From The Editor

  1. Next Steps For AI, Machine Learning In Biopharma 11/25/2020

    A common thread is emerging among new biopharma companies; they’re hiring as many data scientists as wet lab scientists and their data server budgets are growing faster than that of their protein purification process. Here’s what that means to you and your company.

  2. Inside Wugen’s Off-The-Shelf CAR T Mission 11/23/2020

    Founding CEO John McKearn, Ph.D. is all-in on the pursuit of lower-cost, off-the-shelf, allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies to address a host of oncological indications. Here, he shares the company's origin story, why the clock is ticking for Wugen, and what's next for the preclinical startup.

  3. What’s Process Intensification In Practice? 11/18/2020

    I understand why “process intensification” is a buzzword embraced by the vendor and consulting communities. Now I want to know what the term means to biopharma companies, and whether—and how—you’re implementing it.

  4. 8 Biotech Startup Lessons From Heat Bio’s Jeff Wolf 11/13/2020

    With apologies to Tom Petty, as biotechs go it’s the starting that’s the hardest part. No one knows this more than Jeff Wolf, who’s responsible for more than a few biotech startups. We caught up with Wolf for a candid talk on the toughest aspects of birthing a biopharma. 

  5. Can Valneva Do What SmithKlineBeecham Couldn’t? 11/11/2020

    As marketability goes—and despite a growing unmet medical need—Lyme disease vaccine programs have suffered a futile fate. With its VLA15 candidate, French specialty vaccine company Valneva is trying to change that. Recent positive Phase 2 data bodes well for the effort.

  6. An Inhalable mAb For COVID-19? 10/29/2020

    An at-home, self-administered, inhalable COVID-19 therapeutic is in the works. Given recent transmission spikes, troubling immunity data, and skepticism of a timely vaccine, it might be a critical tool in the effort to flatten the second curve.

  7. How Ancient Fish DNA Could Contribute To Cancer Therapy 10/29/2020

    Multiple of this company’s clinical-stage CAR T-Cell therapy candidates for solid tumor and blood cancers took cues from a discovery made by a renowned biologist trying to grow a genetically-engineered super fish. 

  8. 4 Tips For Biotech Financing From Afar 10/20/2020

    Gone—for a while, anyway—are the days of pressing the flesh, pounding the pavement, and cross-crossing the conference scene with your pitch deck. Here’s how one successful startup biotech is maintaining its conduit to cash, despite travel restrictions and social distancing.

  9. HQ Move Fuels Fountain’s AI Drug Discovery Machine 10/19/2020

    Fountain Therapeutics’ unique AI discovery platform prompted an invitation from Eli Lilly & Company to move Fountain headquarters to Lilly Gateway Labs. Here's how company CEO John Dimos, Ph.D. is squeezing the value out of the move, despite its execution during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

  10. The Past, Present, & Future of Biosimilar Manufacturing 10/14/2020

    A recent publication entitled "Approval of Biosimilars: A Review of Unsuccessful Regulatory Filings" revealed the most common manufacturing issues the FDA and EMA flagged in biosimilar applications. Here, the lead author discusses his findings from the past, current manufacturing challenges, and which technologies could be most impactful for the future biosimilar industry.