Julia Tran

What a thrill for us to be recognized as a finalist in the Transformational Therapy Category at the Biotech Week Boston Awards gala last night!   Our team at Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc. is passionate about re-thinking cancer treatment by developing innovative therapies that challenge conventional precision and targeted approaches. We're pushing boundaries, and it’s exciting to see our efforts acknowledged alongside some of the industry’s top innovators. Chaunte Lowe, OLY, a 4-time Olympian and cancer survivor, set an inspiring tone as host. Her resilience and story of overcoming adversity resonated with everyone in the room, and served as a powerful reminder of the perseverance it takes to innovate and save lives. It was also great to reconnect with a legend in the field of immunotherapy, Arthur Krieg from Zola Therapeutics, and talk about his latest work.  It’s fascinating to listen to someone who has been at the forefront of innovation for so many years, and I always learn something new every time we speak. And a special shoutout to Adam Thomas (he/him) from MOMA Therapeutics. Besides being a fantastic presenter, he surely should have won a "best dressed" award for his sharp kilt! Though we didn’t bring home the award this time, it was a privilege to be a finalist and celebrate the accomplishments of everyone attending.  Congratulations to all the winners, and here’s to continuing our shared mission to drive forward life-saving innovation.   #BWBAWARDS #IndaptusTherapeutics #Biotech #LifeSciences #CancerResearch #NeverGiveUp

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The Impact of AI on Biopharma and Collaborative Culture: A recent panel discussion at the 2024 Life Science Innovation Northwest meeting in Seattle delved into the impact of AI on biopharma and the collaborative culture in the Pacific Northwest. The Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington plays a central role in this collaboration, generating open-source AI tools and interacting with both local and larger biopharma companies. The use of AI in biopharma extends beyond protein design, with companies like Bristol Myers Squibb leveraging machine learning to match patients for clinical trials and conduct "virtual" trials. The development of new AI tools is facilitating faster and more cost-effective progression of drugs to the clinic, with regional companies at the forefront of these advancements. Additionally, efforts to generate, standardize, and share biological data are expected to enhance the power of AI models. The panelists also discussed the balance between proprietary data and the sharing of information, emphasizing the importance of publicly-funded universities in creating shared community foundation models. Thank you Viktorija Andersson for your submission!

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🚀 The Episode with David Slack is Live! 🚀 Yesterday, we dropped an incredible episode featuring David Slack, CEO of Impilo Therapeutics, Inc., where he shared some game-changing insights on biotech collaborations and leadership. In case you missed it, here’s a quick highlight where David talks about the importance of treating external partners with respect and building successful biotech collaborations. 🤝 Catch the full episode on YouTube and Spotify—links in the comments below! 🎧 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe! #TheBioHub #Podcast #Biotech #Innovation #DavidSlack #ImpiloTherapeutics #Partnerships #Leadership

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I am super excited about and proud of what the Arrakis team has accomplished here. All the more so because of the sweat, talent, creativity, persistence, resilience, and orthogonal thinking it took to make this happen. While the DM1 program itself is new, it is the culmination of seven years of effort to build and optimize the physical and intellectual infrastructure needed to drug RNA with small molecules. It's been a long, occasionally frustrating, often exhausting, but always exhilarating journey. It's also, amazingly, the longest job I've held. It's been an honor. I am grateful to Arrakis employees past and present, our investors, our partners Roche and Amgen, our advisors, and everyone who has helped us one way or another. So what has the team accomplished here? In short, we have identified and optimized multiple series of drug-like small molecules that directly target the precise molecular genetic cause of myotonic dystrophy, type 1 (DM1). This devastating disease is caused by expansion of CTG repeats in the gene for DMPK, which are transcribed into mRNA carrying long extended arrays of CUG repeats. These RNAs aggregate in the nuclei of affected cells and sequester splicing factors, causing global perturbations in splicing involving dozens of genes. The impact of these aberrant splicing events on cellular proteins leads to physiological defects in multiple organs and tissues. The data that Jennifer Petter will present today establish that the Arrakis compounds specifically recognize and bind the CUG repeat - we have beautiful X-ray structures that show us precisely how they do that. They bind that sequence selectively - over other RNA sequences and the CTG repeat in DNA. They interfere with formation of nuclear aggregates in DM1 patient-derived cells. They rescue the splicing defects in these cells. Importantly, they correct splicing in a mouse model of disease and fully reverse myotonia in these animals. And they do all these things in the familiar and comforting package of drug-like small molecules, with all the properties we've come to know and love about small molecules -- including broad distribution to address tissues beyond muscle, oral bioavailability, and a relatively simple, inexpensive, and commoditized supply chain. We believe that if we can continue to advance these molecules, we'll have an important and differentiated therapeutic option for patients who have none at all today. This is why we do what we do in our business. It's wonderful when the magic works.

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Did you miss this very interesting session on next generation #ELN and #FAIRdata in #biopharma and other related industries? Really worth a listen, and you can still catch it on the link below!

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The life science panelists at Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium are inspiring the audience with great insights 1. Randy Schekman: study of how the 23k gene inside a cell to communicate across the cells leads to manufacturing of insulin that impact millions of lives. Relying on large gene data available to innovate new algorithm for AI. 2. Helen Blau: Discovery of drugs to stimulate the stem cell leads to muscle Rebuild. Using AI to predict how different protein combining. 3. Ziyang Zhang: how training in chemistry allows him to study life science from new angle, and then new discovery. 4. Liquin Luo: recent Computation progress allows more hypothesis to be studies than experimental method alone. Computation neuroscience is hot! 5. J. Jean Cui: Traditional clinical trial is no longer always working, major huddle is the precise modeling, thus, new approaches are needed to speedup in validating the targets, and bring lab to in-person use much faster. #AAPM #LifeScience #DrugDiscovery #Tech4Innovators

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#digitalisation and #automation of #biopharma #manufacturing workflows, leading to #smartmanufacturing - don't miss this Bruker #webinar in a few weeks, with Anna Codina Matteo Pennestri and Sergey Shilov

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Love this. Thanks for summarizing it. A standard practice in any new model that is developed by academics or startup companies. Previously, pharma companies wrote several white papers on Pharmacogenomics, metabolite identification, in vitro drug drug interactions, in vitro cytochrome p450, udp glucuronosyl transferase, drug transporter phenotyping, cytochrome p450 induction, toxicogenomics (consortium but no white paper), in silico models (mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, drug absorption, pbpk) and many more. White papers put emphasis not only standardization of protocols but also reproducibility of the same protocol globally. CROs in particular need to adopt those protocols as pharma outsources much of the work. So, developing these MPS models is one effort but standardization and harmonization across all pharma is another major effort. A regulatory feedback is essential before they become guidance documents. Being in India and as a startup, it is hard to travel to all these conferences for me but hopefully we will in the near future.

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I <3 Jon Campbell takeaways and agree completely! I'll also add that, regardless of commercial failures in the space, #digital #medicine is here to stay and is really the only hope we have of fixing a broken healthcare system. Additionally, we'll see #AI/ML increasingly being utilized in healthcare to advance early access and equity and improve outcomes.

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How do we minimize the number of protocol amendments and increase the operational feasibility of our clinical trials? This article below points out the benefits of using data, conversations and real world data to enhance the feasibility of the protocol design and inclusion/exclusion criteria: 1) Are we being too strict on our criteria in order to "control" for data variability? 2) Do are criteria allow for the intended patient population in the real world (if not, they need to) 3) How realistic is your design in how the study sites actually work? How they see and treat patients? How is your company ensuring the design meets these requirements? https://lnkd.in/gzJzFd-3

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Join A Growing Community of World-Class Entrepreneurs. Biotech Labs. Tech Workspaces. Medical Offices. At Colorado Health & Tech Centers (CHTC), we are a premier hub for a diverse array of companies specializing in health and technology, allowing you to expand your network and spur your innovation. Join the world-class CHTC network and discover the power of collaboration in the life science and biotechnology sector. https://coloradohtc.com/ #Denverrealestate, #biotechnology, #Pharmaceutical, #biotech, #pharma, #innovation, #tech, #Technology, #CBSA, #CoBioscience, #cro , #cdmo , #laboratory,  #relocationspecialist, #Medicaldevice, #entrepreneurship, #startups, #culture, #HR, #partnerships, #LetsWork, #Whatinspiresme, #Productivity, #socialentrepreneurship, Babak Kia, Thomas Malcolm, Danny D. Martinez

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Many know how thrilled I am to have found the Life Science industry where you get to impact the lives of people who need innovation in healthcare. Thinking of making the switch? Check out the Biocom California Institute career hub!

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If you want a glimpse into new ways to commercialize science and solve health challenges, specifically as it relates to women's health, this episode is for you. There is so much I learned from speaking with the brilliant Laura Minquini!

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Question: What consequences do executives face after they initiate mass layoffs? Given the vast levels of biopharma layoffs in the past 3 years, clearly the majority of those "impacted" are at the receiving end of being terminated. But what of the leadership that initiated the layoffs? This HBR article details the story from the other end - what leaders should expect of their company performance after layoffs. " We found that company confidence dropped 16.9 percentage points. Belief in career opportunities dropped 12.1 percentage points. And confidence in leadership dropped 10.5 percentage points." " Perel also noted that building loyalty is almost impossible in an environment where people feel they could lose their jobs at any moment: “Many employees come to work looking for a sense of identity, belonging, and purpose,” she told us. “When companies do round after round of layoffs, it erodes their trust, diminishes their sense of belonging, and threatens their motivation. It’s hard to continue embracing work with the same gusto when you’re not sure if your employer cares about you as a human.” " HBR advises executives to manage expectations on the consequences of triggering a layoff * Be realistic in your expectations and expect engagement and company confidence to take a long-term hit. * Focus on how the change is communicated from the outset. * Don’t try to do more with less. * Treat people humanely in the off-boarding process. * Recognize that relationships outlive employment contracts. If one works in the Biopharma field, notably in the Boston/Cambridge area, layoffs are frequent and almost built into the fabric of society here. The last point HBR makes is very true, relationships between those leaving and those left behind can bridge the gap between decades of career change. Amazing and honorable former coworkers will tend to carry their phenotype through time, gaining reputation. Strangely absent in the HBR article is reputational risk for those that cause layoffs - how did they manage their company into a hole? - this will undoubtedly endure as well. Didier Elzinga writes in HBR here - https://lnkd.in/egtWVkGj.

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GC Therapeutics Launches with $75M and Star-Studded Leadership to Scale Allogeneic iPSC-Derived Cell Therapies - https://lnkd.in/gEPSqchs A new and well-capitalized market player has boldly declared its debut as a developer of allogeneic, off-the-shelf iPCS-derived cell therapeutics. GC Therapeutics (GCTx) has officially launched, bringing with it a revolutionary approach to cell therapy that aims to overcome current challenges in scalability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness that have traditionally hindered the development of iPSC-derived therapies. With the debut of its innovative TFome™ platform, GCTx is positioned to scale the full potential of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based therapies. This breakthrough was developed from research originating in the lab of George Church, Ph.D., professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. GCTx’s innovation is supported by Harvard’s Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator and backed by strong intellectual property protections. The company has also assembled a star-studded leadership team. The company is well capitalized, having secured $65 million in Series A funding, with Cormorant Asset Management, LP leading the round. Additional investors included Mubadala Capital, Andreessen Horowitz a16z Bio + Health, Medical Excellence Capital, LLC, Cercano Management, and Pear VC, bringing the company’s total funding to an impressive $75 million. GCTx was co-founded by Parastoo Khoshakhlagh, Ph.D., who serves as the CEO, Alex Ng, Ph.D., the CSO, Cory Smith, Ph.D., the scientific co-founder and head of discovery platforms, and George Church, Ph.D., a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and core faculty member at the HANSJORG WYSS INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED ENGINEERING. The company’s board of directors and advisers include: Raymond J. Kelleher, MD, PhD, managing director at Cormorant Asset Management; Vineeta Agarwala, MD PhD, general partner at a16z Bio + Health; Alaa Halawa, MBA, executive director and head of U.S. ventures at Mubadala Capital; John Maraganore, Ph.D., CEO of JMM Innovations and founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; and Steven Paul, M.D., former CEO of Karuna Therapeutics and co-founder of Rapport Therapeutics and Seaport Therapeutics Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gEPSqchs #ipsc #stemcell #celltherapy.

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Great to see that DELFI Diagnostics is using reasonable language to communicate around it's cancer DX technology: "DELFI Diagnostics, Inc., developer of accessible blood-based liquid biopsy tests that deliver a new way to enhance early cancer detection" "We have a vision of the future where cancer is routinely detected early, and patients have more options and better outcomes as a result." Just as a reminder, here are some Illumina/GRAIL quotes: "Our mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured" “Broad adoption of Galleri could avert nearly 40% of the 5-year cancer mortality or around 100,000 deaths annually in the U.S.” "If this acquisition does not proceed, GRAIL’s European roll-out will be slower and the cost will be measured in the unnecessary loss of life. Re-uniting GRAIL with Illumina will accelerate ... saving tens of thousands of lives.” "Illumina feels there is a moral obligation to have the deal decided by a thoughtful and full review by the EU regulators and the US courts. This can only be done if Illumina acquires GRAIL now. " “As we shared in late July, we remain committed to closing this pro-competitive deal and believe with this acquisition, Illumina will be uniquely positioned to help save tens of thousands of lives.”

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Beth Shapiro absolutely crushing it at Fortune! 5 key reasons to watch the full video: 1. What is de-extinction? 2. When are dinosaurs coming back? 3. How do you de-extinct a mammoth? 4. How can this tech benefit other industries? 5. How are we using this tech to save species in the brink of extinction today? #conservation #deextinction #colossal

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Congratulations to Israeli Digital Health venture Nucleai for their remarkable achievement in raising $14 million in funding, led by Merck Group’s VC arm, M Ventures 🎉 Nucleai's groundbreaking work in leveraging AI and machine learning to analyse pathology images and spatial data at cellular and tissue levels. Their proprietary technology extracts detailed patterns and features from medical images, providing invaluable insights into the tumour microenvironment, cellular morphology, and spatial relationships between different cell types. This round, led by M Ventures, and support by existing investors, brings Nucleai's total funding to an impressive $60 million. Notable backers include S32, Sanofi Ventures, Debiopharm, 复星锐正资本 FOSUN RZ Capital , Vertex Ventures Israel, and Grove Ventures. With this new funding, Nucleai plans to deploy its AI algorithms for the prospective enrollment of patients in clinical trials—a pioneering move in personalized healthcare solutions tailored to each patient's unique needs. Founded in 2018, Nucleai is spearheaded by Avi Veidman, Eliron Amir, Lotan Chorev, and Albert Achtenberg. They bring expertise from their tenure managing the AI computer vision department in the Israeli military’s Intelligence Corps. This achievement underscores Israel's prowess in driving innovation at the intersection of technology and healthcare. 🌟 #DigitalHealth #Israel #fundingnews

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💥 The BioHub is back with another episode! 💥 Tomorrow, we're dropping a fascinating episode featuring Rob Etherington, CEO of Clene Nanomedicine, Inc.! 🌟 Rob dives into the critical work Clene is doing to combat neurodegenerative diseases, which the World Health Organization predicts will be the second most prevalent cause of death in the coming decades. 🧠 The brain remains a mystery in many ways, and Clene's revolutionary nanotechnology is truly groundbreaking. 🧬 Don't miss out on tomorrow's release! Like, share, and subscribe to The BioHub Podcast! 🚀 #TheBioHub #Podcast #Biotech #Innovation #NeurodegenerativeDiseases #Nanomedicine #CleneNanomedicine #RobEtherington #Healthcare #FutureOfMedicine

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