ARTICLES BY MATTHEW PILLAR

• Venture Philanthropy Launches Biotech From Within

  11/23/2022

  There are more than 260 genes known to cause inherited retinal diseases, and Opus Genetics’ discovery and development work is leaving none of those stones unturned. The company’s genesis story is unique, though replicable and representative of a greater trend among emerging biopharmaceutical companies.

• Computational Biology Speeds The Path To Clinical Studies

  11/17/2022

  Computer-aided 3D modeling enables quick assessment of previously undiscovered protein binding sites and helps scientists at Gain Therapeutics marry them to the correct therapeutic molecules. Find out how the approach works, and its role in accelerating the company’s path to the clinic in Parkinson’s disease. 

• From Sales To The C-Suite Of Pioneering Gene Therapy

  11/15/2022

  AviadoBio is building a pipeline of investigational gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead preclinical candidate is AVB-101 for GRN frontotemporal dementia (FTD-GRN). It’s an intra-thalamic gene supplementation therapy, and as it heads to clinical trials, it's being overseen by a ladder climber who's seen it all.

• Where Biotech Business Nuance Isn’t Lost

  11/14/2022

  You read, you watch, you listen, you travel to conferences and events, and you learn from all of it, but none of those are the leading source of information for those who seek it. What medium do most biopharma leaders actively seek when it’s learning they’re yearning? Conversation.

• Are Immunotherapeutic Vaccines The Next Biologic Revolution?

  11/9/2022

  Vaxxinity, small as it may be on the greater pharma landscape, is carving out positions as innovator, disruptor, and leader in what CEO Mei Mei Hu, J.D. refers to as the third biologic revolution. Here, she shares Vaxxinity's position on immunotherapeutic vaccines in the context of traditional vaccines and biologics and offers insight into the company's unique culture. 

• Master The CMC-To-C-Suite Transition

  10/26/2022

  Sarah Howell, Ph.D. joined Arecor as COO back in 2011. She brought drug development experience—and commercial success—honed at big pharmas including GSK, UCB, and BTG. What she didn’t bring with her was experience in the C-suite. Hers had had been spent on another C-level: CMC. Here's what Dr. Howell, now CEO, learned about the transition.

• Nurturing Next-Gen Biopharma Manufacturing Skills

  10/25/2022

  Turning academic interest in biology into careers in biopharma: A look at NIIMBL's commitment to nurturing the skilled workforce the industry desperately needs now—and will need even more as it moves into the development and production of increasingly complex ATMPs and multi-modal therapeutics.

• Turning “White Paper Ideas” Into Biomanufacturing Realities

  10/19/2022

  NIIMBL Director Kelvin H. Lee, Ph.D. illustrated the power of consortia and public/private partnerships in advancing next-generation approaches to ATMP manufacturing, and demonstrated how the Institute isn’t just talking — it’s building.

• Biomanufacturing Capacity Crunch Part 2: Building Optionality

  10/12/2022

  In conference event programming, in the trade press, and in water cooler conversation we’re making too many generalizations—which in turn create misperceptions—about the so-called biopharmaceutical manufacturing “capacity” crunch.

• Biomanufacturing Capacity Crunch: It’s The Supply Chain’s Fault

  10/7/2022

  What's behind the protracted biopharma manufacturing capacity crunch, when will it end, and what are manufacturers doing to keep supply on track? During Biotech Week in Boston ad BioProcess International, CDMOs and sponsors weighed in.

• The “Liberation” Of Science Yields A New Class Of Biopharma Leadership

  9/21/2022

  Purespring Therapeutics’ Richard Francis is among the dozens of big pharma executives who have defected to biopharma startups on the science, tech, and finance tides. “When I saw some of the acquisitions we were doing, it occurred to me that there’s no correlation between the places from which good science is emerging and a big R&D budget," he says.

• Biden’s Biologics Mandate And A Moonshot

  9/19/2022

  Thoughts on biotech executive orders, cancer cabinets, moon landings, and other important public/private partnership news you might have missed while the rest of the country was screaming at each other over inflation and social politics.

• Nearing An IL-2, IL-15 Combination Inflection Point

  9/11/2022

  In a therapeutic space crowded with clinical activity, IL-2/IL-15 frontrunners are emerging, many of them in combination programs with big-time biologics. We caught up with one of those frontrunners, SOTIO CEO Radek Spisek, Ph.D., for perspective from the front of the pack.

• Navigating A Clinical Hold

  9/7/2022

  FDA-ordered clinical holds are on the rise, and biologics IND are driving them. Immunome CEO Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D. shares his take on the role of the clinical hold, the biopharma’s appropriate response, and advice on obviating for the circumstance.

• The Philogen Family Prepares For Market

  9/6/2022

  In 1996, Prof. Dario Neri and his brothers Duccio and Giovanni founded the biopharma Philogen. Today, three of the company’s 17 clinical-stage programs are in phase 3 trials, seven in phase 2. Prof. Neri offered insight into the company’s academically rooted, metered approach on episode 103 of the Business of Biotech podcast.

• Are Fibroblasts Overlooked?

  8/31/2022

  Clinical-stage regenerative medicine company FibroBiologics is studying the use of fibroblasts in regenerative medicine for seemingly obvious applications like degenerative disc disease, but they’re also looking at the cells’ immune response implications in cancer and MS. Are readily-available fibroblasts undervalued in therapeutic research?

• The Nuances Of Biopharma Portfolio Management

  8/19/2022

  Lara Sullivan, M.D. leans into the riches of her experience in big pharma R&D as she architects upstart Pyxis Oncology’s deep-and-wide portfolio. She shared much of her insight on the topic during a recent interview on the Business of Biotech podcast. 

• Why It’s Computational Biology’s Time To Shine

  8/17/2022

  Astronomical biologic development costs, contracting capital markets, painfully long timelines, and an increasingly stingy regulatory environment are just a few of the reasons computational biology solutions are moving from the “luxury” column to the “survival” column for biopharmaceutical companies. 

• Why A Physician/Professor For 30 Years Jumped To Biotech

  8/12/2022

  On a recent episode of the Business of Biotech podcast to discuss the COVID-9 vaccine landscape, Tonix Pharmaceuticals CEO Seth Lederman, M.D. offered an interesting retrospective on the macro trends that led him from academia to industry.

• Biopharma CMC/Regulatory Relationships In a Global Market

  7/27/2022

  Three veteran regulatory/CMC experts dish the good, the bad, and the ugly from the biopharma’s perspective, offering their insight into how you actually can efficiently file and win in multiple global jurisdictions and what mistakes lead to lost time, money, and sanity.

• Biopharma Preservation Through Partnership

  7/15/2022

  A dearth in biotech capital has put plenty of early stage biopharmas on the rocks this year, threatening the advance of innovative science. Here’s how Silence Therapeutics has leaned into its partnership model to weather the storm.

• Bear Biotech Market Dampens Promise Of Live Biotherapeutics

  7/8/2022

  New understanding of the gut-brain axis and the microbiome’s modulation of multiple disease states are fueling 30+% CAGR of the live biotherapeutics market, but capital market restrictions are taking a toll on innovators in the space. 

• AAV Gene Therapy Takes On Kidney Disease

  7/6/2022

  Built on the back of Prof. Moin Saleem’s two decades of cellular-level kidney research, Purespring Therapeutics is reimagining the treatment of kidney diseases that affect nearly a billion people worldwide. The company is preparing a first-of-its-kind AAV gene therapy candidate for the clinic. 

• CBER’s Peter Marks On Complex Biologics Manufacturing Advances

  6/30/2022

  At ISPE’s 2022 Biotechnology Conference In Boston, CBER Director Dr. Peter Marks kicked off three days of programming with reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst to advanced manufacturing in biologics, sharing his vision for industry and the role of the FDA.

• The Coming Wave Of Radio(bio)pharmaceuticals

  6/13/2022

  Convergent Therapeutics is bullish on the combination of radioisotopes and antibodies to direct radiation directly to cancer cells. As enabling technologies improve on previous failures, CEO, CMO, and co-founder Dr. Philip Kantoff is projecting a new wave of activity in the space among biopharmas big and small.