Business of BioTechniques 2023
Welcome to the 2023 Business of BioTechniques blog provided by Zyme Communications. This feature highlights the latest news and industry collaborations, from products and services to important upcoming events and key information in the biotech industry.
To keep up with industry news, don’t miss our monthly updates!
October update
The latest Business of Biotechniques showcases companies that have secured early-stage investment to facilitate growth and drive the development of cell and gene therapies. Also highlighted are collaborations across antibody discovery and cancer therapeutics, drug discovery platforms and software development.
Drug discovery & development
Revvity expands access to base editing technology with aim to accelerate discovery to cure
Revvity, Inc. (Waltham, Massachusetts), unveiled its groundbreaking Pin-point™ base editing platform reagents, providing researchers with unparalleled access to implement the advanced gene editing technique in their preclinical laboratories. Base editing represents a pivotal advancement in CRISPR gene editing, providing the capability for complex and safe multi-gene editing, which can result in enhanced functional genomics insights for optimizing drug development, as well as streamlining cell line and cell therapy development and manufacturing.
In September, Revvity debuted its enhanced imaging portfolio designed to drive innovation across diverse applications in preclinical research with the launch of three systems. These new innovations include the next-generation IVIS® Spectrum 2 and the IVIS SpectrumCT 2 imaging systems, further elevating versatility and sensitivity standards in in vivo optical imaging. Also launching was the QuantumTM GX3 microCT structural imaging solution with increased resolution and speed for both in vivo and ex vivo imaging, designed to facilitate researchers studying disease biology or evaluating and fast-tracking therapeutic candidates. And making its global debut, the Vega® ultrasound system.
Bio-Rad extends range of anti-Idiotypic antibodies for use in preclinical and clinical drug development
Bio-Rad Laboratories (Hercules, USA), a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostics products, has extended its range of recombinant monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies with the introduction of six antibodies specific to dupilumab (Dupixent) and the addition of new evolocumab (Repatha), ipilimumab (Yervoy), and secukinumab (Cosentyx) antibodies. These ready-made antibodies are suitable for developing selective and sensitive pharmacokinetic (PK) and anti-drug antibody (ADA) assays for dupilumab, evolocumab, ipilimumab, and secukinumab, and their biosimilars. Dupilumab limits inflammatory immune responses by targeting IL-4Ra and is approved for treatment of severe atopic eczema. Bio-Rad’s six new anti-dupilumab antibodies can be used to develop PK bridging ELISAs to measure free and total drug, or as a surrogate positive control or reference standard in ADA assays.
Sphere Fluidics’ Cyto-Mine system selected by FairJourney Biologics to advance cell line development workflows
Sphere Fluidics (Cambridge, UK), a company developing single cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology, announced the Cyto-Mine® platform has been selected by FairJourney Biologics, a world leading end-to-end antibody partner, providing integrated services across antibody discovery, engineering, and production, to expand its cell line development capabilities. FairJourney Biologics has adopted the platform as part of the launch for its latest cell line development services, to streamline and accelerate customer workflows.
Ubiquigent collaborates with Imperial College London on DUB probe discovery to facilitate preclinical and clinical target engagement studies
Ubiquigent (Dundee, UK), a drug discovery and development company harnessing novel deubiquitinase (DUB) modulators as new therapeutics for areas of high unmet medical need, is supporting a PhD student in the Institute of Chemical Biology EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Chemical Biology, at Imperial College London. The student will undertake a research project entitled ‘Unlocking DUB probe discovery by high-throughput in-cell chemical proteomics’. Building on Ubiquigent’s DUB-focused drug discovery platform and recent advances in activity-based probes (ABPs) at Imperial, the four-year project aims to create a new generation of small molecule APBs that will enable DUB activity in intact cells and organisms to be comprehensively explored and interrogated.
Semarion announces Early Adopter Program for SemaCyte Microcarrier Platform
Semarion (Cambridge, UK), a University of Cambridge spin-out company from the Cavendish Laboratory combining materials engineering and cell biology to tackle unmet drug screening needs, announced the opening of its Early Adopter Program for its SemaCyte® Microcarrier Platform. The platform overcomes current limitations associated with adherent cell culture and assaying workflows by enabling small colonies of cells to be moved and frozen in their adherent state, increasing the volume of data collected per experiment and reducing the resource demands of in vitro drug discovery.
Antiverse and GlobalBio, Inc. extend collaboration to advance antibody cancer therapeutics
Antiverse (Cardiff, UK) and a biotechnology company developing a computational antibody drug discovery platform, and GlobalBio, Inc. (Massachusetts, US), an antibody engineering company developing methods to engineer improved and more developable therapeutic antibodies, are extending their collaboration to advance immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer therapy. The initial collaboration successfully resulted in the generation of a panel of anti-PD-1 antibodies with diverse binding and functional profiles, with two candidates from this panel now entering preclinical development.
Astrea Bioseparations expands manufacturing and warehousing capacity to support growing demand for its chromatography solutions in North America
Astrea Bioseparations (Cambridge, UK), a leading provider of high-quality bioseparation and purification technologies that help to improve patient outcomes with safer and more effective production of therapeutics, has expanded of its manufacturing and warehousing capabilities in the US. The increased capacity reflects growing demand for the Company’s chromatography solutions in North American markets.
Diagnostics
Bio-Rad launches PTC Tempo 48/48 and PTC Tempo 384 Thermal Cyclers
Bio-Rad Laboratories (Hercules, USA), launched its PTC Tempo 48/48 and PTC Tempo 384 Thermal Cyclers, designed to support PCR applications in basic and translational research, process development, and quality control. The PTC Tempo 48/48 and PTC Tempo 384 Thermal Cyclers are the latest additions to the Bio-Rad portfolio of conventional PCR thermal cyclers. The PTC Tempo Thermal Cyclers are built with a refreshed, intuitive user interface and flexible connectivity features for streamlining protocol management, including monitoring capabilities on the BR.io cloud platform. Engineered to maintain superior thermal performance, the PTC Tempo Thermal Cyclers offer scientists the flexibility to scale within the laboratory.
Software and AI
Optibrium releases powerful metabolism prediction capability in next generation StarDrop software
Optibrium (Cambridge, UK), a leading developer of software and AI solutions for drug discovery, has launched the latest version of its drug discovery platform, StarDrop 7.5, introducing a powerful module for drug metabolism prediction. The culmination of six years’ research and development, the new StarDrop Metabolism module uniquely combines quantum mechanics and machine learning to better predict the metabolic fate of drug candidates. The module covers a broad range of drug-metabolizing enzymes with greater precision than comparable methods.
StarDrop, is now also available in the cloud environment. Backed by Optibrium’s ISO 27001-accredited information security system, a cloud-first approach offers StarDrop users several benefits in terms of flexible access and ease of product deployment, maintenance and data security.
Synthetic biology
Evonetix places first DNA synthesis development platform at Imperial College London
Evonetix (Cambridge, UK), the Company developing semiconductor scale technology to improve access to gene synthesis, announced its first placement of a DNA synthesis development platform for evaluation at Imperial College London. This is the Company’s first platform to be installed in an external scientific setting; a significant milestone as it continues to optimize its gene synthesis technology in preparation for customer use and commercialization. Prior to this, in September Evonetix unveiled new branding to align with its vision for gene-length DNA synthesis.
Finance and funding
Mogrify extends series A financing to $46 million USD
Mogrify® (Cambridge, UK), a biopharmaceutical company transforming the lives of patients through a novel class of in vivo reprogramming therapies, announced an additional $10 million USD closing of its Series A financing, bringing the total raised to $46 million USD in this round. The funding will support further advancement of Mogrify’s pipeline of in vivo reprogramming therapies through pre-clinical translation, continued platform optimization, and facilitation of new and existing biopharma collaborations.
Broken String Biosciences closes $15M series A funding round
Broken String Biosciences (Cambridge, UK), a genomics company building a technology platform to drive the development of cell and gene therapies that are safer by design, has closed a $15 million Series A investment round, co-led by Illumina Ventures and Mérieux Equity Partners, with contributions from HERAN Partners, and existing investors Tencent and Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures (DvH Ventures). As part of the round, Yoann Bonnamour, Mérieux Equity Partners, and Arnaud Autret, Illumina Ventures, join the Company’s Board of Directors.
The Series A funding will be used to develop Broken String’s Next Generation Sequencing-based DNA break mapping platform, INDUCE-seq™, into a scalable ‘Platform as a Service’ offering and to expand its capabilities beyond gene editing, broadening its go-to-market strategy and driving commercial traction.
Clinical Trials
Owlstone Medical recruits first patient in phase 2 clinical trial for the early detection of lung cancer through Breath Biopsy
Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK), the global leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, has recruited the first patient into its EVOLUTION Phase 2 clinical trial following successful achievement of key safety and proof of concept milestones in Phase 1. The trial has been designed to support development of a breath test to address the unmet clinical need for more effective early detection of lung cancer through the screening of high-risk asymptomatic individuals.
People
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies President and CEO Lars Petersen appoints Maja Pedersen as Chief Quality Officer and Dennis Schmidt Pedersen as Chief People Officer
Broken String Biosciences strengthens senior leadership team to accelerate product development and commercialization
Closed Loop Medicine appoints Konstantinos Vlassis as Chief Technology Officer
August update
This month’s Business of BioTechniques blog includes company financing news to support next-generation drug development and therapeutic manufacture. We highlight industry collaborations and partnerships to progress cancer therapies, as well as key executive and scientific appointments at several UK-based companies.
Drug discovery & development
CN Bio and LifeNet Health LifeSciences partner to supply validated primary human cells for microphysiological systems
CN Bio (Cambridge, UK), a leading organ-on-a-chip (OOC) company that designs and manufactures single- and multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS), and LifeNet Health LifeSciences (VA, USA), a non-profit, global leader in all-human research solutions, announced a strategic partnership to supply validated primary human cells for use with CN Bio’s PhysioMimix® OOC range of MPS. Under the agreement, LifeNet Health’s high-quality, MPS-validated hepatic cells will be available within CN Bio’s Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis ‘in-a-box’ kit, or direct from LifeNet Health, providing a streamlined solution for customers to recreate CN Bio’s advanced in vitro liver models and maximize assay success.
Metrion Biosciences announces launch of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) hERG Screening Service
Metrion Biosciences (Cambridge, UK), the specialist ion channel contract research and drug discovery company, has received notification from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency that the company is now a member of the UK GLP Compliance Monitoring Programme and is therefore able to offer GLP-compliant human ether-à-go-go related gene (hERG) ion channel screening services to the global life sciences community.
GLP hERG screening is a vital step in the transition from preclinical research to Phase I clinical trials in humans, regardless of therapeutic target class. Pharmacological assessments against the hERG potassium channel, conducted in compliance with GLP principles and adhering to ICH S7A and ICH S7B guidelines, is an important step in the Investigational New Drug application process for potential small-molecule therapeutics.
Orano Med and Orbit Discovery enter collaboration to discover novel targeted radioligand therapies for cancer
Orano Med (Texas, USA), a biotechnology company developing lead-212 targeted alpha therapy against cancer, and Orbit Discovery (Oxford, UK), a leader in the discovery of therapeutic peptide hits, have entered into a collaboration to discover specific peptide receptor radionuclide therapies against cancer cells and advance the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals.
The collaboration will harness the capabilities of Orbit’s peptide display engine to identify peptide candidates specific to tumor-associated targets. The proprietary technology enables the screening of large peptide collections through the combination of DNA-encoded libraries and bead-based presentation. Orano Med will focus on subsequent development of the peptides for clinical use after conjugation with lead-212, one of the most promising alpha emitter isotopes for use in radioligand therapy.
Gyros Protein Technologies introduces PurePep® EasyClean (PEC) Auto Kit for automated parallel peptide purification
Gyros Protein Technologies (Uppsala, Sweden), a leading provider of peptide synthesizers and reagents and a pioneer in automated nanoliter-scale immunoassays, launched its PEC Auto Kit for the automated parallel purification of peptides, accelerating downstream processes for research, development and production of simple to complex peptide drugs and therapies. Based on Gyros Protein Technologies’ orthogonal PurePep EasyClean technology, the PEC Auto Kit utilizes a simple catch-and-release methodology for purification of chemically synthesized peptides.
Diagnostics in plant science
Global Access Diagnostics’ (GADx) rapid diagnostic test, BotrytisAlert, demonstrates utility across wine-production system
GADx (London, UK), a social enterprise and leading developer of lateral flow and rapid diagnostic technologies, has expanded the applications of its low-cost, rapid diagnostic test, BotrytisAlert. Harnessing GADx’s expertise in lateral flow technology, the test has been shown to detect and measure the fungal crop pathogen Botrytis across several critical points in wine production: in the vineyard, in grape must and in finished wine. Early intervention in the disease cycle facilitates improved efficacy of sustainable control measures and to reduce unnecessary use of fungicides.
Flow cytometry
Bio-Rad launches first StarBright™ Red Dye and extends range of antibody markers conjugated to StarBright Dyes to enhance multiplex flow cytometry and research capabilities
Bio-Rad Laboratories (CA, USA), a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostic products, announced the launch of the 29th StarBright Dye, StarBright Red 670, and an expansion of its current range with 29 additional highly validated antibodies conjugated to StarBright Blue 700 and StarBright Violet 610 Dyes. Including additional human and mouse targets and introducing dog, cow and pig targets, the new range provides greater choice and flexibility in conventional and full-spectrum multicolor flow cytometry panels, expanding research capabilities across veterinary immunology research.
Software & laboratory automation
Optibrium acquires BioPharmics LLC, expanding its 3D drug design and visualization offering
Optibrium (Cambridge, UK), a leading developer of software and AI solutions for drug discovery, acquired BioPharmics LLC (CA, USA), expanding its 3D drug design and modeling offering. Bringing decades of experience in computational chemistry and biology, BioPharmics’ CEO Ajay Jain and Director of Applied Science Ann Cleves join the Optibrium team, respectively focusing on R&D and application science in the newly created BioPharmics Division.
H.E.L Group expands range of BioXplorer bioreactors to support bioprocess development
H.E.L Group (London, UK), a global developer and manufacturer of innovative laboratory tools for process optimization, safety and scale up, has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur; India), a prestigious academic institution kickstarting scientific and technological research. The collaboration is part of a national initiative in sustainable energy led by IIT Kanpur to develop new testing laboratories to conduct research into battery storage, new chemistry development and thermal characteristics.
Finance & funding
Kuano raises £1.8M in seed funding to accelerate quantum drug discovery
Kuano (Cambridge, UK), a drug discovery company combining quantum mechanics with AI to design the next generation of medicines, announced the close of its £1.8M seed-funding round, led by Mercia Ventures and including ACF Investors, Ascension Ventures, o2h Ventures, Meltwind Advisory LLP and other Angel investors. The investment will facilitate further validation of Kuano’s quantum simulation platform for the design of more effective drug candidates targeting enzymes, as well as continued company growth through strategic partnerships and recruitment.
Kuano’s quantum simulation platform enables scientists to see and model enzymes in their dynamic state, opening new possibilities for more effective drug design. Combining these unique enzyme profiles with its suite of AI tools, Kuano can then predict the best structures with which to target them. Drug candidates designed this way are a precise match to the target enzyme, meaning that they are therefore likely to be more potent with fewer side effects. The platform has already been validated in three separate disease areas, including bowel cancer and lymphoma.
Intellegens and CPI awarded £1.6m Innovate UK grant to advance manufacture of oligonucleotide therapeutics with machine learning (ML)
Intellegens (Cambridge, UK), a company applying ML to accelerate innovation in R&D, has secured a £1.6m grant from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, to apply ML in the emerging field of oligonucleotide therapies. In collaboration with the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI; Redcar, UK), the two-year project will augment and validate the company’s ML technology, Alchemite™, as a tool to enhance productivity and yields of oligonucleotide therapeutic manufacture through performance prediction and optimization of quality-control strategies. Expert support for the project is being provided with direct input from six leading research organizations, including top 10 pharma companies, such as Novartis (London, UK) and specialist biotech companies, such as Silence Therapeutics (London, UK).
NK:IO raises £1.2M, bringing total seed funding to £5.1M, to advance pioneering natural killer (NK) cell therapy
NK:IO (London, UK), a leader in NK cell biology applied to the development of exceptionally potent, off-the-shelf cell therapies targeting solid tumors, has raised £1.2M. This brings total equity financing to £3.2M and will enable the company to reach key milestones in progressing its differentiated NK cell therapy candidates into development. The £3.2M equity funding is in addition to £1.9M grants awarded comprising the recent Innovate UK New Cancer Therapeutics award of £1.6M and a previous Innovate UK Accelerator grant of £300,000.
People
CN Bio appoints Tomasz Kostrzewski as Chief Scientific Officer
Ubiquigent appoints Rishi Shah as Head of Chemistry
July update
The latest Business of BioTechniques blog outlines financing news in synthetic biology and cancer therapeutics, industry collaborations that aim to accelerate drug discovery workflows and new laboratory tools to support bioprocess development. Our round-up below highlights clinical trial progress, along with news of senior management and board appointments.
Drug discovery & development
Revvity establishes Scientific Centre of Excellence for genomic insight in Cambridge
Global health science solutions company Revvity, Inc. (Cambridge, UK) has established a Scientific Centre of Excellence in Cambridge with the official opening held on 12 July 2023. Focused on driving genomic insights to accelerate therapeutic discovery, Revvity’s Scientific Centre of Excellence supports the company’s fundamental commitment to expanding boundaries in pursuit of a better future for human health.
Sphere Fluidics’ Pico-Mine platform chosen by Biosyntia to accelerate synthetic biology and metabolic workflows
Sphere Fluidics (Cambridge, UK), a company developing single-cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology, announced Biosyntia (Copenhagen, Denmark), a biotechnology company focused on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, has adopted the Pico-Mine® platform within its workflows. The platform was chosen by Biosyntia to harness its ultra-high-throughput, picodroplet-based screening capabilities, to accelerate development of novel industrially relevant cell factories and advance bio-based production of nutritional ingredients. By developing tailored processes based on biocatalysis, Biosyntia’s technologies enable production of complex chemical compounds by fermentation, to support more sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing processes for active ingredients in vitamins and plant-derived bioactives.
Arrayjet announces collaboration with Chemspace to augment its small molecule microarray services for drug discovery
Arrayjet (Edinburgh, UK), a leading provider of inkjet liquid-handling solutions, has partnered with Chemspace (NJ, USA), the largest online catalogue of small molecules and biologics, to augment and streamline the company’s small molecule microarray (SMM) service offering. Chemspace’s curated and deeply annotated compound libraries are now accessible through Arrayjet’s SMM CRO/CMO services for assay development, contract screening and contract array manufacturing. Expanding its offering within the drug discovery market, with this new collaboration Arrayjet’s SMM customers will now be able to access Chemspace’s catalogue of 11.5 billion compounds, deep library annotation and ready-designed panels sorted by different molecule types and target groups.
Diagnostics
Owlstone Medical presents data demonstrating progress in development of breath biopsy tests for liver cirrhosis and NASH
Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK), the leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, announced new data on the development of novel tests for the detection of liver disease. Results serving as proof of principle towards the goal of deploying tests for liver cirrhosis and the detection of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) were presented in a poster at the EASL Congress 2023 (21-24 June 2023; Vienna, Austria), the annual meeting of the European Association for Study of the Liver.
The poster ‘Dynamic Limonene Breath Testing Maximizes Classification Performance for Subjects with Cirrhosis’ describes Owlstone’s research efforts to establish limonene as a non-invasive EVOC® Probe for liver disease through a cross-sectional study run at the Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana Universidad del Desarrollo and Hospital Padre Hurtado (Santiago, Chile).
The study enrolled 29 ultrasound-confirmed cirrhosis cases and 29 healthy controls to assess the performance of Owlstone’s dynamic limonene breath test in cirrhosis detection, to determine the optimal time for collection of a breath sample following ingestion of the EVOC probe, and to explore the correlation between limonene bioavailability and severity of disease.
In June, Owlstone presented data demonstrating progress in the development of breath biopsy tests for the early detection of lung cancer at the EACR 2023 Congress (12-15 June 2023; Torino, Italy).
Software & laboratory automation
H.E.L Group expands range of BioXplorer bioreactors to support bioprocess development
H.E.L Group (London, UK), a global developer and manufacturer of innovative laboratory tools for process optimization, safety and scale-up, has expanded its BioXplorer range with the introduction of two new automated parallel bioreactors: BioXplorer 400XL and BioXplorer 400P. The new systems will further enable the efficient and cost-effective development and optimization of bioprocesses.
H.E.L Group announced it will relocate its Greater London global headquarters from Borehamwood to Hemel Hempstead, over summer 2023. The move to new purpose-designed facilities supports the company’s continued expansion and plans for future growth.
Cell & gene therapy
FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific offers expanded capabilities of Presagen’s Life Whisperer Platform to aid with clinical decision making in IVF
FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc. (CA, USA), a global leader in the innovation and manufacture of cell culture solutions for the Life Science and Medical markets, announced the addition of the Life Whisperer Genetics module to its Life Whisperer software package (launched in 2021), enabling non-invasive evaluation of embryo genetic integrity during in vitro fertilization (IVF). Life Whisperer Genetics used in conjunction with Life Whisperer Viability uniquely aids in the clinical selection of blastocysts that may have a greater likelihood of being euploid and resulting in pregnancy using a single platform.
Finance, funding & acquisitions
Camena Bioscience closes $10m Series A financing as demand for DNA synthesis technology increases
Camena Bioscience (Cambridge, UK), a synthetic biology company providing genes to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, closed a $10 million Series A financing round, led by Mercia. The new funding will be used to scale operations and continue development of its pioneering DNA synthesis platform, gSynth™. Camena is the first company to offer this unique and highly accurate enzyme-based DNA synthesis technology. It has already signed commercial agreements with leading consumers of synthetic genes, securing a multi-million-pound revenue stream over the previous year.
Camena’s CEO and co-founder is Steve Harvey, a leader in genomics research, and the CSO and co-founder is Derek Stemple, a world-renowned molecular biologist and previously a co-founder of TwistDX, which was acquired by Alere (now a part of Abbott (IL, USA)) in 2010.
Imperial spinout NK:IO awarded £1.6 million Innovate UK New Cancer Therapeutics grant for development of pioneering NK cell therapy
NK:IO (London, UK), a leader in natural killer (NK) cell biology applied to the development of exceptionally potent, off-the-shelf cell therapies targeting solid tumors, has been awarded £1.6 million in grant funding from Innovate UK’s (Swindon, UK) New Cancer Therapeutics program. The funding will support preclinical development, including development of a manufacturing process in collaboration with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (London, UK), whose mission is to support the UK’s cell and gene therapy industry.
NK:IO is based on pioneering discoveries in NK cell biology from Hugh J M Brady, Professor of Immunology, and Matt Fuchter, Professor of Chemistry, at Imperial College (London, UK). NK:IO is exploiting these discoveries in its unique platform that activates blood stem cell progenitors to yield industry-leading NK cell tumor-killing potency and very high-yield cell production, which it believes will be transformative in cancer cell therapy.
Clinical trials
Avacta announces successful completion of fifth dose escalation in AVA6000 Phase I clinical study
Avacta (Wetherby, UK), a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics, announced that the fifth dose escalation cohort in the ALS-6000-101 dose escalation Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability of AVA6000 has been completed successfully. The data continue to show a very favorable safety profile for the tumor-targeted chemotherapy and several patients in cohort 5 and earlier cohorts remain on treatment as their disease has not progressed.
ARMGO Pharma enrols first patient in Phase II trial of ARM210 for the treatment of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia
ARMGO Pharma (NY, USA), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a novel class of small molecule drugs known as Rycals®, announced the enrollment of the first patient in a Phase II proof of concept clinical trial using its Rycal ARM210 (also known as S48168), for the treatment of catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). The trial, performed at the Amsterdam University Medical Center (Netherlands) and the Mayo Clinic (MN, USA), will investigate the safety and efficacy of ARM210 in CPVT. CPVT is a rare genetic heart disease causing arrhythmia. It affects 1 in 10,000 people with a fatality rate of 30-50% by the age of 40 if left untreated.
People
CN Bio appoints Samantha Macro as Chief Financial Officer
Closed Loop Medicine appoints Kate Woolland as Chief Operating Officer
Avacta appoints Shaun Chilton as Non-executive Director
Metrion Biosciences appoints Dr Steve Jenkinson as VP, Drug Discovery and Safety Assessment to strengthen US operations
PhoreMost appoints Peter Parker and Jason Imbriglio to Scientific Advisory Board
June update
This month’s Business of BioTechniques outlines co-development partnerships developing AI-driven products centered on preventative health and precision medicine and collaborations and product developments in the synthetic biology, drug discovery and diagnostics sectors. Global commercial growth in the life science industry continues, highlighted by company launches, rebrands, and key company appointments.
Drug discovery & development
Launching Revvity: a scientific solutions company powering innovation from discovery to cure
Revvity, Inc. (Waltham, USA) officially launched as a science-based solutions company that leverages innovation across life sciences and diagnostics to help improve lives everywhere. Born from two words, “revolutionize” (rev) and “vita” (vit) meaning “life” in Latin, Revvity delivers end-to-end expertise and solutions from research discovery to development, and diagnosis to cure. The Company was previously affiliated with PerkinElmer. Revvity provides reagents, consumables, assays, instruments and software to customers in markets ranging from pharma and biotech to diagnostic labs, academia and government agencies.
Following the launch, Revvity announced a new license agreement with AstraZeneca for the technology underlying its Pin-point™ base editing system, a next-generation modular gene-editing platform with a strong safety profile.
Sphere Fluidics updates brand identity to align with ambitious, global commercial growth strategy
Sphere Fluidics (Cambridge, UK), a company developing single-cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology, announced new branding to align with its ambitious global commercial growth strategy. The update has been introduced to better reflect the Company’s customer-centric approach and showcase its pioneering single-cell discovery and analysis technology, following a period of significant growth and program success.
Sphere Fluidics’ range of novel cell encapsulation products for single-cell analysis and isolation are aimed at easing customer workflows to accelerate scientific discovery. The company’s proprietary platform, Cyto-Mine®, uses its picodroplet microfluidic technology and is capable of screening up to 40 million cells in several hours, while maintaining viability, to greatly increase throughput and support the acceleration of biopharmaceutical discovery and development, cell therapy, and synthetic biology workflows.
Gyros Protein Technologies introduces Gyrolab Generic Cyno ADA Kit Reagents to support pre-clinical immunogenicity assessment
Gyros Protein Technologies (Uppsala, Sweden), a leading provider of peptide synthesizers and reagents and a pioneer in automated nanoliter-scale immunoassays, introduced Gyrolab® Generic Cyno Anti-Drug Antibodies (ADA) Kit Reagents, for the detection of circulating immune complexes of human IgG with cyno anti-human IgG. The new ready-to-use kit reagents streamline pre-clinical development of antibody-based therapeutics, enabling immunogenicity screening of drug candidates without the need for drug-specific ADA assay development.
Diagnostics
Owlstone Medical wins contract from U.S. Department of Defense to develop handheld breath biopsy device for early infectious disease detection
Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK), the leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, has won an award from the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense, for ‘Exhaled Breath Diagnostics’. The ‘EXHALE’ project, focused on the early detection of human infection using volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on breath, will develop a handheld device capable of non-invasive detection of pre-symptomatic respiratory infectious disease. Most current diagnostic testing platforms are unsuitable to be deployed in the field, and so there is a significant need for a portable solution. The portable device by Owlstone will be adapted to work off battery power and detect VOCs present in exhaled breath, filling a gap in infectious disease detection.
Synthetic biology
Evonetix delivers first chip-synthesized DNA to the University of Cambridge
Evonetix (Cambridge, UK), the company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, announced that DNA synthesized using its unique semiconductor chip technology was delivered to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. This milestone marks the start of the next stage of development for the company as it expands the range and scale of DNA synthesized on its desktop platform.
The DNA was delivered to Jenny Molloy, Co-chair of the Engineering Biology Interdisciplinary Research Centre at the University of Cambridge (UK). The successful testing of the DNA in Molloy’s laboratory further validates Evonetix’s patented thermally controlled semiconductor technology and supports the further development of the company’s desktop DNA synthesis platform, which is being developed to enable scientists to synthesize long DNA in their own lab, enabling the biology revolution.
Software and AI
Closed Loop Medicine and Pharmanovia enter a co-development partnership for precision medicine combination therapeutics
Closed Loop Medicine (London, UK), a leading TechBio company, developing combination prescription drug plus software therapy products that enable personalized dose optimization, and Pharmanovia (London, UK), a global pharmaceutical company that commercializes novel medicines and revitalizes, extends and expands the lifecycle of established medicines, have entered a global co-development partnership.
The partnership will initially focus on the development and launch of a drug + software combination version of a first-line anti-hypertensive in the UK before phased global roll-out and additional therapies are added. As part of this partnership, Closed Loop Medicine’s proprietary Software-as-a-Medical Device (SaMD) dosing optimization technology will be combined with Pharmanovia’s established anti-hypertensive medicines, under a single prescription. Recent preliminary clinical trial results have demonstrated that Closed Loop Medicine’s technology may provide the ability to dose-optimize drug therapy, improve blood pressure control, and minimize side effects.
Pangaea Data awarded strategic partnership by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool’s Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC) to characterize patients across hard-to-diagnose mental health conditions
Pangaea Data (London, UK), provider of a novel artificial-intelligence-driven product for characterizing patients by automatically discovering clinical signatures for 4,000 hard-to-diagnose conditions in an evolving, privacy-preserving and scalable manner, has been awarded a strategic partnership by the newly established Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC; Liverpool, UK). M-RIC will be applying Pangaea’s product to characterize patients across hard-to-diagnose mental health conditions and discover new clinically actionable intelligence, which will help to find more undiagnosed, misdiagnosed and miscoded patients.
Cell & gene therapy
Axol Bioscience collaborates with StrataStem to deliver stem cell based ‘clinical trial in a dish’ for Alzheimer’s Disease
Axol Bioscience (Cambridge, UK), a leading pluripotent stem cell technology provider for drug discovery has signed an exclusive agreement with StrataStem to access and commercialize its extensive collection of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) consented patient samples. Harnessing its stem cell expertise, Axol will reprogram these patient samples into induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) that can then be differentiated into a wide range of brain cells, including neurons and neuroinflammatory cells. Grown in vitro, these cells can provide patient-specific human brain models from a large cohort of AD patients – to create a ‘clinical trial in a dish’.
Through the creation of iPSCs and resulting differentiated brain cells from this large-scale Alzheimer’s cohort, Axol aims to enable patient stratification prior to clinical trials for AD treatments, allowing drug discovery companies to select the most responsive patients for trial.
Cellular Origins launches Constellation™, its configurable robotic platform to enable scalable manufacture of advanced therapies
Cellular Origins, a TTP Company (Cambridge, UK), focused on enabling scalable, cost-effective and space-efficient manufacture of cell and gene therapies (CGTs), has launched Constellation™, its closed, configurable, robotic platform at the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy Annual Meeting 2023. Designed to automate the manufacturing of advanced therapies without significant process redevelopment, Constellation combines aseptic fluid handling technologies with advanced automation from the industry 4.0 revolution.
Cellular Origins is working closely with a growing list of partners, such as the recently announced collaboration with ScaleReady (MN, USA), a joint venture between Fresenius Kabi (Bad Homburg, Germany), Bio-Techne and Wilson Wolf (both MN, USA) that brings together process development expertise, tools and technologies for scalable CGT manufacturing. The partnership aims to automate portions of ScaleReady’s CGT manufacturing workflow by using Cellular Origin’s robotic system for sterile liquid transfer.
Finance, funding and acquisitions
Avacta acquires Coris Bioconcept, adding a broad range of marketed professional-use rapid tests to the Group
Avacta (London, UK), a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics, acquired Coris Bioconcept (Gembloux, Belgium) for an upfront cash consideration of £7.4 million, with an earnout based on future business performance, payable in cash, of up to £3.0 million.
Avacta’s diagnostics division is driving ambitious growth through an M&A-led strategy with the aim of supporting healthcare professionals and broadening access to high-quality diagnostics. The strategy is focused on both acquiring routes into the diagnostics market and appropriate IP-rich product portfolios. Coris Bioconcept, based in Gembloux, Belgium and established in 1996, develops, manufactures and markets rapid diagnostic test kits, mainly lateral flow tests, for use by healthcare professionals.
People
CN Bio appoints Dr. Samantha Macro as Chief Financial Officer
Sphere Fluidics appoints Kenneth Hitchner as Chairman of its Board of Directors
Global Access Diagnostics (GADx) welcomes new leadership
H.E.L Group makes senior appointments as it continues to scale globally
May update
The past few months have seen industry collaborations across the life science space with a focus on the treatment and diagnosis of cancer, interesting developments in peptide manufacture and therapeutics and AI-driven drug discovery solutions. We also highlight significant funding rounds and high-level company appointments.
Industry developments in SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19
COVID-19 rapid antigen self-test, COVI-Go, receives US FDA emergency use authorization for home use
Mologic Inc. (ME, USA), the US subsidiary of Global Access Diagnostics, a leading developer of lateral flow and rapid diagnostic technologies, products and services, announced that its proprietary, streamlined all-in-one COVI-Go™ SARS-CoV-2 Ag Self-Test received emergency use authorization from the US FDA for over-the-counter home use.
Drug discovery & development
Sphere Fluidics begins work with partners on 3DSecret program to investigate mechanisms of metastasis in cancer
Sphere Fluidics (Cambridge, UK), a company developing single-cell analysis systems underpinned by its patented picodroplet technology, announced its involvement in 3DSecret, a four-year research project funded through the European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder Open 2022, established under Horizon Europe, the EU’s key funding program for research and innovation. Coordinated by the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, the consortium has been awarded €3.4 million and aims to develop novel technologies to investigate the stochastic patterns behind metastasis at the single-cell level, to predict cancer evolution.
3DSecret brings together multidisciplinary experts in microfluidics, nanosensors, AI, cell genomics and transcriptomics from four European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy and the UK). As a consortium partner, Sphere Fluidics is providing its patented picodroplet technology to support development of an integrated microfluidic device, the 3DSecret-chip, for the reproducible and controlled formation of 3D spheroids from single cancer cells.
Gyros Protein Technologies introduces new PurePep EasyClean services to accelerate development and manufacturing of peptide-based drugs
Gyros Protein Technologies (Uppsala, Sweden), a leading provider of peptide synthesizers and reagents and a pioneer in automated nanoliter-scale immunoassays, has launched three service offerings to support development and manufacturing of peptide-based drugs. The new services are based on the Company’s PurePep® EasyClean (PEC) orthogonal peptide purification technology. The services are supported by two existing PEC kit types: the “Starter Kits” and “High Throughput Kits”.
Diagnostics
Bio-Rad launches PTC Tempo 96 and PTC Tempo Deepwell Thermal Cyclers
Bio-Rad Laboratories (CA, USA), a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostic products, launched its PTC Tempo 96 and PTC Tempo Deepwell Thermal Cyclers, designed to optimize PCR applications such as sequencing, cloning and genotyping.
The PTC Tempo 96 and PTC Tempo Deepwell Thermal Cyclers are a new generation of conventional PCR thermal cyclers from Bio-Rad. The latest design is built with a refreshed, intuitive user interface and flexible connectivity features for streamlining protocol management.
Owlstone Medical launches OMED Health to enable patients to better understand their gut microbiome and manage their digestive health
Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK), the leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, launched OMED Health, a dedicated, patient-centric brand and digital platform that will offer patients and clinicians access to breath-based diagnostic tests, point-of-care devices and support resources for a range of conditions.
In March, Owlstone also announced that it has entered into a research agreement with Bicycle Therapeutics (Cambridge, UK) for the development of antigen-targeted diagnostic probes for early cancer detection. The companies will investigate the potential of combining technologies and methods to develop probes that use bicyclic peptides as their targeting mechanism linked with Owlstone’s Exogenous Volatile Organic Compound (EVOC®) Probes.
Software & laboratory automation
CrestOptics launches CICERO system to provide all-in-one solution for widefield and spinning disk confocal microscopy
CrestOptics (Rome, Italy), a manufacturer of high-end microscopy solutions and advanced systems for fluorescence microscopy and diagnostic applications, launched its new spinning disk confocal microscope system, CICERO. Focusing on the essential elements of epi-fluorescence and confocal microscopy, CICERO has been developed to make high-end imaging accessible to the wider scientific community by providing a compact and cost-effective system for powerful imaging solutions.
Software & AI
Optibrium and PostEra collaborate to integrate AI drug discovery solutions
Optibrium (Cambridge, UK), a leading developer of software and AI for small molecule discovery, and PostEra (MA, USA), an AI-first biotechnology company with advanced machine learning technology for preclinical discovery, have collaborated to integrate Optibrium’s StarDrop platform with PostEra’s Manifold software. StarDrop’s comprehensive suite of drug discovery software enables de novo compound design, optimization and data analysis and now, with the seamless integration of Manifold’s retrosynthesis machine learning capabilities, users can identify the best scalable synthetic routes to produce high quality, synthetically accessible compounds in the discovery and development of new therapeutics.
Cell & gene therapy
FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific expands BalanCD CHO media platform portfolio for bioprocessing
FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific (CA, USA), focused on the development and manufacture of serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media for bioproduction and cell therapy manufacturing, expanded their BalanCD CHO Media Platform portfolio with the addition of two new, chemically defined growth media. These new additions extend the platform with specific media designed to support DG44 cell lines and perfusion culture platforms for the commercialization of monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, biosimilars and other biomolecule-based biotherapeutics.
Orbit Discovery and Evergreen Discovery collaborate to discover peptides for targeting radiopharmaceuticals
Evergreen Discovery (NJ, USA), a leading radiopharmaceutical drug development company with a focus on the treatment and diagnosis of cancer, and Orbit Discovery (Oxford, UK), a leader in the discovery of therapeutic peptide hits, have collaborated to identify specific cell-targeting peptides and advance the development of novel radiopharmaceuticals. The agreement covers activities ranging from designing peptide libraries, hit identification and hit validation to confirm cell surface binding properties.
Finance, funding & acquisitions
Mosaic Therapeutics closes $28m series A funding and appoints Brian Gladsden as CEO
Mosaic Therapeutics (Cambridge, UK), an oncology therapeutics company dedicated to resolving cancer’s complexity to power new treatments for patients, closed its USD$28 million series A funding round. The company also announced the appointment of former Novartis Oncology (Basel, Switzerland) SVP Brian Gladsden as CEO. The investment in this round was raised from Syncona Investment Management, Ltd, (London, UK) and Cambridge Innovation Capital (Cambridge, UK).
The Series A funding will be used to further advance Mosaic’s pipeline of targeted oncology therapies for biomarker-stratified populations, progressing its lead programs through preclinical development to IND-enabling studies.
SolasCure announces final closing of GBP£10.9 million Series B fundraise to advance wound care innovation
SolasCure (Cambridge, UK), a biotechnology company developing a hydrogel containing a recombinant enzyme derived from maggots that aims to accelerate wound debridement, has completed its GBP£10.9 million (c. USD$13.3 million) Series B investment round. The funding round was led by Seneca Partners (Haydock, UK) and also included industry veterans, institutional venture and strategic investors, including BRAIN Biotech AG (Zwingenberg, Germany), EVA Pharma (Cairo, Egypt), Jonathan Milner and Wealth Club (Bristol, UK).
Antiverse raises funding and demonstrates therapeutic antibody identification with AI-driven drug discovery platform
Antiverse (Cardiff, Wales), a biotechnology company developing a computational antibody drug discovery platform, announced the successful identification of functional antibody clusters targeting two G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), both displaying versatile binding profiles and nanomolar affinity. The company also announced that it has raised $3 million funding, which will enable in-house development of the antibodies showing the highest affinity blocking function, making them ideal starting points as therapeutic assets.
Five Alarm Bio, focused on minimizing the effects of aging in humans, raises seed investment
Five Alarm Bio (Cambridge, UK), a drug discovery company focused on novel approaches to anti-aging, has completed a seed investment round, raising over GBP£500,000 to further enable its pioneering research. Investors participating in the round include Cambridge Angels (UK), Meltwind (Cambridge, UK), o2h Ventures (Cambridge, UK) and SyndicateRoom (London, UK), as well as other Angel investors, with support from KPMG Acceleris (Manchester, UK). This funding follows a GBP£360,000 Biomedical Catalyst grant from Innovate UK (Swindon, UK) early last year to develop its technology as a treatment for chronic wounds.
Clinical trials
Avacta announces first patient dosed in fifth cohort of AVA6000 phase Ia dose escalation study
Avacta (London, UK), a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology drugs and powerful diagnostics, announced that the first patient has been dosed in the fifth cohort of the first-in-human Phase I trial (ALS-6000-101) of AVA6000. This follows the approval of an amended clinical trial protocol by the UK Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to allow for higher levels of dosing.
In April, Avacta announced the opening of the first two clinical investigator sites for the Phase I clinical trial of AVA6000 under its US investigational new drug application. The two sites, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (NY, USA) and Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle (WA, USA), are now open for patient enrolment to ALS-6000-101. This is the first-in-human trial of AVA6000, Avacta’s lead pre|CISION™ drug candidate for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.
People
Avacta appoints Karen Harrison as Chief Operating Officer for Therapeutics Division
CN Bio (Cambridge, UK) appoints Deepak Singh as Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Optibrium appoints computational modelling expert, Dr Hamed Tabatabaei Ghomi as Head of Research
February update
This month’s Business of BioTechniques blog highlights several new products, as well as continued growth and collaborations in the drug discovery and diagnostics sector. We also detail manufacturing and bioprocess developments in cell and gene therapy, funding and financing news and outline commercial company appointments.
Drug discovery & development
CN Bio extends microphysiological system portfolio with PhysioMimix Single-Organ Higher Throughput System
CN Bio (Cambridge, UK), an Organ-on-a-Chip company that designs and manufactures single-and multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS), announced the commercial launch of the PhysioMimix™ Single-organ Higher Throughput (HT) System. The Company’s first HT system has been designed to overcome adoption barriers currently limiting the use of predictive human liver models within drug discovery workflows, to enable use within earlier stages where larger-scale comparative studies that investigate the efficacy, disposition or safety of lead candidate drugs are required.
In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CN Bio expanded their collaboration for the second time, with new research aiming to evaluate multi-organ MPS and their applications using the PhysioMimix Multi-organ System. Building on the success of prior studies, the system will initially be investigated for improving the preclinical estimation of human drug bioavailability compared to standard animal models.
Pheno Therapeutics announces worldwide license from UCB to a novel program for neurodegenerative disease
Pheno Therapeutics (Edinburgh, UK), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics that promote remyelination for the treatment of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with UCB. The agreement grants Pheno Therapeutics access and rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize a preclinical-stage program of novel small molecules designed to promote remyelination.
Orbit Discovery and Endevica Bio enter multi-target collaboration to advance development of cachexia therapeutics
Orbit Discovery (Oxford, UK), a company focused on the discovery of therapeutic peptide hits, entered into a multi target Research Agreement with Endevica Bio (MO, USA), a company dedicated to creating first-in-class therapeutics for cachexia caused by cancer and other chronic conditions, with its lead compound having proven safe and well-tolerated in its Phase 1 trials. The collaboration aims to accelerate Endevica’s development of advanced G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-targeting therapeutics on receptor sets both novel and complimentary to its lead compound. Endevica’s technology platform allows for the modification of peptides to modulate activity of GPCRs behind the blood-brain barrier.
Ubiquigent collaborates with University of Glasgow on translational structural biology to accelerate drug discovery within the (de)ubiquitylation field
Ubiquigent (Dundee, UK), a drug discovery and development company harnessing novel deubiquitinase (DUB) modulators as new therapeutics for areas of high unmet medical need, is supporting a Master’s student at the University of Glasgow (UoG, UK) to undertake a research project on USP30, a DUB implicated in neurodegenerative, renal, and cardiovascular diseases. Overseen by structural biology experts Helen Walden (UoG) and Mehmet Gundogdu (Ubiquigent), the project aims to combine biochemistry, in vitro complex protein assembly and protein crystallography to interrogate the mechanism underlying USP30 inhibition by selected proprietary compounds.
Diagnostics
Bio-Rad’s CFX Opus Deepwell Dx Real-Time PCR System advances large reaction volume IVD assay development and diagnostic testing
Bio-Rad Laboratories (CA, USA), a leader in life science research and clinical diagnostic products, launched the CFX Opus Deepwell Dx Real-Time PCR System, a real-time PCR system listed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for in vitro diagnostic testing, and developed in accordance with the European Union’s regulations for in vitro diagnostic medical devices (EU 2017/746). Bio-Rad will continue to seek regulatory approvals for additional global markets in the coming months.
Owlstone Medical publishes data on the use of exhaled volatile organic compounds as biomarkers for liver disease detection
Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK), deploying Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, published a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology, “Breath Biopsy® to identify exhaled volatile organic compounds as biomarkers for liver cirrhosis detection”. The study identifies a set of volatile organic compounds that can identify patients with liver disease and separate them based on severity.
Owlstone is developing a non-invasive, easy to use breath test that can be taken in primary care settings for the diagnosis of advanced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The test is intended to provide a way for clinicians to efficiently screen patients to identify those most likely to benefit from upcoming NASH therapeutics.
Flow cytometry
Bio-Rad introduces StarBright Blue and StarBright Yellow dyes to enhance multiplex flow cytometry
Bio-Rad Laboratories (CA, USA) introduced both the StarBright™ Blue-series and StarBright Yellow-series Dyes to provide greater flexibility in conventional and full spectrum flow cytometry applications. Offering exceptional brightness with narrow excitation and emission profiles for precise resolution, the dyes expand research capabilities across the blue (488 nm) and yellow (561 nm) lasers.
In February, Cytek Biosciences announced a strategic partnership with Bio-Rad. Under the terms of the agreement, Bio-Rad’s new StarBright Dyes will be available to Cytek to develop and commercialize reagent products to support high-parameter applications on Aurora and Northern Lights™ flow cytometry systems.
Software and AI
Pangaea Data named “Digital Solution of the Year” by the UK Government’s Department for International Trade
Pangaea Data (CA, USA), provider of a novel AI-driven product for characterizing patients by mapping their journeys and disease trajectories in a privacy-preserving and scalable manner, has been named “Digital Solution of the Year” by the UK Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT), as part of its 2023 UK Life Science Innovator Showcase. UK DIT selected Pangaea for this award from thousands of UK companies across the life science industry as a direct result of its international growth and innovative approach to tackling healthcare challenges.
Cell & gene therapy
FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific launches HEK293 Feed, specifically designed for viral vector production
FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific (CA, USA), focused on the development and manufacture of serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media for bioproduction and cell therapy manufacturing, launched its BalanCD HEK293 Viral Feed. The chemically defined, nutrient-based HEK293-specific feed medium is designed to boost adeno-associated viral vector production for gene therapy applications and viral vector-based vaccines.
Vector BioPharma and iBET collaborate to develop high-throughput analytical methods and scalable processes for gene delivery
Vector BioPharma (Basel, Switzerland), a biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the safety, efficacy, and specificity of drug delivery to improve treatments for patients, has entered into a strategic, multi-phase collaboration with the Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (Oeiras, Portugal), a world-leading research-intensive organization specialized in biotechnology research and bioprocess development. The partnership aims to develop high-throughput quantification methods to advance the technical development of Vector’s gene delivery platform.
TTP introduces Cellular Origins, a TTP Company focussed on delivering scalable manufacture of cell and gene therapies
TTP plc (Cambridge, UK), an independent technology and product development company, saw the launch of Cellular Origins, a TTP Company. Cellular 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 enables full automation of current cell therapy manufacturing and future innovation of new processes.
Finance, funding and acquisitions
Evonetix closes $24 million USD (£20 million) financing
Evonetix (Cambridge, UK), the synthetic biology company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, has completed a USD $24 million financing round, extending its total series B funding to over USD $54 million (circa GB £44 million). This fundraise was led by existing investor Foresite Capital, with Molten Ventures, Morningside, DCVC, Cambridge Consultants, Civilization Ventures and Providence also participating in the round.
The investment will enable the continued development of Evonetix’s semiconductor chips to commercial scale, and the extension of gene assembly capabilities for its unique binary assembly technology to deliver accurate, gene-length DNA in a benchtop instrument.
MIP Discovery secures significant funding to support development of global rapid response diagnostics
MIP Discovery (Bedfordshire, UK), develops rationally designed detection reagents based on its proprietary nanoMIP™ technology, has secured a significant grant of funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The innovative project will focus on the use of MIP Discovery’s animal/cell free detection reagents as an improvement over antibodies, to quickly enable low-cost, high volume diagnostic tests, for low and middle-income countries during endemic or pandemic outbreaks.
Clinical trials
Avacta announces successful completion of fourth dose escalation in AVA6000 phase 1 clinical study
Avacta (London and Wetherby, UK), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cancer therapies and powerful diagnostics based on its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms, announced that AVA6000 continues to show a very favorable safety profile in the fourth dose cohort of the ALS-6000-101 dose escalation phase 1 clinical trial. Additionally, analysis of tumor biopsies obtained from six patients across several cohorts indicates that doxorubicin is being released within the tumor tissue, confirming the tumor targeting potential of the pre|CISION™ technology.
On February 23rd, the Company hosted a Science Day to discuss the recent progress within its Therapeutics pipeline and hear from selected key opinion leaders in the oncology field. A full recording of the presentations is available here.
People
Optibrium appoints Steve Yemm as Chief Commercial Officer
H.E.L Group appoints Allen Wang as General Manager of H.E.L China
January update
This month’s Business of BioTechniques blog highlights industry collaborations to advance treatments of rare genetic disorders and develop novel RNAi-based medicines alongside strategic research partnerships to enhance AI-based drug discovery. In the diagnostics space, news outlines vaccine development and breath biopsy advancement supporting early disease detection.
Drug discovery & development
PhoreMost reaches milestone in target discovery alliance with Boehringer Ingelheim
PhoreMost (Cambridge, UK), the UK-based biopharmaceutical company dedicated to ‘Drugging the Undruggable®’ disease targets, has triggered a milestone payment in its multi-project target discovery collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany). This was achieved by identifying and validating novel targets supporting Boehringer Ingelheim’s ambition to develop first-in-class therapies to transform patients’ lives. The collaboration was established in January 2020 with PhoreMost deploying its in-house expertise and next-generation phenotypic screening platform, SITESEEKER®, towards disease-relevant pathways selected by Boehringer Ingelheim.
Based on the targets discovered by PhoreMost, the development of potential new therapies will now be continued at Boehringer Ingelheim leading to potential further success based on pre-clinical, clinical and commercial milestone payments.
In December, PhoreMost, and ThinkCyte (Tokyo, Japan), a biotechnology company pioneering novel cell analysis and sorting instruments, announced a strategic research partnership aimed at advancing modern phenotypic drug screening using artificial intelligence. The partnership leverages both companies’ distinctive technologies in high-throughput drug discovery, PhoreMost’s SITESEEKER platform, and ThinkCyte’s AI-driven cell characterization and sorting platform, Ghost Cytometry®, with the aim of developing differentiated therapies for a range of diseases with unmet clinical need.
Sartorius BIA Separations and Exopharm sign joint research agreement to develop integrated technology for large-scale exosome production
Sartorius BIA Separations (Ajdovscina, Slovenia), a leading bio-chromatography company, now part of the international life science group Sartorius (Gottingen, Germany), and Exopharm (Melbourne, Australia), a company at the forefront of transformative medicines using exosomes, or extracellular vesicles, have entered into a formal collaboration. The two companies have signed a Material Transfer Agreement and associated collaborative program that aims to exploit the synergy of Exopharm’s patented LEAP technology together with BIA’s unique CIM (Convective Interaction Media) monolith chromatography for improved large-scale therapeutic exosome production and commercialization.
BIA and Exopharm recognize the demand for a large-scale, high-efficiency purification technology that overcomes critical issues associated with the production of clinical-quality exosomes as delivery vehicles for gene-based therapeutics. To meet this demand, the new collaboration will utilize novel and innovative technologies alongside subject matter expertise provided by both Companies.
Metrion Biosciences invests in new High Throughput Screening capability and expanded facilities
Metrion Biosciences (Cambridge, UK) the specialist ion channel contract research and drug discovery company, announced the launch of its High-Throughput Screening (HTS) capability, as well as the expansion of its state-of-the-art lab and office facilities. Scott Maidment has been appointed as Head of HTS to lead the new service.
The Company has signed a nine-year lease for an additional 8,160 sq. ft of space adjacent to its headquarters on Granta Park, Cambridge, UK, giving a combined total of 20,000 sq. ft (1,860 m2). The new facility and HTS capabilities, which include 384 well screening via FLIPR Penta and Qube-384, will provide significant additional capacity and flexibility to serve ongoing and future ion channel drug discovery projects for Metrion’s global client base. The Company has also installed an Agilent Bravo liquid handling robot, adding further capacity to its suite of automated sample preparation and compound handling instruments. Scott Maidment has been appointed as Head of HTS to lead the introduction of the new service. Scott joins Metrion from Charles River Laboratories (MA, USA), where he was Senior Research Leader.
At the start of 2023, Metrion Biosciences, and The KCNC1 Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on the development of a treatment for an ultra-rare genetic disorder, collaborated to progress a hit identification research project for small molecule modulators of the potassium ion channel Kv3.1, targeting KCNC1-related disorders.
Orbit Discovery and SanegeneBio collaborate to identify targeting peptides for RNAi drugs
Orbit Discovery (Oxford, USA), a leader in the discovery of therapeutic peptide hits, has entered into a Master Service Agreement with SanegeneBio Inc. (MA, USA), a start-up company dedicated to developing novel RNAi-based medicines. The focus of the collaboration is to identify tissue-specific delivery of a wide range of RNA therapeutics to efficiently knock down disease-causing genes. The agreement covers activities ranging from hit ID to cell-based internalization studies, with an option for Sanegene to further develop the hits resulting from the screening activities. Through the collaboration with Orbit, Sanegene is looking to develop a portfolio of advanced RNAi therapeutics.
Orbit’s proprietary technology enables the screening of large libraries of peptides using a combination of DNA encoded libraries and bead-based presentation. The peptide display engine is uniquely able to address soluble targets and targets in situ, both on and in cells, allowing for significantly faster discovery times of relevant peptide leads based on affinity screens and/or functional screens.
Gyros Protein Technologies adds Gyrolab Biomarker Kits to expand range of ready-to-use kits and reagents
Gyros Protein Technologies (Uppsala, Sweden), a leading provider of peptide synthesizers and reagents and a pioneer in automated nanoliter-scale immunoassays, introduced Gyrolab® Human Cytokine Kit Reagents, the first in a range of new biomarker kits. These include five single analyte biomarker kit reagents for the quantification of human inflammatory cytokines: human TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-4. The new Gyrolab® Human Cytokine Kit Reagents are optimized for use on all Gyrolab systems, offer improved assay performance, and meet key customer needs to face the biomarker assay development challenges encountered during drug development programs and regulatory studies.
Diagnostics
Owlstone Medical launches Breath Biopsy VOC Atlas
Owlstone Medical (Cambridge, UK), the global leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, launched the Breath Biopsy VOC Atlas, a catalogue of validated and quantitated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found on breath.
The Breath Biopsy VOC Atlas has been built through detailed analysis of breath samples representing a diverse mix of ages and ethnic backgrounds to identify and quantify commonly seen chemicals originating from breath. The Atlas will form the basis of future biomarker discovery through incorporation into Owlstone’s Breath Biopsy OMNI® platform. By now being able to analyze VOCs with baseline chemical levels known, alterations related to disease can be more easily recognized and developed into biomarkers.
The Native Antigen Company introduces new range of influenza antigens and expands infectious disease portfolio to include Sudan Ebolavirus Boniface 1976 Glycoprotein
The Native Antigen Company (Oxford, UK), part of LGC Clinical Diagnostics (MA, USA), and one of the world’s leading suppliers of reagents that enables research into diagnostics and vaccines for emerging and endemic infectious diseases, launched its latest range of commercial influenza Haemagglutinin and Neuraminidase antigens for the southern hemisphere’s 2023 flu season. These latest influenza antigens will help support development of vaccines and diagnostics as part of the ongoing vaccine reformulation programme, helping to ensure public safety throughout the annual flu season.
During November, The Native Antigen Company also announced the commercial release of its Sudan Ebolavirus Boniface 1976 Glycoprotein. The addition of this latest recombinant protein expands the Company’s comprehensive portfolio of antigens and antibodies for infectious diseases and has been designed to support immunoassay and vaccine development.
Cell culture
Shenandoah Biotechnology introduces expanded range of CTGrade recombinant proteins manufactured following cGMP practices
Shenandoah Biotechnology Inc. (PA, USA), a FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific (CA, USA) company and leading manufacturer of recombinant proteins, has expanded its CTGrade portfolio of cytokines and growth factors for cell and
gene therapies manufactured following cGMP guidelines. The expanded range, which is now available directly through FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, includes CTGrade cytokines IL-2, IL-3, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, IL-15, IL-21, and FLT-3 ligand, with additional proteins in development that optimize cell proliferation and function for new cell and gene therapies applications.
Cytokines and growth factors are signaling molecules that regulate cell growth, differentiation, and motility, as well as immune and inflammatory responses, and are therefore used for the expansion, differentiation, and maintenance of cells in most cell therapies. The Shenandoah products are developed harnessing FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific’s extensive regulatory expertise and quality control to ensure lot-to-lot consistency, reproducibility in downstream cell culture processes, and the smooth transition of biological therapies from preclinical to clinical phases.
FUJIFILM Corporation recently invested $188 million in new cell culture media manufacturing facility. The new facility will be operated by FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific to meet increasing market demands for high quality cell culture media solutions.
Veterinary healthcare
Global Access Diagnostics joins consortium to co-develop on-farm rapid test for calf pneumonia, RaDiCal
Global Access Diagnostics (Bedford, USA), a social enterprise prioritizing equitable access to diagnostics and driving local manufacturing, announced the development of RaDiCal, a one-step molecular lateral flow test to enable rapid diagnosis of pneumonia, one of the most significant diseases affecting calves. The test is being developed through a collaborative consortium, including representatives from the University of Surrey, University of Glasgow, Cardiff University, and Westpoint Farm Vets, to provide a low-cost platform to be used by vets or farmers on-farm. The project is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
People
CN Bio appoints Dr Paul Brooks as Chief Executive Officer
Optibrium appoints Ian Smith as Chief Technology Officer
Sphere Fluidics appoints Richard Hammond as Chief Technical Officer
The Native Antigen Company strengthens senior team to support growing product portfolio
Ubiquigent appoints Dr Xavier Jacq to Scientific Advisory Board
Author details
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