#33 - The Super Bowl, cattle & cosmic experiments
The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.
Hello from the 50-yard line,
Biotech took centre stage at this year’s Super Bowl with pharma and biotech companies flexing their messaging muscles. Meanwhile, Lilly’s deal spree continues, snapping up partnerships in MASH and radiopharmaceuticals. Over in Sweden, a startup is tackling climate change, Bain is making a play for Japanese pharma, and NASA’s astronauts are busy keeping crews healthy on long-haul space missions.
See you at the next huddle,
Dodo
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Discover 🔍
🏈 Super Bowl LIX and the biotech sector: A new arena for engagement (Gene Online): This year's sporting spectacle showcased some of biotech's biggest players. Pfizer's 60-second "Knock Out" campaign shared their ambitious goal of eight cancer breakthroughs by 2030, Novartis enlisted breast cancer survivor Wanda Sykes to champion awareness, while OpenAI chose this moment for their television debut. Beyond advertising, the event wove together public health messaging and STEM education to a massive viewership to build stronger, broader brand connections.
Our take: We're witnessing a recalibration of biotech's public engagement strategy. Now, big players and startups alike see the Super Bowl’s 100-million-plus viewership as a chance to influence consumer and corporate mindsets. By staking a claim in pop culture and public discourse, biotechs are hoping that heightened visibility translates into investment, better patient engagement, and, ultimately, improved health outcomes.
✍ Lilly signs back-to-back deals in MASH, cancer (BioSpace): Well, well, well – Eli Lilly has been rather busy of late. First up: a tie-up with OliX Pharmaceuticals to develop an siRNA therapy targeting MARC1 – another piece in its growing MASH strategy alongside Zepbound. Then, a partnership with AdvanCell for Pb-212-based radiopharmaceuticals, expanding its oncology toolkit. However, the financial details remain discreetly tucked away, as is often the case with these affairs.
Our take: Treatments for liver disease have experienced a pharma drought, yet Lilly is doubling down with an siRNA approach to complement its metabolic pipeline. Meanwhile, their move into radiopharmaceuticals with AdvanCell positions them smartly in the alpha-emitting isotope therapy space, where targeted radiotherapy is rapidly evolving. This echoes moves from Bayer and Novartis, suggesting these lead-based therapies might be having their moment soon.
🐄 Why this Swedish biotech bagged €6M to block methane from cattle? (Tech Funding News): Methane is 28 times more potent than CO₂, and cows are among its worst offenders. Enter Agteria Biotec, founded in 2023, who has set the punchy goal of slashing 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike existing additives, Agteria’s approach has shown robust methane reductions in in-vivo trials, promising cost-effective, scalable adoption across dairy and beef farming.
Our take: Methane from livestock has long been an Achilles’ heel for climate efforts, as it’s hard to reduce without disrupting productivity. Agteria’s approach – targeting emissions directly in the digestive tract – sidesteps this trade-off most efficiently. If Agteria’s molecule delivers on both the science and economic fronts, it could very well usher in a more sustainable era of agriculture.
🇯🇵 Bain throws down $3.3B to acquire Japan's Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (FiercePharma): Mitsubishi Chemical is cashing out of pharma, offloading Tanabe, Medicago, and Alpha Therapeutic to refocus on chemicals. For Tanabe, Bain’s backing brings capital and strategic autonomy, setting the stage for expansion in R&D, licensing, and global markets. With a strong commercial base in Japan and expertise in metabolic and immunology drugs, Tanabe is well-placed for growth. The transaction is set to close in Q3 2025.
Our take: Historically, Japanese drug approvals required separate late-stage studies, discouraging some cross-border deals. Now, with regulators increasingly open to data from international trials, Tanabe Pharma could leverage Bain’s capital to in-license late-stage candidates and push them through Japan’s evolving approval system. Meanwhile, Bain’s playbook suggests pipeline expansion, potential M&A, and a sharper commercial focus (as seen with Takeda and Sumitomo’s recent divestitures).
And finally…
🚀 Biotechnology to sustain crews on long missions tops research schedule (NASA): ‘Expedition 72’ astronauts stranded on the ISS are are being kept busy, using novel biotechnology to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of extended space travel. Suni Williams is pioneering a BioNutrients study, using genetically engineered yeast for fresh nutrient production – rather more sophisticated than freeze-dried rations. Meanwhile, Butch Wilmore is testing an novel thigh cuff device to prevent fluid shifts that threaten astronauts' vision in microgravity.
Our take: Rather brilliant how space constraints lead to elegant solutions! The unique problems of deep-space missions drive biomanufacturing solutions and physiological countermeasures which are closer to necessity than novelty. But perhaps more interestingly, is how this technology might trickle down to Earth. Self-sustaining nutrient production? Wearable tech for circulation issues? Space biotech isn’t just about surviving up there; it progresses healthcare down here too.
Tune in
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From naming challenges to logo design and storytelling, this episode explores how to craft a standout biotech brand, avoid common pitfalls, and build a strategy that scales.
👩🔬 The Underlying Truths for Women in STEM
In case the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (IDWGS) passed you by this week…tune into this episode, which focuses on the challenges of gender disparities in STEM, the power of mentorship, and what it really takes to create lasting change in science.
🌍 The Biological Key to Atmospheric Methane Removal
Discover how engineered microbes, bioreactors, and innovative biotech strategies are shaping climate strategy, and the ethical and technological questions surrounding methane interventions.
Apply ✍️
💡 Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), Antiverse: Can you steer antibody discovery from target to IND? Lead target selection, preclinical development, and pharma partnerships to shape the future of drug discovery.
📋 Senior Director/Director, Program Management, Vor Bio: Love keeping complex projects on track? In this role, you’ll orchestrate clinical programs, align cross-functional teams, and drive first-in-class cell therapies from development to deliver.
🧬 Gene Therapy Scientist, Whitelab Genomics: Can you fine-tune viral vectors? Design and validate cutting-edge molecular assets, collaborate across disciplines, and drive innovative delivery strategies to shape the next wave of genetic medicine.
RSVP 📆
📺 20.02 | IBIC webinar series | Online: Join this 'Lunch and Learn' webinar on ‘Digital Enzyme Evolution’. You’ll learn how researchers are leveraging AI and robotics to transform enzyme development, and what it takes to build a successful TechBio company.
🐝 26.02 | HETT Show North | Manchester, UK: Explore the latest in digital health, from AI to interoperability, and connect with experts shaping the future of patient care and healthcare efficiency.
🇨🇭26–27.02 | 18TH Annual Life Science CEO Forum | Switzerland: Biotech's biggest brains converge at the 18th Annual European Life Sciences CEO Forum, where industry leaders will forge the future of innovation through thought-provoking discussions on AI, diagnostics, and investment strategies.
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