Q&A with Jeanne Hopkins, CMO at Lola.com

MEDIA 7 | January 9, 2020

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist at Terminus is also an author and host of the podcast FlipmyFunnel. He is one of the leading minds in B2B marketing. MEDIA 7: What are you passionate about? SANGRAM VAJRE: Three things: Lead professionally. Grow personally. Love family. M7: Terminus has been recognized as one of Georgia’s 40 fastest-growing companies by ACG Atlanta. What factors contribute to this pace? SV: One of our core values is #OneTeam – which means we think and act as one team and know that if we treat our team right, they will treat our customers amazing. There are no great companies, only great people that make those companies.

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MEDIA 7 | December 5, 2019

Andrea Lechner-Becker, Chief Marketing Officer at LeadMD is an experienced Marketing and Sales Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in Business Process, Marketo, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and IT Service Management, Andrea is also a strong business development professional and a storyteller. MEDIA 7: What inspired you to get into marketing? ANDREA LECHNER: Frankly, not having better options. I originally attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse thinking I’d major in Archaeology. I wanted to be Indiana Jones! But, after visiting the archaeology building – i.e. the cold, dark basement of the science building – where a girl sat to piece together pieces of an old Native American vase, I knew archaeology was not going to be the right path for me. And so, without being good at science and a major in art or art history was unlikely to pay my bills, I decided to go into “business”. I originally registered as a management major, but took my first marketing class and thought it was more interesting and switched my sophomore year. That was pretty much it. I’d never been involved in business classes or DECA in high school – I didn’t really know what to do or what jobs in marketing were even possible. I dumb lucked myself into it really. M7: As a storyteller, do you relate the brand to a story or story to the brand? AL: Both? Neither? I think there are stories in every brand, because there are people working on the brand and people engaging with the brand and people using what the brand creates. People, most often a single person, are at the heart of great stories. You can start with the “point” of the story you’re trying to tell. Say you have a software that help accountants better create reports for board meetings. It’s likely you’ll want to tell a success story about an accountant getting promoted to CFO in part because your software helped better communicate their work product to the board. You could have the idea for that and go looking for that story in your customers. OR, you could hear that story, and say, “That’s amazing!” and share it with customers, partners and internal people. Stories are all around us – the most important thing is to keep your ears and eyes open for finding them.

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MEDIA 7 | November 28, 2019

Ed Breault, Chief Marketing Officer at Aprimo is a marketer with over 18 years of industry experience. At Aprimo, Ed is responsible for the global brand and growth which includes all Paid/Owned/Earned media, Brand Experience, Product Marketing, Industry Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Strategic Communications, Content Marketing, Analyst Relations, Alliance Marketing, Public Relations, Events, Demand Generation and Account-Based Marketing. MEDIA 7: What’s your superpower? ED BREAULT: I would say it’s applying the full spectrum of art and science that is required in marketing today. Not just left or right brained, but whole-brained strategy. Being human yet data-driven and really understanding numbers and (the right) metrics to make connections to business drivers. Add storytelling to that, so I can effectively communicate to my team, the CEO and CFO as well as my Board of Directors on those metrics, and connecting all that we are doing in marketing to the mission of the business. Then quickly shifting gears to the art and creative aspects of marketing that are required to engage an audience and tell great commercial stories that take complex concepts and craft them in a way that is interesting for people to pay attention to. I have to be the ultimate point of truth for the brand. M7: At Aprimo, how have marketing leadership roles and responsibilities evolved over the past few years? EB: There are so many dimensions needed by marketing leaders today. There are several elements driving this evolution, it’s the new experience battlefront that is emerging and also marketers themselves driving changes. From a market perspective, there is a clear appetite for disruption and consumers are wanting more experiential elements to their buying experience and interactions with brands. Take a few direct to consumer disruptions like trialing products in-home, purchasing directly from a brand or even wanting to ensure that the producer’s trade practices are in line with the buyer’s or even a regulator’s for that matter. Then we want to try before we buy, and we emotionally care about the supply chain of products. Do we TRUST this brand to do business with them? Behind all of this is a story that needs to be told, and it is those marketers who know their audience well and make connections that will win the commercial game. Back to the marketer, there are so many diverse backgrounds that marketers bring now and I’m really intrigued by those who have unconventional backgrounds because they contribute something uniquely new to the field. I love hearing about the marketer’s journey.

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MEDTECH, INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

PRNewswire | June 01, 2023

Mission Bio, Inc., the pioneer in high-throughput single-cell DNA and multi-omics analysis, announced breakthrough improvements to the Tapestri® Platform and its core chemistry that enable highly confident detection of rare cells for a range of applications. With Tapestri® v3 chemistry, researchers can discover tiny numbers of single cells that, until now, easily escaped detection and influenced disease in invisible ways. At the same time, drug developers can use the new capabilities for a more complete understanding of their advanced therapies, potentially leading to safer, more effective medicines. The new Tapestri® v3 chemistry increases the number of cells captured per sample by up to four times compared to the prior chemistry, a notable enhancement. With enhanced cell capture, the Tapestri® Platform can more reliably detect rare cells, opening incredible new possibilities like improving the assessment of measurable residual disease (MRD), a key metric used increasingly in clinical settings to estimate the risk of relapse with certain cancers. In the case of MRD in hematological cancers, rare subclonal variants are commonly missed by bulk NGS due to its averaging effect, hindering the detection of relapse-driving clones that potentially offer new therapeutic targets. With Tapestri®'s expanded capabilities, new integrated multi-omics tools like the Tapestri® scMRD Assay for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) will offer clinicians additional therapeutic insights, rather than providing a binary 'yes or no' answer to the presence of residual disease. A team of investigators from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) using the assay has reported a high sensitivity of 0.01% limit of detection in data presented at Mission Bio's Tapestri® scMRD for AML Summit last year. Tapestri®'s new capabilities also hold promise for cell and gene therapy developers looking to improve quality assessment throughout the therapy development process. Powered by Tapestri® v3 chemistry, the increase in cell throughput means Tapestri® Genome Editing Solution can measure gene editing outcomes at single-cell resolution – even for very low-frequency events like translocations, which can have significant effects on the safety of the therapy. Tapestri® v3 is the latest example of Mission Bio's continued focus on customer-centric product and service development. The company has recently implemented additional quality control measurements including design and development, release, and documentation processes compliant with the ISO 9001 standard. "Our customers' success is at the forefront of our mind," said Adam Abate, PhD, Co-founder and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Mission Bio. "Researchers and drug developers are demanding ever-greater sensitivity and highly robust products to effectively progress their research or advanced therapeutic program, and we are committed to serving our customers and helping them achieve their goals." The new v3 reagents will be available for shipping starting in mid-June. About Mission Bio Mission Bio is a life sciences company that accelerates discoveries and cures for a wide range of diseases by equipping researchers with the tools they need to better measure and predict our resistance and response to new therapies. Mission Bio's multi-omics approach improves time-to-market for new therapeutics, including innovative cell and gene therapies that provide new pathways to health. Founded in 2014, Mission Bio has secured investment from Novo Growth, Cota Capital, Agilent Technologies, Mayfield Fund, and others.

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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

Globenewswire | May 29, 2023

Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc. a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel molecular glue degrader (MGD)-based medicines, announced its second development candidate, MRT-6160, a novel, potent, and selective molecular glue degrader of VAV1. The Company plans to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for MRT-6160 in the first half of 2024 and to develop the molecule as a potential treatment for autoimmune diseases. “MRT-6160 is a potent, orally bioavailable MGD designed to degrade VAV1, an important protein involved in the signaling pathways of T and B cells. Our in vitro studies have shown that MRT-6160 selectively degrades VAV1 without detectable effects on other proteins. By targeting VAV1, MRT-6160 attenuates multiple aspects of T- and B-cell function and inhibits disease progression in established in vivo models of autoimmunity,” said Owen Wallace, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Monte Rosa. “The underlying biology and our preclinical data both demonstrate that MRT-6160 acts as an immune modulator, which has the potential to avoid the broad immune suppression seen with other approaches. We look forward to progressing our clinical plan developed with the goal of providing early insights into safety, PK and PD, and proof of concept regarding differentiated effects on key immunomodulatory signaling pathways.” “Our goal centers on pioneering therapeutically meaningful new drugs for patients with serious diseases. By addressing VAV1, a validated but previously undruggable target, we believe we've created a potentially groundbreaking therapy for patients suffering from a range of serious autoimmune conditions, particularly those involving both T- and B cell-mediated autoimmunity,” said Markus Warmuth, M.D., CEO of Monte Rosa. “MRT-6160 is expected to be our second MGD to enter clinical trials, showcasing the continued productivity of our QuEEN™ platform. We anticipate significant progress and milestones in our portfolio in the upcoming year, including initial clinical data from our GSPT1 MGD, MRT-2359, in the second half of this year and filing of an IND application for MRT-6160 in the first half of next year.” About Monte Rosa Monte Rosa Therapeutics is a biotechnology company developing novel molecular glue degrader (MGD) medicines for patients with serious diseases such as oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. MGDs are small molecule protein degraders that employ the body’s natural mechanisms to selectively eliminate therapeutically relevant proteins. The Company’s QuEEN™ (Quantitative and Engineered Elimination of Neosubstrates) platform enables it to rapidly identify protein targets and design highly selective degraders by combining diverse libraries of proprietary MGDs with in-house proteomics, structural biology, AI/machine learning, and computational chemistry capabilities.

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MEDICAL

PRNewswire | June 02, 2023

During this year's AAPS National biotechnology conference, Navigate BioPharma Services, Inc., a Novartis subsidiary and a leading provider of innovative biomarker solutions for drug development, announced the launch of its new multiplex digital PCR assays for comprehensive quantification of multiple chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, a type of cancer immunotherapy that involves genetically modifying T cells to recognize and destroy certain cancers. These assays are based on the Qiagen QIAcuity digital PCR System, which offers a powerful yet easy-to-use digital PCR experience through its unique nanoplate system. The new multiplex digital PCR assay enables simultaneous measurement of the number, function and persistence of CAR-T cells in clinical blood and bone marrow samples, without the need for a standard curve. It can detect as low as 0.01% of CAR-T cells among normal T cells, with a turnaround time of less than two hours. These assays can measure up to five different CAR-T cell markers in a single reaction, using specific probes for different CAR targets, to quantitate multiple CAR-domains, or combinations of commonly used therapeutic targets for CAR-T therapies. The assay can help clinicians monitor response or safety events during clinical trials to enable the development of new therapies. "CAR-T therapy is a promising and innovative approach to treat cancer, but it requires accurate and reliable quantification of CAR-T cells for successful drug development," said Dr. Nathan Riccitelli, Associate Director of Innovative Technologies at Navigate BioPharma Services, Inc. "Our new proprietary multiplex digital PCR assay provides a comprehensive and robust solution for measuring CAR-T cells in clinical samples with high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility." Navigate BioPharma Services, Inc. has developed this assay for use in sponsors-led clinical trials. If interested, contact them about how this assay can be used in upcoming clinical trial studies. Navigate Biopharma Services, Inc. Navigate BioPharma Services, Inc., an independently operating subsidiary within the Novartis group of companies, is a leading provider of innovative biomarker and specialty bioanalytic solutions for clinical development. Over the past decade, Navigate BioPharma has built and developed its exclusive library of assays, methodologies, and biomarker solutions. Their extensive expertise offers unique, accurate, reliable, and cost-effective solutions for its customers and partners.

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