Life Science Washington

The next edition of News in the Northwest is live! 💥 The Life Science News in the Northwest quarterly newsletter offers local business leaders, economic development professionals, and policymakers an inside look into the latest news driving Washington’s life sciences industry forward. Our Q3 2024 newsletter focuses on Dr. David Baker's Nobel prize win, IPD spinouts, funding success, and the WIN Mentoring Program. Read our Q3 2024 News in the Northwest newsletter and sign up to get it in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/gYBS33sC #LifeScienceWashington #LSNewsinNW #WashingtonState #LifeScienceNews

Archon Biosciences, a pioneering biotech company, has emerged today from stealth with $20M in seed funding. Leveraging AI-driven computational protein design, Archon's Antibody Cages (AbCs) aim to unlock therapeutic targets previously beyond reach. This cutting-edge platform, co-invented by Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baker and fellow scientists from Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, represents a breakthrough in novel protein creation. https://lnkd.in/gdrhDYBg #LifeScienceWashington #ArchonBiosciences #Funding #Biotech

Thank you to everyone who joined us last night for an incredible discussion on the evolution and future of Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs)! 🔬 A special thanks to our panelists for sharing their expertise and insights, and to our sponsor, Pfizer, for helping make the event possible. Here’s to Seattle’s continued leadership in advancing this field! #LifeScienceWashington #ADC #LifeSciences #SeattleBiotech

Happening tomorrow! 🎉 For over a century, scientists have worked to harness Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) to precisely target cancer cells with potent treatments. While the first ADC received FDA approval in 2000 with modest results, the field has recently made huge strides. Multiple ADCs have now gained additional approvals, with blockbuster potential on the horizon. Excitement is building, especially after Pfizer’s $43B acquisition of Seagen in Bothell and Genmab’s $1.8B purchase of Seattle’s ProfoundBio. Join us TOMORROW as regional experts dive into ADCs' journey, Seattle’s key role, and what the future holds for these innovative cancer therapies. Don’t wait—register now before it’s too late:  https://lnkd.in/gJ3sVT3a #LifeScienceWashington #Pfizer #ADC #AntibodyDrugConjugates #Oncology #Seattle

At Omeros, Suneet Mehrotra, Ph.D., and his team of mission-centric scientists are pushing the boundaries of rare disease research and development. Read more about the cutting-edge science at Omeros Corporation and how Dr. Mehrotra’s team is using high-throughput screening to help build a diverse pipeline of therapeutics. https://lnkd.in/g5w3Aukb #FindYourBestLifeinWA 

Washington state is a top 10 life science hub fueled by state investment into programs that support researchers and entrepreneurs. Read about how these programs can jumpstart and support your career in Washington’s life sciences industry today. #FindYourBestLifeinWA #WINprogram #CAREfund

Did you hear the news? Last week, David Baker, a professor of biochemistry and the director of the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on computational protein design, referring to the creation of new proteins that are not found in nature. Baker himself has co-founded more than a dozen biotech companies and described the multi-decade research and discovery process that earned him science’s top prize in much the same way that entrepreneurs talk about their own radical innovations. “Many engineers in biology have taken proteins that already existed in nature and tried to modify them a little bit to solve a problem. What we’ve been trying to do is start completely from scratch,” Baker said. “People said that was a crazy thing to do. It was very much on the lunatic fringe, until we started getting better at it.” https://lnkd.in/ghcPvJ6a #LifeScienceWashington #IPD #DavidBaker #NobelPrize #WashingtonState #ProteinDesign

Life Science Washington Institute is proud to announce Baiteng Zhao, PhD, and Tae Han, PhD, co-founders of ProfoundBio, as the recipients of the 2024 Entrepreneurial Achievement Award. Launched in 2020, this award honors founding leaders who have demonstrated significant entrepreneurial accomplishments, advanced life-changing innovations, and contributed to Washington state’s economic development. Following their tenure at another homegrown Washington company, Seagen (now Pfizer), Dr. Zhao and Dr. Han co-founded ProfoundBio to provide better therapeutic options for patients with cancer. The ProfoundBio pipeline focused on potential best-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a cutting-edge technology that aims to eradicate cancer while sparing normal tissues. In just four years after its Series Pre-A financing, the ProfoundBio team advanced multiple ADC candidates into clinical trials and secured funding totaling $250 million. ProfoundBio was ultimately acquired by Danish drugmaker Genmab for approximately $1.8 billion in cash, one of the top life science deals in 2024. Congratulations Dr. Zhao, Dr. Han, and the ProfoundBio team. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gyaQ4rqg #LifeScienceWashington #LSWInstitute #ProfoundBio #EntrepreneurialAchievement #AwardWinner

Washington state’s life science industry is homegrown and a top 10 life science cluster in the country. This success didn’t happen by accident. LSW's President & CEO, Marc Cummings, shared his perspective with GeekWire on two state investments that are having an outsized impact on our local life science industry - the Andy Hill Cancer Research Endowment (CARE) Fund and the Life Science Washington Institute Washington Innovation Network (WIN) mentorship program. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gbq_d9nG #LifeScienceWashington #LSWInstitute #WINMentoring #AndyHillCAREFund #WashingtonState #LifeSciences

For over a century, immunologists have envisioned using Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) to precisely target cancer cells with cell-killing payloads. However, it wasn’t until 2000 that the first ADC received FDA approval with limited success. Now most recently, multiple ADCs have gained additional approvals and are finally showing blockbuster potential. Interest is high with Pfizer acquiring ADC pioneer and Bothell headquartered, Seagen, for $43B last year and Genmab acquiring Seattle-based, ProfoundBio, for $1.8B. Join us on October 24 for a panel discussion with regional experts as they explore the long journey to ADC success, Seattle’s influential role, and what the future holds for these groundbreaking cancer therapies. Panelists include: - Charlotte Schubert, Writer, Journalist, Editor - moderator - Lucas Donigian, VP, Business & Commercial Development, Zymeworks Inc. - Tae Han, Former Co-Founder & CSO, ProfoundBio - Avnish Kapoor, VP, Head of Portfolio Strategy & Business Development, SystImmune - Sharsti Sandall, Senior Director, Research, ADC Programs, Pfizer Secure your spot today: https://lnkd.in/gJ3sVT3a #LifeScienceWashington #Pfizer #ADC #AntibodyDrugConjugates #Oncology #Seattle