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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
A large group of scientists point at the company's CEO

The Search for Useful Proteins: Berkeley Startup Aims To Turn Generative AI Into a Gene-Fixing Tool

AI-powered Profluent Bio released the world's first open-source, AI-generated gene editor, the Berkeley company said Monday, an effort that could help more scientists develop CRISPR medicines to fix a range of diseases. Profluent, a roughly 20-person company launched by former Salesforce researcher Ali Madani and University of Washington assistant professor Alexander Meeske, said its OpenCRISPR-1 gene editor uses a protein, which it developed with large language models, and guide RNA that shuttles a cutting protein where it needs to go. Read post
NY Times photographer Rachel Bujalski takes a photo of the Profluent team at BBH

Generative A.I. Arrives in the Gene Editing World of CRISPR

Much as ChatGPT learns to generate language by analyzing Wikipedia articles, books and chat logs, Profluent’s technology creates new gene editors after analyzing enormous amounts of biological data, including microscopic mechanisms that scientists already use to edit human DNA. Read post
Screenshot of the Profluent homepage. "Decoding the language of life with AI"

Profluent Secures $35M in Additional Funding and Key Industry Experts to Scale Foundational AI Models for Biomedicine and Tackle First Vertical in Gene Editing

“Our research at the forefront of AI has enabled Profluent to create large language models that begin to learn the blueprint of nature,” said Ali Madani, Profluent co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are moving biology from being constrained by what can be discovered in nature to being able to design precisely according to our needs via AI. The science is real and the time is now to proactively create breakthrough medicines that can transform society.” Read post
Jenny Hamilton at the Innovative Genomics Institute. Photo by Adam Pardee at the San Francisco Business Times

Jenny Hamilton, CEO of Stealth Startup, Featured in Story of Jennifer Doudna’s Women in Enterprising Science Incubator

With its second cohort of young women scientists testing their problem-solving skills and entrepreneurial ambitions, the HS Chau Women in Enterprising Science Program within Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna’s Innovative Genomics Institute is giving rise to a new generation of biotech startups. At the same time, the program is solidifying Doudna’s legacy. Read post