The Studio at Kendall Square

They walk us through the history of bispecifics, which have been talked about since the early 2000's, and the use cases for them today. Plus, a deep dive into the science, which includes discussing your body's reaction to then, affinity & avidity, CMC, and 'bead-on-a-string' approaches that some have used lately. Finally, a discussion of what the future holds.

Both experts in the field, one with an academic view and one from industry, they discuss what can be done today with protein design, new innovations coming in the next year or two, and how they think about improving selectivity and sensitivity. Plus, how AI is changing the field, what it takes to be differentiated, and implications of new startups sharing less knowledge than has been traditionally done.

Servier's 'Golden Ticket' gave Deck Bio a place to work from at LabCentral and access to Servier's experts for advice. Jack and Irene discuss the benefits of this kind of support to a smaller company, and other ways more established players nurture the biotech ecosystem in hubs like Kendall Square.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Singh and Dr. Andtbacka reflect on the success of the immunotherapy field and the cancer centers that helped develop the new medicines, career leaps to industry, dealing with the risks of biotech, talking to investors, and advice for other CMOs.

Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie describe how getting involved in the club has benefited them, and the idea behind their new podcast (George Church and Peter Kolchinsky have already been guests). Plus, the September 19th career fair that traditionally draws 1,000 attendees and so far already has 17 companies participating this year.

She discusses the report and specifics on NIH funding, VC investment, jobs, biotech clusters within Massachusetts, and more.

They explain the size and depth of the cuts, and how it will affect research on both respiratory and non-respiratory conditions. Plus, what it means for global competitiveness for the United States going forward.

Lisa and Richard describe the unmet need for frontotemporal dementia and their partnership on AVB-101, which is administered directly to the thalamus. They describe the unique perspectives and skill sets that larger and smaller companies bring to the table in these types of partnerships, and discuss their thoughts on making it through times of change for the benefit of patients.

Interviewed by fellow veteran Jim Barsoum, Dr. Krieg shares multi-decade learnings from his previous companies Coley Pharmaceutical Group and Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, and describes how Zola builds off of that. He explains the importance of combining agonists to TLR9 to TLR7 and TLR8, and also describes the virtual set-up that the company has today.

Interviewed by Andy Plump, President of R&D at Takeda, Dr. Zerhouni discusses the rationale for multispecifics and the science behind them. They also discuss the differences between pharma and biotech, keys to being an effective R&D leader, and advice for both young and experienced people in their careers.

They discuss the difference between how biotech companies operate from large pharmas, including how history shows some new biotech innovations faced initial development and market pushback, and how good communication typically played a key role in why some overcame hurdles vs others. Plus, a description of Candel's viral immunotherapy approach.Note: IDEA Pharma and Candel have a business relationship (as discussed).

Ram Aiyar, President & CEO of Korro Bio, and Uli Stilz, Head of Novo Nordisk's Bio Innovation Hub in Kendall Square, share their backgrounds and the scope of their work today. They discuss their RNA editing collaboration and how both the smaller and larger companies bring difference skills to these kinds of partnerships. Plus, their visions of what drug discovery might look like ten years from now.

Devan Shah, Founder & CEO of RNAV8 Bio, and Namita Bisaria, Head of Research, Strategy, and Operations at AIRNA, discusses approaches to RNA they are excited about this year, companies that have impressed them, and challenges ahead. They touch on uncertainties regarding the regulatory environment, how they think AI might, or might not, affect the field, and more.

In a discussion with gene editing technology expert TJ Cradick, Scientific Citizenship Initiative Co-Founder and Co-Director Daniel Pomeroy describes the history and goal of this non-profit organization, and why having a scientific literate citizenry is so important.

Dion Foundation Co-Founder and President Courtney Dion discusses with Atamyo Therapeutics CEO Stéphane Degove the many ways that patient advocate groups can support the work that biotech companies do.

They discuss Odyssey's work, the investments it has made regarding in silico and AI/ML tools, the unique value of the Boston biotech ecosystem, and keys to successful collaborations.

Biotech industry veteran Harvery Berger talks about his company's job at hand to translate the science of ferroptosis into therapies. Plus, a warning about the currently very difficult funding environment for preclinical and other early stage companies in the sector.

Cigall Kadoch, associate professor and HHMI Investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and scientific founder of Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), interviews Rick Young, professor of biology at MIT and member of the Whitehead Institute about the latest research and knowledge of how transcriptional regulation can be harnessed and targeted in drug development.

Lauren Celano, a board member of the National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association, interviews Lee Greenwood about his family's experience with Canavan disease and how patient organizations and innovative research have impacted their journey from the beginning.

For this high-tech emerging field within biotech, it is important to get safety right. They discuss the keys to understanding the possible range of edits, choosing the right assay, assessing and reporting the possible outcomes, and more.

Dan Mandell, Co-Founder and CEO of GRO Biosciences, interviews professor Church about the Genomically Recoded Organisms (GRO) platform that Dan spun out of his lab, asks him what technologies he is working on that excite him today, and gets his take on the sustainability of life on Earth and the opportunity to read or write the human brain.

Dr. Excoffon describes her academic experience that led her to the field and Spirovant Sciences, discusses interesting data from last month’s North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, and then highlights Spirovant’s program and why using a small molecule modulator like doxorubicin might be the key to success.

Dr. Su and Dr. Hege talk about solving the cell therapy solid tumor challenge, the latest in bi-specifics, her recent hike of the Pacific Crest Trail for charity, and a preview of the upcoming SITC annual meeting in November.