Biotech Diaries - June 7th, 2024 (feat. Jon Chee)

Did you miss last week's newsletter? ??

If you haven't see it yet, check out the edition from May 31st!

Topics included:

?? Allogeneic vs. autologous cell therapy ???

?? Blog summary of ASGCT ??

?? The truth about immortalized cell lines ??

?? BMS cell therapy approval (and 12 more biotech headlines) ??

?? Guest post from Ali Divan, Ph.D. ??

Here's the link: linkedin.com/pulse/biotech-diaries-may-31st-2024-feat-ali-divan-phd-jeff-bissen-rwnve

Now for this week's newsletter!

CNS conditions in veterans ??

Last week was Memorial Day in the US, and I highlighted the prevalence of ALS and Parkinson's amongst veterans.

I also discussed the issues with immortalized lines and primary cells when studying these and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Luckily, iPSC-derived models offer insights in drug discovery for such conditions.

Learn more here: linkedin.com/posts/jeffbissen_drugdiscovery-neuroscience-veterans-activity-7200872942140833792-_0pd

5 considerations for ASO screening ??

With newly developed antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) molecules, early efficacy and toxicity assessment is crucial to prevent costly failures in later stages.

But,?what are the assays that will give you the best predictions to advance your drug candidate with confidence?

One important tip is to choose a cell model that's relevant to your target disease.

Read more about this and 4 other tips here: linkedin.com/posts/jeffbissen_biotechnology-drugdiscovery-research-activity-7201270244030464001-aJXu

In vitro/vivo/silico poll ???

I asked my audience of life science professionals if they work mostly with cells, organisms, or computers.

An overwhelming majority said in vitro!

I'm in this category too as I focus on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

See the full results here: linkedin.com/posts/jeffbissen_research-biotechnology-drugdiscovery-activity-7201688827986345985-bjL9

Why I specialize in iPSCs for drug discovery ??

Although they're commonly used, immortalized lines and animal models are often not therapeutically relevant enough to confidently predict patient outcomes, resulting in failed clinical trials despite enormous time and money.

Thus, to bridge this translational gap, I'm passionate about incorporating relevant human biology in drug discovery with iPSC-derived models.

Such an approach reveals insights often missed by other models.

See an outline of the workflow here: linkedin.com/posts/jeffbissen_drugdiscovery-celltherapy-biotechnology-activity-7202012980681551874-_gSS

This week's guest post: Jon Chee ??

Social media can have a huge impact in the life science industry.

Take it from Jon Chee , CEO at Excedr , a laboratory support program that provides scientists with cutting-edge instrument leases and comprehensive coverage plans at an affordable price.

By posting regularly on LinkedIn and hosting The Biotech Startups Podcast, he generated inbound inquiries from researchers, even if these metrics are hard to track - the "dark social" as they say in marketing.

Check out his post here: linkedin.com/posts/jonchee_linkedin-biotechnology-lifesciences-activity-7204513105719029760-0wuS

Reach out for help with iPSC projects ??

Hi, I'm Jeff Bissen (pronounced BEE-sen) ??

In my current role as Senior Director of Business Development at Ncardia , I help with applications of iPSCs in drug discovery - and also in cell therapy (see the sister company Cellistic ).

Send a message to discuss your project ??

I also post almost every weekday about both the science and business sides of the biotech industry.

Follow my profile, subscribe to this newsletter, and share with your network ??

***Views expressed on LinkedIn are entirely my own and not necessarily held by any past, present, or future employer***