Leaders in Life Sciences: Graham Taylor PhD, President at Helix Biotech

Helix Biotech, Inc. is a Customer and Quality focused CDMO specializing in LNPs, Liposomes, and Hybrid Nanoparticles. They offer a selection of innovative tools and reagent systems for pre-clinical or clinical stage development, manufacturing, and analytical projects.

Read more on the insights from Graham Taylor, PhD …

Robert Fenton: How many years have you been in the life sciences, and what are the three most notable changes that you’ve seen and experienced in your career??

Graham Taylor: I have been in life sciences for around 20 years. A couple of notable changes throughout this time frame would include:

1. The transition from introductory genome sequencing 20 years ago to the advanced synthesis, editing, and characterization capabilities that are now common today.?
2. Quite recently, the noticeable industry-wide focusing on DNA and RNA-containing pharmaceuticals.? This seems to have been encouraged by the rollout and validation of the COVID-19 vaccines, based on mRNA packaged into lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems.

Rob: In what specific ways do you see the life sciences evolving in the next decade?

Graham: Over the next decade, growth in the number and versatility of proven gene therapy drugs may transform medicine as we know it. We could see significant changes in treatment and prevention of major diseases, possibly even eliminating (or at least strongly reducing) the prevalence of diseases which are known to have an underlying genetic component.

Rob: What do you see as the biggest challenges to innovation and digital transformation in the life sciences?

Graham: One of the biggest hurdles to innovation is the sheer amount of resources and time required to “do the work.” It is important that we continue to improve efficiency of the basic tools being used, such as drug development planning and data management tools, analytical systems, and nanobiotechnology synthesis capabilities. Automation and intelligent systems integrating all of these aspects can ultimately help accelerate development and make more life-changing therapeutics and vaccines a reality.?

Rob: If you had to name two companies that have fundamentally changed the life sciences for the better in the last 5 years, who would they be and why?

Graham: Pfizer and Moderna – their efforts to develop, scale up, and help prove the safety and efficacy of the world’s first mRNA-based drugs seem to be a pivotal moment in the history of medicine for mankind. We may one day look back at these introductory vaccines as the keys that opened doors to entirely new options regarding our ability to treat and/or prevent diseases and infection .

Rob: How can the life sciences industry more broadly apply lessons learned from the pandemic to accelerate innovation?

Graham: The pandemic has shown us what is possible when the world’s focus and resources, including both private-sector and public initiatives, shift towards a common goal. The rapid development, screening, and implementation of successful COVID-19 vaccines in numerous countries has paved a path that can hopefully be translated for other infectious diseases like malaria, HIV, and HPV. With a little more work, we can set our gene therapy sights on major diseases like cancer, mental health and neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.

Rob: Where are you seeing the most innovation today in the life sciences ecosystem?

Graham: There has been a burst of activity, and innovation in therapeutic RNA and DNA designs, as well as in the development of novel gene-editing systems. In parallel, there is a tremendous amount of effort going into the development of novel lipid-based drug delivery systems building on the success of the ionizable lipid nanoparticles used in Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines.?

Rob: How do you stay on top of trends and innovations in the life sciences?

Graham: Every week is exciting, with new reports emerging on a near-daily basis. It is important to stay on top of new literature being published, and annual conferences continue to be an excellent platform for leaders to share details of their latest and greatest developments. We also focus on our relationships and communications with industry partners involved in all stages of the development and manufacturing cycles.?

Rob: What advice or words of wisdom do you have for early stage life sciences companies that are looking to disrupt the status quo while accelerating innovation and safeguarding quality?

Graham: Be bold – recent years have shown us that relatively new and small companies like BioNTech and Moderna can have world-changing impacts. Think logistics – proper planning and attention to detail on the logistics can be make-it-or-break-it, perhaps most importantly, impacting the Quality of the end product.