Cory Schwartz

Every time I think things are on the rebound I see something like this. When are things finally going to stabilize and head in the right direction? If there is anyone that may be affected by this, let's connect and have a discussion about your career. #career #discussion #connect

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Sad to see the #PacBio news! They have laid off 195 employees as part of cost-cutting measures, this comes after disappointing preliminary financial results for the first quarter. "𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥" 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘺 In addition to the layoffs, the firm will be closing its San Diego location. If you have been affected by the recent restructuring or any others in the biotech market please reach out. We can help with 𝗖𝗩 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝘁𝗰. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐒: 𝗨𝗦𝗔 🚚𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 – Washington DC – Life Sciences 🔬𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 – Boston – Bioanalytical Services 🔬𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 – San Francisco – Bioanalytical Services 🥼𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 – West Coast – Bioanalytical Drug Development 📈𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 – East Coast (Remote) – Proteomics Equipment 📈𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 – East Coast (Remote) – Proteomics consumables ⚖️𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 – San Jose – Life Science 🛠️𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 – Maryland – Life Sciences 🥼𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 – San Jose – NGS Library Prep 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 🧬𝗖𝗘𝗢 – Bioinformatics - UK 🔬𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 – North UK – Proteomics Equipment 🖥️𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 – Germany – Bioinformatics 🔬𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 – Nordics – Lab Equipment 🛠️𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 – France – Analytical Sciences 🥼𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 – France – Analytical Sciences 🩸𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 – Germany – Biomedical Sciences 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐤𝐝𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬@𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩.𝐜𝐨𝐦!

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The economy may very well be over financialized. This doesn't allow companies to settle in and create lasting industrial value or to tackle problems that require low time preference. Over financialization creates a high time preference environment that doesn't allow for capital intensive industries to develop. So for instance how many of these startups are AI vs mining or steel companies. It's difficult to advance an economy where companies make no tangible goods. Google and Amazon don't actually make anything tangible but they are trillion dollar companies. This is not sustainable. Just my 2 cents. https://lnkd.in/gkVK6nmN

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Roche's recent decision to offload their Vacaville facility highlights the increasing importance of cell line productivity in biomanufacturing strategy. According to Dan Stanton of Bioprocess Insider, Roche is moving towards more high titer processes and products with lower volume demands. (You can read the article here https://lnkd.in/erRx597k) Agile manufacturing strategies are enabled by cell line productivity, which allows for the same amount of drug substance to be produced in smaller bioreactors. This, in turn, allows for smaller clean rooms and lower running costs. Just - Evotec Biologics' J.CHO High Expression System cell lines, grown in perfusion bioreactors, produce over 4 g/L of antibody each day, equivalent to around 30 g/L in fed-batch mode (https://lnkd.in/eexeJrQA). This level of productivity allows for commercial quantities of antibody to be manufactured in 1000L single-use bioreactors in our modular J.POD facilities. As a result, large-scale stainless-steel facilities are becoming redundant. The future of biomanufacturing lies in maximizing cell line productivity, and our J.CHO system is leading the way. #biomanufacturing #celllineproductivity #JCHO #JPod #agilemanufacturing 👨‍⚕️Philip Boehme

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Regeneron is expanding its genetic medicine efforts and will work with California startup Mammoth Biosciences on gene-editing programs reaching parts of the human body beyond the liver, the companies announced Thursday.... ...Under the deal terms, Regeneron will pay $5 million and make a $95 million upfront equity investment in Mammoth, with the startup eligible for up to $370 million in milestone payments and potential royalties for each target.... #CRISPR #geneediting #cellandgenetherapy #advancedtherapies #lifesciences #biotech #biotechnology #equityinvestment #investment #funding #financing #milestonepayments Jennifer Doudna Lucas Harrington Christos Kyratsous Trevor Martin #delivery #royalties #innovation #advancingmedicine

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Hey Bioheroes! Ever wondered what separates a good ATF process from a bad one at the N-1 stage? Let's spill the scientific tea! The Good: 1. Know Thy Process: Deep dive into biological and physicochemical nuances. 2. Risk Avengers: Identify risks and craft strategies to crush them. 3. Cell Culture Bliss: Optimize conditions for max growth and productivity. The Bad: 1. Ignorance is Not Bliss: Skip understanding, and watch your process stumble. 2. Risk Avoidance: Ignoring risks? Recipe for disaster. 3. Subpar Culture Conditions: Cells not happy? Your process won't be either. #cellculture #processdevelopment #bioprocessing #celltherapymanufacturing #cellandgenetherapy #leadbiotech

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Do we have too much trust our #MassSpec library matches and spectral interpretation tools. I’m currently writing a presentation and found this fungal metabolite in the NIST library. Spectrum looks like ethylbenzene (>90% PBM similarity search and qualifier ion ratios within 4%) and the retention index matches ethylbenzene on at least two phases (DB-5, DB-35). Though it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck; it’s a decoy! It’s actually one of the 4685 (yes I know a lot are theoretical) structural non-BTEX isomers of C₈H₁₀. For a lot of target methods, we accept false positives, because it’s better to err on the side of caution. For MetID, toxicology, drug analysis, and Pharma impurity analysis, a false positive or mis-identification can be expensive (lost patents, sued by patients), fatal (overdose) or life changing (wrongful conviction). If getting the answer right matters to your lab, maybe it’s time to DiscovIR-GC (GC-ddFTIR). enquiries@spectrometrics.com

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I’ve said it and I mean it: The longevity drug won’t be a molecule but an algorithm. Technically, it won’t be solely a molecule, but an algorithm personalizing various molecules, depending on the context. At Ani Biome we’ve already built such a system and are about to validate it clinically in three independent studies. Once we do, we’ll become a Nvidia of longevity. Mark this post. #longevity #techbio #disruption #innovation #gutmicrobiome #nvidiaoflongevity #ai

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In 2022 when Illumina and GRAIL leadership where touting how many lives would be saved if only the antitrust authorities got out of the way, here's what was really happening. Please read carefully, shows how this "life saving" test doesn't work: "[With the] San Francisco firefighters, the test did not identify the statistically expected number of cancers, provided false positives for half the cancers it did identify, and missed at least three cases of confirmed cancer. In other words, the exercise showed Galleri to be a disaster." "In this example prominently featured on GRAIL’s website and in marketing materials as an example of how “multi-cancer early detection screening can be critical for those at elevated cancer risk”—GRAIL provided 1,786 screenings to a group of San Francisco firefighters and their family members, a “high risk” group for certain kinds of cancer. During that testing round, which was conducted on December 6, 2022—Galleri generated six false positives and identified only five instances of cancer." "...such a result is alarming in light of the fact that, based on statistical experience, cancer should have been detected in about 29 (not five) of the 1,786 tests. Moreover, of the five instances of where cancer signals were identified, two individuals already knew they had cancer to begin with. Further, all of the instances of detected cancer were at a “late stage,” and where the cancer was too advanced to make a difference for the patients. One firefighter was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer and is now in hospice, while another firefighter was diagnosed with lung cancer, which has now metastasized to the brain." "Galleri also missed at least six instances in which the San Francisco firefighters actually had cancer—failing to identify instances of melanoma, prostate cancer, and lymphoma that were identified by private doctors just months after the Galleri test indicated “no cancer signal.” "Further, in one instance in the San Francisco firefighters screening where Galleri generated a false positive, the patient underwent a painful bone marrow biopsy procedure to determine whether the patient did have cancer. In that case, the patient’s bone marrow biopsy procedure, clinically shown to involve “unbearable pain” to the “worst possible pain” a patient can experience, revealed that there was, in fact, no cancer." "The screenings provided to the San Francisco firefighters were an expensive “disappointment.” According to Tony Stefani, the organization’s founder, the screenings demonstrated that the probability of catching an early-stage cancer through the Galleri test was “negligible,” and the screenings only caught “some serious cancers at a later stage,” which likely would have been detected within one or two months without the test. Given the test’s high costs and useless real-world performance, Stefani stated that Galleri was a total “disappointment” and that the foundation had been sold a “bill of goods.” 🤯🤯🤯

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🔬 Big News Alert! 🔬 🌟 FDA, EPA, and USDA join forces to streamline regulation for biotech products! 🌟 Interesting times ahead for the biotech industry as these agencies collaborate to simplify pathways to market while maintaining rigorous safety standards. How do you think this will shape the future of biotech? 💥 #Biotech #Regulation #Innovation #FDA #EPA #USDA

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In a recent revelation, Monte Rosa illuminates the path "From Thalidomide to Rational Molecular Glue Design for Targeted Protein Degradation" in their latest exposé (https://lnkd.in/ewk2Ks4n). This narrative isn't just a recount of progress; it's a symphony of innovation, orchestrating a shift from serendipity to precision in molecular glue crafting. Specifically spotlighting the domain of molecular glue degraders (MGDs), this journey of intentional design, especially anchored by CypA-based molecular glue, stands as a beacon of ingenuity. A standing ovation is owed to Sharon Townson, an unsung hero whose role in bridging these realms cannot be overstated. Now, let's delve into the discourse on rational design for molecular glues, where creativity meets efficacy: 1. Harnessing the finesse of molecular glue's SAR confines to sculpt expansive compound libraries, pivoting around CRBN (or alternative E3 ligases). Then, a ballet of phenotype screening and proteomics ensues, choreographed to unveil MGDs tailored to novel protein targets. 2. Picture this: weaving fragments of petite E3 ligand motifs into the tapestry of small molecule inhibitors (or ligands for target proteins), transforming them into molecular assassins with precision. So, dear innovators, which narrative resonates louder with promise? Or do you bring forth an untold saga, waiting to be spun into the fabric of progress? Let your voices resound as we co-create the future of molecular interventions.

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“As California goes, so goes the nation” should hold true when it comes to the regulation of hexavalent chromium in drinking water. On April 17, 2024 the California state water resources control board announced that hexavalent chromium will have a maximum contaminant limit (MCL) of 10 parts-per-billion (ppb). The MCL is expected to go into effect by October 1, 2024. Given the significant health impacts of this carcinogenic contaminant, Microvi Biotech Inc. has spent years developing a solution for hexavalent chromium removal based on biological reductive immobilization. Our work, including research funding of $1.2M sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has led to groundbreaking results. The Microvi solution can effectively remove chromium to less than 1 ppb — at a fraction of the cost of conventional systems in a small footprint without generating a significant secondary waste stream. We are excited to share our results, including large-scale operational data at a 6 MGD plant in Pasadena, CA, demonstrating both the efficacy and cost-efficiency of the Microvi solution. To learn more about our technology, please reach out to me or Ali Dorri or send an email to info@microvi.com #water #chromium #drinkingwater #sustainability #innovation

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It's officially SynBioBeta week! Our team can't wait for this year's conference and to be surrounded by individuals passionate about biological engineering, sustainability, and using biology to build a better world. Several members of the Synonym team will be in San Jose and you can join us at the following events: The Scale-Cost Paradox: Navigating Biomanufacturing's Biggest Challenge with Joshua Lachter Date: May 7, 2024 Time: 11:45am PT Where: Main Stage - Grand Ballroom 220A Scaling Biological Solution Capacity with Edward Shenderovich Date: May 7, 2024 Time: 1:45pm PT Where: 210G Breakout Scale-up! Industrial-Scale Biomanufacturing to Unlock the Defossilization Potential of SynBio with Daniel Bregman Date: May 9, 2024 Time: 1:45pm PT Where: 210A Breakout Funding What You Wear: Pioneering Pathways to Get Sustainable, Everyday Goods to Market with Kelsey Weimer Date: May 9, 2024 Time: 1:45pm PT Where: 211B Breakout We hope to see you in San Jose this week! #synbiobeta2024 #synbio #bioeconomy #biomanufacturing #fermentation #precisionfermentation #deeptech #climatetech #sustainability

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Am I at a disadvantage applying for biotech jobs while doing a postdoc? Depends who you ask. For every magical career guru out there, there’s an overgeneralized opinion that misses the nuance of your specific situation. They’ll even point to published studies that support their position, while ignoring contradictory evidence (it’s the opposite of hypothesis testing). In reality, no two postdocs or PIs are the same, are they? What I can tell you is that there are two common advantages to being a postdoc over being a graduate student. Here’s what they are. 1) You have more experience 2) You have your PhD - you can leave at any time What about the criticism that postdocs are for academics only? Kind of depends on the industry and the discipline. Life sciences are sufficiently complex that it’s not really possible to learn every relevant skill in your graduate training. As long as your postdoc is teaching you new technical skills, you can refute that argument easily. What are some disadvantages? There are disadvantages, but they aren’t unique to being a postdoc. They’re more about the lab you joined and the quality of your PI. Here are possible challenges you may face. 1) Your PI expects you to work unreasonable hours – so you don’t have time to apply for jobs 2) You’re not actually learning new hard skills, and your PI is just using you to bring new skills to their lab. 3) Your lab is suddenly out of funding and now you need to look for a new job What’s the common theme here? Poor leadership that’s exploiting a trainee role to get cheap labor. What’s the biggest risk? In general (but not always), the more famous your PI, the more likely it is that their leadership abilities are missing the mark. Why is that? The academic system tends to incentivize metrics that can be maximized through bad behaviors that come at the cost of integrity and business ethics. It’s not always the case, but I have seen it enough times to tell you it’s not a coincidence. Either way – you can debate whether it is an advantage or disadvantage to do a postdoc, or you can ask yourself “why do I want to leave?” If your why is strong enough, it doesn’t matter if it’s an advantage or disadvantage. What matters it that you need to find a way to execute. Whatever that looks like for you, go do it because even if you do it wrong, it’s still more likely to work than sitting at your bench pontificating about why your life didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. There’s a whole world out there, and you’re not too old to go get what you want. What are you going to do today to take one step forward toward your dream? #biotech, #biotechjobs, #scientist

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Great article by Danielle Joseph Closed Loop Partners.

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Will synthetic biology ever launch? 🚀 An opinion piece arguing that synthetic biology is all hype and no product (link below) was published coincidental with this week’s SynBioBeta conference (surely not a coincidence tho). It’s a heavy accusation but not one that should be dismissed out of hand. One of my favorite panel questions from the audience this week echoed the charge - the questioner had spent 30 years in this field himself and was still waiting to see commercial proof of its promise. Will we ever make products, he asked? I’ve thought about this question a lot this week through the conference. As a first time attendee to SynBioBeta, I was expecting it to be a bit of a “scene,” but what I found instead was a community grappling (transparently and honestly) with a fundamentally new technical paradigm that is HARD for very real reasons (e.g. petroleum is cheap!) - but that also has the potential to unlock a step change in how our society looks and feels. It’s easy to forget that technical revolutions take time. The first commercially-relevant steam engine was launched in 1712, a full century before the Industrial Revolution it enabled was fully and obviously in operation. Will lots of early companies burn mountains of cash and go out of business in the process of discovering and trying to solve the biggest challenges? Yup. And while searching for technoeconomic and business models that make sense in this field? Yup. Will it take more than one investment cycle to see the full evolution and deployment of this field? Yup. The evaporation of easy money and thinning patience for big promises will winnow the current synthetic biology startup landscape, but the field (and the people and their experience) will remain - and the next generation of companies will be wiser, more disciplined, more focused - and more successful. One of the big themes this year was that synthetic biology companies need to SHIP. As confident as I am that the next 12 months will bring more company “failures” in this space, I’m just as confident we’ll see real, durable progress on launching focused, valuable products - and that this will create concrete and convincing steps towards unveiling the potential we all know this field has. #syntheticbiology #bioengineering #future #molecularfarming #foodtech #synbiobeta #synbiobeta2024

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Trying to get my head around the strategy/game theory of this Illumina GRAIL spinoff (not an investment banker 🤣). It's very different from a normal deal because of the EU mandate: MUST divest & MUST add $1B if a spinoff. Seems to have 3 phases (M&A people feel free to weigh in with corrections/color): Phase 1 (completed Feb 24) Illumina hires 2 serious investment banks (JPM and Centerview) to run an M&A auction for Grail. Banks contact all likely (and unlikely) parties, interested parties go under NDA, do due diligence, maybe make an offer. I heard Illumina's ask was something like $2B so maybe potential buyers are thinking $1B. But no one makes an offer - we know this because any reasonable offer would be better for Illumina than moving to phase 2: Phase 2 (completed May 24) Lacking an offer, Illumina announced its plan to spin-off Grail to Illumina shareholders after adding the EU-mandated $1B to the deal. Really a last resort option because of the $1B which comes from Illumina cash unless the bankers can stitch together a PIPE which feels unlikely given the negative signal sent by the failure of Phase 1. Also the uncertainty of where GRAL stock will trade, could be (even more 🤪) embarrassing. Phase 3 (underway now) Here I'm really spitballing because the situation is so unusual. Let's say that some of the potential acquirers in Phase 1 were kind of interested but not prepared to pay much. Now they know that Illumina is down to its worst possible option, putting $1B into the spinoff. Maybe go back to Illumina and offer to take Grail off its hands for $0 if Illumina just puts in say $500M? That way Illumina saves $500M and eliminates the risk of floating GRAL. But if this was interesting to the acquirer it makes more sense to let the spinoff happen and then take GRAL private with $1B in the bank. Ah, that's why Illumina put the change-of-control prorated clawback in the spinoff docs 👏 Fascinating and unusual situation 🍿🍿🍿

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