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!
In case you missed them, these were our top five stories in 2024:
January 2: Replace acquired by Tome Biosciences
Replace Therapeutics, a stealth company at Bakar Labs in early 2024, was acquired by Tome Biosciences. Replace’s innovative technology uses a combination of CRISPR precision and a special enzyme to make highly accurate DNA edits. The $185 million deal gives Tome a powerful new tool to tackle a wide variety of diseases. Replace’s founder, Shakked Halperin, previously founded and led Rewrite Therapeutics, which was acquired by Intellia Therapeutics.
Curious about his secret to becoming a successful serial entrepreneur? We covered that in our Tenant Spotlight.
February 22: Insamo closes $12M seed round
Tim Craven, CEO of Insamo, is using AI and machine learning to develop oral versions of antibody drugs. His team creates enormous libraries of macrocyclic peptides, then winnows the numbers down to find the best candidates for lab study. His approach combines AI-driven design with targeted screening, offering a more efficient path to creating oral drugs that could replace painful injections. Insamo raised $12 million in seed funding to advance this work.
March 21: Profluent secures $35M round
Profluent, an AI-driven protein design company, raised $35 million in a round led by Spark Capital with support from investors like Insight Partners and Google DeepMind’s Jeff Dean. And it’s not all about the money — Profluent made waves in the news with its release of the OpenCRISPR set of gene-editing systems. For this breakthrough they were featured in The New York Times in April, and Discover Magazine credited them with one of the top nine scientific discoveries of 2024.
May 24: Radar raises $13.4M seed round
Radar has made impressive strides since they moved in to Bakar Labs after receiving a Golden Ticket in collaboration with AbbVie! Not only did Radar raise a $13.4 million seed round, but CEO Sophia Lugo was named a 2024 Biocom Catalyst awardee. She’s building a team with diverse strengths: Right at the end of 2023 Radar was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the Amgen Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Award.
Want more info on Radar? Look for our upcoming Tenant Spotlight!
October 28: HOPO awarded $226M BARDA grant
Yes, you read that number right. HOPO secured a massive grant last year from BARDA for their chelation technology, which can be used to combat radiation and lead poisoning. The media is paying attention: HOPO was featured in The Los Angeles Times, Endpoints, and others. Plus, CEO and co-founder Julian Rees is keeping the team extra busy with partnerships, such as the Umaro-HOPO joint project to extract rare earth elements from seaweed.
Bonus: Our awesome team
At Bakar Labs, tenants come first. But we wouldn’t be what we are without our phenomenal team: front desk, bizops, lab ops, student interns, events and communications, and leadership. In 2024 our team was honored with an East Bay Innovation Award, nominated for a statewide Pantheon Award, and recognized with the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award. We look forward to making things happen for you in the year ahead.
