Beyond Biotech - the podcast from Labiotech

This week’s podcast is sponsored by Quantoom.International MPS Awareness DayMay is the big month when it comes to awareness - there are almost 100 awareness months, weeks, and days being marked.Some of these are well known conditions. Others, however, are less prominent.International MPS (mucopolysaccharidosis) Awareness Day takes place on May 15.According to the National MPS Society in the U.S., mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) and mucolipidosis (ML) are genetic lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) caused by the body’s inability to produce specific enzymes. The missing or insufficient enzyme prevents cells from recycling waste, resulting in the storage of materials in cells throughout the body. As the disease progresses, there is widespread damage throughout the body, including the heart, bones, joints, respiratory system and central nervous system, leading to a shortened lifespan.There are 12 different forms of MPS.For example, MPS I includes Hurler Syndrome, Scheie Syndrome and Hurler-Scheie Syndrome, while MPS II covers Hunter Syndrome.Hurler Syndrome takes its name from Gertrude Hurler, the doctor who described a boy and girl with the condition in 1919. In 1962, Dr. Scheie, a consultant ophthalmologist, wrote about patients who were more mildly affected. Individuals who do not fit the severe or mild ends of the disease were said to have Hurler/Scheie. The specific disease names have been replaced with the designations attenuated (diminished severity) and severe MPS I. MPS I has a wide range of symptoms that vary in severity and can be managed and treated with enzyme replacement therapies. There is no cure for MPS I. Mucopolysaccharides are chains of sugar molecules used to build connective tissues in the body. MPS I patients are missing the enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase, which is essential in breaking down the mucopolysaccharides dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate. These materials remain stored in the body’s cells, causing progressive damage. Babies may show little sign of the disease, but as cells sustain damage, symptoms start to appear.To talk about the disease, treatments, research, and the future prognosis for those with MPS, is Dr Matthew Ellinwood, chief scientific officer at the National MPS Society.

3:32  Labiotech news5:33  Lupus interviewThis week’s podcast is sponsored by Lonza.May is Lupus Awareness Month, and to talk about lupus with us this week on the podcast are Katherine Tran, senior global market development & marketing manager of the proteomics division at SCIEX, and Allan Stensballe, associate professor, Department of Health Science and Technology and associate professor, The Faculty of Medicine, at Aalborg Universitet in Denmark.Each May, The Lupus Foundation of America gathers the lupus community to make lupus visible.Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system can’t tell the difference between healthy tissues and foreign invaders. This can result in inflammation, pain, and damage to any organ system in the body. Common symptoms include extreme fatigue, debilitating joint pain, skin rashes, and swelling. While lupus can affect anyone, people with lupus overwhelmingly consist of women and disproportionately impacts certain racial and ethnic backgrounds, including Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American and Pacific Islander.Due to the mysterious and elusive nature of this disease, many of the symptoms of lupus aren’t always visible, and can often result in years of misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment. And, because many of its symptoms and impact aren’t always seen, it can lead to those living with lupus to feel misunderstood and isolated.

2:13  Labiotech news5:17  bit.bioThis week’s podcast is sponsored by Scientist.com.The mainstream news in the past couple of months has picked up on artificial intelligence (AI). Not so much its uses, more the potential for conflict and fears over AI developing too quickly, or ‘taking over humanity.’Debates have sprung up around deepfakes, ChatGPT, and other AI technologies, and there are concerns over how new technology will impact our everyday lives. The debate covers ethics, regulations, law, education; in fact AI and the future seem intertwined. AI has been around for some time, it’s just increased sophistication has brought it more into the spotlight. There are many positives to AI, not least in the life sciences. We now have the potential to analyze far more data, and there is real potential for identification of new drugs and drug targets being found through new technology. Of course, AI has other applications in science, such as climate change and sustainability, and in food technology.  AI and machine learning were just some of the topics Labiotech discussed with Mark Kotter, CEO of U.K. biotech bit.bio.bit.bio is a synthetic biology company providing human cells for research, drug discovery and cell therapy. The company applies a patented safe harbor gene-targeting approach to inducibly express transcription factor combinations that reprogram human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into highly defined and mature human cell types. The company is currently building a clinical pipeline and marketing a range of cells and disease models for research and drug discovery under its ioCells brand. This includes nerve cells, immune cells and muscle cells. The company was spun out of the University of Cambridge in 2016, and has since raised $150 million capital from Arch Ventures, Foresite Capital, Milky Way, Charles River Laboratories, National Resilience, Tencent, and Puhua Capital among others.

2:05  Labiotech news3:32  MEET2WIN9:38 Lund Spring Symposium19:31 MerckThis week, we’re talking about the upcoming Lund Spring Symposium with Claes Wahlestedt, Leonard M. Miller professor and director of the Center for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) and associate dean for therapeutic innovation at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine;  about Meet2Win with Lucia Robert, CEO of MATWIN which stages the event; and then an interview with two people, Andrew Clutterbuck, associate director MSAT EMEA and Mark Peacock,  director, technical applications, from Merck.This week’s podcast is sponsored by Merck.Merck is a science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. The company provides products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enable the intelligence of devices. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the U.S. and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science.Lund Spring SymposiumA new event, which will include presentations by Nobel laureates, is set to showcase the best of pharmacology.The Lund Spring Symposium, which takes place from May 24 to 26 at the Palaestra et Odeum in Lund, Sweden, aims to raise the profile of pharmacology as a cross-functional discipline in the 21st Century and to provide a forum to facilitate collaborations across academia and industry.MEET2WINThe 8th annual MEET2WIN event takes place in Bordeaux, France, from May 11 to 12. The MEET2WIN convention, staged by MATWIN (Maturation & Accelerating Translation With Industry) brings together nearly 300 European players specifically involved in translational research and innovation in oncology (researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs, biotechs, pharmaceutical groups, investors, support structures, etc.) looking to expand their network of contacts and optimize their collaboration around the fight against cancer.More than 1,000 companies and organizations attend the event, with more than 5,000 meetings scheduled. 

1:44  Labiotech news3:27  MolecureThis week, to coincide with World Sarcoidosis Day, April 13, we talk about sarcoidosis with Marcin Szumowski, CEO and president of the management board of Molecure. World Sarcoidosis DayAs part of Sarcoidosis Month, which is marked each April, World Sarcoidosis Day is on April 13. But what is sarcoidosis?The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research explains that it is an inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of granulomas—or small clumps of inflammatory cells—in one or more organs of the body. When the immune system goes into overdrive and too many of these clumps form, they can interfere with an organ’s structure and function. When left unchecked, chronic inflammation can lead to fibrosis, or permanent scarring of organ tissue. Sarcoidosis affects the lungs in around 90% of cases, but it can affect almost any organ in the body. Despite advances in research, sarcoidosis is difficult to diagnose, and has limited treatment options. There is no known cure.In the U.S. alone, there are between 150,000 and 200,000 people with the condition, with around 1.2 million individuals with sarcoidosis worldwide.MolecureMolecure is a clinical stage biotechnology company that uses its medicinal chemistry and biology capabilities to discover and develop first-in-class small molecule drug candidates that directly modulate the function of underexplored protein and RNA targets to treat multiple incurable diseases.Molecure has generated a diverse pipeline of seven programs with the support of academic life science institutions globally, including Yale University, Rutgers University, the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) in Ghent, the University of Michigan and the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB).Molecure’s most advanced in-house drug candidate is OATD-01, a first-in-class inhibitor of CHIT1 for the treatment of interstitial lung diseases, such as sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is phase II ready. A phase II trial in patients with sarcoidosis is expected to start in the second half of 2023.Its second proprietary candidate is OATD-02, an oral, potent and selective first-in-class, dual arginase inhibitor (ARG1 and ARG2) for the treatment of cancer, which advanced to phase I clinical development in March 2023.Molecure’s headquarters and laboratories are located in Warsaw, Poland, with an additional laboratory facility in Łódź.

3:13  Nectin Therapeutics26:47 ImmunomeThis episode of the podcast is an in-depth look at antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). Our guests are Dr Pini Tsukerman, chief scientific officer of Nectin Therapeutics, and Matthew Robinson, chief technology officer of Immunome.This episode of the podcast is sponsored by PHTA.ImmunomeImmunome’s Discovery Engine leverages the information stored in memory B cells to guide the discovery of first-in-class antibody therapeutics directed at potentially novel targets in oncology and other areas. Immunome’s research has revealed - and continues to unveil - novel target classes, such as proteins ectopically expressed on the surface of cancer cells, which are uniquely tumor selective and potentially suitable for development as ADCs. The company talked about those applications recently at World ADC London and has also established an ADC and T Cell Redirection Advisory Board to prioritize selection of novel targets for ADC and TCR modalities. Immunome’s focus is on discovering and developing therapeutics in oncology internally and in collaboration with partners, including through a recently established strategic collaboration with AbbVie. Nectin TherapeuticsNectin Therapeutics is a clinical-trial biotechnology company developing new immuno-oncology therapies to address resistance towards existing cancer treatments. In addition to its collaboration with Merck (MSD) to trial KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) with Nectin’s novel anti-PVR antibody, NTX1088, Nectin is also working on developing three ADCs in its drug discovery pipeline. 

2:57 Labiotech.eu news4:17 PBD Biotech14:52 AAHI29:36 TB AllianceMarch 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. To mark the occasion, we have conversations with Christopher Fox, senior vice president, formulations, at the Access to Advanced Health Institute; TB Alliance CEO Mel Spigelman; and Jane Theaker, CEO of PBD Biotech.This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Samplix.World Tuberculosis DayTuberculosis is a leading infectious disease. According to the WHO, 10.6 million people became ill with the disease in 2021, and there were 1.6 million deaths from tuberculosis. The theme for World TB Day 2023 is Yes! We can end TB!It aims to inspire hope and encourage high-level leadership, increased investments, faster uptake of new WHO recommendations, adoption of innovations, accelerated action, and multisectoral collaboration to combat TB. TB AllianceTB Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding faster-acting and affordable drug regimens to fight TB. Through innovative science and with partners around the globe, the organization aims to ensure equitable access to faster, better TB cures that will advance global health and prosperity. TB Alliance operates with support from various global governments as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, and the United States Agency for International Development. Access to Advanced Health InstituteA potential new vaccine for tuberculosis has been developed by the Access to Advanced Health Institute in Seattle, a nonprofit biotech research institute.The results of a phase 1 clinical trial were published earlier this month in the journal Nature Communications.PBD BiotechPBD Biotech has developed a rapid screening blood test for identifying people with the disease as well as a subgroup with pre-clinical infection at higher risk of developing the disease.The company said this has the potential to revolutionize the management of TB. Biotech’s Actiphage blood test is sensitive and specific, and clinical studies at the Leicester Respiratory NIHR Biomedical Centre have shown it is able to diagnose patients with pulmonary TB and identify contacts with recent exposure that have very early stage infection and may be at higher risk of developing TB in the future. By enabling rapid screening of a population for TB, Actiphage offers a breakthrough in disease prevention and treatment. Further trials of Actiphage are currently running in the U.K., South Africa and Zambia.

1:27 Labiotech.eu news2:38 Allogenica12:06 Helex15:51 FreezeM19:55 MediSieveThe Hello Tomorrow Global Summit took place in Paris last week (March 8-10), and we feature interviews with four of the participants.Our guests this week are: FreezeM CEO and co-founder, Dr. Yuval Gilad; Allogenica CEO and co-founder Inna Menkova; George Frodsham, founder and CEO of MediSieve; and Poulami Chaudhuri, co-founder, and CEO of Helex Bio.Hello TomorrowThe 8th edition of the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit 2023 welcomed more than 3,000 people to the forefront of deep tech. There were hundreds of meetings, presentations and exhibitors in attendance, showcasing science in action - including many biotech and biopharma companies.The Grand Winner of the Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge 2023 was Sweetch Energy, but a biotech company came in third, Allogenica. Allogenica also won the Medical Biotech & Pharmaceuticals category.AllogenicaCreated in January 2022, Allogenica is a French-headquartered startup developing universal cell therapies to treat certain forms of blood cancer (leukemia, lymphoma). It recently completed its first fundraising of €500,000 ($530,000) in order to continue its development towards an approach to industrializing the process. The startup, led by Inna Menkova, and assisted by PULSALYS, aims to offer a ready-to-use, less expensive and safer treatment, in order to treat more patients with blood cancers.HelexHelex, based in India, is a biotech with a platform built on proprietary bioinformatics and AI powered systems to identify unique sequences on the gene. The pre-clinical stage biotech company unlocks epigenetics and 3D genome structures through data and machine learning to design high precision gene-editing systems.The company’s platform enables the design of appropriate gene editing apparatus. It prevents editing in unwanted tissues in cases of vector biodistribution through a Double Lock Safety system - tissue-specific vector modifications (first lock) combined with Hele-GUIDE tissue specific guide RNA (second lock) for greater safety. MediSieveMediSieve is a U.K.-based start-up that has developed magnetic blood filtration, a platform therapy that enables the physical removal of specific substances from the bloodstream of patients. It can be used as a direct treatment, to increase the safety and efficacy of other therapies, or to enable personalized medicine. The company is a spin-off from University College London.FreezeMFreezeM is an Israel-based company founded in 2018 that provides insect breeding and post-breeding solutions. FreezeM has developed cutting-edge biotechnology centered on black soldier fly (BSF) breeding, helping to increase alternative protein production capacity for livestock, while at the same time salvaging scarce global farmland, decreasing ocean exhaustion, and repurposing organic waste. The company is reducing costs by an estimated 30% and increasing protein production capacity and efficiency by 25%. Most recently, FreezeM has been selected to join the Google Startups for Sustainable Development Program, has been ranked by Dealflow as a company to watch in the industry and raised €6.3 million in European Innovation Council (EIC) funding.

 1:19 Labiotech.eu news2:32 Biomedical Research & Bio-Products12:15 Model N21:39 Institute of Clinical MedicineThis week our guests are Marit Inngjerdingen from the Institute of Clinical Medicine in Norway; Kyle Forcier, senior director of life sciences product marketing at Model N; and Dr. Andreas Roetzer, head of R&D for vaccines at Biomedical Research & Bio-Products.The next breakthrough in cancer treatment?In our body, we have an innate immune system and an immune system that is developed throughout life. Part of the innate immune system consists of so-called NK (natural killer) cells. This is a type of immune cell that specializes in killing cancer cells. These cells may be of great importance for cancer treatment in the future. NK cells kill cancer cells with the help of small “killer torpedoes,” or vesicles, that the NK cells secrete. Vesicles are small bubbles with a fatty wall of lipids and a space filled with toxic proteins. Researchers at the Institute of Clinical Medicine in Norway have recently discovered new things about these killer vesicles.“We have discovered that we can separate the killer torpedoes from other types of vesicles so that they form a kind of arsenal of weapons. Our research also shows that this type of vesicle is probably stored in a separate room inside the NK cell,” Miriam Aarsund Larsen said.Model N publishes revenue reportModel N, Inc. recently announced the results of its fifth annual State of Revenue Report. The report captures detailed data intended to help life sciences and high-tech industry executives grappling with how to grow company revenue and market share. Most executives named inflation as a significant headwind, with 84% calling it the single biggest impact on innovation.“Our findings show three main themes: Innovation collides with current market realities, innovation directly impacts revenue management, and the use of technology for revenue management is expanding,” said Suresh Kannan, chief product officer, Model N. “As organizations continue to navigate the current economic climate, the quality and reliability of technology solutions are more important than ever. These insights help us understand how to empower our customers to create and bring life-changing products to market.”Phase 2 study of breakthrough vaccine against toxic shock syndrome successfully completedThe first vaccine to potentially prevent Staphylococcal-induced toxic shock syndrome (TSS) has successfully completed a phase 2 study. TSS is a life-threatening condition caused by toxins that can lead to multiple organ failure and death.Nosocomial pathogen Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are resistant to widely used antibiotics. Infections with MRSA are harder to treat and therapies are more expensive as the length of hospital stays is significantly prolonged. If the treatment does not lead to rapid clearance of the bacterial pathogen, dangerous symptoms such as septic or toxic shock can occur – a potentially life-threatening condition.Researchers at Biomedical Research & Bio-Products AG, under the direction of Martha Eibl, in cooperation with MedUni Vienna’s Department of Clinical Pharmacology, conducted the study. The promising results showed the TSST-1 vaccine is safe and effective, with immunization lasting for at least two years. 

1:41 Labiotech.eu news3:41 Cellular Origins20:17 Bio-Europe SpringTwo of the interviews on the podcast today are related to Bio-Europe Spring. There are conversations with Rosie Bernard, senior director, production and content strategy for EBD Group EU, with an overview of the event, and also Jordan Stillman, project manager, partnering services at EBD Group.  We also have a chat with Cellular Origins' CEO Edwin Stone. Cellular OriginsCellular Origins is a TTP spin-out, created to enable scalable, cost-effective and efficient manufacture of cell and gene therapies. Cellular Origins’ proprietary technology addresses the current barriers associated with the manufacture of advanced therapies that are in late-stage development, enabling commercial manufacturing without process change. By providing a solution for automated sterile fluidic interconnection that has the flexibility to adapt and link current and future bioprocess equipment, Cellular Origins hopes to enable full automation of current cell therapy manufacturing and future innovation of new processes.Bio-Europe SpringBio-Europe Spring takes place March 20-22 in Basel, Switzerland. There is a virtual component for those unable to make the event, or who still have leftover meetings to schedule, and the online portion takes place from March 28 to 30.The event, at the Messe Basel, is an opportunity to engage in face-to-face meetings with representatives of hundreds of companies from around the world. The partneringONE tool allows meetings to be set up, and to find information on companies and attendees.As well as networking, there are exhibitors, receptions, and a variety of presentations. There is also a startup spotlight section. This year, the keynote presentations are being given by Roche and Novartis.Currently, there are more than 3,200 attendees expected to be in Basel and 18,000 meetings are being requested weekly. More than 1,600 companies will be represented, from more than 50 countries.Bio-Europe Spring sees companies from a variety of sectors, including products, services, and technologies.