Base to Base biotech podcast 42: Treating blood cancers, Scottish Brain Sciences and One BioHub Aberdeen, and is speech the new blood?

This week, three interviews, and five guests. We have conversations with Ulrik Tirsted Zeuthen, CEO, and Katarina Cantell, founder/CSO of Adalyon; Nisit Khandelwal, co-founder/CEO, Cycuria Therapeutics; and Craig Ritchie, founder/CEO of Scottish Brain Sciences and Deborah O’Neil, CEO/CSO of NovaBiotics as well as chair of the Life Sciences board of Opportunity Northeast, which runs ONE BioHub, and BioAberdeen.Times:02:38 Adalyon32:44 Cycuria Therapeutics53:43 Scottish Brain Sciences/One BioHubCycuria TherapeuticsCycuria Therapeutics is a preclinical oncology company based in Graz, Austria, which is developing first‑in‑class protein therapeutics for hard‑to‑treat blood cancers. Its lead programme, CUR‑101, is designed to target both acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) tumour cells and the tumour stem cells thought to drive relapse, while sparing healthy blood formation.The company combines cytokine biology with protein engineering to deliver durable efficacy alongside a better safety profile in preclinical models.Cycuria recently announced significant public grant funding to support the translation of CUR‑101 and follow‑on assets into the clinic.Scottish Brain SciencesScottish Brain Sciences runs brain health research centres that specialise in clinical trials for early detection and treatment of neurodegenerative disease, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s.Scottish Brain Sciences is building one of the world’s largest biobanks of genetic, blood and imaging data in neurodegenerative conditions. It has helped more than 100 people with Alzheimer’s enrol into drug trials, and is leading the IONA longitudinal cohort study to characterise very early disease changes and prevent progression to dementia.The company recently opened a new office at ONE BioHub in Aberdeen.One BioHubONE BioHub is a £40m life sciences innovation hub on Aberdeen’s Foresterhill Health Campus, created for high‑growth life science ventures in the north‑east of Scotland. The facility brings together start‑ups, spin‑outs and scaling companies with flexible labs, offices and grow‑on space, alongside commercialisation and skills programmes.Led and co‑funded by Opportunity North East with support from the UK and Scottish governments, Scottish Enterprise and regional partners, ONE BioHub can accommodate up to 400 bio‑entrepreneurs. The aim is to accelerate research from the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University and NHS Grampian into market‑ready solutions, diversifying the regional economy and creating life sciences jobs.AdalyonAdalyon develops AI‑driven speech biomarkers to serve as digital endpoints in clinical trials, helping sponsors detect treatment response earlier and manage patient engagement. Its platform analyses natural speech from voice journalling or guided conversations to extract behavioural, emotional and paralinguistic features relevant to psychiatric and neurological conditions.The company combines AI engineering, clinical research operations and behavioural science to build tools that align with regulatory expectations for digital endpoints. Its technology is designed to automate aspects of psychometric assessment, flag dropout risk and shorten trial timelines by enabling earlier, objective insight into how patients are responding to therapy.To get in touch, please email [email protected]