German biotech startup raises $43 million for psychedelic medicines

Axios | March 28, 2019

ATAI Life Sciences, a German biotech startup focused on depression and other mental health disorders, raised $43 million in Series B funding. Subversive Capital led, and was joined by return backers like Apeiron Investment Group and Bail Capital. Why it matters: This is the largest-ever venture round for a developer of psychedelic medicines, and comes after the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's use of a different psychedelic agent for treating depression.  The bottom line: "After recreational use of psychedelics became popular in the 1960s, the U.S. government classified most of them "drugs of abuse" with no real medical value. However, recent clinical studies show mounting evidence that some psychedelics can help patients with certain mental illnesses."

Spotlight

This technical note demonstrates the comprehensive
characterization and confident identification of glucuronide
metabolites from hepatocyte incubations of midazolam. An
orthogonal fragmentation mechanism was applied to generate diagnostic fragment ions for confident identification of glucuronide metabolites

Spotlight

This technical note demonstrates the comprehensive
characterization and confident identification of glucuronide
metabolites from hepatocyte incubations of midazolam. An
orthogonal fragmentation mechanism was applied to generate diagnostic fragment ions for confident identification of glucuronide metabolites

Related News

INDUSTRIAL IMPACT, MEDICAL

Synthego Introduces CRISPR Discovery Partners to Streamline CRISPR-Driven Drug Discovery Research

Synthego | March 17, 2023

Synthego Corp., a leading genome engineering solutions provider, announced today the launch of its service partner ecosystem, CRISPR Discovery Partners, designed to accelerate drug discovery by providing a seamless research workflow from CRISPR editing to phenotypic data and downstream services. The ecosystem brings together high-value partners including Arctoris, BrainXell, Curia, PhenoVista, and Pluristyx to offer a coordinated solution for CRISPR-driven drug discovery. The CRISPR Discovery Partner ecosystem creates an integrated workflow starting with Synthego's CRISPR Engineered Cells through functional readouts, providing researchers with a faster, more efficient, and more reliable way to move their discoveries forward. Researchers can access the full range of genome engineering services through Synthego, as well as downstream services including small molecule screening, cell-based assays, high content imaging, iPSC differentiation, and multi-omics through partners. The result is a streamlined drug discovery process that can help accelerate the development of life-saving treatments. Synthego's CRISPR Discovery Partners include Arctoris, a tech-enabled drug discovery service company, combines wet lab automation and machine learning with a world-class team of experienced drug discovery researchers to enable the accelerated development of small molecule, biologics, and cell therapy assets. BrainXell provides differentiation services to generate high-purity, iPSC-derived human neurons, astrocytes, and microglia for research use with a focus on drug discovery. BrainXell also offers fibroblast reprogramming and select downstream assay services. Curia, a global contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), offers products and services from discovery through manufacturing to help customers transform R&D results into real-world impact. PhenoVista, a San Diego-based CRO, specializes in modern, human, cell-based in vitro assay development and analysis. Internationally recognized for developing and implementing both fully bespoke projects and pre-validated Ready-2-Go assay services, this award-winning research partner leverages high-content imaging to enable life scientists to accelerate their discovery of novel therapeutics and improve global health. Pluristyx offers expertise and tools to support and accelerate the development and commercialization of revolutionary therapeutics to treat serious human diseases by providing unique products, consulting, and contract services, including cell line expansion and banking. About Synthego Synthego is a genome engineering company that enables the acceleration of life science research and development in the pursuit of improved human health. The company leverages machine learning, automation, and gene editing to build platforms and products for science at scale. With its foundations in engineering disciplines, the company's platform technologies vertically integrate proprietary hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology to advance basic research, target validation, and clinical trials. With its technologies cited in hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and utilized by thousands of commercial and academic researchers and therapeutic drug developers, Synthego is at the forefront of innovation enabling the next generation of medicines by delivering genome editing at an unprecedented scale.

Read More

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

Monte Rosa Therapeutics Advances Second Development Candidate, MRT-6160, a Novel, Highly Selective Molecular Glue Degrader Targeting VAV1

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.

Read More

MEDTECH, INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

IPA's Subsidiary, BioStrand, Solves the Information Integration Dilemma (IID) for Systems Biology

Businesswire | May 31, 2023

ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. an AI-driven biotherapeutic research and technology company, announced that its subsidiary, BioStrand®, has successfully solved the Information Integration Dilemma (IID) by developing a unique technology design that enables their patented HYFT Technology to encapsulate and unify diverse data modalities - including syntactical (sequence) data, 3D structural data, unstructured scientific information (e.g. scientific literature), and beyond - into a singular, integrated framework. This breakthrough approach facilitates efficient data fusion, enabling a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of complex biological data. With HYFTs, BioStrand effectively addresses the IID, paving the way for quicker and more potent biological discoveries. This innovation has the potential to bring a paradigm shift in various domains including drug development, biomarker discovery, and the study of disease pathology, among others. The IID has long been a significant challenge for the biotechnology industry, as researchers and investors have grappled with the complexities of integrating various data types to gain meaningful insights. In the rapidly evolving field of biotechnology, data is generated from multiple sources such as scientific literature, experimental data, and genomic information. The integration of these different data types is critical for accelerating innovation and driving the discovery of novel therapeutics. However, traditional approaches have struggled to efficiently combine and analy ze this diverse data, often leading to incomplete or inaccurate conclusions. BioStrand's breakthrough approach leverages its patented HYFT® technology and LENSaiTM platform, which together enable the efficient analysis and understanding of complex biological data. By solving the IID, BioStrand has unlocked new possibilities for the discovery and development of novel therapeutics, which is expected to benefit both patients and the investor community. Dirk Van Hyfte, Co-Founder and Head of Innovation of BioStrand, said, "We are thrilled to have overcome the Information Integration Dilemma, which has long been a major hurdle in our industry. Our HYFT technology and LENSai platform are now poised to revolutionize the way researchers and AI-driven systems process and analyze complex biological data, ultimately leading to faster and more effective drug discovery and development." BioStrand's HYFT technology extracts unique patterns, known as Universal Fingerprint™ patterns, from the entire biosphere, and integrates them with various data sources, such as scientific papers and medical records. The resulting Knowledge Graph encompasses over 660 million HYFTs and more than 25 billion relations, providing a powerful resource for researchers and AI-driven analysis. The LENSai platform, powered by HYFT technology, takes advantage of the latest advancements in large language models (LLMs) to bridge the gap between syntax (sequences) and semantics (functions). This enables the platform to extract valuable insights from vast amounts of data, without the limitations of traditional LLMs. IPA's support of BioStrand's pioneering work reinforces its commitment to investing in cutting-edge biotechnology solutions with the potential to transform the industry. The successful resolution of the Information Integration Dilemma not only demonstrates the innovative nature of BioStrand's technology but also highlights the Company's dedication to improving the lives of patients worldwide. About 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 (Canada) Ltd., and ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (Europe) B.V. The IPA Family is a biotherapeutic research and technology group that leverages systems biology, multi-omics modeling, 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.

Read More