Bio Platforms
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE - MGB: The Minor Groove Binder
Dawn A. Firmin, MSc, PhD, explains how MGB has dedicated its focus to the development of a new class of small molecules, with specific antibacterial activity against susceptible and resistant bacteria.
AAV VECTOR MANUFACTURING - Challenges & Opportunities in the Manufacturing of AAV Vectors Used in the Delivery of Gene Therapy Treatments
Daniel C. Smith, PhD, indicates there remains a clear need for improved process productivities, and the need to develop manufacturing processes that can be applied to a wide number of AAV-based viral vector therapeutic candidates.
CELL THERAPY - PLX-R18: Cell Therapy for Treatment of Acute Radiation Syndrome & Bone Marrow Failure Diseases
Racheli Ofir, PhD, and Noa Sher, PhD, report on studies showing that PLX-R18 is a strong candidate for the treatment of H-ARS as well as a plethora of bone marrow failures with similar symptomatology.
THERAPEUTIC FOCUS - GSNOR Inhibition to Stabilize & Improve Mutant CFTR Processing
Steven Shoemaker, MD, reviews how cavosonstat represents a safe and effective option for patients with CF with at least one copy of the F508del-CFTR mutation; and that when used with correctors and potentiators, improves patient outcomes including lung function.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - Viral Gene: Protein-Targeting Cancer Vaccine Could Boost Survival Rates
Harry A. Arena, MBA, President & CEO of TDT, Chris Kim, President & General Counsel, Viral Gene, Inc., and Dr. Scott Waldman, Professor & Chair of Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Thomas Jefferson University, discuss the unique characteristics of the vaccine, the patients who will benefit the most, and how a research team captured the attention of investors.
PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY - The 3DNA® Platform for Targeted Drug Delivery
Robert C. Getts, PhD, and Jessica Bowers review how the 3DNA platform is composed entirely of noncoding DNA assembled through the sequential hybridization of single strands of DNA into a network of double-stranded nucleic acid having a controlled architecture, and multiple attachment sites for drug and targeting molecules.
PROTEIN THERAPEUTICS MARKET - Technology Advances Spur Market Growth of Protein Therapies
Laurie L. Sullivan and Shalini S. Dewan, BCC Research Analysts, believe with the advent of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology, it is now possible to produce a wide variety of human proteins, and that these novel technologies have lifted the market for therapeutic proteins to new heights.
SPECIAL FEATURE - Platform Technologies: Not Just for Big Pharma
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin recently spoke with several companies that are debunking the theory 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 innovative platforms.
CARBON NANOTUBES - MGMR™ - A Medical-Grade Carbon Nanotube Designed for Medical Applications
Joseph S. Dillon, PhD, MBA, and Lainie Mulvanny discuss the transformation of CNTs into a unique composition of matter, marking a complete departure from the dirty, tangled micron bundles of CNTs that frustrated medical researchers for years.
PROTEIN CRYSTALS - Reshaping Traditional Biotherapeutic Formulations
Don Paul Kovarcik, MBA, and William Wittbold, MS, indicate that while protein therapeutics have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout the past 3 decades, there still remain formulation and delivery challenges.
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).