The Patent Fights that Shaped the Biotech Industry, Bridging the Cell and Gene Therapy Translational Divide, and Leveraging AI in Clinical Development

Here's what you may have in March from The Bio Report, RARECast, Life Sciences D'n'A, and MitoCast podcasts.

The Bio Report

Engaging Hard-to-Target Receptors with Antibodies that Activate

Antibodies have been powerful tools for inhibiting a targeted protein. Abalone Bio is pursuing a new class of antibody therapies called activating antibodies that can regulate cellular processes and restore their balance. One aspect that makes these rare antibodies attractive is that they can target previously undruggable G protein-coupled receptors, allowing them to treat diseases that have been hard to address. We spoke to Richard Yu , co-founder and CEO of Abalone Bio , about activating antibodies, how the company generates massive data sets for its AI-driven platform technology, and how it looks beyond binding to explore the function of these antibodies.

An Insider’s View of the Patent Fights that Shaped the Biotech Industry

Jorge Goldstein, co-founder of the law firm Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, discusses the biotech industry’s critical patent battles, his new book "Patenting Life: Tales from the Front Lines of Intellectual Property and the New Biology," and how he is working today to use patents as instruments for social and economic justice.

Restoring Balance to the Immune System in Allergic Diseases

Woody Bryan, president and CEO of Revolo Biotherapeutics, discusses eosinophilic esophagitis, how the company’s experimental therapy restores homeostasis to the immune system, and how people who were exposed to tuberculosis pointed the way toward the experimental therapy.

Turning Natural Killers into Off-the-Shelf Therapies for Autoimmune Disease

Fred Aslan, president and CEO of Artiva Biotherapeutics, discusses the company’s off-the-shelf NK cell therapies, the case for pairing them with monoclonal antibodies, and how they can broaden the uses for cell therapies.

Thanks to Prevail InfoWorks and the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) for their support of The Bio Report

RARECast

Engineering Skin Bacteria to Be Live Biotherapeutics

Netherton syndrome is a rare and chronic skin condition. One in ten infants with the disease will die as a result of infections and related complications. Azitra has devNetherton syndrome, the company’s platform technology for engineering live biotherapeutic products, and why it takes more than simply inserting a gene into a desired bacteria to produce these treatments.

Seeing the Gene and Cell Therapy Translational Divide as an Opportunity

Nathan Yozwiak, head of research at the Mass General Brigham Gene and Cell Therapy Institute, discusses the translational divide for cell and gene therapies, how the institute is addressing that, and what it might do to enable the development of bespoke therapies for ultra-rare diseases.

My Mother, Myself, and ALS

Patient advocate Raziel Green discusses her experience with ALS, her decision to enroll in a clinical trial, and her use of an ASO therapy approved for her genetic form of the condition.

From Immovable Object to Advocacy Force

Russell M Walter, liaison and board member of the GBS|CIDP Foundation International, discusses his experience with Guillian-Barre syndrome, the changing medical landscape for the condition, and why his experience led him to become a patient advocate.

Thanks for the Global Genes Corporate Alliance for its support of the RARECas

Fred Aslan, president and CEO of Artiva Biotherapeutics, discusses the company’s off-the-shelf NK cell therapies, the case for pairing them with monoclonal antibodies, and how they can broaden the uses for cell therapies.

Life Sciences D'n'A

Navigating the Challenges of Integrating AI in Clinical Development

Manoranjan Das, director of global drug development IT for Bristol Myers Squibb, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss his work to implement AI in clinical development, the importance of change management, and the lessons learned from various AI projects he’s led.

Leveraging AI in Leveraging AI in Clinical Development

Aman Thukral, director of Clinical Systems And Digital Operations at AbbVie, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the evolving landscape of clinical trials with the integration of AI, why change management is essential for successful implementation, and the need for a long-term investment approach in AI initiatives.

Thanks to Agilisium Labs for its support of the Life Sciences D’n’A podcast

MitoCast

Craig Thompson: A New Kind of Mitochondria

Mitochondria have long been thought of as uniform organelles throughout our body's cells. In November, though, a study in Nature changed our fundamental understanding of mitochondria. Researchers reported that in response to stress, subpopulations of mitochondria are created with unique functions. On the latest episode of MitoCast, we spoke to Craig Thompson, a member of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and senior author of the Nature paper, to discuss those findings and their implications. A transcript and more can be found at https://lnkd.in/g82e4MAK

Thanks to MitoWorld.Org for its support of MitoCast