🧬 Multi-Edit CAR T-Cells: The Crazy Science That Might Cure Brain Cancer | Aaron Edwards (Part 4/4)
The Biotech Startups Podcast
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Navigating Tumor Complexity in CAR T-Cell Therapy
This chapter explores the journey from Harvard Business School to co-founding Kirijen, highlighting the evolution of CAR T-cell therapy and its applications. It discusses innovative strategies to enhance T-cell functionality against the complexities of tumor microenvironments, particularly in challenging cases like brain cancer.
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🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.
As a TBSP listener, you can get exclusive perks through Excedr’s partner network—special savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners.
“This isn't just one gene edit—this is multiple edits, working in concert. It’s a fundamentally different chassis.”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Aaron Edwards, co-founder of KiraGen Bio, shares how a Harvard Business School class project ignited the launch of a pioneering biotech taking on solid tumors with a bold, unconventional CAR T-cell therapy.
He unpacks the real-world challenges of building KiraGen—navigating fundraising, assembling a strong team, and leveraging mentorship, partnerships, and machine learning—while highlighting how focus, discipline, and authentic leadership can set a startup apart, even when it means breaking from industry norms.
Key topics covered:
- The Origin of KiraGen: Born from an HBS pitch deck, KiraGen set out to tackle immune suppression in solid tumors.
- Contrarian CAR T-Cell Design: Bold multi-edit strategy to outsmart tumor microenvironments and hit glioblastoma.
- Focus and Discipline: Lean operations, every dollar counts, eyes on clinical milestones.
- Creative Fundraising and Partnerships: Unconventional funding, academic alliances, and patient-driven capital.
- Authenticity and Team Building: Realness, inclusivity, and mentorship at the core—paying it forward in biotech.
If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening.
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Aaron Edwards, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aedwards02/
Website: https://www.kiragenbio.com/
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
Base Editing & CRISPR 2.0: https://beamtx.com/science/base-editing/
CAR T-Cell Therapy: https://investor.bluebirdbio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/bluebird-bio-announces-amended-bcma-car-t-collaboration
Activator Program: https://nucleate.org/activator/
Biotech Studio Program: https://www.2048.vc/blog/bio-studio
The Founder Mindset: https://www.hbs.edu/coursecatalog/1676.html
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Bluebird Bio: https://www.bluebirdbio.com/
Beam Therapeutics: https://www.beamtx.com/
2048 Ventures: https://www.2048.vc/
Nucleate: https://nucleate.xyz/
Thermo Fisher Scientific: https://www.thermofisher.com/
George Church: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-church-2b86301/
David R. Liu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-r-liu-465394185/
Reza Satchu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reza-satchu/
Terry-Ann Burrell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-ann-burrell-10477424/
Jen Nwankwo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenasherphd/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:39 The Origin Story of KiraGen
07:15 From Bluebird to Beam: Learning Cell Therapy
15:51 Finding Product-Market Fit in Glioblastoma
20:59 The Importance of Focus and Discipline
24:20 Early Company Building and Lab Setup
28:16 Building the Team and Hiring Strategy
38:27 Creative Fundraising and Partnership Strategies
45:06 Two-Year Vision: IND Filing and Clinical Data
51:22 Shoutouts to Mentors and Supporters
55:50 Advice to 21-Year-Old Self: Authenticity as a Superpower
01:00:09 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.
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