Bio Platforms
THERAPEUTIC FOCUS - Perspectives on Sigma-2 Modulation as a Therapeutic Modality for Slowing Age-Related Degenerative Disease
Anthony Caggiano, MD, PhD, believes there is evidence the sigma-2 receptor acts as a regulator of cellular processes, such as autophagy and protein trafficking, which are impaired in age-related degenerative diseases.
VACCINE DEVELOPMENT - Therapeutic Vaccines Development: At the Edge of a New Revolution
Mario Davinelli, PhD, Narcisa Mesaros, MD, David Morland, and Judith Neville, PhD, say therapeutic vaccines are an exciting area of research that has the potential to revolutionize the way we treat diseases.
PERSONALIZED MEDICINE - Exploring the Potential of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor for Personalized Medicine
Pedro Moura Alves, PhD, reviews the intricacies of AhR immune sensing and signaling, and its potential for personalized treatment strategies to optimize therapeutic outcomes and minimize adverse effects. He also touches on some of the limitations hindering the advancement of knowledge in this crucial area of research, and the direction this emerging field may take in the coming years.
THERAPEUTIC FOCUS - Sarilumab Approval for Polymyalgia Rheumatica Highlights Enduring Unmet Medical Needs
David A. Katz, PhD, and Robert Jacks, MBA, MSE, say a new, effective treatment option is now available, promotion of the drug will increase disease awareness, and the success encourages others in the industry to continue and expand their PMR research. However, the proportion of patients who can benefit from the drug is limited, and significant unmet needs remain for all persons suffering from PMR.
DRUG DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE - Thermo Fisher Scientific: What to Expect From the Next Wave of RNA-Based Therapeutics
Dr. Dale Patterson, Vice President and General Manager, Molecular Biology at Thermo Fisher Scientific, delves into the world of RNA therapies and understand their next act beyond COVID-19.
VACCINE DEVELOPMENT - A Healthier Global Population Through a Universal Influenza & Multi-Virus Vaccine
Jeff Fischer, MBA, says we need to have an eye toward universal influenza or multi-virus vaccines that have the ability to provide broad coverage as viral strains continue to evolve.
ENGINEERING BIOLOGY - Scaling Engineering Biology to Accelerate Advances in Healthcare
Raquel Sanches-Kuiper and Matthew Hayes, PhD, say the development of a benchtop synthesis platform has the potential to expedite the discovery and development time for drugs and biotherapeutics, greatly accelerating the rate at which engineering biology can shape the future of healthcare.
SPECIAL ROUNDTABLE - Leadership Panel: 4 Trends That Will Have the Most Impact on Drug Development in 2024
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin asked some of today’s life science leaders what they expect will have the greatest impact on drug development in 2024 and beyond.
DRUG DISCOVERY - Overcoming Traditional Challenges: Innovative Chemoproteomics Strategies to Revolutionize Drug Discovery
Ping Cao, PhD, and Irene Yuan believe their chemoproteomic platform offers a distinct advantage by enabling the simultaneous exploration of the entire proteome, setting it apart from other drug discovery technologies that typically focus on individual targets.
DRUG DEVELOPMENT - Using a Novel Deep Cyclic Inhibition Mechanism to Treat Broad Range of RAS-Mutant Cancers
Ben Zeskind, PhD, addresses the question: rather than targeting individual RAS mutations and treating chronically, is it possible to achieve broad therapeutic activity in a way that focuses on malignant cells while minimizing damage to healthy cells?
EXCLUSIVE ONLINE CONTENT
Biolojic Design Announces Nektar Therapeutics Has Exercised its License Option to Develop an AI-Designed Agonistic Antibody Targeting TNFR2 for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases
Program is the Product of a Research Collaboration between Biolojic Design and Nektar entered in 2021….
Cellares & Bristol Myers Squibb Announce $380-M Worldwide Capacity Reservation & Supply Agreement
Cellares, the world’s first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), will allocate multiple Cell Shuttles and its fully automated, high-throughput Cell Q systems across its IDMO Smart Factories in the US, EU, and Japan for Bristol Myers Squibb’s use ….
Neurolentech Signs Technology Access Partnership With Kaerus Bioscience
Kaerus Bioscience will access Neurolentech’s NDD Drug Discovery Platform to support development of its preclinical asset pipeline for numerous genetic syndromes….
Palisade Bio Enters Strategic Collaboration With Strand Life Sciences to Advance Precision Medicine Approach
Partnership marks a significant value-driving milestone in Palisade Bio’s mission to redefine UC treatment through targeted interventions based on PDE4-related biomarkers….
Evaxion Announces Phase 2 Clinical Trial Update: First Patient Completed Dosing With Personalized Cancer Vaccine
Significant Phase 2 clinical trial progress obtained with first patient finalizing EVX-01 vaccine dosing….
MARKET NEWS & TRENDS
WEBINARS
On-Demand Webinar: How to Safely Handle Your Antibody Drug Conjugate
Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) have a highly specific mechanism of action which is an advantage for the treatment of several oncology indications…..
WHITE PAPERS
WHITEPAPER - Use of a Platform Formulation Technology to De-Risk Solid-State Variation in Drug Development
This white paper describes use of mesoporous silica as a porous carrier formulation technology to stabilize unstable polymorphs and to optimize solid state properties.
WHITEPAPER - Long-Acting Injectable Nanoparticle Formulations
Long acting injectable (LAI) formulations have been the subject of continued interest in the recent past due, in part, to their longer systemic circulation requiring less frequent dosing of drugs.
WHITEPAPER - PLGA Nanoparticles - Bridging the Gap From R&D to GMP
Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has emerged as a promising material for drug delivery and biomedical applications. Its exceptional biocompatibility, customizable degradation and release properties, and versatility have led to….
APPLICATION NOTE: Process Optimization & Preclinical Production Using the ANP System
Particle Works is thrilled to announce the launch of a new Application Note that delves into the advancement of nanoparticles as carriers for targeted drug delivery. Developing nanoparticles for this purpose can be….
WHITEPAPER - Improve Process Economics & Enable High Protein Concentrations
What if you could achieve higher protein concentrations during downstream processing? This whitepaper spotlights how excipient combinations can enhance manufacturability and final concentration of mAb formulations.
What are Bio Platforms?
Platforms (or asset-independent technologies to capture all kinds of capabilities that can be leveraged across many different drug candidate assets rather than just discovery tools that the term ‘platform’ immediately brings to mind) are ubiquitous in modern pharma. They are the product of an arms race, to secure access to the best capabilities in key areas.
Platform technologies are considered a valuable tool to improve efficiency and quality in drug product development. The basic idea is that a platform, in combination with a risk-based approach, is the most systematic method to leverage prior knowledge for a given new molecule. Furthermore, such a platform enables a continuous improvement by adding data for every new molecule developed by this approach, increasing the robustness of the platform.
But it has often been said that access to the latest technological platforms to aid efficient drug discovery and development is limited to Big Pharma, which can more easily justify the costs of creating and operating these platforms.
Benefits of Bio Platforms
Platform technologies have the ability to radically improve upon current products and generate completely novel products. In this sense, they open up new arenas for drug discovery and development, potentially increasing the number of therapeutic options for patients. Once a single compound or therapeutic has been generated and demonstrates a clinical benefit in patients, it is more likely this platform technology can successfully be applied to other therapeutic areas, derisking future compounds/products.
Complex drugs by their very nature are challenging and costly to manufacture. This, in turn, translates into higher costs for patients and other payers. In order to provide safe and effective therapies at a reasonable price, it is necessary for the industry to develop manufacturing technologies that reduce costs and provide a consistent product. While the initial investment may be larger, manufacturing costs will be lower over time as the manufacturing process is solidified.
Scale and Investment of Bio Platforms
Despite the initial upfront costs, platform technologies inevitably provide pragmatic solutions to production challenges, while yielding safer and more effective therapeutic products. It has often been said that one of the key features that distinguishes “Big Pharma” from biotech is access to the latest technological platforms to aid efficient drug discovery and development.
These platforms range from vast chemical libraries, ultra-high throughput screening and huge genetic databases in discovery, to predictive toxicology platforms, cutting-edge ‘omics’ and even deep-seated knowledge of particular therapeutic areas in development. All these platforms have two things in common: They can be used on any (or many) development candidate assets, and they cost huge sums to establish in the first place, and in a few cases each time they are used as well. Hence their restriction to the largest pharmaceutical companies (and a few of the so-called “big biotechs” that are, in many ways, indistinguishable from the old-guard pharma).
Only when you have hundreds of active projects can you justify the cost of creating and operating these platforms. Or so the mantra goes. It is access to these platforms that keeps the big companies ahead in the race to discover and develop the best medicines (or at least counterbalance the disadvantages of being large and slow-moving, depending on your point of view). But is that just an assertion? How much evidence is there to support the proposition that the efficiency gains due to these platforms outstrips the cost of creating and maintaining them?
Keeping these technologies “cutting edge” has become so expensive that increasingly we hear pharma companies talking of “pre-competitive” approaches to develop the next generation. A group of companies might develop a platform capability they then share. The principle goal of such initiatives is to access even grander and more expensive tools than individual companies could afford, rather than to dramatically cut costs (although sharing platforms rather than developing the same thing in parallel in each silo should at least keep a lid on rising costs).