The Bio Report

Shaping the Emerging Bioeconomy

The ability to engineer biological systems to replace chemical processes is making the promise of the emerging bioeconomy a reality. Some of the leading industry players, though, see a growing need to have a voice in the policy arena and have formed the Bioeconomy Alliance to ensure the sector can flourish and realize its potential. We spoke to Jason Gammack, chief commercial officer of Inscripta and a founding member of the Bioeconomy Alliance, about how synthetic biology is reshaping the economy, why there is a need for this new organization, and the issues it will address.

A Belief that Early Interventions Will Be the Key to Treating Alzheimer’s Disease

Efforts to develop effective therapies to treat Alzheimer’s disease have been stymied by a long history of clinical failures. Those disappointments have included two, late-stage failures of AC Immune’ Crenezumab, which the company is developing with it partner Roche. The two companies are continuing to pursue the drug under the belief that treating patients earlier in the progress of the disease will be critical. We spoke to Andrea Pfeifer, CEO of AC Immune, about the company’s efforts to identify and treat Alzheimer’s at its earliest stages, its efforts to develop a vaccine against the condition, and why she believes the future of Alzheimer care will involve combination therapies similar to what has emerged in the area of cancer.

Transforming the Study of Microbes with High-Throughput Technology

The study of microbes and their interactions is changing our understanding of biology, but only a small fraction of microbial species have been cultured. One of the challenges researchers have faced is the limits of existing tools used to study microbes. We spoke to Peter Christey, co-founder and CEO of GALT, about our emerging understanding of the microbiome, the need for a technological transformation of microbiome-based science, and how his company is hoping to fuel the emergence of new insights with its high-throughput technology to isolate and cultivate microbes.

Using RNA Diagnostics to Predict Patient Response to Immunotherapies

Cofactor Genomics believes RNA provides a better means than DNA and other biomarkers to diagnose disease, monitor health, and enhance treatment decisions. The company’s Predictive Immune Modeling provides insight into a cancer patient’s immune response at the tumor to determine whether an individual is likely to response to an immunotherapy. We spoke to Jarret Glasscock, founder and CEO of Cofactor Genomics, about its RNA diagnostics, the case for the use of multidimensional biomarkers, and the challenges it faces with physician adoption and reimbursement.

How a Clever Business Model May Accelerate the Use of Companion Diagnostics

Scientists can understand individual tumors at a molecular basis, but clinician don’t yet routinely profile and treat cancers based on this knowledge. Strata Oncology, with drug developers as its customer, is providing tumor profiling to cancer patients in the hopes of directing them into appropriate clinical trials. We spoke to Dan Rhodes, co-founder and CEO of Strata, about the state of precision medicine, Strata’s business model which works around the often-difficult issue of reimbursement for in vitro diagnostics, and the company’s long-term plan for building a commercial diagnostics business.

Building Cell Therapies with Switches to Modulate Their Activity

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals is developing cellular immunotherapies that modulate T cell function through controllable molecular switches. The company is developing these immunotherapies to treat a range of cancers, as well as rare inherited blood disorders. The company believes the ability to modulate these cells once they are in the body will provide safer and more effective immunotherapies. We spoke to Rick Fair, CEO of Bellicum, about the company’s approach, how its molecular switches work, and its current therapeutic pipeline.

Using Synthetic Biology to Build Intelligence into Cell and Gene Therapies

Senti Bio is using synthetic biology to build intelligence into cell and gene therapies, altering the way they act depending on the changing biological circumstances they may encounter in the body. Doing so may lead to safer and more effective therapies and address such things as the tumor microenvironment and mechanisms cancer have to grow, spread, and become resistant to treatments. Ahead of his appearance at the SynBioBeta conference that runs October 1-3 in San Francisco, we spoke to Tim Lu, co-founder and CEO of Senti Bio, about the company’s efforts to engineer a new class of intelligent medicines, its ability to design therapies that hit multiple targets, and its strategy to leverage its technology to reach beyond oncology through partnerships.

A Therapeutic Approach Built on Protein Degradation

Nurix Therapeutics is harnessing the body’s natural process for controlling protein levels to target and degrade proteins that drive cancer and other diseases. Its small molecule therapies control key enzymes responsible for protein breakdown and can be used to modulate the levels of proteins within cells. The company believes it can leverage the approach to treat a range of diseases. We spoke to Arthur Sands, CEO of Nurix, about the company’s discovery platform, its pipeline of cancer therapies, and its recent collaboration with Gilead Sciences to discover and develop drug candidates against up to five targets.