Fauna Bio

We’re excited to announce a strategic collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to apply Fauna's Convergence™ artificial intelligence (AI) platform to support preclinical drug discovery efforts in #obesity. The two teams will collaborate to identify multiple drug targets. 🧬🧬🧬 "We are very excited to enter into this collaboration with Lilly, which showcases the power of our Convergence™ AI platform to rapidly identify novel targets for complex disease areas of high unmet need," said Ashley Zehnder, CEO & Co-Founder, Fauna Bio. "Lilly is a leader in obesity treatment, and our approach enables and accelerates discovery across different disease areas and modalities for our partners, who bring deep expertise in drug development." Ruth Gimeno, Ph.D., group vice president, diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic research at Lilly, added: "Fauna Bio brings a unique approach to the discovery of novel targets for obesity. We look forward to working with the Fauna Bio team to realize the value of their platform and discover more effective treatments for patients with obesity." Read the release: 👇👇👇 https://lnkd.in/e8CtkrBb #drugdiscovery #biotech #AI #obesity

Thanks Naren Tallapragada for mentioning us in your STAT op-ed: 🧬🧬 “So, several startups have amassed whole databases themselves. Fauna Bio believes we have a lot to learn about obesity from animals that hibernate as they swing from feast to famine. Fauna has made multi-omic measurements across hundreds of species of mammals to uncover the molecular underpinnings of their remarkable resilience. By feeding this data into graph neural networks, Fauna predicts and pursues novel connections between diseases and drug targets. None of this AI would be possible if Fauna hadn’t carefully characterized the metabolism of the 13-lined ground squirrel. I’m sure many people wrote that off as an overly academic money pit. Five hundred million dollars in biobucks from Eli Lilly beg to differ.” Read the article: https://lnkd.in/dQ_qi5MY

📣 Speaker Announcement!   We’re excited to announce that Ashley Zehnder, Co-Founder & CEO at Fauna Bio will be speaking at Biotech Showcase 2025! Ashley leads corporate strategy and partnering at Fauna Bio. She is a boarded avian veterinarian with specialty training in exotic/non-traditional species. Prior to starting Fauna Bio, her research focused on translational science and veterinary informatics at Stanford, earning a PhD in Cancer Biology. Her research works span >20 peer-reviewed publications, including Cell, Nature and Nature Medicine. Her diversity of research experiences across clinical medicine, molecular biology and informatics provides a unique perspective on the intersection of animal and human health. Ashley will be sharing her knowledge in the ‘Metabolic Disorders & GLP-1s: Reducing Comorbidities’ workshop. Find out more about what is in store at Biotech Showcase >> https://lnkd.in/euTRssxz    #BiotechShowcase #Biotech #Financing Demy-Colton

There’s more to life than protein folding. Today, in STAT, I discuss why AlphaFold isn’t the answer to everything — and what it will take to make AI in biology more real. Come for the Five Stages of Grief (Techbio’s Version). Stay for the shoutouts to startups doing AI drug discovery the right way, like Fauna Bio (Ashley Zehnder), Enveda (Viswa Colluru, PhD), and Tessel Bio. (Ok, I’m a bit biased — but I’m bullish on human-in-the-loop approaches to biological discovery, like our platform Tesselogic!) https://lnkd.in/d7rZcTf8

Our CEO Ashley Zehnder will be speaking tmr on the AI Bio panel at the Cerebral Valley AI Summit in SF. 🧬🧬 The one-day summit features conversation with the brightest minds in AI and an opportunity for the people building the next generation of AI to meet each other. Sharing more info: https://lnkd.in/gEcdBtUZ

Our CEO Ashley Zehnder will be speaking on a #longevity panel next week at the San Francisco Bay Family Office & High Net Worth Annual Conference! 🧬🧬 Beyond Lifespan: Harnessing Science and Capital for a Healthier Future This powerhouse panel brings together a pioneering founder, leading investor and professor, top scientist and community builder, and experienced and discerning high-net-worth consumer to reveal how cutting-edge tech and personalized wellness are reshaping longevity. We will explore turning advancements in health into generational assets while uncovering new opportunities to enhance your quality of life with direct insights. Panelists: Johannon Olson, RN/MBA, Chair, TIGER 21 Dr. Christin Glorioso, MD PHD, Co-Founder & CEO, NeuroAge Therapeutics Dr. Ronjon Nag, Adjunct Professor, Stanford Medicine; President, R42 Group Ashley Zehnder, Chief Executive Officer, Fauna Bio Mike Orsak, Founder Worldview Technology Partners More info here: 👇👇 https://lnkd.in/eF5jSUsh

🚀 Ready to dive into the world of biotech innovation? Don’t miss the upcoming Innovation Showcase by California Life Sciences! This event will showcase groundbreaking startup pitches, offering a glimpse into the future of life sciences innovation. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with industry leaders and connect with pioneering founders, investors, and partners who are shaping the future of healthcare and biotech. One highlight of the day will be Navigating the Road to Success – Founders’ Perspectives on Creating, Building, and Scaling Startups, featuring a powerhouse panel of former FAST Program alumni and CLS members sharing their real-world insights: ⭐ Ashley Zehnder – CEO & Co-founder, Fauna Bio ⭐ Jonathan Romanowsky – CBO & Co-founder, Inflammatix, Inc. ⭐ Maria Soloveychik – CEO & Co-founder, SyntheX ⭐ Shelley Force Aldred – CEO & Co-founder, Rondo Therapeutics ⭐ Marco Lobba, Ph.D. – CEO & Co-founder, CatenaBio (Moderator) These founders will share their journeys and invaluable advice on creating, building, and scaling life sciences startups. This is your chance to gain firsthand insights and join in discussions with experts driving change across healthcare, diagnostics, therapeutics, and more. Join us at the Innovation Showcase for a day packed with learning, networking, and innovation! Register and Learn More: https://lnkd.in/gbUF7JrN #InnovationShowcase #LifeSciences #Biotech #Startups #FASTProgram #CLS #HealthcareInnovation #InnovationandEntrepreneurship

Our CEO Ashley Zehnder spoke with C&EN: Zehnder is a trained veterinarian with a PhD in oncology and cancer biology from Stanford University. She and her two cofounders came up with the idea for Fauna Bio when they were postdoctoral researchers at the university. They were mulling the idea of applying to a Stanford-associated accelerator when they met Laura Deming, cofounder and venture partner at an accelerator called age1. She offered them a spot. https://lnkd.in/eCJqjAWz

Insightful learnings shared on the application of technology and its impact on discovery and delivery across #biopharma. Thank you Kai Wucherpfennig Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Chandra Ramanathan Danaher Corporation, Ashley Zehnder Fauna Bio, Hanadie Yousef Juvena Therapeutics & Jason Cole SalioGen Therapeutics.

Ashley Zehnder, founder and CEO of Fauna Bio, discusses the types of insights that can be gleaned from the genetics of hibernating animals, the wide range of human health conditions that might be addressed with such an approach, and the company’s deal with Eli Lilly to apply its AI platform to discover new obesity drugs. https://lnkd.in/eQ6z3B7E