INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. | December 01, 2022
IPA an advanced biotherapeutic research and technology company, announced that BioStrand BV an AI in silico discovery subsidiary of IPA, has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in targeted immunotherapies for cancer.
The collaboration will leverage BioStrand’s LENSai™ software, built upon IPA’s proprietary HYFT™ Universal Fingerprint™ technologies, and will focus on in silico antibody discovery to generate relevant clinical molecules for potential development. Under the terms of the Agreement, BioStrand and BriaCell will collaborate on the design, discovery, and development of anti-cancer antibodies. Upon successful antibody discovery, BioStrand will receive an upfront payment of US$500,000, and will be eligible to receive future success-based development milestones, including those for the submission of Investigational New Drugs clinical milestone payments, and commercial royalties on net sales of products. Further terms are not disclosed.
“We are very excited to begin this program with BriaCell and apply our technology to the development of biologics that may have a huge clinical impact. Shortening timelines, while also integrating as much information as possible upstream to improve the efficiency of the process, is extremely important in the development of highly targeted therapies. It is a step towards realizing our long-term vision of significantly advancing precision medicine.”
Dr. Ingrid Brands, General Manager and co-founder of BioStrand
“We believe that BioStrand’s revolutionary AI-powered technology, combined with its cutting-edge protein engineering platform, will allow us to design and discover potent anti-cancer therapeutics,” stated Miguel A. Lopez-Lago, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of BriaCell. “This approach would complement BriaCell’s current immunotherapy pipeline of innovative anti-cancer therapeutics.”
About BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.
BriaCell is an immuno-oncology-focused biotechnology company developing targeted and effective approaches for the management of cancer.
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. has several subsidiaries in North America and Europe including entities such as Talem Therapeutics LLC, Biostrand BV, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. and ImmunoPrecise Antibodies B.V. The IPA Family is a biotherapeutic research and technology group that leverages systems biology, multi-omics modelling and complex artificial intelligence systems to support its proprietary technologies in bioplatform-based antibody discovery. Services include highly specialized, full-continuum therapeutic biologics discovery, development, and out-licensing to support its business partners in their quest to discover and develop novel biologics against the most challenging targets.
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CELL AND GENE THERAPY
Casma Therapeutics, Inc. | November 21, 2022
Casma Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company engaging the autophagy system to provide innovative new medicines, announced the closing of a Series C financing round of $46.0 million. New investors participating in the round include Amgen Ventures, LLC, Astellas Venture Management, Eisai Co., Ltd., Euclidean Capital, Mirae Asset, and Ono Venture Investment. Current investors Eventide Asset Management, LLC, Schroders Capital, The Column Group, Third Rock Ventures, and other funds also participated in the financing. Dr. Hiromichi Kimura, Investment Director of Astellas Ventures, has joined the board of directors. Dr. Tomotaka Okino of Ono Venture Investment and Amgen Ventures have joined as board observers.
Casma will use proceeds to advance its lead program for MYD88 mutant lymphoma through preclinical and into IND enabling studies.
“The closing of this financing has strengthened our resources to continue advancing our drug pipeline focused on autophagy-based degradation. We are thrilled to welcome several top-tier investors who recognize the potential of our biological platforms and therapeutic assets targeting well-known high-value and traditionally undruggable targets.”
Keith Dionne, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Casma Therapeutics, Inc
"Casma’s autophagy-based degradation platform, PHLYT™, is unique and impressive,” commented Dr. Kimura. “Along with a rich pipeline of autophagy degraders, the company has also established a highly qualified team with extensive scientific experience in drug development. We expect that this round of funding will accelerate development of Casma’s pipeline assets, especially its degrader for MYD88 mutant tumors.”
About Casma Therapeutics, Inc.
Casma Therapeutics, Inc. is developing novel cellular degradation approaches based on the autophagy pathway to open new target areas for drug discovery and development that will profoundly impact the lives of patients. Autophagy is a conserved cellular process that contributes to overall cellular homeostasis. The autophagy machinery targets large and complex disease targets such as organelles, protein aggregates and large signaling complexes and before directing them to the lysosome for elimination. By selectively degrading disease targets by autophagy, Casma expects to arrest or reverse the progression of disease in multiple oncology, inflammation, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disorders.
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RESEARCH, INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
BigHat Biosciences, Inc. | November 30, 2022
BigHat Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company with a machine learning-guided antibody discovery and development platform, announced a collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, to apply the company’s technology to design candidates for up to three drug discovery programs.
BigHat’s design platform, Milliner, integrates a high-speed characterization with ML technologies to engineer antibodies with more complex functions and better biophysical properties. This approach could help reduce the difficulty of optimizing antibodies and other therapeutic proteins.
Under the collaboration, BigHat and Merck will collaborate to optimize up to three proteins by leveraging BigHat’s platform to synthesize, express, purify, and characterize molecules. Mark DePristo, co-founder and CEO of BigHat, continued, "We are thrilled to be collaborating with Merck's world-class drug development teams to design safer, more effective antibodies for these important therapeutic programs.”
The teams have initiated work on the first program and are looking forward to using the power of the complementary skills sets within each research team to generate high-quality lead antibodies. “We are excited to begin this collaboration to advance next-generation antibody therapeutics to patients,” said Elizabeth Schwarzbach, BigHat’s Chief Business Officer. "This agreement with Merck brings us a major step closer to our goal of 3-5 deep collaborations with leading biopharmas to complement our internal therapeutic pipeline."
“This agreement with BigHat expands Merck’s strategy of applying AI/ML across our drug discovery capabilities. We look forward to working with the team to leverage BigHat’s technology and expertise in enabling molecular design of novel biologic candidates.”
Juan Alvarez, vice president of Biologics Discovery, Merck Research Laboratories
About BigHat Biosciences, Inc.
BigHat Biosciences is designing safer, more effective antibody therapies for patients using machine learning and synthetic biology. BigHat integrates a wet lab for high-speed characterization with machine learning technologies to guide the search for better antibodies. They apply these design capabilities to develop new generations of safer and more effective treatments for patients suffering from today’s most challenging diseases. BigHat is a Series B biotech outside San Francisco with a team-oriented, inclusive, and family-friendly culture. BigHat’s broad pipeline of wholly-owned and partnered therapeutic programs span many disparate indications with high unmet need, such as cancer, inflammation, and infectious disease. BigHat has raised over $100M from top investors, including Section 32, a16z, and 8VC.
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