Micha Y. Breakstone 🇮🇱🎗️’s Post

Stem cell production needs to scale up. But keeping all those cells *consistent* is hard. Suicide genes could be the way to fix that problem. Here, the authors outline the issue: As iPSCs get cultured within a bioreactor, subsets of the population differentiate into unwanted cell types. That's bad news for quality. However, suicide genes can be inserted into the starting cells. This "suicide switch" only gets activated when the cell differentiates into an unwanted type of cell. Essentially, the problem cancels itself out! Quoting from the conclusions: "This concept also bypasses labour-extensive methodologies, such as FACS, so that clinically relevant levels of cells can be rapidly purified of potentially harmful cells. With scalable quality control mechanisms, such as the iCasp9 suicide gene, it will be possible to safely use hiPSCs in human cell therapies, particularly for large populations of cells expanded in bioreactors." If this methodology holds up... This could be a game-changer for many cell therapies. And finally scale up these game-changing medicines. Kudos to the authors Emilie Gysel, Leila Larijani, Michael Kallos and Roman Krawetz - really insightful work! For a curated list of papers covering cell therapy innovation and production, check out #celltherapyjournalclub

In the United States, the healthcare landscape is witnessing the emergence of groundbreaking therapies that hold immense promise for revolutionizing medical treatment. Among these, innovative gene therapies are at the forefront, showcasing the potential to address previously incurable genetic disorders by directly targeting the root cause at the genetic level. Precision medicine, utilizing advancements in genomics and personalized therapies, is gaining momentum, offering tailored treatment plans based on an individual's unique genetic makeup. Immunotherapies, particularly in the field of oncology, are demonstrating remarkable efficacy by harnessing the body's immune system to combat cancer cells. Additionally, regenerative medicine, encompassing stem cell therapies and tissue engineering, is advancing toward transformative solutions for tissue repair and organ replacement. The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in drug discovery processes further enhances the efficiency of therapeutic development. The ongoing exploration and integration of these cutting-edge therapies underscore a promising era of medical innovation in the United States, poised to reshape the landscape of healthcare...

LIfT Biosciences is a biotech bringing to market a first-in-class alpha neutrophil cell therapy that overcomes the limitations of current therapies in solid tumours by destroying tumours both directly and indirectly. LIfT’s Immunomodulatory Alpha Neutrophils (IMANs) turn the tumour microenvironment against the tumour as they recruit the rest of the immune system to destroy the tumour to give a durable response and lasting immunity. The patented breakthrough N-LIfT platform is produced from a patented process using exceptional stem cells (iPSC or HSC), a proprietary enhancement media and genetic engineering (e.g. CARs). The resulting CAR-IMAN cells give cancer patients potentially hundreds of times the cancer killing ability they naturally possess. The company is working with a range of pharmaceutical license partners to develop a portfolio of CAR-IMAN cell therapies to deliver complete remission across all solid tumours before the decade is out. LIfT BioSciences was founded by Alex Blyth following the death of his mother to pancreatic cancer.  LIfT IMANs have preclinical validation of all of the characteristics required to overcome the challenges to achieving sustained remission in solid tumours. Meet LIfT BioSciences @ #Sachs_ELSF More Info @ https://lnkd.in/dQWhKYkV #ELSF2024 #LifeSciences #Biotech #BioPharma #Partnering #Investment #Startups #RisingStars #Oncology #Neurology #Genomics #Immunotherapy #CNS #Autoimmune #Cardiovascular #BiotechIndustry #BioTechInvestment #Innovation #InvestmentForum #SachsSpringLifeSciencesWeek #SSLSW

This fusion of AI and biotech is a remarkable stride in personalized medicine, paving the way for groundbreaking treatments. 🌟 Exciting breakthrough in biotech! CellVoyant, an AI-focused spin-out from the University of Bristol, has just raised £7.6 million for developing AI-driven stem cell therapies. This investment, led by notable firms like Octopus Ventures, is a leap towards transforming healthcare with precision and efficiency. 🔬 Their cutting-edge AI and imaging technology aims to revolutionize stem cell therapy, offering potential treatments for diseases like cancer and diabetes. Read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/gGSqyC_9 #BiotechInnovation #StemCellResearch #AIHealthcare #FutureOfMedicine #ai #aiandml #aiadvancements

Akribion Genomics develops a revolutionary, genetically-programmable and new therapy class for oncology, using novel nucleases, causing programmable cell depletion via RNA biomarker recognition. The nuclease can target a wide variety of cancer indications defined by genetic make up of patients and can also be applied beyond oncology. The nucleases are protected by a s trong IP position with FTO and the key patent granted in September 2023. The technology had initially been developed within and the company is a spin out of BRAIN Biotech, a stock listed industrial Biotech player that focuses on industrial applications. Meet Akribion Genomics AG @ #Sachs_ELSF More Info @ https://lnkd.in/dQWhKYkV #ELSF2024 #LifeSciences #Biotech #BioPharma #Partnering #Investment #Startups #RisingStars #Oncology #Neurology #Genomics #Immunotherapy #CNS #Autoimmune #Cardiovascular #BiotechIndustry #BioTechInvestment #Innovation #InvestmentForum #SachsSpringLifeSciencesWeek #SSLSW

Early stage companies like Liberate Bio, and Cellino have seen support from Khosla Ventures, existing in areas like Nucleic Acid delivery and stem cell therapy respectively. In addition, Khosla is focusing on delivery technology within Biopharma. As phrased by Alexander A. Morgan, MD PhD : "If we can solve this for lots of cells and tissues, if I can arbitrarily deliver large payloads of RNA and DNA into the cell that I want to in vivo, we can solve all kinds of problems. That would unlock a whole lot of potential." Read more below:

Indian Innovators, CDMOs & CMOs should more focus on innovation to compete and create a good & reliable marketplace for CGT in India 🇮🇳 NOT just by“cutting the corners“ to get pseudo fame in social media / fake popularization ! ‼️Quality ‼️Safety & ‼️Efficacy 🍎 to 🍎 🍊 to 🍊 Matters & Impacts a lot !! ✨There are many possibility to Advances in cell-based therapy in India particularly CAR-T cell therapy by exploring & investing on stem cells & gene editing, creating an Avenue for allogenic CAR-T or beyond ✨This could be an important step forward for the field cause autologous CAR-T therapies are hindered by high costs, manufacturing challenges, and limited efficacy against larger cancer population like solid tumors. ✨With ongoing progress in gene editing and stem cell oculture techniques, engineered stem cells and their application in cell therapy are poised to address some of these challenges. https://lnkd.in/giMWrXv5

Even today, one of the most critical issues is the capability to target all tumour cells present within a cancer. The proprietary and patented platform that TheraOnco has developed has the potential to bridge this gap. TheraOnco was co-founded in 2022 by Dr. Sam Dukan, a serial entrepreneur / visionary inventor, and Didier Noel, experienced in technology transfer and startup financing. After preliminary validation of its disruptive cell labelling-mediated platform targeting cancer, TheraOnco revealed positive preclinical toxicity and efficacy results in animals for its leading candidate metabolite analogue. Meet TheraOnco @ #Sachs_BEF More Info @ https://lnkd.in/eQkiWD2h #BigPharma #Dealmakers #PharmaIndustry #BiotechInEuropeForum #LifeSciences #Biotech #BioPharma #Partnering #Investment #Startups #Oncology #Neurology #Genomics #Immunotherapy #CNS #Autoimmune #Cardiovascular #BiotechIndustry #BioTechInvestment #Innovation #InvestmentForum #BiotechConference #EuropeanBiotech #SachsAutumnLifeSciencesWeek #SALSW

Delighted to announce that we've secured a $1 Million investment from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fuel the development of a clinical-grade PSC maintenance medium, a crucial advancement in empowering stem cell therapy manufacturing. The goal of CIRM’s Translational program is to support promising stem cell-based or gene projects that accelerate completion of translational stage activities necessary for advancement to clinical study or broad end use. Those can include therapeutic candidates, diagnostic methods or devices and novel tools that address critical bottlenecks in research. California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) This substantial grant from CIRM reinforces Defined Bioscience's commitment to enhancing the safety, efficiency, and scalability of stem cell manufacturing processes. The rising popularity of our HiDef-B8 growth media in various research fields sets the stage for supporting projects as they transition into clinical applications and expand to a larger scale. Exciting times ahead! 🚀 #StemCellResearch #stemcells #HiDefB8 #Definedbioscience #DefinedBio #CIRM #ipsc https://lnkd.in/gvXxpWSV