Doloromics is a precision neuropharmaceuticals company. It was set up four years ago, to use newer technologies, particularly in the omics space, to take advantage of different single-cell transcriptomic technologies or proteomic technologies to better understand the progression of neurological diseases like chronic pain.The Doloromics pipeline is built upon a proprietary discovery and validation platform DOLOReS. Jackson Brougher, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Doloromics, is our guest on this week’s Beyond Biotech podcast.00:46-04:41: About Doloromics04:41-07:09: What is chronic pain?07:09-08:30: How challenging is the subjectivity of pain?08:30-11:04: What is nociception?11:04-12:23: The challenges of treating pain12:23-16:35: Is chronic pain a disease?16:35-19:57: What is VX-548?19:57-22:17: Monoclonal antibodies and CGRPs22:17-26:22: How have recent advances in genomic technologies advanced the understanding of pain?26:22-31:03: What is the DOLOReS platform?31:03-32:37: Delivery methods32:37-33:55: Keeping costs low33:55-34:58: Next stepsInterested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Based in Austin, Texas, biotech Colossal Biosciences is at the forefront of de-extinction, critically endangered species protection and the repopulation of critical ecosystems. Its mission is to use CRISPR technology to bring back extinct animals, such as the mammoth, the thylacine, and the dodo.Since DNA was recovered in 2021 from mammoths frozen in the Arctic tundra, the company has been working on splicing bits of the recovered DNA into the genome of its closest relative, the Asian elephant, as it shares 99.6% of its DNA. Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences spoke with us about the company’s plans.01:03-02:57: Introduction to Ben Lamm02:57-04:26: About Colossal Biosciences04:26-09:35: What techniques are used to tackle de-extinction?09:35-13:48: What are the biggest challenges?13:48-14:57: What tools do you need to ‘build’ an extinct species? 14:57-19:17: How do you address not adversely affecting ecosystems?19:17-22:22: How do you take on negativity over your de-extinction work?22:22-23:26: Reintroducing existing species into previous habitats?23:26-24:06: Does this extend to critically endangered species?24:06-25:54: Why is there a lot of interest in de-extinction?25:54-28:10: How do you ensure we don’t repeat the same patterns of extinction?28:10-29:38: Can you address the loss of current species?29:38-30:35: How can you help solve the loss of species?30:35-33:48: Addressing the challenges of introducing different species?33:48-35:22: Transparency through documentaries35:22-37:27: 2028 goal for mammoth calvesInterested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

It would appear that 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for the development of treatments for schizophrenia, with several clinical trials under way.Recently, Boehringer Ingelheim and Sosei Group Corporation (Sosei Heptares) announced a global collaboration and exclusive option-to-license agreement. This is to develop and commercialize Sosei Heptares’ portfolio of first-in-class GPR52 agonists, a novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) target. The goal is to improve patient outcomes by addressing the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.Clíona MacSweeney, Sosei Heptares’ GPR52 program leader, spoke with us about that partnership, as well as other developments in the field of schizophrenia treatments.00:57-03:44: What is schizophrenia?03:44-04:52: What are the current schizophrenia treatments?04:52-06:27: Why is schizophrenia challenging to treat?06:27-07:34: Why is 2024 a big year for schizophrenia treatments?07:34-08:56: Seratonin and dopamine modulation08:56-10:46: How does muscarinic modulation work?10:46-12:35: Excitatory and inhibitory tone pipeline 12:35-14:12: Digital therapeutic and epigenetic modulation14:12-16:12: GPR52 agonists16:12-17:53: How are GPR52 agonists different?17:53-19:03: Are there lots of schizophrenia treatments coming?19:03-20:10: Will some new schizophrenia treatments be used in conjunction with existing treatments?20:10-20:49: Is a schizophrenia cure possible?20:49-21:22: Treatment frequency21:22-22:21: Where is Sosei Heptares with clinical trials for schizophrenia?22:21-22:45: What else is in Sosei Heptares’ pipeline?22:45-23:35: Sosei Heptares becoming Nxera23:35-24:42: Schizophrenia conferencesInterested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

There is a clear demand for novel, neurological treatments. While it’s widely known psychedelics hold enormous therapeutic potential, there are a host of challenges, including dosing and potential side effects for the patient.Our guest this week is Dr Sam Clark, who founded Terran Biosciences to develop a safe, effective portfolio of therapeutics and technologies for patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases. 00:52-04:09: About Terran Biosciences04:09-06:03: What are the challenges of using psychedelics?06:03-07:32: Is there still a stigma attached to use of psychedelics? 07:32-11:45: How do psychedelics work on the brain?11:45-13:44: Why are psychedelics a good treatment?13:44-16:51: What is Idazoxan XR?16:51-18:01: How do you make changes to drugs?18:01-21:19: How did you develop your business model?21:19-22:40: What are Eplivanserin and Volinanserin?22:40-24:49: How useful are repurposed drugs?24:49-29:06: Keeping drugs affordable29:06-30:31: Dealing with patents30:31-32:41: What are empathogens?32:41-33:12: Where is the company at with clinical trials?33:12-35:45: What is NM-101?35:45-37:47: How does Terran differ from other companies?37:47-39:54: Are you looking to cure conditions?39:54-40:48: SchizophreniaInterested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Immunai is mapping the immune system at unprecedented scale and granularity. The map, paired with machine learning, looks at how the immune system will respond to drug targets, offering an affordable way to prevent expensive drug failures. The ultimate goal is to market immune treatments for diseases like cancer faster than ever before. In this week’s conversation, Noam Solomon, CEO and co-founder of Immunai, covers the data gap in drug discovery and how machine learning (ML) can solve it, how to de-risk early-stage drug discovery, predictions for AI, and more.00:41-01:05: About Immunai01:05-01:37: Why map the immune system?01:37-02:36: Are you taking a step back to study the problem in order to move forward?02:36-03:41: How difficult is it to map the immune system?03:41-05:21: What is your AMICA platform?05:21-07:16: Where does your data come from? 07:16-09:01: How do you account for differences between patients?09:01-11:27: What are the biggest challenges to drug development?11:27-13:59: How can AI improve drug development?13:59-14:47: Will AI advances speed up drug development?14:47-15:58: Is the use of AI applicable in all diseases and conditions?15:58-17:40: What sets your approach apart from other companies using AI?17:40-18:46: What partnerships does Immunai have? 18:46-20:16: What are pharma companies looking for from Immunai?20:16-23:09: How can AI help with clinical trials?23:09-24:24: Can AI help with preventative care?24:24-26:22: Google Maps for the immune system26:22-27:10: What will we see from AI in drug discovery in the short term? 27:10-27:58: What are the next steps for Immunai?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

Tome Biosciences recently exited stealth mode with almost a quarter of a billion dollars in funding. The company has developed a new approach to gene editing, programmable genomic integration (PGI), which it says represents the final chapter in genomic medicines. We discussed the company’s formation and approach with the CEO and president of Tome, Rahul Kakkar. 00:45-04:30: About Tome Biosciences04:30-05:37: Is there still a role for CRISPR-Cas9?05:37-07:41: Raising funds for Tome07:41-11:15: What are the benefits of PGI?11:15-12:54: How do you find and change the genetic code?12:54-15:04: What is the difference between integrase-mediated PGI and ligase-mediated PGI? 15:04-16:41: Are there dangers with these techniques? 16:41-17:30: Is the editing reversible?17:30-20:11: What diseases or conditions will you be addressing?20:11-21:38: Is success considered to be curing diseases?21:38-25:16: How will you address costs and scalability?25:16-29:03: Can you explain this being the final chapter in genomic medicine?29:03-30:24: How will you fine tune these techniques?30:24-31:24: What was the reason for the takeover of Replace Therapeutics? 31:24-32:26: 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

After decades of lagging nearly many other disease areas, neurology is finally seeing signs of significant innovation. One of the biggest reasons it’s trailed behind has been the difficulty in teasing out complex neurobiology – an understanding necessary to design novel medicines. Rapport Therapeutics is playing a significant role in turning the tide. Rapport creates precision neuromedicines that act only in the brain regions where disease originates, avoiding the side effects that affect many of today’s treatments.This week, we have a conversation with Rapport CEO Abe Ceesay, about the company’s transformational approach, and about what’s new in neuromedicine.00:45-02:43: About Rapport02:43-05:01: What attracted you to Rapport?05:01-09:13: What are the issues in developing drugs in neuroscience?09:13-12:09: What are the areas with unmet needs?12:09-16:24: What are receptor-associated proteins?16:24-19:25: How do you avoid side-effects?19:25-20:35: Are other companies working in this space?20:35-23:49: How do you approach designing treatments for different conditions?23:49-26:10: Where is Rapport currently with clinical trials?26:10-28:26: How do you define success in your trials?28:26-30:27: Is your treatment used in conjunction with others?30:27-32:45: How is your treatment administered?32:45-36:10: Why is there increased interest in developing drugs for neurological disorders?36:10-38:20: Looking to the future38:20-40:44: What are the next steps for Rapport?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

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

This week on the podcast, we have a conversation with Fran Gregory, vice president of Emerging Therapies at Cardinal Health. The discussion covers the company’s role in healthcare, biosimilars, the latest in cell and gene therapies, and what’s new at Advanced Therapies Week.00:40-02:30: About Cardinal Health02:30-05:12: What is Cardinal Health’s role in industry?05:12-06:11: What are the challenges of logistics?06:11-07:20: How important is innovation to Cardinal Health?07:20-12:26: How can Cardinal Health help to reduce costs?12:26-13:08: Keeping up with global healthcare13:08-19:46: How do you stay in touch with what’s new in drug discovery?19:46-22:07: Biosimilars Report22:07-27:15: What is the current state of the cell and gene therapy space?27:15-29:57: Are there interesting recent advances in the cell and gene therapy?29:57-33:38: Advanced Therapies Week33:38-36:40: What trends are you expecting in 2024?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

BioSenic, a clinical-stage company, discusses their late-clinical asset JTA-004 for severe knee osteoarthritis. They share data on its safety and efficacy at an international congress. Topics covered include the mechanism of action of JTA-004, attending events, potential administration frequency, other companies working on osteoarthritis, and future steps.