Latt Mansor, DPhil

A new company called Xaira Therapeutics just launched with over $1B+ billion in funding for using AI in drug discovery R&D. To give you some context, the last time we saw this level of fundraising was for Roivant Sciences, which focuses on creating companies around abandoned drugs, and Altos Labs, with $3B for cellular rejuvenation programming. But this is the 1st for an AI drug discovery R&D company. Interestingly, a significant portion of the company's technology originates from the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, which is renowned for its work in protein science. This institute is led by Prof. David Baker, the co-founder of this and also the Charm Therapeutics. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eCZfV4CW #drugdiscovery #artificialintelligence

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Excited to share Nabla Bio is collaborating with 3 of the largest pharma companies in the world to use integrated AI & wet-lab tech to design antibodies to some of the most challenging and underserved targets. Thrilled to also add Radical Ventures to the Nabla family, who led our $26M Series A. Press release: https://bit.ly/4dDk4lP So far, AI in drug design hasn’t had the greatest track record. Earlier this week, this article from Derek Lowe talked about how most targets people are going after with AI are not particularly new, and maybe made incrementally easier to drug with AI. http://bit.ly/3QNo6OF As an industry, we should instead be asking what are the actual problems in drug development where AI could force a seachange? At Nabla, we believe multipass membrane proteins are the most compelling opportunity. These complex targets account for over 2/3 of all cell surface receptors, but are the focus of <10% of drug development effort today. Why? The reason is drugging these receptors requires an exceptionally high-degree of atomic precision, which traditional discovery can’t do, but generative modeling can! At Nabla, we’re advancing these techniques to improve their atomic accuracy, and increase the rate at which we can obtain target and conformation selective antibodies. At the same time, we don’t believe AI will be enough. The training data we have for AI are devoid of the larger biological context of the cell, tissues, and the entire organism the drug must function in. So, it’s critical we couple AI to human-relevant measurements of drug performance. Pushing our wet lab in this direction is the other arm of R&D at Nabla. If we succeed, we double the number of disease-relevant targets the industry can go after. Many of these targets need more study and research, but the molecules being built at Nabla can be used to facilitate this target discovery too! Surge Biswas will be giving a podium talk at PEGS Boston (https://bit.ly/4dG1SYD) tomorrow sharing some promising results in opening up these difficult targets. Check it out- Since the beginning of Nabla, we've believed that building new technology is the only way to solve these hard drug design problems. New technology is best built by intense, small, highly technical teams & this is a core element of our culture. That said, between our partnerships and research we have too much to do :P - we're hiring! (nabla.bio/careers) Last thing; Nabla is a technology company and we are taking a different bet to most other biotechs. We believe being partner-focused and working with expert drug developers will maximize the patient impact of our platform. Revenue and insights from these collaborations are helping us grow more sustainably and build focused technology to solve real problems in drug design. Thanks to Zetta Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Fifty Years, Cantos, Boom Capital, Y Combinator for doubling down this round and continuing to believe in the mission! Onwards / back to work.

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𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙡𝙡. 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝘽𝙞𝙤𝘽𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙. I focus on fund raises, mergers, collaborations, IPOs, and key appointments across biotech, pharma, and medical devices. 📢 Sanofi Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research Frank Nestle, M.D., is leaving the company. 📢Walking Fish Therapeutics has closed after a lead investor backed out of a critical series B round. CEO Rusty Williams, M.D., Ph.D., said in an interview with Fierce Biotech that the company was on the precipice of securing fresh capital to enter the clinic when an unnamed top investor backed out. 📢Swiss antibody specialist Memo Therapeutics AG has added CHF20m to its Series C financing, bringing the total amount raised in the funding round to CHF 45 million. 📢Samsung Medison to buy AI ultrasound company Sonio. Sonio’s software uses deep learning to improve image quality. Its software will remain compatible with all ultrasound machines, the company said. 📢Takeda may be paring back its R&D pipeline in the name of efficiency, but the Japanese pharma has still found $100 million to ensure its clinical pipeline once again features an Alzheimer’s disease drug. 📢Takeda culls cancer, gut and inflammation drugs in R&D rethink, making cuts to its clinical-phase pipeline, hacking off midphase programs and early-stage prospects as part of a push to focus on its most promising candidates. 📢In its ongoing mission to find the next Wegovy, Novo Nordisk has penned another partnership to seek out next-gen obesity treatments. This time, it's a $600 million biobucks pact with Flagship-founded Metaphore Biotechnologies to develop up to two candidates. 📢QuidelOrtho has been looking for a new CEO since its board of directors fired the medical testing company’s last chief earlier this year. Now, it’s been able to lure Brian Blaser, Abbott’s former diagnostics head, out of retirement. 📢The infectious disease diagnostic developer Karius has secured another $100 million to help expand the reach of its microbial DNA test designed to detect more than 1,000 different pathogens from a single blood sample. 📢Prologue Medicines, Flagship’s newest startup, looks to mine viruses for new drugs The company is using a database of viral proteins and machine learning tools to develop drugs for a wide range of diseases, according to CEO Lovisa Afzelius. Newton Colmore is a specialist recruiter, dedicated to the medical devices, biotech, and drug discovery markets, globally. We help our clients find the experts they need to develop and commercialise novel devices, technologies, and therapeutics. #medicaldevices #biotechnology #therapeutics #diagnostics #innovation #syntheticbiology #drugdiscovery

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Despite challenges in the IPO market in 2021, the biotechnology sector is resilient and showing signs of recovery. Tempus led the way last week. Congratulations to all stakeholders at Tempus! This period of turbulence urges biotech firms to strategically focus on building strong data foundations, which will not only attract investments but also pave the way for sustainable growth and innovation. Embracing uncertainty as an opportunity for innovation and skill development could redefine leadership in biotech, fostering a culture of resilience and adaptability crucial for sustained success in a rapidly evolving industry landscape. #Biotech #Leadership

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With ASCO in the rear-view mirror and drug development capital beginning to loosen in private and public markets, please keep us in mind for any PhD or MD level engagements or hiring to help solve your preclinical & clinical development challenges. Check out this comprehensive article from our friends at #bowtiedbiotech about public and private capital allocation from Q1 2024. Let's hope the headwinds are settling and smoother sailing is ahead. https://lnkd.in/esbqmzCT

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Next week, at “Friends of RWE”, the CEO of 1MData, Ms. Min Ma, will e-visit Parexel and introduce her data network in China. At mid-night of a Saturday, 2019, Min (Beijing) called me (Boston) for urgent help. She was competing for a contract to construct a National Cardiovascular Database. We chatted for hours while I was half-sleep. The next day, she asked me to draft some PowerPoint slides. I spent the whole Sunday on it, so she can use on Monday. Guess how much I charged her? Then in 2020, I was asked to create an RWE roadmap of describing drug prescription and utility pattern of a certain cardiovascular disease in China, in 4 days. I called Min. She asked her company“all hands on deck”, worked with me days and nights and produced a slide deck in 3 days. Guess how much she charged me? The answers of both questions are “$0”. It’s bad business model, I know. But Min later won the contract to build the National Cardiovascular Database; we were in a better position to bid for a set of multi-hundred million cardiovascular disease clinical trials. Early engagement is often where idea shines, smart minds clash and trust grows. Did someone ask how to increase “hitting rate”? 😀

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I cannot get some recent facts on progress with donor-derived, allogeneic CAR-T from CRISPR Therapeutics shared at a recent conference. 1. Cost of goods sold (COGs) for CAR-T have improved fourfold, now comparable to small molecules and antibodies. 2. COGs for donor-derived CAR-T may be the same or even lower than those for iPSC-derived CAR-T. 3. Donor-derived CAR-T has shown greater potency compared to iPSC-derived CAR-T. As we address significant criticisms of donor-derived allogeneic CAR-T, it's poised to become a frontrunner in the field. While the homogeneity of iPSC-CAR-T is appealing, it alone isn’t enough to shift the field's preference. The balance between efficacy, cost, and manufacturing consistency will be crucial in defining the future of CAR-T therapies Original post/comments can be found below: https://lnkd.in/eAViawjs #CRISPRTherapeutics #CAR-T #immunotherapy #biotech

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🔬 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐨: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧? 🤔 Post-JPM, the biotech market was brimming with optimism, marked by significant IPOs like CG Oncology ($380M) and Kyverna Therapeutics ($319M). Yet, that momentum seems to have halted, and we've entered a fundraising slump. So why the shift? Several factors come to mind: 🗳️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 🗳️ 📈 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬 📈 💰 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 💰 🛡️ 𝐀 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 🛡️ 🌍 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲 🌍 💻 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 💻 Even Big Pharma is laying off, notably Takeda Oncology. And Cell & Gene therapy, once soaring, now struggles, likely due to lengthy development times as investors seek quicker returns. 𝘞𝘰𝘸, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺! 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘮 & 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵. But there’s hope! With @ASCO just concluded last week and BIO currently ongoing, these events could be the catalysts we need to reignite positivity in the market. Let’s stay hopeful and focus on the potential ahead! 🌟 #Biotech #MarketTrends #ASCO #BIO2024 #Investment #CellAndGeneTherapy #Pharma #HopefulFuture

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Roche and Ascidian Therapeutics have announced a groundbreaking collaboration to develop RNA exon editing therapeutics targeting neurological diseases. This innovative partnership highlights the power of RNA medicine to address complex and currently untreatable neurological conditions. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: • Upfront and Milestone Payments: Ascidian receives an initial $42 million, with potential milestone payments totaling up to $1.8 billion, plus royalties on commercial sales. • Technology Focus: Ascidian’s platform focuses on editing RNA exons, offering a unique alternative to gene editing by modifying RNA to produce healthy proteins, potentially enabling one-time treatments. • Impact on Industry: This collaboration aims to advance therapeutic possibilities in neurology, potentially transforming treatment approaches for diseases with high unmet needs. • Disease Targets: While specific neurological diseases targeted in this partnership are undisclosed, Ascidian’s platform has shown potential in treating conditions with high mutational variance and large genes. Their lead candidate targets Stargardt disease, and the technology has been applied to other neurological conditions in earlier tests. This partnership not only strengthens Roche’s neurology pipeline but also underscores the potential of RNA exon editing technology to revolutionize treatments.

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Set-back : Trop-2 ADC for lung cancer misses overall survival endpoint in Phase 3. Uphill climb for FDA approval to follow. The current buzz around ADCs (antibody drug conjugates) comes from the success of Enhertu, a "herceptin" antibody linked to toxic payload, that earned $3.2 Bn for Daiichi Sankyo / Astra Zeneca in 2023 - setting the course for dominating blockbuster scale treatment for Her2+ cancers. Such tumors were previously treated by traditional mAbs like herceptin. This economic success ignited a no-holds barred competition of rekindled investment interest in newer ADCs. Will ADCs be the next gold rush for pharma companies desperate for pipeline blockbusters? Dato-Dxd is the second Daiichi / Astra pipeline ADC, based on a similar format to their first product Enhertu, except directed against non-small cell lung cancer. Will this Trop2-ADC format mimic the success of Enhertu? Initial progression free survival looked promising. But now overall survival data points to no statistically significant difference in treatment arm - a blow against the drug candidate's efficacy. Additionally treatment related deaths will be factored in as adverse events related to ADCs. As usual, subgroup analysis was sought to identify potential responders for future studies. Once again, technology improvements, even for ADCs, are still beholden to the very difficult unpredictability of underlying biology in disease treatment. Cancers are very tough, mercurial, beasts to control, despite all efforts. Fierce Biotech - https://lnkd.in/ekKy-Fr5 Disclaimer - Views expressed here are of the Author only

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Cormorant Asset Management, LP is very pleased to be supporting Altrubio’s Series B financing. I’m quoted in this WSJ article by Brian Gormley highlighting recent advances by biotech companies like AltruBio Inc. and our former portfolio company Prometheus (acquired last year by Merck for $10.8B), bringing novel targets and approaches to the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as ulcerative colitis. Altrubio is in the vanguard of efforts to exploit checkpoint inhibition in T-cells to restore proper balance of the adaptive immune system in inflammatory disorders. Blockade of checkpoint inhibition to stimulate anti-tumor T-cell immunity has revolutionized the treatment of cancer. Altrubio is now taking an inverse approach leveraging the novel immune checkpoint inhibitor PSGL-1 to combat T-cell-driven inflammation in ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune/inflammatory disorders.

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I came across a stunning Illumina research report yesterday. It was written by well respected, long-time Illumina analyst Jack Meehan, CFA way back in November 2020 - two months after Illumina announced its intention to acquire GRAIL - and 9 months before it closed the deal. The 50 page detailed report is amazing because Jack and team basically foresaw all the downside risks of GRAIL that have since come to fruition. They were so confident the deal was bad that they advised their clients to SELL their Illumina stock (which was then at >$300). The report summary is very clear: "We do not agree with the strategic merits of Illumina's proposed acquisition of GRAIL. We have now completed our comprehensive review and believe GRAIL’s clinical data has shortcomings. We also think this is as good as it's going to get, and headline data could deteriorate in the future. From our discussions with leading scientists and reimbursement experts, we struggle to see how Galleri will earn broad coverage. WE NOW THINK GRAIL IS VALUE-LESS UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE". You can see the arc of their reasoning simply in the table of contents: - The Reality: GRAIL's Clinical Data Has Shortcomings - You Don't Have to Take Our Word For It... Experts Agree - We Think Headlines Could Get Worse with Subsequent Publications - Payors Have Historically Raised Concerns that Screening Tests Increase Risks and Raise Health System Costs - GRAIL is a Cash Burning Machine, and Consensus is Too High - So Why is Illumina Acquiring GRAIL? There are No Good Answers Fascinating to me that THIS WAS ALL FORESEEABLE by smart people working with public information 🤯🤯🤯

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Biotech Market Shifts and Capturing Golden Opportunities: The biotech sector has always attracted investors due to its potential for high returns driven by healthcare innovation and breakthroughs. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the industry to unprecedented highs, some investors are now uncertain about the current state of the market. The good news is that there are still plenty of investment opportunities in the biotech sector, with prices currently lower than their pandemic-era highs and new technological innovations emerging. This comprehensive overview will explore why the biotech market is an excellent investment option over the next two years. https://lnkd.in/dc4kHnw3 #Biotech #Investment #XBI #Nabil_Alhakamy #pharma

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Reactosome graduated from the IndieBio SF Batch 15! 🧬 We’ve learned so much and met amazing fellow companies disrupting standards—harnessing the power of the dark proteome, squeezing DNA out of rocks, reversing climate change with cold plasma, achieving the fastest sequencing, and so much more! We are beyond grateful to every IndieBio and SOSV team member for making all of this possible. Just five months ago, Giorgio Fracasso and I had just a crazy idea and determination. Today, we are officially Reactosome, the world’s first synthetic nucleus company. Behind this achievement were countless hours in the lab—from assembling prototypes to witnessing the first glow of RNA expression in cells; calls spanning 9,099 km, filled with business wisdom and human support—late at night and during morning rides to work; challenges that pushed us beyond our comfort zones; negotiating deals; and making endless improvements to ensure our message is clear, loud, and bold. We are now confident that our Synthetic Nucleus will enable a whole new class of genomic medicine—safer, continuous and controllable, with the largest cargo capacity, and suitable for specific cell delivery! Our next goal is to accelerate the R&D up to the preclinical stage and engage with biopharma. Interested in a sneak peek? Check out the video the IndieBio team produced: https://lnkd.in/enKybc7B Feel free to reach out to learn more. We are fundraising and looking for more partners! Loud shoutout to IndieBio SF Batch 15, you are the best: Hypercell Technologies, RyboDyn Inc., BryoSphere Biotechnologies, SpiralWave, AquaLith, Stream Genomics, Farm Minerals, Jolly Mazumdar & Thimmaiah Chendrimada, and Nutrition from Water™ (NXW) #IndieBio #GenomicMedicine #genetherapy #RNA #DNA #Biotech #Fundraising #SyntheticNucleus #Reactosome 

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Gordian Biotechnology is all about predicting patient outcomes, and are now hiring a Head of Translational Genomics to envision and enact strategy to identify patient segments most likely to match responses we're seeing preclinically. You'll have access to unprecedented in vivo datasets showing therapeutic potential from experimental tests in half a dozen species, as well as patient samples. From this and additional data you seek out, you'll explore and decide the best ways for us to identify patients likely to respond in clinical trials, e.g. endotypes sharing pathophysiology with preclinical models, biomarkers for responsiveness, and more. You would report directly to the CSO, and be supported by an outstanding team of disease experts and wet+computational biologists. Read more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gwFgvT3T #Hiring #Biotechjobs #Startupjobs #Bayareajobs #DrugDevelopment #HumanGenetics #ComparativeGenomics #SingleCell #Genomics #MASH #Fibrosis #HeartFailure #Osteoarthritis #CreatingTime

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How does CEO tenure matter in biotech? How much time should be given to leadership to prove performance? Who are best performing CEOs? 🥇 Top performing biotech CEOs among those who started before 2010 or after 2020 as measured by the company’s market cap are (among a few others): - Jeff Bailly (https://lnkd.in/gpVAvCeA), the CEO of UFP Technologies, started in 2006 when each share was worth $2.5. Fast-forward 18 years, the share is now worth $213, i.e., around 100x return, compared to around 4x return of S&P500. - Jorge Santos da Silva assumed the CEO position of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ: MLTX) in 2021. Since then, the company grew 100% year-to-year. 🏃‍♂️ Overall, Biotech CEOs who started before 2010 performed significantly better over the last two years, as measured by the company’s market cap. We analyzed 300 public biotech and medical devices companies, comparing their % change in market cap to when their CEO assumed the office. 🔬 There are many results in the scientific literature that provide relevant additional evidence. For example, in 2014, Luo showed a positive correlation between the CEO's tenure and the firm’s relationship with employees*. ❓ What’s your experience with hyper-performing CEOs? Do you know of any features that distinguish them? * Luo et al. “How does CEO tenure matter? The mediating role of firm-employee and firm-customer relationships.” 2014

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Congratulations and good luck to Sanket Shah for launching Otsuka Precision Health, Inc. (OPH). With FDA's new PDURS framework, we are confident a playbook will evolve for molecules and digital medicine to co-exist. It's hard to dismantle molecules from digital medicine. Keeping that in mind, we always conducted our clinical trials to show how JOGO Health + pills provide better outcomes. In one of the clinical trials, we demonstrated that adding JOGO to migraine medications improved MIDAS(Migraine Disability Assessment) score significantly. Another trial demonstrated JOGO's foundational science reduced side effects of cancer medications and medication discontinuation. pill + bytes is where digital medicine is heading.

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Should have comp video from Boston, maybe covering, Blavatnik Accelerator/Wyss Institute at HMS, and Pagaluica Life Lab/Blavatnik Life Lab; Dana Faber and other Hospitals) and maybe Langer Lab and the Engine at MIT along with Koch Institute (which brings together academic partners and clinical organizations), Arena Bioworks maybe with Whitehead collab, maybe some possible connection between MBI, UMass Chan, RNA Therapeutics Institute (some have been covered individually but not catapult style) there might be some I left out on Boston side as AI/ML versions are starting to develop as well, like MIT AI Venture Studio (baby catapults on Life Science side (but there is MIT CSAIL and MIT Media Lab around as well) :). Anyway maybe 5-6 things including Stanford.

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Great article. The next generation of platform companies in this space are going to be purpose built to create best in class datasets for ML. A lot of great companies from ex-Recursion builders NOETIK and Leash Bio are great examples - and we are aiming to add to that group in the coming months. Looking forward to big impacts and a new paradigm soon.

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