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Amin Zargar

ResVita Bio’s founder designed experiments to kill his own startup. Here’s how it led to the company’s success.

ResVita Bio is developing skin disease treatments through topical genetically engineered bacteria that deliver continuous protein therapy, hardwiring each protein to the needs of the disease they seek to treat – particularly Netherton Syndrome and eczema. Both are skin disorders characterized by chronic skin inflammation – but Netherton Syndrome in particular is fatal for 20% of children. “A lot of first time founders start their company from what they were working on from their PhD or postdoc, so there is this sunk-cost fallacy of, ‘I’ve worked on this, so it has to be ‘worth’ something commercially,’” Amin says. “To me it didn’t have to be ‘worth’ anything. … It was the years of experience that had the value, not the idea. For a startup, I was trying to find an idea worth all my years of experience.”

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Matthew "Oki" O'Connor

Cyclarity Therapeutics Closes Tranche 1 of Series A Funding Round

Cyclarity will use funds from this round to commence clinical trials later this month for the development of UDP-003, a novel therapeutic designed to reduce atherosclerotic plaque accumulation by targeting its root cause, the accumulation of toxic oxidized cholesterol in cells and tissues. 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
ariz logo

ARIZ and NATA Announce Collaboration to develop multiple targeted nucleic acid therapies for cancer treatment

ARIZ and NATA have announced an exciting new partnership aimed at advancing cancer treatment through the development of multiple targeted nucleic acid therapies. By combining ARIZ’s cutting-edge research and NATA’s expertise in molecular medicine, the collaboration seeks to pave the way for innovative therapies that could revolutionize the way cancer is treated. This strategic alliance marks a significant step forward in the fight against cancer, offering new hope for more personalized and effective treatments. Read post
brad niles

Tenant Spotlight on ARIZ: Rising to the Challenge to Make Cancer Treatments More Humane 

Cancer treatments are often as grueling as the disease itself—chemotherapy can bring unbearable side effects like debilitating fatigue, nausea, and hair loss, leaving patients vulnerable and stripped of their identity. But what if cancer care could be better? More precise? Less harmful? Enter ARIZ Precision Medicine. Their mission is to revolutionize cancer care by developing therapies that not only fight the disease but also preserve the quality of life for patients. Learn how they're doing this in our latest Tenant Spotlight. 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
The HOPO Therapeutics team in front of the Bakar Labs core facility

HOPO Therapeutics Awarded Up to $226 Million from BARDA for Advanced Development of its Oral Decorporation Agent for Heavy Metal Toxicity

The funds will be used to advance development of the drug candidate HOPO-101 through registrational studies as a medical countermeasure against radiological threats, including planned submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The initial award of approximately $9.4 million will fund toxicology and pharmacology studies, manufacturing activities, and nonclinical research in other types of heavy metal poisoning, with approximately $216 million in additional funding available for later-stage development upon agreement between BARDA and HOPO. Read post
aikium

Tenant Spotlight on Aikium: A Trillion Shots at Targeting Tangled Proteins

Aikium has essentially invented a new protein family. Called “SeqR” proteins, they are sequence specific binders that can be applied to different therapeutic needs such as cancer, neuro-inflammation, and some autoimmune disorders. Aikium is going after chemokine receptors, a subset of G-protein coupled receptors, a large class of molecules that have long proven difficult to target. By virtue of being on immune cells, they are front and center in cancer and immune-mediated diseases. 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