Johannes Fruehauf has great visibility into the changing landscape for life sciences startups as a seasoned entrepreneur, a venture investor, and co-founder and president of the biotech startup co-working space BioLabs. While the public market downturn has changed the financing environment, it hasn’t slowed the pace of entrepreneurs looking to translate breakthrough science into commercial enterprises. We spoke to Fruehauf about the landscape for biotech startups today, the key challenges bioentrepreneurs face, and how they can best position themselves for success.

Navigating the Changing Landscape for the Bioentrepreneur

The high cost of drug development is linked to the high rate of therapies that fail in the clinic. Safety concern relating to the ability for an experimental therapy to bind to more than a target of interest is one major reason drugs fail in development. Charles River Labs is working with its clients to detect off-target binding early in the drug development process using its Retrogenix platform, cell microarray technology that can identify potential safety problems of an experimental therapy (https://www2.criver.com/l/60962/2024-01-31/n4wrxz). We spoke to Mark Aspinall-O’Dea, associate director of U.K. advanced modalities for Charles River Labs, about the risks of off-target binding, how its Retrogenix platform technology works to detect potential problems, and its ability to work across therapeutic modalities.

De-Risking Therapeutic Candidates with Off-Target Screening

Chief Financial Officers in the biotech industry operate in a complex and ever-changing financial landscape. In addition to being charged with traditional financial duties, they must navigate regulatory uncertainties, manage risks, and adjust to evolving market dynamics. We spoke to Kevin Sarney, Life Sciences Practice Leader for Charles River CFO, about the current financial environment for biotech companies seeking to raise money, how CRCFO works with biotech clients, and how the use of an outsourced CFO can allow younger biotechs to cost-effectively tap deep industry experience.

Navigating the Growing Challenges for Biotech CFOs

Earlier this year, Charles River Laboratories acquired SAMDI Tech, a provider of proprietary mass spectrometry technology that enables label-free, high-throughput screening for drug discovery. The technology cuts cost and accelerates the time it takes to identify a lead drug candidate, enabling drug developers to make critical go-no-go decisions earlier. We spoke to Zack Gurard-Levin, science director in discovery for Charles River Laboratories about the advantages SAMDI’s mass spectrometry offers over alternative technologies, how it enables the study of a broad range of modalities, and how it fits into a comprehensive set of Charles River offerings.

Rethinking Mass Spectrometry for Drug Discovery

At the end of March, RESI South 2024 will convene in Atlanta and is expected to bring together more than 500 bioscience and medtech entrepreneurs with premier investors, family offices, and key executives. The event, the result of a partnership between Life Science Nation and the Southeast Life Sciences, will highlight the innovative start-ups in the Southeastern region and connect them with early-stage investors. We spoke to Georgia Bio CEO Maria Thacker and NC Life Sciences Organization President Laura Gunter, about the growth of biotech in the southeast region, the upcoming RESI South 2024 conference, and how it expected to help fill a gap in access to capital for companies in the region.

Southeast Regional Biotechs Get Chance to Connect with Investors and Potential Partners

Despite significant advancements, the field of Synthetic Biology has yet to fully deliver on its promise of a world where we can overcome the challenges we face in human health and the environment by programming biology. Elegen has developed innovative, cell-free technologies that allow it to synthesize DNA with unprecedented speed, length, and quality. We spoke to Matt Hill, founder and CEO of Elegen, about Elegen’s ENFINIA DNA technology, the need it addresses, and how it has disrupted the status quo for DNA synthesis.

Solving Major Bottlenecks in Genetic Medicine and SynBio with DNA Synthesis Innovation

Biomarkers can provide insights into experimental therapies, identify patients who are likely to benefit from them, and improve chances for clinical success. Charles River Laboratories offers a range of early biomarker discovery services, leveraging the expertise of its scientists to identify biomarkers in the early stages of drug development programs. We spoke to Stefan Kostense, director of biology at Charles River Laboratories, about the benefits of conducting biomarker discovery early in the drug development process, how it can drive development decisions in the preclinical phase and beyond, and how it benefits patients.

Using Early Biomarker Discovery to Secure Clinical Success

Cryo electron microscopy, or Cryo-EM, enables high-resolution screening for small-molecules or biological ligands, particularly for targets that are challenging to crystallize. One area that technology is proving to be a valuable tool for is the development of lipid nanoparticles, which have emerged as important vectors for mRNA and other genetic medicines. Cryo-EM can be used to analyze the size, shape, payload characteristics and other aspects of LNPs. We spoke Tim O’Bryan, director of discovery partnerships and commercial integration for Charles River Labs; and Karl Bertram, co-founder and managing director for ATEM Structural Discovery; about ATEM’s Cryo-EM technology, its incorporation of machine learning, and how it fits in with Charles Rivers’ broader drug discovery offerings.

Driving Deeper Insights into Structure-Based Drug Design with Cryo-EM

One of the reasons that drug development is so expensive and time consuming is the cost of clinical trial failures. A critical means of accelerating drug development and reducing its cost lies in identifying candidates during preclinical development that have risks that outweigh their benefits and eliminating them from the pipeline before they advance to the clinic. We spoke to Sarah Gould, Director and Senior Principal Scientific Advisor for Charles River Labs, about the types of risks that can be detected through preclinical testing, strategies that can be used to de-risk programs, and why doing so in the current environment can take on growing importance for companies seeking funding or licensing agreements.

Why Failure Can Be a Faster Path to Success

The LifeSci Startup Podcast showcases important topics and notable leaders of life science startups. The podcast is produced by LifeSci Startup, the daily aggregator report that recaps the latest developments of U.S.-based life sciences startups. LifeSci Startup is published by BigBio Communications and Life Science Nation. For more information, go to lifescistartup.com.

Navigating the Changing Landscape for the Bioentrepreneur

LifeSci Startup

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