Ultima Genomics’ Post

The article introduces the Framework for In Vivo T cell Screens (FITS), a set of guidelines designed to help researchers determine the optimal design parameters for conducting in vivo T cell screens. These parameters include the size of the gene library, the quantity of cells transferred, and the number of mice needed for robust experimentation. FITS was demonstrated through a proof-of-concept study optimizing a CD8+ T cell screen in the B16-OVA tumor model. Additionally, the use of unique molecular identifiers (UMIs) was highlighted for enhancing statistical power and enabling the tracking of T cell clonal dynamics across different gene knockouts and tissues. This framework aims to standardize experimental and analytical methods for in vivo immune cell screens, offering a case study that underscores its utility in tracking T cell responses with UMIs.

LucidQuest Strategic Insights (lqventures.com) >>> Gene&Cell Therapy >> Roche's Spark loses CEO to RNA upstart; Ex-Elevation Oncology chief takes over at Affimed: Ron Philip → Ron Philip has stepped down as CEO at Roche’s Spark to run the show at Orbital Therapeutics, an RNA biotech tied to Beam Therapeutics that launched in April 2023 with a hefty $270 million Series A. Founding CEO and Beam president Giuseppe Ciaramella will still be connected to ARCH-backed Orbital as a scientific and strategic advisor. Meanwhile, Sylke Poehling has replaced Philip at Spark and will continue in her role at Roche as SVP and global head of therapeutic modalities. Philip worked at Pfizer/Wyeth for 10 years before coming to Spark in 2017 as head of global commercial. He then moved up to chief commercial officer nine months after the gene therapy Luxturna was approved and would be elevated to CEO in April 2022. “Over the course of my career, I’ve pursued opportunities that have pushed the boundaries of science to bring new therapies to patients,” Philip said in a statement. “I firmly believe that Orbital’s state-of-the-art platform has the potential to expand the possibilities of RNA-based treatments, with RNA programs that precisely align with the distinct attributes needed to treat a specific disease.” Later in the week, Orbital also said that it named Anna Dixon as SVP of human resources. She just led the HR team at Pyxis Oncology and had a five-year stint at Solid Biosciences. Shawn Leland → Shawn Leland is back in the saddle, this time as CEO of German cancer biotech Affimed. Andreas Harstrick will return to his CMO post after an eight-month period in which he replaced longtime leader Adi Hoess as acting CEO. Leland founded Elevation Oncology and held the top spot until January 2023. He reemerged the following August at Fore Biotherapeutics, steering the company as interim CEO until it hired former Axcella chief Bill Hinshaw in February. Affimed began this year by laying off nearly half of its workforce and shuttering research and preclinical development operations in an attempt to extend its cash runway into the second half of 2025. Ashley Cordova → Novocure CEO Asaf Danziger is retiring at the end of the year and will be replaced by CFO Ashley Cordova. Danziger, the CEO since 2002, will keep his seat on the board of directors and will serve in an advisory capacity “into early 2026,” Novocure said in a release. Cordova has handled various responsibilities at the Swiss biotech for the past decade and was elevated to the CFO post in September 2020. In other personnel news, Mukund Paravasthu — the current SVP of product development — will take over as COO at Novocure when Wilco Groenhuysen leaves on Oct. 1. Job cuts impacted about 200 employees last November; three months earlier, Novocure reported a Phase 3 miss with its electric fields cancer… #lucidquest #genetherapy #celltherapy

Bristol Myers Squibb pays $110M to form T-cell therapy pact, helping Prime Medicine, Inc. buy time to advance prioritized pipeline Bristol Myers Squibb is paying Prime Medicine $110 million upfront to develop reagents for ex vivo T-cell therapies. Prime, which could receive a whopping $3.5 billion in milestones, disclosed the deal alongside details of a pipeline prioritization intended to extend its cash runway into the first half of 2026. BMS is partnering with Prime to further its work to unlock the potential of cell therapy in immunology and oncology. In return for the upfront payment, which is split evenly between a cash payment and equity investment, Prime will design optimized Prime Editor reagents for a select number of targets. The project includes reagents that use Prime Assisted Site-Specific Integrase Gene Editing (PASSIGE) technology. https://lnkd.in/e2Zi36Kk

Do you need to understand the functional impact of genes in your drug discovery project? HSMD covers this information! 🚀 This case study shows that HSMD is a valuable tool for pinpointing specific genes or genetic variations associated with diseases, providing valuable insights crucial for the advancement of targeted therapies https://lnkd.in/eY-3gNHa #drugdiscovery #pharma #datascience #oncology #cancer

Gene&Cell Therapy >> Roche's Spark loses CEO to RNA upstart; Ex-Elevation Oncology chief takes over at Affimed: Ron Philip → Ron Philip has stepped down as CEO at Roche’s Spark to run the show at Orbital Therapeutics, an RNA biotech tied to Beam Therapeutics that launched in April 2023 with a hefty $270 million Series A. Founding CEO and Beam president Giuseppe Ciaramella will still be connected to ARCH-backed Orbital as a scientific and strategic advisor. Meanwhile, Sylke Poehling has replaced Philip at Spark and will continue in her role at Roche as SVP and global head of therapeutic modalities. Philip worked at Pfizer/Wyeth for 10 years before coming to Spark in 2017 as head of global commercial. He then moved up to chief commercial officer nine months after the gene therapy Luxturna was approved and would be elevated to CEO in April 2022. “Over the course of my career, I’ve pursued opportunities that have pushed the boundaries of science to bring new therapies to patients,” Philip said in a statement. “I firmly believe that Orbital’s state-of-the-art platform has the potential to expand the possibilities of RNA-based treatments, with RNA programs that precisely align with the distinct attributes needed to treat a specific disease.” Later in the week, Orbital also said that it named Anna Dixon as SVP of human resources. She just led the HR team at Pyxis Oncology and had a five-year stint at Solid Biosciences. Shawn Leland → Shawn Leland is back in the saddle, this time as CEO of German cancer biotech Affimed. Andreas Harstrick will return to his CMO post after an eight-month period in which he replaced longtime leader Adi Hoess as acting CEO. Leland founded Elevation Oncology and held the top spot until January 2023. He reemerged the following August at Fore Biotherapeutics, steering the company as interim CEO until it hired former Axcella chief Bill Hinshaw in February. Affimed began this year by laying off nearly half of its workforce and shuttering research and preclinical development operations in an attempt to extend its cash runway into the second half of 2025. Ashley Cordova → Novocure CEO Asaf Danziger is retiring at the end of the year and will be replaced by CFO Ashley Cordova. Danziger, the CEO since 2002, will keep his seat on the board of directors and will serve in an advisory capacity “into early 2026,” Novocure said in a release. Cordova has handled various responsibilities at the Swiss biotech for the past decade and was elevated to the CFO post in September 2020. In other personnel news, Mukund Paravasthu — the current SVP of product development — will take over as COO at Novocure when Wilco Groenhuysen leaves on Oct. 1. Job cuts impacted about 200 employees last November; three months earlier, Novocure reported a Phase 3 miss with its electric fields cancer therapy in ovarian cancer. Antony Mattessich… #lucidquest #genetherapy #celltherapy

𝐀𝐆𝐓𝐂 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐢𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 Empower your clinical decisions with the enhanced PreciseDx Comprehensive Gene Profiling for Oncology—delivering more insights, broader coverage, and cost-effective precision for your patients. Why Choose PreciseDx for Your Patients? 💡 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞: Beyond the pan-cancer panel, PreciseDx now includes targeted panels for specific cancers like lung, breast, leukemia, and more—tailored to meet diverse patient needs. 💰 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Utilizing advanced Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology, PreciseDx offers cutting-edge profiling at a reduced cost, making comprehensive genomic insights more accessible. 🔄 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Easily upgrade from individual cancer panels to our comprehensive pan-cancer panel, including TMB, MSI, or HRD, at minimal additional cost—streamlining testing and enhancing value without the need for repeat testing. 💊 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞: Now covering over 700 FDA-approved targeted therapies and immunotherapies recommended by ASCO, NCCN®, EMA, PMDA, and ESMO, PreciseDx helps identify the best therapeutic options for each patient. 🌐 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Conducted in our ISO 15189-certified genomics facility in Kuala Lumpur, every test is reviewed by board-certified Pathologists and Hematologists. Expect reliable results in just 7-14 days. 🔍 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Consolidating key genomic signatures (TMB, MSI, HRD) into one assay, PreciseDx maximizes the chances of identifying actionable alterations, guiding targeted treatment decisions. Elevate oncology care with PreciseDx™—where precision, speed, and affordability converge to deliver better patient outcomes. For more information, visit www.agtcgenomics.com.

Is multivariate analysis the solution to identify targets in cancer drug discovery? 🎯 We are witnessing a transition from traditional single-gene approaches to multivariate analysis for cancer drug target discovery. Multivariate methods, which consider interactions among multiple genes and incorporate multi-omics data, offer a more comprehensive approach. 🧬 Indivumed Therapeutics utilizes these advanced methods along with high-quality data and AI tools to identify potential drug targets. Its systematic process includes sample collection, data integration, and lab validation to enhance precision medicine and improve therapeutic outcomes. 🔎 Learn more about multivariate analysis in this article! ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/drRQEN8F #cancerresearch #drugdiscovery #multivariateanalysis #precisionmedicine #oncology #bioinformatics #genomics #cancertherapy #medicalinnovation #biotech #healthcareinnovation

📢 Exciting News in the Biotech World! 🧬 Orna Therapeutics has officially acquired ReNAgade Therapeutics to significantly enhance RNA medicine development. This strategic merger combines Orna's expertise in circular RNA technology with ReNAgade's advanced RNA delivery systems, setting the stage for groundbreaking advancements in RNA-based therapies. Key Points: Orna Therapeutics: Known for its innovative circular RNA (oRNA) technology. ReNAgade Therapeutics: Specializes in RNA delivery systems and gene editing. Combined Strengths: Enhanced pipeline for autoimmune diseases, oncology, genetic disorders, and vaccines. Major Collaboration: Partnership with Merck to develop next-generation RNA therapies. This merger marks a significant step forward in the development of effective RNA treatments for previously inaccessible diseases. Read more about this acquisition here: https://lnkd.in/gqaz6XTP #Biotech #RNA #Therapeutics #Acquisition #OrnaTherapeutics #ReNAgadeTherapeutics #HealthcareInnovation #Merck #GeneEditing #MedicalResearch

Will you be at #AACR2024 in San Diego? See Pieter Mestdagh poster (5182) on how to harness tumor RNA sequencing data to predict how well patients will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) cancer treatments. 💻 Pieter and the team have developed a computational method for measuring predictive biomarkers directly from a tumor's RNA sequencing data. Schedule a meeting with Pieter now 👉 https://bit.ly/3HQzLHL #CancerResearch #PrecisionMedicine #ImmunoOncology