Olema Oncology’s Post

Finding cures for diseases like Parkinson’s means leaving no stone unturned. On the verge of developing a new kind of molecule to help combat the neurodegenerative condition, Ventus Therapeutics screened a documentary film about Parkinson’s for the entire company. The next day they invited a specialist to speak to everyone. On the third day, a patient with a severe form of Parkinson's shared his experience living with the disease. All three events were mandatory for employees, whether they were an accountant or a chemist. What was the impact? “Try telling someone at the company today that we’re giving up on Parkinson’s,” says CEO Marcelo Bigal. “They’re going to fight for it. The accountant is going to find money for Parkinson’s. This is our disease. Those events touched everyone at the company. They changed us.” Read our full Q&A with Bigal that spotlights how Ventus’s approach to drug discovery is unquestionably people-centered. https://lnkd.in/gveCgDTF #biotech #medicine #innovation

🔵 Today marks World Parkinson’s Day, dedicated to raising awareness about Parkinson’s disease and supporting those affected by it. At bit․bio, we’re proud to be able to work with scientists who make a difference in the Parkinson’s research and drug discovery space, studying the impact of mutations related to Parkinson’s and identifying novel therapeutics. Today, we wear blue and stand in solidarity with the Parkinson's community worldwide. #WorldParkinsonsDay #ParkinsonsAwareness #SupportPDResearch #ParkinsonsDisease #PDResearch #FindACure #ParkinsonsCommunity #research #DrugDiscovery #iPSCs #neurodegeneration #optiox #ioCells #ioDiseaseModelCells

Have a read of this important piece on Alzheimer's Disease by The Medicine Maker featuring our CSO Ashley Barnes and our good friend Chris Ward from STRATASTEM LIMITED. Ashley and Chris discuss our learnings from over a decade in the iPSC industry including the value of human iPSC technology and how an Alzheimer's Disease "clinical trial in a dish" model could transform drug discovery. #iPSCs #AlzheimersDisease #CTIAD #StemCells #PatientStratification

🧠💡 Dive further into the conversation between Dan Doctoroff and our CEO, Stella Sarraf, PhD, about the diverse symptoms of #ALS and why Spinogenix is developing therapeutics that work at ground zero: the synaptic level. We believe that #RegeneratingSynapses is key to transforming lives. That’s why we are developing a platform of small molecules that aim to restore #Synapses for diseases involving synapse loss and dysfunction. Stay tuned for more insights into our shared mission to advance #ALSResearch.

🌱 News out of Spain on a €5.5 million funding round for Huntington’s treatment | SOM Biotech closes internal round to support the completion of a Phase IIb study. ✅ What to know: • Huntington’s is a genetic neurodegenerative disorder with an incidence of 0.48 per 100,000 persons, with a higher incidence in Europe and North America than Asia. • SOM #Biotech operates on a unique, proprietary #AI platform known as SOMAIPRO, and it is dedicated to identifying new mechanisms of action of small molecule drugs for diseases with a focus on orphan disorders in the CNS. • The lead candidate is SOM3355 which aims to treat the involuntary movements associated with Huntington's disease. • Preliminary data from the Phase IIb clinical study is expected in Q3 of 2024. • Link to full press release: https://lnkd.in/ewcBXaPg Key People to Follow from SOM biotech: • Silvia Panigone, Executive Chair • Catherine Scart-Gres, Chief Medical Officer #Research #Healthcare #VentureCapital #BrainHealth

**When “saving a family” drives you** Biotech is not just about labs and data; it's about the heartbeats and stories of families, like mine, that have felt the weight of possible loss. Picture those moments when saving a loved one from a merciless illness brought tears of relief and immense gratitude. This fight against diseases should not be a solo mission. It's a plea to every biotech player, CDMO, CRO, investor, and bioprocessing platforms – to see beyond the business hustle. Let's remember that our work impacts families struggling with pain and desperation, their cries echo behind every corporate milestone. As humans who happens to be in science, our journey is not just about innovations; it's about becoming a source of hope for those navigating the storm. When we remember this message, we are not just shaping biotech's future; we are standing beside families, offering strength and relief in their toughest hours. If you believe in the message, lets connect on LinkedIn. Jiten P. CEO OmniBRx Biotechnologies Inc. USA #biotech #bioprocessing #cdmo #cro #bioreactors #cancer #cellandgenetherapy

As we grow older, our cells become less functional, accumulating errors that cause cell damage over time. As the errors accumulate, more and more of our cells become senescent, stopping proper function and increasing disarray in the surrounding cellular environment, ultimately contributing to the emergence and progress of age-associated diseases. Not for much longer. Rubedo Life Sciences, founded by Marco Quarta and Mark Gallop, is making it possible to treat these cells with newfound anti-aging therapeutics. Their platform identifies specific druggable targets and develops them into therapeutics that selectively target senescent pathologic cells, fighting the results of ageing. By addressing the cellular, fundamental cause of age-related diseases, Rubedo is a pioneer in the mission to preserve biological youth - and that’s why we joined their recent $40 million Series A round with Khosla Ventures, Ahren Innovation Capital, Hevolution Foundation, R42 Group, Modi Ventures, Shanda Group, Refactor Capital, IAG and others. https://lnkd.in/daVr8-UQ

Biotech! It's the ability to harness the power of nature to combat life-threatening conditions. By leveraging the knowledge of cell biology and molecular biology, biotechnologists have developed innovative drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools that have transformed healthcare. These advancements have saved lives and prevented the spread of diseases, leading to better global health outcomes.

Thank you Elizabeth Eaton for this wonderful article covering Rubedo Series A!

As I see more and more posts mentioning Profs. Carl June and Bruce Levine for their outstanding achievements in the CAR-T field, and please do not get me wrong, they truly deserve it, I felt it was important to give a "shout out" to Dr. Boro Dropulic as well for his overall contribution in this therapeutic achievement (https://lnkd.in/gVja8_as). Boro is one of the unsung heros who has dedicated his life in making patients' lives better. Without Boro and his seminal work on the clinical translation of the lentiviral vector platform, patients would not have benefited of the CAR-T successes as we now know it. It has been a bumpy road to get to 2011 NEJM landmark publication, and Boro was behing it with Lentigen. The first subjects dosed with LVV modified T cells were produced by Boro's first company, VIRxSYS. Granted it took a village to get there, and the convergence of several great minds to make CAR-Ts a success, but I simply wanted to acknowledged Boro for having this vision of leveraring HIV as a genetic payload delivery system and make it a reality so many years before anyone else, and starting by convincing VCs to fund VIRxSYS in the very late 90s when they were more interested in investing in startups working on gas pumps delivering additives for engine performance. For full disclosure I have no stake in Boro's current endeavors, and yes I worked with him in the early 2000s. Again I just wanted to remind us all how outstanding Boro is. Please visit his current efforts, including "Caring Cross", his non-profit aiming to deliver advanced/cutting edge medicine to underserved community in the world. The man cares, and he is showing it to us every day...