After acceptance and the required regulatory steps, the money moves to NextGen, which invests it into Ionics Life Sciences Limited, and your units are issued.

How can I fund my investment?

ACH, wire transfer, debit card, credit card, or check, all through the secure online platform. Investments are accepted from accredited investors only.

Can I invest through an IRA or 401(k)?

Yes. NextGen Scientific accepts investments from self-directed IRAs (SDIRAs) and certain self-directed 401(k) plans. The investment is made by your retirement account, not by you personally, with shares held by your custodian on your behalf.

Investing through a retirement account offers several practical advantages:

  • Tax treatment that matches the investment timeline. Private placements like this one are typically held for several years before any liquidity event. Holding shares inside a Traditional IRA or 401(k) lets returns compound on a tax-deferred basis until you take distributions in retirement. A Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) provides tax-free growth on qualified withdrawals.
  • Diversification beyond public markets. Most retirement accounts are concentrated in publicly traded stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. A private placement gives your retirement portfolio exposure to early-stage healthcare development that does not move in lockstep with public market cycles.
  • A long-term horizon that aligns with private investing. Retirement accounts are designed to be held for years or decades. A pre-IPO private placement is also illiquid for an extended period. The two timelines fit together naturally.

To invest through a retirement account, you will need a self-directed IRA custodian (such as Equity Trust, Alto, or STRATA Trust Company). Texture Capital, our broker-dealer, works with custodians familiar with this process and can help guide you through the steps. Speak with your tax advisor about whether this approach fits your retirement plan and overall financial circumstances.

Has the drug been approved?

No. GZ17-6.02 is an investigational compound and has not been approved by the FDA.

Has it been tested in humans?

Yes. A Phase 1 study was completed and published.

What happens if clinical trials succeed?

Potential paths include partnerships, licensing, acquisition, or continued development.

Can anyone invest?

The Reg A+ offering is intended for all investors after SEC qualification. Accredited investors may participate in the current Reg D offering.