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Lifespan.io: Cyclarity Launches Human Trial to Cure Atherosclerosis

Recently, Cyclarity Therapeutics announced the launch of a Phase 1 human clinical trial for a drug that aims to remove the arterial plaques that lead to heart attacks and strokes. Read post

At Biotech’s Biggest Conference, UC Berkeley Shows Off Startups

In a way, biotech startup Editpep’s story is one faced by many new life sciences companies in a tough funding environment; in a way, too, it is so Berkeley. Co-founded by University of California, Berkeley postdoctoral researcher looking at ways to cure genetic diseases, an MBA student and a scientific disciple of CRISPR gene-editing technology pioneer Jennifer Doudna, Editpep last month secured an $8.4 million seed financing to take on pediatric brain cancer and other brain diseases. Read post
Depiction of atherosclerosis

Cyclarity Therapeutics Secures Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Trial

Cyclarity Therapeutics is pleased to announce regulatory approval to begin its first-in-human clinical trial. The trial will be conducted at CMAX, one of Australia’s leading clinical research centers, in partnership with Monash University. This effort will be led by Dr. Stephen Nicholls of the Victorian Heart Institute (VHI), a distinguished leader in cardiovascular medicine. In addition to a traditional SAD/MAD phase 1 trial, the authorization includes an allowance to enroll 12 patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) to assess the safety of UDP-003 in individuals with plaque buildup, as well as to explore anecdotal evidence of efficacy. This represents a critical first step in evaluating the potential impact of our therapy in a population with high unmet need. Read post
Clockwise from top left: Shakked Halperin, Tim Craven, the Profluent team, the Radar team, members of HOPO Therapeutics

Looking Forward to 2025 from Our Top Five Stories of 2024

Happy new year! At Bakar Labs we’re looking forward to a great 2025, starting of course with the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in SF. Other highlights in the near future: the return of our JETRO entrepreneurs from Japan; the rollout of the Bakar Climate Labs pilot program (look for our web story on Futurebio, our first climate tech tenant); if you’re at the BIO International Convention in Boston, look for our team, we’ll be there. You can count on our September Showcase and our November anniversary party to be bangers. Community is our #1 asset. Thank you for being part of it! Read post

Startup ResVita Bio Targets Rare, Deadly Skin Disease With a Bacterial Factory

Amin Zargar literally put skin in his scientific game. Now he hopes to add a deeper layer of funding to his East Bay startup to boost its work on a treatment for a rare and deadly skin disease. Zargar as a postdoctoral fellow was on an academic track and looking for a job as he stress-tested an idea kicked around with mentor Jay Keasling, a pioneer in synthetic biology at UC Berkeley. What if, they thought, they could genetically engineer a bacteria to convert sugars in skin lotions into therapeutic proteins continuously pumped onto the skin's surface? In essence, the bacteria would become a 24/7 factory for producing healing proteins. Read post
Dart hits the bullseye

ARIZ One of “Eight Nanotechnology Companies to Watch Out for”

The company’s product is composed of a nanoparticle, which is customized based on the kind of cancer it is attacking, and has small interfering RNA (siRNA) that kill proteins that drive cancer without harming the neighboring healthy cells, cancer cell targeting peptides, as well as the chemotherapy drug – which is encapsulated within the nanoparticle. The nanoparticle is PEGylated, a process by which the polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) is added to protect the drug. Read post
RVB cells delivering protein therapy continuously on skin

NIH Awards ResVita Bio a $2M Phase II SBIR Grant for Continuous Protein Therapy for Netherton Syndrome

ResVita Bio is pioneering continuous protein therapy, delivered through a genetically engineered probiotic platform that temporarily colonizes the skin and continuously releases therapeutic proteins, such as LEKTI, to inhibit protease activity. This continuous delivery method ensures high levels of the therapeutic agent at the site of damage, restoring the integrity of the skin barrier. This represents a significant shift from traditional therapies, which may not provide sustained treatment at the site of the disease. Read post
Graphic depiction of robot hand editing DNA

The AI Effect: How a Hot Computing Tool Is Tying ‘Bio’ and ‘Tech’ Closer Than Ever

“In protein design, until the last couple of years, successes were rare,” said Fraser, a professor of bioengineering and therapeutic sciences in UCSF's School of Pharmacy. “(AI has) just been a sea change. Stuff works now.” Those successes are elevating a new generation of AI-focused drug-development companies in the Bay Area, including Profluent Bio, a 20-person Berkeley startup founded by the leaders of the Salesforce project. In the wake created by ChatGPT and a wealth of biological data, those companies may be key to AI’s evolving ability to fix human ills. Read post
Sophia Lugo

Startup Launches With ‘RNA Sensor’ Technology From Stanford and MIT To Better Control mRNA Therapies

“We want to turn off an RNA transcript and prevent it from being expressed by default,” CSO Eerik Kaseniit, a former graduate student who worked on the technology in Gao’s lab, told Endpoints News in an interview. Radar’s scientists do that by adding a stop codon — three genetic letters that are the molecular equivalent of a red light — in front of the mRNA therapy, which prevents cells from reading the message. Read post
Illustration of hands exchanging money for lightbulb

Jim Collins’ Latest Venture Raises $13.4M To Programme Logic-Gated mRNA Therapies

Radar Therapeutics thinks it can push the technology to the next level – and into more diseases – with safety switches that boost cell specificity, safety, and accessibility. The biotech, co-founded by MIT professor and synthetic biology pioneer Jim Collins, launched Thursday with a $13.4-million seed round led by NfX Bio and boasting Eli Lilly as one of its investors. Read post
Illustration of person climbing ladder to reach into bush shaped like double helix

Radar Therapeutics Raises $13 Million to Design Therapies Using RNA Sensors

Radar Therapeutics emerged from stealth this week with an announcement that it had raised $13.4 million in an oversubscribed seed financing round led by NfX Bio. Eli Lilly & Co, Biovision, and KdT Ventures also joined the round, with participation from PearVC, BEVC, and other investors. They will use the funds to advance various internal programs, expand their team, and pursue partnership opportunities. Read post
Sampling Human apoptosis kit

Sampling Human Ships its First Kits for Cellular Analysis to Early Access Customers and Releases an App Note with BMG LABTECH

Daniel Georgiev, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sampling Human, will be speaking on applications for the technology at the SynBioBeta conference. “At Sampling Human, we recognize the great lengths scientists go to today in order to obtain high-quality single-cell data,” said Daniel Georgiev. “Our plug and play products are designed to deliver reliable solutions with higher specificity, lower cost and ease of use for measuring the growing number of specialized cells in the body." Read post