The Bio Report

Using Synthetic Biology to Produce Cannabinoids

There’s growing interest in cannabinoids for their therapeutic potential in a range of conditions, but one challenge therapeutic developers face is a reliable and consistent supply. Teewinot Life Sciences is using synthetic biology to produce a range of cannabinoids. We spoke to Michael Luther, president and CEO of Teewinot Life Sciences, about the companies process for producing cannabinoids, its business model, and the therapeutic and consumer areas it plans to pursue.

EpicentRx Hopes Rocket-Fuel-Derived Drug Will Propel It

Much has been made about a cancer moonshot, but in the world of oncology, rocket fuel is rarely a topic of conversation except maybe as a metaphor. EpicentRx, though, is looking to rocket fuel as a source for its lead experimental therapy RRx-001. It believes this high-energy molecule, derived from rocket fuel, has the potential to improve immunotherapies and radiotherapies, as well as having anticancer activity on its own. We spoke to Corey Carter, president and CEO of EpicentRx about how RRx-001 came about, how it works, and the company’s oncolytic viral pipeline also in development.

Using Fruit Flies to Personalize Cancer Therapies

The complexity of individual tumors creates a challenge for physicians to determine the optimal treatment for any given patient. This complexity may also require a combination of therapies to target the multiple pathways a given cancer may exploit to grow and spread. My Personalized Therapeutics is taking a model systems approach to pair patients to customized drug regimens by using fruit fly models of a patient’s cancer to screen hundreds of FDA approved therapies and combinations. We spoke to Laura Towart, co-founder and CEO of My Personalized Therapeutics, about the company’s Personalized Discovery Process, how it works, and why it may lead to better outcomes for cancer patients.

Bridging the Gap Between Data and Knowledge with AI

As biomedical data proliferates and the life sciences becomes more closely integrated with data science, the ability for researchers to access, use, and learn from the growing universe of information requires new tools. InveniAI is seeking to address this need with its artificial intelligence platform for biopharmaceutical companies to both monitor innovation and to enhance their own drug development capabilities. We spoke to Krishnan Nandabalan, president and CEO of InveniAI, about the company, how its artificial intelligence platform is being used, and what he expects the ultimate payoff from this technology will be.

How Virtual Reality May Change the Way Researchers Discover and Develop Drugs

The convergence of information technology with the life sciences is opening up new ways of approaching the challenges of drug discovery and development. While much has been made about approaches that seek to leverage artificial intelligence, Nanome is bringing virtural reality into the process. With the company’s technology, scientists can take a fantastic journey to view and manipulate proteins, compounds, and other molecules at a nanoscale. We spoke to Steve McCloskey, founder and CEO of Nanome, about the company’s virtual reality platform, how scientists can use it to collaborate in real time, and its potential to change the way researchers discover and develop drugs.

Addressing the Challenges of Drug Development with a New Market

The high cost of developing therapies impedes the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to bring innovative products to market, but also leaves potentially valuable discoveries languishing on university shelves. The Swiss non-profit foundation Molecule is trying to alter the landscape by establishing an online marketplace to create shared ownership of intellectual property and provide a new funding mechanism for early-stage experimental therapies that could also lead to distributed research and development of promising drugs. We spoke to Paul Kohlhaas, founder of Molecule, about the market it is developing, how it would work, and the challenges it will need to overcome to make it a reality.

Addressing the Challenge of Producing Stem Cell Therapies with Consistency at Scale

Mesenchymal stem cells may be a powerful way to treat a range of medical conditions but realizing the therapeutic potential of these cells has been hampered in part by the challenges of manufacturing a consistent product at scale. Cynata Therapeutics believes its platform technology addresses these challenges. The company lead cell therapy candidate is being developed to treat graft vs. host disease, a potentially deadly response to the transplantation of cells from a donor. We spoke to Ross MacDonald, CEO of Cynata, about the company’s platform technology, the potential for these therapies, and the indications the company is pursuing.

Ensuring a Placebo Response Doesn’t Derail a Clinical Trial

The placebo response in clinical trials can derail a promising experimental therapy that might benefit patients. In cases where trials rely on subjective endpoints or patient-reported outcomes, the placebo response can be more pronounced. Tools4patient has developed a means of identifying patients who are likely to be placebo responders and allow trial sponsors to take steps to account for that in clinical studies. We spoke to Erica Smith, vice president of business development at Tools4Patient, about the placebo response, the consequence this phenomenon has on drug development, and how the company is seeking to address this problem.