HC Bioscience, Inc.

Last week, we had the honor of fulfilling a wish for our amazing guest scientist of the day, Alex! Through the Make-A-Wish® Massachusetts and Rhode Island foundation, Alex was able to visit our headquarters in Boston and learn more about our drug development efforts for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which specifically targets the nonsense mutation that personally impacts him.   Alex enjoyed a tour of the lab and participated in a variety of experiments, such as visualizing plasmids in agarose gel and examining muscle cells through a microscope. Following this, Alex presented his findings and was recognized as a “Rising Science Star!” We are so appreciative that Alex’s family was able to make the trip to Boston for this special day. It was truly an unforgettable experience. Thank you to Make-A-Wish America, Sean Holleran, Make-A-Wish North Texas and Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida as well as our dedicated team whose passion and commitment make moments like this possible.   In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more highlights from this amazing day! #MakeaWish #DMD

The HC team had a fun-filled summer team outing with a scenic cruise of the Boston Harbor, a lunch buffet, and an onboard DJ. Coming together on a beautiful summer afternoon to unwind is always a great idea.  

Meet our CEO, Leslie J Williams! Leslie is a highly respected biotech professional with an impressive track record as a serial entrepreneur, experienced CEO, and board member for several organizations.     In addition to her extensive biotech industry experience, Leslie also brings a unique background, having started her career in critical patient care. Her first-hand experience provides her with a perspective that enhances our company’s understanding and leadership in patient care and the broader healthcare system.    We’re lucky to have you leading our team, Leslie! 

Meet Deena Silton, M.S., one of our Senior Research Associates! In her role, Deena plays an essential part in the severe hemophilia A program, helping to guide our in vitro efforts.    Deena has been in the industry for 3.5 years, and was previously at Moment Bioscience, where she specialized in CRISPR/Cas systems.    She earned a Master of Science in Biotechnology: Biotechnology Enterprise from Northeastern University (2022) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences and Biology from the University of Maryland (2020).    We’re lucky to have you on the team, Deena! Visit our website to hear other HC Bio team members talk about what it’s like to be part of our team: https://bit.ly/3VQzxqw

We’ve had an action-packed few months attending several conferences!    In April, we announced our lead program in severe hemophilia A at the World Federation of Hemophilia / Fédération mondiale de l'hémophilie 2024 World Congress in Madrid, Spain and shared updates on HCB-101, our first development candidate.  Moving into May, we attended CureDuchenne FUTURES National Conference in Orlando where we unveiled promising preclinical data supporting our program in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). June continued to be an eventful month. We attended the BIO International Convention in San Diego and facilitated a discussion on computational RNA design at the World RNA Series Computational RNA Design and Delivery Summit in Boston.    Later in the month we presented a poster at the UMass Chan Medical School RNA conference, and contributed to discussions on the future of RNA-based therapies. Finally, we returned to Orlando to attend Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy's annual conference and connected with children, parents, researchers, and advocates.    We’re so excited about the wonderful and insightful connections we’ve made over the past few months, and are looking forward to creating more!

Introducing engineered tRNAs: The future of genomic medicine!     Check out our new website which showcases the power of tRNA and how it can be engineered to produce functional proteins from flawed genetic blueprints.     Our anticodon engineered (ACE) tRNAs overwrite a type of genetic typo that would otherwise result in truncated/nonfunctional proteins and are responsible for 15% of single base pair mutations known to cause genetic disease.    This precise and elegant technology corrects disease-causing mutations without altering DNA or mRNA.    Learn more about the science behind our protein editing approach here: https://bit.ly/45yOBgU

Do you know where the HC in our name comes from? It stands for hors catégorie (beyond categorization), a French term designating the most difficult and prestigious ascents in a stage bicycle race, like the Tour-de-France, which commenced this past weekend.    Yesterday, cyclists completed the grueling Col du Galibier, the first of three climbs on the Tour classified as HC – beyond normal categorization. The thrilling finish to the mountain was highlighted by a record-setting performance.     In our pursuit of new treatments for patients, we aim to demonstrate the same perseverance as these cyclists. Learn more about our mission and drive here: https://bit.ly/3VQzxqw 

Suchul Jang, PhD, Senior Director and Head of Biology, and NING LI, PhD, VP, Molecular Biology and Platform Discovery, are presenting a poster at the UMass Chan Medical School #RNA Conference. We’re thrilled to join the drive to develop the next generation of RNA medicines and will be sharing preclinical data supporting our lead program for severe hemophilia A. Come connect with us and learn more about how HC Bio is establishing engineered tRNAs as a breakthrough option for patients that restores physiological levels of factor VIII, an essential clotting protein. Learn more about the conference here: https://bit.ly/3XEl5V6 #tRNA #hemophilia

We were honored to have our CEO, Leslie J Williams present at the Longwood Healthcare Leaders Spring MIT forum on the #Platform to #Pipeline panel amongst top biopharma leaders. Leslie shared insights on how to advance a platform’s lead asset while also gathering data that supports the pipeline as a whole—an approach we are taking while shepherding therapeutic tRNAs into the clinic and establishing them as a new class of medicine across a wide range of genetically driven diseases. We hope to be back next spring for more great conversations!    #longwoodhealthleaders  #tRNA 

We’re excited to unveil our new website! It serves as a hub to showcase HC Bioscience’s pioneering work in engineering tRNAs to overwrite faulty genes. Our protein editing approach corrects disease-causing mutations without altering DNA or mRNA, with one therapeutic tRNA having the potential to address a broad spectrum of genetically driven diseases. Explore our site to learn more about our #tRNA technology, our amazing team, and our collective drive to transform patients’ lives. [https://bit.ly/4evG8iD]