Zak Doric, PhD

The majority of companies in LongeVC portfolio are drug discovery companies with a focus on design of small molecules or biologics. Here I grouped the companies by the their therapeutic modality focus: ✔ Small molecules: Rubedo Life Sciences is developing therapeutics to target senescent cells that contribute to age-related diseases. They build an AI-driven platform ALEMBIC™ which is therapeutic agnostic platform aimed at addressing a wide variety of diseases beyond senescence and aging. Freedom Biosciences is developing cutting-edge ketamine therapies for treatment-resistant depression. Here is also Insilico Medicine which I backed as a business angel years ago and quite proud of this project. They apply generative AI platform PandaOmics and Chemistry42 to discover new treatments for COVID-19, pulmonary disease and other conditions. A very productive company that brought 5 candidates to clinical trials in just a couple years, and has almost two dozen preclinical programs going. ✔ Macrocycles (a unique modality, between small molecules and biologics): Unnatural Products Inc. is pairing AI with chemistry and leveraging the power of macrocycles to create treatments for undruggable or hard-to-reach drug targets. ✔ Biologics and therapies Turn Biotechnologies is developing mRNA medicines formulated to instruct specific cells in the body to fight disease or repair damaged tissue. Turn Biotechnologies’ proprietary ERA™ Platform uses mRNA to deliver transcription factors to the epigenome. The platform is safe, fast, efficient and tunable. HelixNano is building what they call the world's most advanced mRNA platform to enable previously impossible applications across human and non-human biology. CatenaBio develops novel therapeutics by forming never-before-possible structures, which can modify and combine proteins with ease. They have built a platform for next-generation protein conjugation. Interface Biosciences is developing an AI platform to identify metabolites derived from microorganisms to treat a range of diseases, starting from atopic dermatitis. Ani Biome is a longevity startup pursuing a microbiome-centric approach through personalized bioactive supplements, including AI-driven recommendation engine for patients. Marble Therapeutics deploys genetic solutions to solve skin ageing at the molecular level. As you can see, we are inclined to invest in biotech, although our small molecule companies are very strong. Also, what similarity can you see in most of these companies? First of all, they are platform companies, so called #techbio. Also, almost all are using AI for modeling biology. It is not surprising, because at LongeVC we believe in this kind of tech-driven strategy in drug discovery, so if you are building something like that, reach out and see what we can do together! #technology #venturecapital #drugdiscovery #biotech

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Happy to announce LongeVC invested in CatenaBio, a biotech startup that transforms the design of biologic drugs. CatenaBio is spun out of Berkeley Lab famous for the discovery of CRISPR by Dr Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues. We have contributed to the startup’s seed extension round with a raise of $2.35M. What is cool about CatenaBio is their quite transformative vision for biology. Let’s unpack it. As you probably know, traditional drug discovery is mostly focused on small molecules -- low molecular weight compounds often synthesized chemically. Aspirin and Ibuprofen are good examples here. Such drugs can be very potent. The issue with many small molecule-based drugs is that they are kind of "promiscuous" actors, which may affect many targets and render off-target effects. They are a “one-size-fits-all” kind of drugs. In contrast, biological drugs, or biologics, are large biomolecules, like antibodies. They are extremely specific to their targets, so have little-to-no off-target effects. Going further, a very powerful and innovative combination is so called conjugates, when biologics are combined with small molecules or other drug modalities to create powerful and very targeted drugs at the same time. In this case, the best of both worlds (chemistry and biology) is utilized, so to speak. Great example here is a very dynamic area of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) -- they are exceptionally promising in fighting age-related diseases, cancer and so on. But CatenaBio goes even further than that! In classical ADCs there is only one drug “warhead” and so there is limitation in treatment possibilities. CatenaBio is developing Multi-Payload Conjugate (MPC) technology by combining two payloads with different mechanisms of action (MOAs) on a single antibody. CatenaBio’s technology also allows combining various biologics. The result is the ability to synthesize novel biomolecules in any structure, combination, or orientation—the only limitation is imagination. I believe this company is creating a new world of drug discovery and I am glad we are contributing to this future! #biotech #drugdiscovery #venturecapital Image credit: CatenaBio

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Watch Imran Haque speak over the recent results we published in Nature Genetics. And in true Recursion fashion, he's at the white-board!

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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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the 2024 edition of the Decoding Bio report is live! we analyzed many of the most impactful recent papers in AI, biosecurity, cell-based medicines, immunology, and biotech software. from the jump, a core goal of Decoding Bio has been to clearly communicate why these developments matter, why you should care, and what key challenges remain. hopefully our analysis helps make sense of the dizzying pace of progress in these fields. if not, at least enjoy the brilliant design work by Bunsen. full report: https://lnkd.in/eYbB_Jch

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Very much agree: we use multiple models, each having their own “view” or features they interpret, in order to make candidate selections. This effectively creates an ensemble that outperforms one single model. Selecting #enzyme or #antibody candidates to take to the lab is best done this way. A single model has a narrow view of the world. #techbio #ml #biotech

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Anyone else intrigued by these human/AI integrations? https://lnkd.in/dHMwYVx3 These researches created a network of “human brain organoids” that form a “bioprocessor”. Biotech is a broad term but I would guess that most would assume that it focuses on genetics and cellular level stuff. I would include NeuraLink in this group of biological/computer interfaced architectures that seem to form a third kind of category in AI (human, ai and human/ai). This space shows enormous potential but the implications for mankind are… hard to imagine. #ai #humanai #biotech

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Thanks to advances in neuroscience, we now understand the brain chemistry driving #OperantConditioning-dopamine. We know dopamine releases are involved in drug use, gambling, compulsive behaviors associated with Internet use, and playing of video games. https://lnkd.in/gGvDjBe

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To date, Erum Azeez Khan and I have published more than 80 episodes dissecting all things biotech on the #GrowEverything podcast. We’ve covered everything from biomaterials revolutionizing everyday products to microbes paving the way for interstellar exploration. Whether you're a seasoned biotech pro or a curious newcomer, there's always something new to learn. If you’re a synthetic biology enthusiast, we’ve selected some episodes just for you: Forget jargon, Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.'s Cas Smith makes synthetic biology (synbio) fun and easy to understand. We explore how innovative synbio solutions are transforming multiple industries. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ewPnMtkX What’s the latest in the world of synbio? Paul Freemont of Imperial College London tracked synbio’s progress and impact over the past five years. We talked about how universities are making biotech knowledge accessible worldwide, how rural and urban areas are collaborating on revolutionary manufacturing systems, and the surprising role of art and design in fueling bio breakthroughs. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eGHFNAG5 How is synthetic biology shaping the future? In our conversation with SynBioBeta founder John Cumbers, we discuss bacteria for tasks like cleaning teeth, explore subscription-based revenue models, and the importance of innovation in a field threatened by monopolies. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eZ7z9SiT When you listen, be sure to hit the subscribe button to join our growing community of bio-enthusiasts! Let’s Grow Everything!

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AlphaFold 2 focused on predicting protein structures. Now, Google DeepMind has released AlphaFold 3, which goes beyond proteins. It can be used to predict the structure and interactions of all of life's molecules, which could lead to breakthroughs in areas such as developing biorenewable materials, more resilient crops, and new medicines. According to this release, AlphaFold 3 is "at least a 50% improvement compared with existing prediction methods." Because scientists can be more confident in the results, AlphaFold 3 could transform our understanding of the biological world and drug discovery. The best part? Scientists can gain access AlphaFold 3 AT NO CHARGE through the free AlphaFold Server. We live in amazing times.

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How is a top 20 pharma company reshaping R&D? Vertex Pharmaceuticals path to becoming a top 20 pharma company with over a $100 billion market cap has been nothing short of adventurous. 🔬 Vertex's journey, from the rise and fall of Incivek to adopting a disease-first R&D strategy under Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Reshma Kewalramani, MD FASN, David Altshuler, and Stuart Arbuckle has resulted in: 💡 Approvals for four cystic fibrosis products 👩‍⚕️ Casgevy becoming the first CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy approved for patients in the U.S. in December 2023 💊 An 85% success rate in advancing to phase 3 clinical trials 🏆 Sabine Hadida, Paul Negulescu, and Fredrick Van Goor earning the 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Check out this company's journey of resilience in my most recent article in Forbes: https://lnkd.in/gReTiP8k

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I’m excited to share my recent conversation with Joel Beasley | Modern CTO on the Modern CTO Podcast. We discussed my pivot from clinical medicine to the founding of Northpond Ventures, focusing on practical lessons from career transitions and the real-world impact of biotechnology innovations. Here are some of the highlights:  1. How I managed to reshape my career around personal strengths and market needs 2. The importance of support systems in overcoming professional challenges 3. How venture capital can drive scientific innovation into marketable solutions 4. An overview of Northpond Ventures’ strategy in fostering partnerships with leading academic institutions You can listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eGDzY98h #Biotechnology #Tech #Leadership #CareerChange #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship

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Now peer reviewed, in Science Magazine, on the economics of AI: As it is now, LLMs only affect ~2% of jobs materially... ... but with more software *we still need to build*, that rises to almost *half of jobs materially affected*. To realize the opportunity, we need to build some stitching, for example: summarizing long documents, retrieving real-time information, and incorporating domain knowledge and data to make models more accurate and, therefore, trustworthy. Even more, we need to build new systems (software, people processes, and organizations) from the ground up around this strange new kind of technology. Thank you for writing the paper, Tyna Eloundou Sam Manning Pamela Mishkin Daniel Rock. https://lnkd.in/dRcckpUd

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Who says you can't buy much for $1 anymore? One common share of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies(NASDAQ: IPA $0.995) can be purchased for less than $1 USD. "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson I am hopeful that some smart, hard-working stock market participants/analysts will take my hint and spend some time completing some due diligence/research on ImmunoPrecise... Hard to believe after much research and analysis that this is trading at an approximate market capitalization of $27 million. IPA (ImmunoPrecise Antibodies) BioStrand (a subsidiary of IPA) InterSystems #LENSai #Biotech #ai #HYFTs #HYFTTechnology #drugdiscovery #healthcare #pharma #personalizedmedicine #omics #AIDrugDiscovery #systemthinking #bioinformatics #antibodies #machinelearning #multiomics #LLMs #datascience #computationalbiology #nlp #ontologies #semantics #knowledgegraphs #lifesciences #bigdata #informationintegrationdilemma #patternrecognition #insilico #molecularbiologists #aminoacids #dna #rna #HYFTpatterns https://lnkd.in/gJnNzMjJ

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What a great talk by Uri Levine at the ChaiTech Accelerator launch yesterday. Levine, the visionary two-time unicorn builder(Waze and Moovit), shared insights into his entrepreneurial journey and his views about decision-making: "There are no wrong decisions. There are only right decisions or no decisions." This perspective is a reminder that progress comes from making choices and learning from them, rather than being paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes. Thank you, Uri, for the inspiration and invaluable wisdom! #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Startups #Innovation #Teambuilding Alon Gazit MSc, PSM, ICP-ACC, ICP-ATF

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Scientific thinking is a super power. If you can finish your Ph.D., it tells me a lot about you: -It tells me you know how to deal with failure, and keep coming back. -It tells me you know how to do things without the manual (that's what founding a company is like...no one can tell you exactly how to do it) -It tells me you know how to not lie to yourself More scientists need to recognize how unique their perspectives are, and why they make such great founders. My scientific background has helped me in every aspect of life: as a founder, investor, CEO, etc.. I wrote down the mental models that I've developed over time. I hope they help you, too: https://lnkd.in/eeYpnH7U

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What's Grail REALLY Worth? 😳 Yet another weird thing about Illumina's GRAIL stock offering is the number of shares: 30 million 🤔 Most offerings work a kind of banker math that goes something like: "hey when this newco goes out it'll be worth about $2B and we want investors to get shares worth about $20 because that feels not-to-cheap and not-to-expensive so let's issue 2B/20 = 100M shares. Good example of this was Guardant that went out with 95M shares priced at $19, market cap ≅$2B. So why the small number of 30M for GRAL? Let's say the bankers are trying to get it to trade at the opening around $10 avoid the embarrassment of being a sub $10 "junk" stock, and staying well clear of $1 when NASDAQ "delists" the stock (poor Ginkgo). That $10 price target would mean the bankers actually think GRAIL is worth 30M by $10 = $300M. (Nice add is that the market cap has to fall below $30M (😳) to get into delisting.) Now that's fascinating of course because according to the Form 10 numbers GRAIL thinks it's worth about $2B-ish. And how could it be worth $300M if there is $1B in their bank account? You'd think it would have to be worth at least $1B right? Alas no, because the bankers are probably hearing from investors that they think the company will simply burn that cash up on expenses (remember, $700M/year right now with no plans to change) and the company will, as they say, "go to zero". There was profound indicator of this yesterday in the new Form 10 version as they added the uppercase text since the first version: "It is likely that some Illumina shareholders, INCLUDING SOME OF ITS LARGER SHAREHOLDERS, will sell their shares of our common stock". Could be interpreted that Grail execs and bankers ran a road show pitching the big ILMN investors to hold the stock when it issues to them, but they're saying "hell no wtf". And the Gral lawyers made them add this to the Form 10 -because laws. Not stock advice, just a guy on the interweb 🤷‍♂️

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Working with Ksenia Burka and Giorgio Fracassoover the past six months was a pleasure. Delivery of genomic medicine is an important thesis area for us, and Reactosome opens up a new vector in this space. Reactosome's breakthrough is a Synthetic Nucleus, which mimics the functions of a cell nucleus, carrying with it a DNA/RNA payload and packaged enzymes to continuously and controllably express cargo sizes that existing methods cannot deliver. The company is looking for industry partners and pharma advisors as they advance the platform. Recommendations will be appreciated! One last thing, it was wild learning that this approach is inspired by Giorgio Fracasso's study of the origin of life. To study how life comes together he modeled life bottom-up with cell-free synbio methods - modeling how artificial cells can come together and operate as a system. Studying these complex and dynamic biological systems warrants one learn and work with biological noise and variability - building in many layers of control and tunability - something Reactosome's tech does exceptionally well. #synbio #demo-day #indiebio #series-seed #life-sciences

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Wow, this is a big one - $1B to leverage GenAI for drug molecule design. Two links to Illumina: - Funding lead is Bob Nelson, who seed-funded Illumina, and - "teams and technologies from the genetic sequencing giant Illumina" "Drug R&D is an endeavor rife with failure — commonly cited figures estimate that only about 10% of drugs that make it to human testing are ever approved, and a far greater share fail before ever being tested in a person." "Xaira and several other new biotechs believe they can change that with new generative AI methods that can design complex molecules from scratch, find new targets, and cut months or even years from the process." Great example of the potential for GenAI to disrupt the entire drug development process. At Ryght we're applying GenAI to another major bottleneck - getting drugs through clinical trials (you can try the preview version at ryght.ai).

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