The development of combination vaccines could represent a significant advancement in the fight against infectious diseases. With the potential to streamline the vaccination process and provide broader protection, these vaccines could greatly improve public health preparedness.Moderna is harnessing the power of its mRNA platform to develop vaccines that target multiple respiratory viruses at once, including COVID-19, RSV, and influenza. The breakthrough technology enables the immune system to combat multiple pathogens simultaneously, revolutionizing immunization efforts and enhancing public health preparedness.To look at combination vaccines, their usefulness and potential for the future, we had an in-depth conversation with Cesar Sanz Rodriguez, vice president, Europe & Switzerland, medical affairs, at Moderna.00:45-02:53: What is combination vaccine technology?02:53-05:33: What are the advantages of targeting multiple respiratory diseases simultaneously?05:33-06:02: Making vaccinations more friendly06:02-07:57: How does the immune system handle tackling many pathogens at the same time?07:57-10:23: Is there an effect of efficacy with combination vaccines?10:23-12:50: How do you manage different times between boosters?12:50-13:57: Are many companies working on combination vaccines?13:57-17:45: How easy is it to add vaccines, for example to tackle avian flu, into combination vaccines?17:45-19:06: Is there a limit to the number of vaccines in a combination vaccine? 19:06-20:46: How easily can vaccines be updated to address variants?20:46-22:30: What is the future of combination vaccines?22:30-23:56: What is in Moderna’s pipeline related to vaccines?Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Pentixapharm is a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical development company targeting a range of diseases. While it is currently owned by the Eckert & Ziegler Group, it will soon be spun off as a separate company. Pentixapharm’s clinical pipeline includes PENTIXATHER, am Yttrium-90 based therapeutic against CNS lymphoma, and PENTIXAFOR, a Gallium-68 based companion diagnostic. Additionally, PENTIXAFOR is being developed as a diagnostic tool for primary aldosteronism (PA), a significant cause of hypertension.Recently, the company announced the acquisition of the target discovery business of Glycotope.The deal includes a portfolio of preclinical antibodies against multiple oncology targets that can be developed into radiopharmaceuticals. It also includes Glycotope’s laboratories, cell banks, tumor target data base, and the equipment needed to exploit the discovery platform, along with a range of patents, licenses, and other tangible assets. This week, we had a conversation with Andreas Eckert, founder and chairman of the supervisory board at Pentixapharm.00:57-03:07: About the Pentixapharm spinout03:07-05:19: What is Pentixapharm’s pipeline?05:19-06:01: What is the CXCR4 ligand approach?06:01-08:51: What are the development plans for tackling primary aldosteronism? 08:51-10:28: Is the process fast, and what about cost?10:28-11:47: The bigger economic picture11:47-14:12: About Glycotope14:12-14:44: How synergistic are Pentixapharm and Glycotope?14:44-15:32: Is the entire company being acquired?15:32-16:27: Will outsourcing still be important to the company?16:27-17:55: What does the future hold for Pentixapharm?Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Discover the current trends in biotech funding and how location impacts a company's ability to raise funds. Explore the differences in investment patterns between Europe, the US, and Asia. Learn about emerging biotech hubs in places like Spain and Italy, and discuss strategies for European firms to attract international capital. The dialogue highlights the importance of legislative support and the evolving landscape of biotech, stressing the need for tailored investments to drive sustainable growth and innovation.

While our podcast takes a brief break, Labiotech invites you to enjoy some of our favorite episodes. We will return with a brand-new episode on August 16, 2024! Have an awesome summer!Epic Bio is an epigenetic editing company, leveraging the power of CRISPR without cutting DNA.The company’s proprietary Gene Expression Modulation System (GEMS) includes the smallest Cas protein known to work in human cells, enabling in vivo or ex vivo delivery via a single viral vector. This week, we discuss epigenetic editing, why it’s reversible, and how it can treat FSHD and other conditions, with Epic Bio’s founder, Dr Stanley Qi, one of the original inventors of CRISPR.01:15-02:51: Dr Xi’s background02:51-05:11: The beginning of Epic Bio05:12-09:23: What is epigenetic editing?09:23-10:47: What is the Gene Expression Modulation System?10:47-12:47: How is the editing reversible?12:47-18:01: How will epigenetic editing advance treatments?18:01-21:24: Tackling multiple conditions21:24-22:46: How will your platform tackle FSHD?22:46-24:18: FSHD clinical trial24:18-25:51: How will you address costs?25:51-27:18: Are other companies working on epigenetics?27:18-29:27: What else is in the pipeline?29:27-31:58: What are the next steps?Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

While our podcast takes a brief break, Labiotech invites you to enjoy some of our favorite episodes. We will return with a brand-new episode on August 16, 2024! Have an awesome summer!Artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly in the news constantly; however, it’s been used in drug discovery for some time.A new collaboration between artificial intelligence drug discovery company Insilico Medicine and University of Toronto biochemist and molecular geneticist Igor Stagljar will test AI-designed molecules against "undruggable" cancer targets. The research will test 15 to 20 undruggable targets - but are they undruggable? And how does AI work in the drug discovery process?This week, we have a conversation with Kyle Tretina, Alliance Manager of AI Platforms at Insilico Medicine, on a wide range of subjects including drug discovery, undruggable targets, the collaboration with the University of Toronto, and more.00:58-05:11: About Insilico Medicine05:11-06:09: Why is AI in the news?06:09-07:39: Helping people through AI07:39-09:10: What is Insilico Medicine doing with AI?09:10-10:15: Does Insilico Medicine take drugs from idea to trials?10:15-11:32: How do your partnerships come about?11:32-19:34: How does drug development start with AI?19:34-24:43: Can AI address undruggable targets?24:43-25:05: What do you need to do after finding a potential drug?25:05-27:57: Can quantum computing aid drug development?27:57-30:13: How can AI help reduce costs and save time?30:13-32:56: What is your partnership with the University of Toronto?32:56-36:24: What is the timescale for introducing drugs from AI?36:24-37:29: What conditions are you working on?Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Aurion Biotech is a US biotech with a regenerative medicine platform, developing novel therapies to restore vision to millions of people in need. This week on the podcast, we have a conversation with CEO Greg Kunst about Aurion’s pipeline, and how the company’s treatment could be the first mass-market cell therapy available.The FDA has granted the company BTD and RMAT designations for AURN001 -- the first-ever allogeneic cell therapy candidate in development to restore vision in patients with corneal endothelial disease. This is a condition with around 16 million patients in the US, Japan and Europe alone. The current standard of care is currently transplant surgery.Aurion's proprietary process can turn cells from one donor cornea into more than treatments, with the potential to scale to more than 1,000, closing the gap on the global shortage of donor corneas.Aurion recently completed enrollment of a phase 1/2 trial in the US and Canada.00:43-01:53: About Aurion01:53-03:12: What are allogeneic cell therapies?03:12-04:11: Why is the eye a good target for allogeneic cell therapy?04:11-06:16: What is corneal endothelial disease?06:16-07:18: Is corneal endothelial disease genetic or just age related?07:18-09:22: Is transplant surgery the only option?09:22-10:58: Are other companies working on corneal endothelial disease treatments?10:58-12:26: How does your treatment work?12:26-13:36: Does your treatment alleviate the shortage of corneas?13:36-15:47: How would you get your treatments around the world?15:47-17:02: Could these treatments extend to other diseases?17:02-18:36: What do you need for a mass market treatment?18:36-19:36: Will there always be a need for this treatment?19:36-21:12: Is your treatment easy to administer? 21:12-22:41: What do the FDA designations mean for Aurion?22:41-24:38: Where are you with clinical trials?Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

LabGenius is a drug discovery company developing next-generation therapeutic antibodies.  The company’s discovery platform, EVA, integrates several technologies drawn from the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), robotic automation and synthetic biology. LabGenius operates under a hybrid business model that involves partnering with large biotech and pharma companies while pursuing its own wholly-owned therapeutic pipeline.The company recently closed a £35 million Series B financing round, bringing its total funding to date to £58 million. The hype around generative AI and machine learning is driving unprecedented investor interest in AI. But are investors, and other drug discovery biotech companies, knowledgeable about AI and its role in drug discovery? To look at how AI is making a difference in medicine, and where the hype doesn’t meet expectations, we had a conversation with LabGenius founder and CEO, Dr. James Field. 01:09-02:38: About LabGenius02:38-05:45: What does your recent funding mean for your AI platform and pipeline?05:45-08:14: Do the terms AI and ML create and confusion?08:14-10:06: The positives of AI in drug discovery10:06-11:07: How to ask the right questions for AI to work11:07-12:44: Are investors up to speed on the use of AI in medicine?12:44-14:09: Where can AI help the most in the drug discovery process?14:09-15:18: Are there any areas where AI is just hype?15:18-16:37: Are you working towards clinical trials?16:37-19:16: How do companies plan an AI strategy?19:16-19:57: How useful are results from AI? 19:57-21:48: Should companies outsource AI?21:48-23:02: Do investors need advice on investment in AI companies?23:02-24:02: How do you see the evolution of AI in drug discovery?24:02-25:27: And how do you see the evolution of LabGenius?Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Acute on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a significant healthcare issue with high unmet needs for patients and clinicians, and a massive burden for healthcare systems. It cost more than $6bn in the US alone in 2021, with a drastic increase over the last 10 years. Genfit is a late-stage biopharma company taking on rare, life-threatening liver diseases with a range of therapeutic targets based on pathophysiology. The company has five assets in its portfolio, from preclinical up to phase 2.Its ACLF portfolio includes five assets under development: VS-01, NTZ, SRT-015, CLM-022 and VS-02-HE, based on complementary mechanisms of action using different routes of administration. Other assets target other diseases, such as cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), urea cycle disorder (UCD) and organic acidemia (OA). Genfit carried out a successful 52-week phase 3 ELATIVE study evaluating elafibranor in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). It also has a diagnostic franchise including NIS2+ in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH, formerly known as NASH or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) and TS-01 focusing on blood ammonia levels.On the podcast this week to talk to us about the latest in liver disease treatment is Dean Hum, the chief scientific officer at Genfit.00:45-05:09: About Genfit05:09-06:59: What is acute on-chronic liver disease (ACLF)?06:59-08:30: What is the prognosis for those with ACLF?08:30-08:52: Are there any current treatments for ACLF?08:52-10:13: What is EF-CLIF?10:13-12:41: What is the EASL-CLIF general assembly?12:41-14:01: What is your connection to Ipsen’s work with elafibrinor?14:01-16:00: Why has there been so little work on ACLF?16:00-16:46: Are others working on ACLF?16:46-19:25: What is your approach to developing ACLF treatments?19:25-24:31: How do your ACLF treatments work?24:31-25:08: Will you need to do trials on the effect of the combination of your assets?25:08-28:37: What are your hopes for patients with ACLF?

The field of radiotherapeutics is a hot topic currently, and so who better to talk about the subject than Ken Herrmann, a radiopharmaceutical academic expert, who is Professor of Nuclear Medicine at the Universitätsklinikum Essen, in Essen Germany, and two people from the company Molecular Partners: Patrick Amstutz, who is a co-founder and the CEO, and Dani Steiner, SVP of R&D.Molecular Partners recently shared a preclinical package supporting MP0712, its radioligand candidate. Based on the small protein class they pioneered, DARPins, the company is looking to tackle the historic kidney toxicity of small protein vectors while preserving a good binding and specificity profile. This will have repercussions across its radioligand (or Radio-DARPin) portfolio, which has programs in partnership with Novartis and (in the case of MP0712) Orano Med. MP0712's key tumor target is DLL3, also the target of tarlatamab, the first bispecific against DLL3, which was approved recently. The program is focused on small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), a highly aggressive lung cancer with a five-year survival rate of about 3%. Molecular Partners said its data show strong and homogenous tumor uptake of 212PB-DLL3 targeted MP0712, as well as significant and durable inhibition of tumor growth. The data also show good tolerance at all dosing levels and an enhanced tumor-to-kidney uptake ratio. MP0712 is the first Radio-DARPin expected to enter the clinic with first-in-human data expected in 2025.  01:12-04:20: About Molecular Partners 04:20-06:34: What are radiotherapeutics, and what can they treat?06:34-11:36: What are some of the challenges facing radiopharma?11:36-13:20: Has there been a shortage of radioligands?13:20-16:38: How has Molecular Partners addressed challenges?16:38-27:59: What was the SNMMI conference, and what did it address?27:59-32:50: Where are you at with clinical trials?32:50-34:11: What do you see as the current trends?34:11-35:54: How are the treatments delivered to patients?35:54-36:50: How frequently are treatments needed?36:50-39:03: Where is radiotherapy headed? Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

US-based biotech company Priovant Therapeutics is dedicated to developing novel therapies for autoimmune diseases with high morbidity and few available treatment options. The company's lead asset, brepocitinib, is a dual selective inhibitor of TYK2 and JAK1. Through dual TYK2/JAK1 inhibition, brepocitinib suppresses key cytokines linked to autoimmunity—including type I IFN, type II IFN, IL6, IL12, and IL23—with a single, targeted therapy. Brepocitinib has generated positive data in seven phase 2 studies with oral once-daily administration. It is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 program for dermatomyositis and is entering a phase 3 program for non-infectious uveitis.This week on the podcast we have a conversation with Priovant’s CEO Benjamin Zimmer about dermatomyositis, non-infectious uveitis, current treatments, potential options, and how brepocitinib is making a difference. 00:55-02:34: About Priovant02:34-06:38: What are dermatomyositis and non-infectious uveitis?06:38-08:35: What are the current treatments?08:35-12:32: What is brepocitinib?12:32-15:36: Are there other treatments in development? 15:36-17:50: What is your relationship with Pfizer?17:50-20:48: Brepocitinib clinical trials20:48-24:06: Future plans and timeline24:06-27:59: Finding patients for clinical trials27:59-29:19: Future opportunities Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter