#14 - Genetic twists, turns and turmoil

The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.

Good morning fine readers,

This week, we bring you tales of genetic twists, turns and turmoil…including a board exodus at 23andMe, a new AI partnership for drug discovery between Google Cloud and Ginkgo Bioworks, biological results from Charles River’s collaboration with cell therapy innovator Ori Biotech, Novo Nordisk betting big on genetic medicines with NanoVation, and a new therapeutic contender for the achondroplasia crown.

Plus, ever heard of a university spin-in? Now you have…

Until next time, 

Dodo

If there’s anything you’d like to see in future editions of Biotech Dodo, send us a message.

Discover 🔍

🧬 Turmoil strikes 23andMe as board members resign in dispute with founder (Washington Post): It’s been a rocky few years for 23andMe, with falling revenue and share price shrinking to just 30 cents. Now, in a major shakeup, all seven independent directors of 23andMe have resigned from the company's board, citing disagreements with CEO Anne Wojcicki on the strategic direction of the company: Wojcicki believes taking the company private is the “best opportunity for long term success”; the board evidently, do not. 

Our take: Losing an entire board in one afternoon is no small matter, and 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki is now under pressure to replace the outgoing independent directors, and create a secure route going forward for shareholders. No doubt this news – mere days after a $30 million settlement for a data hack – will drive share prices down even further. It’s safe to say the company is on very shaky ground indeed.

🧑‍💻 Google Cloud And Ginkgo Bioworks Partner To Launch New Protein LLM and API (Forbes): Well this is an exciting one…Google Cloud and Ginkgo Bioworks have joined forces to launch two new products: a protein-focused large language model (LLM), which will allow researchers to rapidly interrogate and understand their protein data, and an API, which will give scientists and engineers access to sophisticated models trained on protein and DNA data – including ‘ginkgo-AA-0-650m’, a large-scale model trained on 2+ billion proprietary protein sequences.

Our take: Google Cloud’s expertise in machine learning, paired with Ginkgo’s bioengineering chops, seems to be a match made in biotech heaven. This double-pronged collaboration will allow drug developers to leverage AI in protein engineering – without having to develop or train models in-house.

🤖 Ori doubles down on Charles River collaboration with promising new data on its automated cell therapy platform (Fierce Pharma): In promising news for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector, Ori Biotech and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) have released preliminary data showcasing the potential of Ori's automated cell therapy manufacturing platform, IRO. The biological data – which compares IRO against CRL legacy manufacturing technology – shows that the platform performed as well as (or better!) than current processes, while reducing labour, cost-of-goods and processing times.

Our take: Focusing on the manufacturing piece of the CGT development puzzle is a savvy move, as without scalable processes, patients will continue to be let down by lack of access to advanced therapies. Ori is hoping to have 10 partners up and running in the next 6 months, showing that when it comes to CGT manufacturing, there is a clear appetite for innovation.

💉 Novo Nordisk bets $600M biobucks on NanoVation's ability to take genetic medicines beyond the liver (Fierce Biotech): Novo Nordisk has teamed up with NanoVation Therapeutics in a strategic partnership aimed at advancing its long-circulating lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology into rare genetic and cardiometabolic diseases. Set to be worth up to $600 million, plus research funding and tiered royalties, the collaboration will initially focus on two drug candidates – of which Novo Nordisk will receive an exclusive worldwide license – with an option to expand to up to five additional potential targets.

Our take: Continuing its push into genetic medicines, Novo’s shift into new modalities – including small molecules, RNAi therapies and gene editing – shows no signs of abating. This new partnership, which leverages NanoVation’s liver-cell-developed LNP technology into cells beyond the liver will allow both companies to “test and learn” in the rare disease space, before expanding into larger indications. This seems to be a smart bet on unlocking the full potential of RNA therapies.

📈 Ascendis trial data piles pressure on BioMarin (BioPharma Dive): Well, well well, it’s seems there is a new player in the achondroplasia space. Ascendis Pharma has released clinical trial results for the disease (a common cause of dwarfism) and is now hoping for FDA approval – aiming for market entry by late 2025 or early 2026. Ascendis drug ‘TransCon CNP’ directly competes with BioMarin’s Voxzogo, which until now, has been the main achondroplasia player.

Our take: It’s definitely heating up in the achondroplasia field! While BioMarin has a head-start – they have bet big on their drug Voxzogo, and a new competitor could foil their plans for market domination. With other players now joining the achondroplasia party – including BridgeBio Pharma, with their drug infigratinib – each company will need to demonstrate superior efficacy, to stand out in a rapidly crowding market. All bets are on here…this is a race Dodo will be keeping a beady eye on.

And finally, a slightly different story to end today’s Biotech Dodo…

🧬 How a struggling biotech company became a university ‘spin-in’ (Nature): After visiting a snake-bite clinic in Tanzania, Andreas Laustsen-Kiel co-founded VenomAb, a drug development company focusing on using recombinant DNA technology and monoclonal antibodies to make better anti-venoms. After the company folded, Andreas made the novel biotech move of “spinning in” to a university, and now leads the Center for Antibody Technologies at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Kongens Lyngby.

Our take: With a name like VenomAb, you’ll forgive this Dodo for approaching this story with a bit of trepidation. But we can confirm our fears were unheeded! This is a fascinating profile of how a founder can continue making a clinical and societal impact, even when financial returns do not look forthcoming.

Tune in 🎧

💡Taking risks and jumping for the right opportunity
Jon Chee is joined by Derek Hennecke, Board Member of Kincell Bio, to talk about Derek’s early career challenges and how he navigated switching from business development into leadership roles.

🛢️ Swimming in the new oil
Daniel Levine chats to Lincoln Nadauld, president and CEO of Culmination Bio, about the patient data driving the company’s platform and how partners are using it to develop new therapies.

🤖 Engineering the future of drug discovery

Murat Tunaboylu, Antiverse CEO and Co-Founder, talks about how they are leveraging AI and wet lab innovation to accelerate the discovery and development of biologics. 

Apply ✍️

🖥️ Genomics Bioinformatician, Basecamp Research: Love cracking the genetic code? In this role, you’ll take ownership of sequencing and metagenomic data analysis, and manage workflows, to unlock the secrets of microbial dark matter. 

🎬 Associate Director for Scientific Programs, InVitro Cell Research: Keen to slow down the sands of time? Lead groundbreaking research aimed at reversing the clock on human aging as you guide teams, and push the boundaries of biogerontology and regenerative medicine.

📚 Biotechnology Research Associate, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc: Fascinated by market trends? Analyse market trends, build financial models, and create investment-driven reports, helping shape the future of biotech investments with keen analytical skills to drive insights.

RSVP 📆

💬 23.09 | Healthtech Talks | London, UK: SomX and Google dive straight into the next big conversation, “Complex Systems, Complex Data: Why AI Has Arrived Late to the Biology Party”, plus networking and drinks.

🏆 26.09 | Endpoints 11 | Boston, US: Join Endpoints at their annual awards event, for an evening of fireside chats and editorial conversations. Plus, network with the most promising biotechs in the industry.

💊 26.09 | Webinar: Empowering Patients to Overcome Challenges in Orphan Drug Development: Hosted by Novotech, join this webinar on the challenges of orphan drug development, where industry experts will share practical examples and key strategies.

🧬 15.10 | European Cell & Gene Therapy Summit 2024 | London, UK: Now in its second year, connect with leading experts, executives and thought leaders in an event aimed to inspire, educate, and connect you with the people shaping the future of advanced therapies.

Got news, jobs or events you think are worth coo-ing over? Post an event here, or email us at biotechdodo@substack.com!

SomX is a communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.