John Alam

MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O'Connell, Esq. recently spoke with Adil Ali, MD and Onyx about representing the world's most consequential life sciences ecosystem, MassBio's Vision 2030 strategic roadmap, programs like #MassBioDrive and BioversityMA, and more. Onyx's in-depth report, Vital Signs: Future of Healthcare, will appear in Fortune magazine in December ahead of JPM Week. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/eVkggiwv

35

1 Comment

Fabulous to be on the investor panel for Mintz’s Life Sciences Pitch Event today, on yet another glorious fall day in Boston. ☀️🍁 Key feedback shared by our panel: 🔹 Ensure your target market is clear - especially when the population for your relevant indication is highly heterogenous 🔹 Share your current assumptions about how your product may be used (e.g., chronically vs. episodically) and open questions 🔹 If you're exploring a range of commercial use cases, share how you anticipate prioritizing across them over time 🔹 If your GTM strategy requires you to displace heavily entrenched solutions and/or processes, share how you will enable these transitions 🔹 Note the specific set of milestones to be achieved with investment 🔹 Always include target timelines and potential paths to exit Thank you to the incredible lineup of entrepreneurs who pitched today, and please stay in touch! Thank you to Dean Farmer and Charlie C. for facilitating today's event. Thank you to panelists David Fogel, CPA, Ben Littauer (he/him), Molly Hoult, and Richard Wagner for your contributions. Great to meet you, and thank you for all of your help, Emily (Krasowski) Yanachkov and Diana Malkin. #lifesciences #pitchevent #investor #panel #boston

86

4 Comments

Appreciate John Glasspool’s op/ed in the Boston Business Journal. He brings the perspective of a CEO of a Cambridge-based #biotech, MassBio member Anthos Therapeutics, to the debate over the White House’s plans to use Bayh-Dole as a blunt instrument to force price controls. The reality is that any effort to use “march in” rights like this would hurt innovation, chill the collaborative relationship between research institutes and small biotechs (which are the lion’s share of Massachusetts’ industry) when it comes to advancing early science, and do nothing to address the price of drugs. You can’t argue with Bayh-Dole’s success: 6 million jobs, $2 trillion in economic output, thousands of startups, and 200+ drugs and vaccines. As John points out, we can’t go back to a time when science sat on shelves instead of getting into medicine cabinets. https://lnkd.in/ezkNndKA cc: The Bayh-Dole Coalition

32

3 Comments

We started out Q1 with cautious optimism and the numbers continue to show the confidence was warranted. Biopharma M&A activity more than doubled nationally during the year’s first three months, coinciding with a rebound in venture capital deals as well as a flurry of IPOs. These are all good signs that the drug development cycle is normalizing and should translate into additional funding being available at the seed and Series A stages. Certain to be on the minds of funders and startups attending #AlignSummit24 on Thursday! https://lnkd.in/erEiJm6S  

112

5 Comments

MassBioDrive harnesses the power of MassBio’s global life sciences network to help new founders launch their biotech startups. We announced our #MassBioDrive Spring 2024 Cohort back in March, and as we near the end of the eight-week program, we are highlighting our five emerging biotech companies chosen to participate. Today, please meet Nucyrna Therapeutics! Q: Tell us about your company and what you’re developing. What are you most excited about? A: Nucyrna Therapeutics aims to redefine RNA-targeting therapeutics by co-targeting nuclear and cytoplasmic RNAs. Nucyrna’s oligonucleotide platform enables a superior therapeutics index for single RNA silencing and can serve as a dual-RNA targeting platform. With our lead programs targeting ALS, we are working to address the huge unmet medical needs in CNS disorders in our rapid aging society. I’m most excited about developing disease-modifying therapies for these patients. Q: What advice do you have for other biotech companies just getting started? A: It’s never too early to talk to advisors such as serial entrepreneurs for advice. MassBioDrive is an amazing mentorship program helping entrepreneurs figure out challenges at the early stage. Q: What has been most impactful or surprising to you since joining the MassBioDrive program? A: The most impactful thing is we have decided our leading two programs based on our oligonucleotide platform technology with the guidance from MassBioDrive program mentors. Learn more about Nucyrna Therapeutics: https://www.nucyrnatx.com/ Learn more about MassBioDrive: https://lnkd.in/eAEMRZ-b Damon (Feng) Wang, PhD

30

MassBioDrive harnesses the power of MassBio’s global life sciences network to help new founders launch their biotech startups. We announced our #MassBioDrive Spring 2024 Cohort back in March, and as we near the end of the eight-week program, we are highlighting our five emerging biotech companies chosen to participate. Today, please meet Anita Scheuber and Hestia Therapeutics! Q: Tell us about your company and what you’re developing. What are you most excited about? A: At Hestia, we are developing the aNKor platform of tri-specific, tri-funtional immunocytokines that engage the adaptive AND innate immune system to very effectively attack cancer cells. Our approach is a targeted delivery of potent cytokines into the tumor microenvironment that is safer for patients compared to naked cytokines. Q: What advice do you have for other biotech companies just getting started? A: Surround yourself with a diverse group of people that bring industry relevant expertise to complement your own. Q: What has been most impactful or surprising to you since joining the MassBioDrive program? A: The Biotech hub in the Boston area remains strong, innovative and daring - it is just fantastic to learn through the MassBioDrive program that the immense resources, support and entrepreneurship still exists. It is truly inspiring and humbling to receive all that encouragement. Learn more about Hestia Therapeutics: https://hestiatx.com/ Learn more about MassBioDrive: https://lnkd.in/eAEMRZ-b

17

Great summary and insight! Starting early is key to developing the critical partnerships needed for a successful launch.

7

Totus Medicines — yet another DCVC-family company using AI & next gen lab automation to deliver *actual in-clinic breakthrough candidates*, starting with the first covalent PI3Ka selective therapy for solid tumors

12

MassBioDrive harnesses the power of MassBio’s global life sciences network to help new founders launch their biotech startups. We announced our #MassBioDrive Spring 2024 Cohort back in March, and as we near the end of the eight-week program, we are highlighting our five emerging biotech companies chosen to participate. Today, please meet DoriNano! Q: Tell us about your company and what you’re developing. What are you most excited about? A: DoriNano, a Harvard spinoff, pioneers the use of DNA origami nanoparticles as a transformative delivery platform for combination immunotherapies, offering precise cellular targeting and minimal effective doses of cargo for treating serious diseases. Our mission is to develop safe, effective, and affordable combination nanomedicines that overcome past limitations in nanoparticle-based therapeutics. We are particularly excited about the multifaceted potential of DNA origami nanoparticles, which have the potential to revolutionize the nanotechnology delivery landscape. Q: What advice do you have for other biotech companies just getting started? A: Starting a biotech company requires resilience, a willingness to learn, and openness to suggestions. Every challenge presents an opportunity for growth. Embrace the journey, endure sacrifice, minimize complaints, learn from setbacks, and move forward. Building the right team is the key and most challenging sector. Surround yourself with dedicated individuals who share your vision.  Q: What has been most impactful or surprising to you since joining the MassBioDrive program? A: The MassBioDrive program's structured approach, coupled with the dedication of organizers and mentors, has been very impactful. The informative working sessions cover vital aspects of company launch, regulatory compliance, legal considerations, CMC considerations, investment strategies and pharma partnering. As a scientist-turned-entrepreneur, these resources have been invaluable, providing comprehensive guidance tailored to our needs. The interactive Q&A sessions during both mentor sessions and working sessions have deepened our comprehension and helped address questions regarding the company’s development. Learn more about DoriNano: https://lnkd.in/eXJ7PQ_X Learn more about MassBioDrive: https://lnkd.in/eAEMRZ-b Yang (Claire) Zeng

21

Important work here by the MassBio team led by Kendalle Burlin O'Connell, Esq. on behalf of all MA based life science focused companies The stats support continued investment at the scale proposed… We now have 2x the number of life science employees in the state since the first MA life science investment initiative was authorized in 2008 Which meant $22Bn in wages in 2023 (great for MA revenues) And this base of talent is helping to attract major investment into new promising technologies that will shape the future of medicine and the health of the nation…that’s 30%+ of all biotech VC dollars the last few years (>$7 Bn per year since 2020…and $13.66 Bn in 2021) #biotech #research #medicine #healthcare Nicholas Collins

68

1 Comment

#News: Halda Therapeutics, a Connecticut-based biotech founded by Yale professor and entrepreneur Craig Crews, announced Monday that it has raised $126 million in a #SeriesB extension to move two candidates into #clinicaltrials for patients with #prostate and #breast #cancer. The #biotech has been developing a new class of #cancertherapies known as #RegulatedInducedProximityTargetingChimeras (RIPTAC). According to Halda, these assets use a “hold and kill” mechanism using two proteins, one cancer-specific and one with an essential function. The candidates are designed to help retract essential cell function and cause the death of the cancer cells while preserving non-cancer tissue. “This financing will enable us to bring to patients our oral, selective and widely applicable cancer cell-killing mechanism that is designed to overcome drug resistance, which is a major shortcoming of many current standard of care cancer treatments,” Kat Kayser-Bricker, Halda chief scientific officer, said in a statement. Read more from BioSpace 👇🏼

4

Our CEO Michael Nally spoke at MassBio's State of Possible Conference with Barry Greene of Sage Therapeutics, Sharon Cunningham of Shorla Oncology, and Daphne Zohar of Seaport Therapeutics, moderated by Douglas Banks of Boston Business Journal. The panel explored Massachusetts' success in the life science industry—a story of innovation and resilience. These leaders discussed how they have survived and thrived through significant challenges. In a blog entry for MassBio, Mike notes: "By spearheading the transition from trial-and-error to programable, precision-based drug development, Massachusetts is reshaping the future of healthcare to better serve patients, the ecosystem, and the economy." Learn more about the panel, including a replay: https://lnkd.in/eHanbnQF #GenerativeAI I #ProteinEngineering 

46

1 Comment

MassBioDrive harnesses the power of MassBio’s global life sciences network to help new founders launch their biotech startups. We announced our #MassBioDrive Spring 2024 Cohort back in March, and as we near the end of the eight-week program, we are highlighting our five emerging biotech companies chosen to participate. Today, please meet Sphinxion Therapeutics! Q: Tell us about your company and what you’re developing. What are you most excited about? A: We are developing adeno-associated virus mediated SGPL1 gene therapy as a lifesaving cure for sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome, a rare but devastating inborn error of lipid metabolism that leads to fibrotic kidney disease, kidney failure and other serious consequences. We believe our gene therapy will additionally have broad utility in the treatment of other fibrotic conditions. Q: What advice do you have for other biotech companies just getting started? A: Picking the right team to start your journey is as important as the science fueling the company. Have the end game in mind with your team to avoid irrevocable mistakes at the outset. Build a team with complementary, but different skill sets and lean on industry mentors to pressure test your work and make it better. Everything is amplified in a startup environment, so choosing the right people to learn and grow from is as important as progressing your company. Q: What has been most impactful or surprising to you since joining the MassBioDrive program? A: We expected a diversity of talent within our mentor group since the MassBioDrive program is staffed with seasoned experts across functions. We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly our group clicked and supported each other as well as our ambition for our company. Interacting with our mentors gave us tremendous insight about how our scientific knowledge, preclinical findings and key assumptions inform the strategy and tactics to propel our company forward. Learn more about Sphinxion Therapeutics: https://sphinxion.com/ Learn more about MassBioDrive: https://lnkd.in/eJrjF72Y

14

2 Comments

🚀 Exciting news from Eli Lilly and Company! In a bold move to strengthen its position in the breas tcancer market, Lilly is acquiring Scorpion Therapeutics’ PI3Kα pipeline for up to $2.5 billion. This strategic deal, announced at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, fast-tracks Lilly’s plans by securing a clinical-phase candidate ahead of schedule. Scorpion's STX-478 which is a once-daily oral, mutant-selective PI3Kα inhibitor has shown promising Phase 1 results, with potential to outperform current treatments like Novartis' Piqray and Roches’s Itovebi. #HealthcareInnovation #BreastCancerResearch #EliLilly

12

MassBioDrive harnesses the power of MassBio’s global life sciences network to help new founders launch their biotech startups. We announced our #MassBioDrive Fall 2024 Cohort earlier this fall, and are highlighting our five emerging biotech companies chosen to participate. Today, please meet HarborSite! Q: Tell us about your company and what you’re developing. What are you most excited about? A: HarborSite is pioneering a transformative approach to treating genetic diseases by leveraging proprietary recombinase-based gene insertion technology. Through precise and efficient targeting of large DNA sequences into safe regions of the human genome, HarborSite’s platform achieves durable and robust expression of therapeutic genes, leading to curative, one-and-done treatments. Q: What advice do you have for other biotech companies just getting started? A: Surround yourself with people who have successfully gone through the challenges you are currently facing. If it is licensing — talk to academic startup founders; if it is a partnership opportunity — reach out to BDs at mid-stage biotechs, if it is fundraising — connect with CEOs who recently closed a round. The biotech field is extremely complex, requiring unique knowledge that can only be acquired with experience. Luckily, the community is very generous and willing to help new generations of entrepreneurs. Q: What has been most impactful or surprising to you since joining the MassBioDrive program? A: One of the biggest upsides of the program is the opportunity to interact with fellow co-founders, learn about their bottlenecks, realize that all of us are experiencing similar hurdles, and help each other overcome them. These are long-lasting relationships we look forward to continue building upon. Learn more about HarborSite: https://lnkd.in/ecws_Pnx Learn more about MassBioDrive: https://lnkd.in/eAztxEdd Erik Aznauryan | Ben W.

33

2 Comments

AbbVie has lost >$45B in market capitalization since the negative Phase II readouts on emraclidine, the schizophrenia drug they acquired via their $8.7B buyout of Cerevel Therapeutics. Competing neuropsychiatric drug developers Neumora and Neurocrine Biosciences have faced similar setbacks on their schizophrenia drugs leaving only Bristol Myers Squibb's Cobenfy (acquired via their buyout of Karuna Therapeutics for $14B in cash) and Terran Biosciences' TerXT the only real assets of significant value and with near-term hopes for commercialization. Given TerXT's superior release profile (once-daily oral pill vs. Cobenfy's twice daily regimen) along with a long-acting injectable form that could last up to six months, as well as TerXT's reduced side effects, analysts are speculating that TerXT could take substantial market share from Cobenfy which is projected to reach as much as $10B in annual sales. This all adds up to TerXT being exceptionally well positioned in a white hot neuropsychiatric biopharma M&A market.

25

3 Comments

How do we minimize the number of protocol amendments and increase the operational feasibility of our clinical trials? This article below points out the benefits of using data, conversations and real world data to enhance the feasibility of the protocol design and inclusion/exclusion criteria: 1) Are we being too strict on our criteria in order to "control" for data variability? 2) Do are criteria allow for the intended patient population in the real world (if not, they need to) 3) How realistic is your design in how the study sites actually work? How they see and treat patients? How is your company ensuring the design meets these requirements? https://lnkd.in/gzJzFd-3

4

1 Comment

Proud to partner with Brian Weiss and his team at Carebox, who are enabling pharma sponsors, sites and advocacy groups to advance trial research and provide access to the latest treatment options for patients and caregivers in times of critical need. H.I.G. Capital’s investment represents Carebox’s first growth capital raise, and we are excited to provide the team with additional resources to continue their category-defining innovation path. Carebox addresses a significant market pain-point and provides a unique solution offering: ✅ Large and growing market opportunity - The pharma industry spent $230B on R&D in 2023 (growing to $270B by 2027), with $2B specifically on patient recruitment. Drug sponsors are increasingly disintermediating CROs and clinical sites to guarantee higher rates of enrollment, retention, and clinical efficacy. Additionally, clinical trials pipelines have shifted toward rare diseases, oncology therapies, and more complex therapeutic areas which require sick patients (vs. healthy participants). Participants for these trials are difficult to source and retain due to their low absolute occurrence rates and poor health. Many sponsors today leverage outsourced services businesses and in-house teams to manage the patient recruitment process, providing ample greenfield opportunity for Carebox’s self-service software offering and capture eligible patients at a cheaper cost-per-lead. ✅ Significant ROI - Patient recruitment and time to market are critical pain points in clinical trials for drug therapies, with failure rates of 48% to meet enrollment targets, 80% to meet enrollment timelines and 11% to enroll a single patient. These failure rates have led to increased trial costs and timelines, with US registered trial costs at $108B in 2023 (5-year CAGR of 5% and average cost per trial $14M) and the average duration to trial primary completion date increasing from 1.7 years in 2014 to 2.3 years in 2021. Not only do lengthier timelines increase costs, but it is estimated that there is ~$800k per day lost in revenue due to delayed trials. Carebox’s software offering provides more efficient, direct-to-patient intake and AI-driven matching to trials to get revenue producing therapies quicker to market. ✅ Differentiated product, with growing data moats - Carebox’s algorithm identifies patients for clinical trials, powers patient advocacy group referrals, and drives organic, high-intent traffic to patient-facing trial portals. This collection of products generates a data flywheel that reinforces the matching engine to drive better leads and higher rates of patient conversion into trials. CC: Albert Koh, Justin Marpole-Bird, Angela Chon, Emily Yu PR: https://lnkd.in/gfaTSz_f

86

3 Comments

Rutgers startup Zena Therapeutics Inc. has a noble aim: To create narcotic medications that will minimize or even eliminate overdoses from prescription drugs. Co-founded by Dr. Eileen Carry and Dr. Ariane Vasilatis, the company is based on an innovation developed at Rutgers: A novel compound that does not increase the risk of overdose if taken with other central nervous system depressing substances such as opioids and alcohol. “What we want to do is design medication so that even if it is misused, death is not the consequence,” Carry said. “Right now, when it comes to narcotics drugs, the onus is on the patient to take the medication as prescribed, but that is not a guarantee. We hope to shift the paradigm to substantially reduce overdose risk without compromising efficacy.”

2