#24 - Scratching backs and building bridges
The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.
Goodday friends,
If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours… As you might have guessed, this week’s stories are all about connections: GSK tackles the relentless itch of liver disease, NVIDIA teams up with researchers to turbocharge molecular modelling, Ferment turns waste into wealth with enzymatic teamwork, Recursion and Exscientia join forces across the Atlantic, and Novartis bets big on muscle-wasting diseases.
Until next time, keep building those bridges.
Dodo
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🌱 Ferment's $20M fund debuts and bets on Alchemyca to transform waste Into energy (SynBioBeta): A double-hit of news from Ferment, a venture studio helmed by former Ginkgo Bioworks exec Jason Kakoyiannis. They’ve launched a $20 million commercialisation fund, and unveiled waste warrior Alchemyca as their first biotech. While Ferment’s other three ventures remain under wraps, the mission is clear: solving real-world problems with bio-enabled solutions.
Our take: Waste treatment is notoriously quite the pongy affair! Anaerobic digestors, relied upon to clean up agricultural and human waste, are often slow and inefficient – leading to those all too familiar noxious fumes. Alchemyca's enzymatic pre-treatment is set to change that: by catalysing the breakdown process, it not only enhances the profitability of waste-to-energy projects but also captures more methane, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With methane reduction high on the global agenda, their timing couldn't be better.
🤝 Trans-Atlantic triumph: AI drug pioneers Recursion, Exscientia combine (GEN): Two trailblazers in AI-driven drug discovery, Recursion and Exscientia, have officially merged – forming a trans-Atlantic juggernaut with over 30 programs spanning clinical, preclinical and advanced discovery stages. Exscientia now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Recursion. The deal, reportedly valued at $688 million, strengthens their grip on the AI-powered drug discovery arena.
Our take: This merger combines serious AI firepower, uniting Recursion’s phenomics expertise with Exscientia’s molecular design chops. But beyond sheer pipeline heft, the partnership leverages major alliances with Roche, Bayer and others – hinting at billions in milestones. By fusing complementary technologies, the combined companies are poised to push the boundaries of what's possible in drug discovery, to accelerate timelines and new therapeutic frontiers for complex diseases.
⚡NVIDIA opens BioNeMo to scale digital biology for global biopharma and scientific industry (NVIDIA News): NVIDIA has flung open the doors to its BioNeMo Framework – a trove of accelerated computing tools aiming to exponentially scale AI models for biomolecular research. Integrated with its high-octane computing infrastructure, it promises to slash costs, turbocharge scale, and speed up drug discovery workflows. With leading biotech luminaries like Genentech, Ginkgo Bioworks, and Dyno Therapeutics already aboard this end-to-end supercomputing express, it’s full steam ahead for NVIDIA.
Our take: BioNeMo’s strength lies in its all-encompassing approach to molecular modelling. By seamlessly integrating advanced tools like AlphaFold2 for structure prediction, DiffDock 2.0 for docking simulations, and RFdiffusion and ProteinMPNN for protein design, this open-source framework allows researchers to train and deploy large-scale biomolecular models with far greater ease. If it’s all it’s cracked up to be, it could lower the hefty access barriers to specialised software that can stifle innovation.
🤲 GSK scratches itch for phase 3 win, hitting goal in liver disease trial to open up untapped market (Fierce Biotech): GSK has hit its primary endpoint in a phase 3 trial of linerixibat, which treats cholestatic pruritus (otherwise known as ‘relentless itch’) tied to primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a type of liver disease. By blocking bile acid transporters, linerixibat reduces circulating bile acids to calm itch from within – demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in monthly itch scores after 24 weeks. With PBC cases set to hit 510,000 globally by 2030, and nearly half of patients battling unrelenting itch, linerixibat may offer some welcome relief.
Our take: Cholestatic pruritus may leave patients scratching for solutions, but GSK’s linerixibat trial puts the company on track to be the first treatment indicated to treat itch in PBC. The trial’s inclusive design – spanning treatment-naïve to anti-itch med users – not only broadens its regulatory and real-world relevance but also intensifies the race among IBAT inhibitors such as Ipsen's Bylvay (approved for other indications), and Mirum Pharmaceuticals' volixibat (just starting Phase 3 trials).
And finally…
🧬 Novartis wagers more than $1B on gene therapies for the nervous system (BioPharma Dive): Novartis is doubling down on neuromuscular gene therapies with Kate Therapeutics, a biotech whippersnapper founded just four years ago. Kate’s experimental gene therapies target rare, muscle-wasting diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy and X-linked myotubular myopathy. With sales of Zolgensma plateauing, Novartis seems eager to expand its portfolio and reaffirm its dominance in nervous system therapies.
Our take: Delivery has long been the Achilles’ heel of gene therapy but, by zeroing in on muscle and cardiac tissues, Kate Therapeutics' clever tech – hatched at the Broad Institute – promises to deliver drugs to the muscles more effectively than ever before. And, by acquiring Kate Therapeutics' assets at the preclinical stage, Novartis potentially sidesteps higher costs associated with a later-stage acquisition. Smart!
Tune in
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🔬3.12 | Future Labs, Automation & Technology Europe 2024 | London, UK: Find out how build smart, connected labs by harnessing AI, advanced data systems, and automation.
🤖 3-4.12 | SynbiTECH | London, UK: A synthetic biology conference that fosters innovation by uniting industry leaders, researchers, policymakers and investors.
👋 9.12 | BioTech Networking Event | London, UK: An evening of networking and collaboration with biotech startup founders, investors and industry professionals.
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