Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Dec. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Capsida Biotherapeutics, Inc., an industry-leading gene therapy platform company creating a new class of targeted, non-invasive gene therapies for patients with debilitating and life-threatening genetic disorders, today announced research published in Nature Neuroscience that demonstrated the ability to engineer and select novel capsid variants, with improved enrichment in the brain and decreased liver targeting following intravenous (IV) administration in rodents and non-human primates. The research was led by the laboratory of Viviana Gradinaru, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering, and Director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at the Chen Institute for Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The publication, entitled, "AAV capsid variants with brain-wide transgene expression and decreased liver targeting after intravenous delivery in mouse and marmoset," was published online today and can be accessed at https://go.nature.com/31I3osS.

Gene therapy is accelerating as a life-saving and life-improving therapeutic option for disorders affecting the brain. For a genetic intervention to be safe and effective, a gene therapy should express a transgene in the affected brain cells while minimizing off-target expression. Adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) are powerful options to deliver genetic payloads, but naturally occurring AAV serotypes have limited and overlapping tropisms which represent a significant hurdle to therapeutic development. The research published in Nature Neuroscience describes how combinatorial AAV engineering of multiple loops was utilized to select capsids with brain-wide gene expression and liver detargeting after IV delivery in mouse and marmoset models. To achieve organ-specific targeting after IV delivery, sequential engineering of multiple surface-exposed loops was performed. The work identifies capsid variants that were enriched in the brain by positive selective pressure and targeted away from the liver by negative selective pressure in Cre-transgenic mice. These findings extended to non-human primates following IV administration, allowing for robust, non-invasive gene delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). Importantly, the capsids identified resulted in distinct transgene expression profiles within the brain, with one exhibiting high specificity to neurons.

"The work described in the Nature Neuroscience paper highlights the groundbreaking research from Caltech that provided a roadmap for Capsida's proprietary, non-invasive, targeted gene therapy platform," said Nick Goeden, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer at Capsida, study first co-author due to his prior research as a Caltech postdoctoral scholar. "We are pursuing several internal programs utilizing IV delivery in humans and expect to file an IND in the second half of 2022."

"The power of this engineering approach demonstrates the ability to create capsids that can target anatomical regions and cell types, while avoiding off-target involvement. The technology opens up the potential for safer and more effective therapeutic possibilities not achievable with traditional AAV gene therapy," added Nicholas Flytzanis, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer at Capsida, and study first co-author from research performed while a scientific director at Caltech. "Many gene therapy companies use surgical approaches to administer CNS medicines, but our engineered non-invasive approach provides the possibility for a broader, more convenient option to treat genetic diseases."

Capsida, co-founded by Flytzanis, Goeden, and Gradinaru, has exclusive license to this technology, which has been further expanded internally into a robust platform by where large-scale, diverse libraries with more than 60 billion capsid sequences each are engineered and screened into primates and disease-relevant human cell lines. Sequence and structure-based analytics are paired with a fully automated engineering platform to quickly prioritize the capsids with the most promising characteristics. Importantly, Capsida's AAV constructs have been studied in hundreds of non-human primates to improve the predictability of these constructs in human clinical trials. Capsida has established collaborations with industry leaders AbbVie and CRISPR Therapeutics to develop next-generation gene therapies for CNS diseases.

About Capsida Biotherapeutics

Capsida Biotherapeutics Inc. is an industry-leading gene therapy platform company creating a new class of targeted, non-invasive gene therapies for patients with debilitating and life-threatening genetic disorders. Capsida's technology allows for the targeted penetration of cells and organs, while limiting collateral impact on non-targeted cells and organs, especially the liver. This technology allows for the delivery of the gene therapy in a non-invasive way through intravenous administration. Capsida's technology is protected by a growing intellectual property portfolio which includes more than 30 patent applications and one issued U.S. patent 11,149,256. The company is exploring using the technology across a broad range of life-threatening genetic disorders. Its initial pipeline consists of multiple neurologic disease programs. The company has strategic collaborations with AbbVie and CRISPR, which provide independent validation of Capsida's technology and capabilities. Capsida is a multi-functional and fully integrated biotechnology company with proprietary adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineering, multi-modality cargo development and optimization, translational biology, process development and state-of-the-art manufacturing, and broad clinical development experience. Capsida's biologically driven, high-throughput AAV engineering and cargo optimization platform originated from groundbreaking research in the laboratory of Viviana Gradinaru, Ph.D., a neuroscience professor at the California Institute of Technology. Visit us at http://www.capsida.com to learn more.

SOURCE Capsida Biotherapeutics

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Capsida Biotherapeutics Announces Publication in Nature Neuroscience From Caltech Demonstrating Robust, Non-invasive IV Gene Delivery Targeted to the...

Photo credit: edbuscher, via Pixabay.

Editors note: The following is an excerpt from the newly released book,Animal Algorithms: Evolution and the Mysterious Origin of Ingenious Instincts, from Discovery Institute Press. Dont miss theupcoming webinar with Eric Cassell and Casey Luskin, Thursday, December 9, from 4 to 5:30 Pacific time.Register here.

Whats miraculous about a spiders web? said Mrs. Arable. I dont see why you say a web is a miracle its just a web.

Ever try to spin one? asked Dr. Dorian.

Spiders are another of natures master engineers. About half of known spider species (order Araneae) construct webs made of silk. Spiders can make different types of silk, depending upon its function. For example, the golden orb-weaver spider has seven kinds of silk glands, with six spinnerets.1Some is used for spinning webs, of course, but other types are used for wrapping prey and encasing eggs. Silk can be stronger than steel of the same thickness, can stretch more than rubber, and is stickier than most tape.2The Goulds describe silk as easily the most remarkable building material on the planet, and it has one source: arthropods.3Despite great effort, humans have yet to produce anything functionally equivalent to silk. Through genetic engineering, attempts have been made to duplicate it without success. The main challenge is replicating the sophisticated and information-rich protein molecules found in the silk produced by spiders and other silk-producing arthropods such as silkworms proteins that are nearly double the size of average human proteins.4Smaller proteins do not have the strength or flexibility of spider silk. Given the advanced genetic and manufacturing technologies available today, it is remarkable that spider silk still cannot be duplicated. This illustrates just how advanced the engineering design of spider silk is.

Orb webs are the most common and familiar types of spiderwebs. A typical garden spiderweb is made of 65 to 195 feet of silk.5The webs consist of sticky catching threads; radial spokes for holding the sticky threads; bridge threads that act as guy-lines for holding the web up; signal threads that inform the spider through vibrations sensed in the legs that prey is in the web; and drag lines for access into the web from her home.6The silks employed in the different uses are each unique, being constructed of different combinations of proteins. The types include slinky for stretchiness, zipper for flexibility, and lego for toughness.7Construction of the web is a purposeful, goal-driven activity. This becomes particularly obvious as one observes the process in videos available on the Internet.8

Various spiderwebs, even among spiders of the same species, are far from identical. The most obvious reason for the differences is that each is tailored to its specific location. As the Goulds explain, Every set of initial anchor points is different; the number of radii is contingent on opportunity; the beginning of the sticky spiral depends on where the longest several radii turn out to be. In short, each web is a custom production.9The Goulds postulate that spiders have a form of mapping ability that enables them to implement general design principles in a wide variety of circumstances. This is demonstrated, for instance, by spiders successfully making repairs to damaged webs.

Another source of difference is function. When we think of spiderwebs, we tend to imagine the kind most commonly encountered the netlike webs spread between trees or attic rafters or walls. But there are various other types, including ones that function as trapdoors into spider burrows, collars that extend out from burrows, and webs that function as tubes on tree bark that can also have hinged doors.10

I mentioned signal threads above. They tell a spider that prey is present on the web, but they convey a lot more than just that. Spiders are able to determine both the angle and distance of the prey from the center of the web. They are able to determine the prey location using the same basic technique we use to determine the location of the source of sound. Humans use the difference in intensity of sound received by our ears to estimate the relative location. Spiders do something similar based on the intensity of vibrations received, in their case sensed through eight legs.11Obviously the algorithm used in processing information from eight sensors is much more complicated than just the two sensors that humans have. And thats only the half of it. Experiments have demonstrated that spiders can store the coordinates for the locations of at least three different prey trapped in the web.12

Providing credible evolutionary explanations for the origin of silk and web design has proven problematic. Several theories have been proposed for the origin of both, but none have been generally accepted.13Biologist and spider specialist William Shear concedes that a functional explanation for the origins of silk and the spinning habit may be impossible to achieve.14One complicating factor is that the webs of some spiders that are more distantly related are nearly identical. Shear writes, It appears probable that several web types are the product of convergent evolution that is, that the same web has evolved in unrelated species that have adapted to similar environmental circumstances.15But as I will argue in Chapter 6, that is an unconvincing explanation for the origin of complex programmed behaviors.

A more fundamental challenge for those seeking to provide a detailed, causally credible explanation for the origin of silk and spiderweb architecture is the number of genes involved in producing silk, and the complex genomes of spiders.16After decades of failed attempts to provide a causally adequate explanation, one can be forgiven for concluding that we have no compelling reason to assume that a step-by-step evolutionary pathway to such an information-rich substrate actually exists. And as we will discuss later, there are now some positive reasons to consider that such information-rich systems have for their source something other than a purely blind material process. Here, suffice it to say that the behaviors and functions associated with both silk and web spinning exhibit many characteristics of human engineering, and engineering of a very high order.

More here:
The Miracle of Spiderwebs - Discovery Institute

Pick of the day: Dolly: The Sheep That Changed The World

9pm, BBC Two

The Roslin Institute near Edinburgh was once a little-known, no-frills agricultural research centre established to increase post-war food production. That changed when funding was threatened in the 1980s and the institute redirected into genetic engineering, specifically with the aim of finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. And then in 1997, they created a sheep named Dolly, the first mammal to be genetically cloned, and the worlds media came knocking at this quiet corner of Midlothian. This documentary (already shown in Scotland) meets the scientists who worked in secret to crack the holy grail of replicating life.

8pm, ITV

The canine-friendly presenter tries to train an overly eager German shepherd puppy that does not know how or when to calm down. Elsewhere, he works to gain the trust of a terrified West Highland terrier that is too scared to even set foot on the soil outside and works with Battersea staff to encourage the petrified dog to come out of its shell.

9pm, BBC One

Semi-final week continues with the chefs cooking outside the MasterChef kitchen for the first time, opening a pop-up kitchen at a warehouse micro-brewery in the heart of east London. Working on makeshift workstations with limited equipment and no ovens, the semi-finalists must adapt their fine-dining style to impress 14 guests from the culinary world. After that, they return to the studio for a cook-off, serving up a single dish that they hope is good enough to see them join the final line-up.

9pm, Channel 4

Kevin McCloud, Damion Burrows and Michelle Ogundehin visit the final five properties, one of which is added to the shortlist, before the overall winner is announced. This week, they focus on houses that reinvent beloved established types of building, including a 21st-century reboot of the classic Kentish oast, a low-key eco-home in Devon which turns the idea of the country house on its head and a cool contemporary reimagining of the suburban family house in Surrey.

10pm, Sky Documentaries

The docuseries telling the story of Britains 40-year battle with HIV, from the first recorded UK case in 1981 right through to the present day, concludes with a double bill. It begins with a look at how the first government-sponsored national Aids awareness adverts (including that notoriously oblique Dont Die of Ignorance slogan) appeared to cut through some of the prejudice, butthe lack of effective medicine or vaccine hits hard.

10.35pm, BBC One

Highlights of Sunday nights ceremony in Coventry, which acknowledges the best black music in the UK, Africa, the Caribbean and beyond. Dave, the British-Nigerian rapper who topped the charts with his long-awaited second album Were All Alone in This Together, leads the nominations with five, closely followed by drill rapper Central Cee. Theyll both be performing, along with Little Simz, Cleo Sol and Arlo Parks, the singer-songwriter who won this years Mercury Prize.

Theion TVnewsletter is a daily email full of suggestions of what to watch as well as the latest TV news, opinions and interviews.Sign up hereto stay up to date with the best new TV.

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Whats on TV tonight: BBC2 meets the scientists who cloned Dolly the Sheep in 1997 - iNews

Global Next-Generation Biomanufacturing Market to Reach $85. 20 Billion by 2031. Market Report Coverage - Next-Generation Biomanufacturing Market Segmentation.

New York, Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Next-Generation Biomanufacturing Market - A Global Analysis: Focus on Single-Use and Digital Platform and Segment Analysis for Workflow, Products, Medical Application, End User, Country Data, and Competitive Landscape - Analysis and Forecast, 2020-2031" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06189199/?utm_source=GNW

Workflow - Upstream Biomanufacturing and Downstream Biomanufacturing Product - Continuous Upstream Biomanufacturing Products, Single-Use Upstream Biomanufacturing Products, and Downstream Biomanufacturing Products Medical Application - Monoclonal Antibodies, Hormones, Vaccines, Recombinant Proteins, Other Applications End User - Biopharmaceutical Companies, CMOs/CDMOs, Research Institutions

Regional Segmentation

North America - U.S. and Canada Europe - U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Switzerland, Russia and Rest-of-Europe Asia Pacific - China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and Rest-of-Asia-Pacific Latin America - Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Rest-of-Latin America Rest-of-the-World

Market Growth Drivers

Increasing biologics and biosimilars approvals Growing trend among biomanufacturing vendors to integrate automation technologies Boosting bioproduction workflow while reducing cost, time, and labor

Market Challenges

Complex production steps, process operational complexity, risk of product contamination, maintenance of production efficiency, and validation challenges Lack of skilled professionals Unharmonized manufacturing standards and lack of knowledge and skilled labor in middle-income and low-income countries

Market Opportunities

Increasing development and commercialization of digital bioreactors Increasing Investment in R&D and rapid development of the biopharmaceutical industry

Key Companies Profiled

Applikon Biotechnology BV, bbi-biotech GmbH, Danaher Corporation, Eppendorf AG, Esco Group of Companies, GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, Meissner Filtration Products, Inc., Merck KGaA, PBS Biotech, Inc., Pierre Gurin, Sartorius AG, Shanghai Bailun Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Solaris Biotechnology Srl., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., ZETA GmbH

Key Questions Answered in this Report: What are the key trends of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market? How is the market evolving, and what is its future scope? What is the role of automation in biomanufacturing? What are the major drivers, challenges, and opportunities of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market? What is the regulatory framework of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market? What is the market share of each of the players offering products for next-generation biomanufacturing? What are the key strategies implemented by the major players to sustain the competition of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market? What was the market size of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market in 2020, and what is the anticipated market size in 2031? What is the expected growth rate of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market during the forecast period 2021-2031? What are the different next-generation biomanufacturing products used in the medical field? Which product segment is expected to observe the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period 2021-2031? What are the key medical applications of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market? Which application type is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period of 2021-2031? Who are the key end users for the global next-generation biomanufacturing market? What was the market share held by each end user in the global next-generation biomanufacturing market in 2020? What is the expected growth rate and market share by 2031? What was the market value of the leading segments and sub-segments of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market in 2020, and what are the values expected to be in 2031? What are the different macro- and micro-economic factors influencing the growth of the market? Which region dominated the global next-generation biomanufacturing market in 2020? Which geography can be the target market for significant expansion of key companies for different next-generation biomanufacturing products? What are the key countries contributing significantly toward the growth of the next-generation biomanufacturing market? What are the key players of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market, and what is their role in the market? Who are the leading payers in the single-use bioreactor market?

Market Overview

Biomanufacturing is the process of production of commercially important biomolecules by utilizing biological systems for use in medicines, food and beverage processing, and industrial applications.Natural sources such as blood, cultures of microbes, animal cells, or plant cells are often employed to carry out biomanufacturing.

Cells used in the production process can also be derived using genetic engineering techniques.

The research study titled Global Next-Generation Biomanufacturing Market is focused on understanding the key trends of next-generation biomanufacturing with the use of single-use bioreactors and digital bioreactors across the globe.The research study demonstrates the competitive landscape of the global next-generation biomanufacturing market and presents the market dynamics as well as the regulatory framework affecting the growth of the next-generation biomanufacturing across different regions.

The study also presents an in-depth analysis of the drivers, challenges, and opportunities of the market playing a significant role in major countries of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Rest-of-the-World.

The report is segmented based on workflow and product, medical application, end user, and region, thoroughly represented in different chapters.Each chapter provides a clear understanding of the products existing in the global next-generation biomanufacturing market and the current key trends in each domain.

The chapter further mentions the key companies of each domain and represents their contribution to the market.The report study also provides a holistic view of 15 major companies playing a key role by contributing their next-generation biomanufacturing market products.

In addition, the report covers detailed information on the advent of automation in biomanufacturing with data on types of automation, current trends, and opportunities in the field of automation.

BIS healthcare experts have found global next-generation biomanufacturing to be one of the most rapidly evolving markets. The global next-generation biomanufacturing market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.85% during the forecast period 2021-2031 and is expected to reach a value of $85,201.2 million in 2031.

The following report presents the reader with an opportunity to unlock comprehensive insights regarding the next-generation biomanufacturing market and helps form well-informed strategic decisions. The market research study also offers a broad perspective of the different types of products and services available in the market and their impact on the biomanufacturing industry by providing critical insights into the direction of its future expansion.

Within the research report, the market is segmented based on workflow and product, medical application, end user, and region.Each of these segments has been further categorized into sub-segments to compile an in-depth study.

Each of these segments covers the snapshot of the market over the projected years, the inclination of the market revenue, underlying patterns, and trends by using analytics on the primary and secondary data obtained.

The global next-generation biomanufacturing market, by workflow, is primarily dominated by upstream biomanufacturing.This is mainly attributed to the involvement of a large number of high-cost equipment in upstream biomanufacturing compared to downstream biomanufacturing.

However, downstream biomanufacturing is expected to witness a high CAGR during the forecast compared to upstream biomanufacturing. This is mainly due to continuous product innovations in the chromatography product lines as well as in filtration systems used in downstream processing.

Among the different regions, North America dominated the global next-generation biomanufacturing market in 2020.Large, well-equipped biomanufacturing facilities with advanced infrastructure and strong investments in the biomanufacturing sector are significantly promoting the growth of the next-generation biomanufacturing market in North America.

Moreover, the ever-expanding biopharmaceuticals and biologics industry in North America is offering huge promises for the industrys growth, attracting the attention of the investors attempting to enter this field. Further, the headquarters of several key industry players in the U.S., such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., GE Healthcare, PBS Biotech, Inc., CESCO Bioengineering Co. Ltd., and Meissner Filtration Products, Inc., have further strengthened the market in the region.

Among all the regions, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period 2021-2031.This is mainly attributed to the strong potential of emerging nations of Asia-Pacific, including Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, and Singapore, that are witnessing huge adoption of technologically advanced biomanufacturing equipment.

The growing surge in new capacity installations to meet the increased product demand in developing nations of Asia-Pacific is further expected to boost the next-generation biomanufacturing market growth.

Competitive Landscape

The next-generation biomanufacturing market is largely dominated by companies such as Applikon Biotechnology BV, bbi-biotech GmbH, Danaher Corporation, Eppendorf AG, Esco Group of Companies, GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, Meissner Filtration Products, Inc., Merck KGaA, PBS Biotech, Inc., Pierre Gurin, Sartorius AG, Shanghai Bailun Biotechnology Co. Ltd, Solaris Biotechnology Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., ZETA GmbH. The bioprocess segment of a few companies like GE Healthcare was highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the supply-demand gap. Due to this, the company reported low segment revenue in 2020. However, key players like Danaher Corporation witnessed high growth in the revenue attributed to the high demand for bioprocess solutions products.

The global -next-generation biomanufacturing market is growing exponentially due to the high rate of investments from both public and private sectors for the development of facilities equipped with advanced biomanufacturing equipment and instruments.Automation technologies are increasingly gaining prominence in the biomanufacturing industry over the years owing to their vast range of advantages in terms of greater speed, productivity, and accuracy.

Offering a more streamlined and centralized control, the market for automation systems is growing rapidly, with a greater number of companies investing and launching new automation solutions in the market.

Over the past five years, from 2017 to 2021, the next-generation biomanufacturing market has witnessed around 115 key developments biomanufacturing and automation undertaken by key companies that varied from acquisitions to partnerships and collaborations, among others. For instance, in February 2020, Honeywell International Inc. collaborated with Bigfinite, Inc. to contribute to process automation and controls technology with Bigfinites AI, data analytics, and machine learning platform to pace the medical therapies by helping pharma and biotech industries. Further, in March 2019, Rockwell Automation and GE Healthcare underwent a collaborative agreement to combine their automation single-use solution expertise to build bioprocessing operations for digital bioprocessing.

Countries Covered North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany Switzerland Ireland Italy France U.K. Spain Russia Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific China India South Korea Japan Australia Singapore Rest-of-Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Rest-of-Latin America Rest-of-the-WorldRead the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06189199/?utm_source=GNW

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ETF issuer WisdomTree has launched the WisdomTree BioRevolution UCITS ETF (WDNA).

Listed on the London Stock Exchange and Brse Xetra, WDNA seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree BioRevolution ESG Screened Index (WTDNA), and has an expense ratio of 0.45 per cent.The ETF offers access to firms associated with BioRevolution activities through investment in publicly listed companies, which are expected to lead the transformations and advancements in genetics and biotechnology and meet WisdomTrees ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria.The biology revolution is creating a historic investment opportunity equivalent to the industrial and internet revolutions. says Chris Gannatti, Global Head of Research, WisdomTree. Advancements in biotechnology could represent the greatest innovations of our lifetime. The biology revolution has huge potential to address and mitigate some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity today whether that be climate change, food scarcity or controlling diseases and pandemics. New and transformative innovations could have a profound impact on society and the environment, improving the quality of life for many.WisdomTree leveraged insights from Dr Jamie Metzl, one of the worlds leading technology futurists and Special Strategist for WisdomTree, in its construction of the WisdomTree BioRevolution ESG Screened Index, which identifies the key sectors and industries that are expected to be most significantly transformed by advances in biological science and technology.The genetics and biotechnology revolutions wont just change our healthcare systems, allowing us to live healthier and longer lives, says Dr Jamie Metzl, author of Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity. They will also fundamentally transform our world far beyond healthcare. The same technologies driving healthcare innovation will have a seismic impact on industries including agriculture, materials, energy, and information processing, revolutionizing the ways we treat disease, grow food, produce materials, and process data. If the nineteenth was the century of chemistry and the twentieth of physics, the twenty-first will be the century of biology. I am delighted to be collaborating with the amazing team at WisdomTree and uncovering some of the opportunities presented by this historic megatrend.WDNA is the fifth ETF in WisdomTrees thematics UCITS range which also comprises ETFs providing exposure to artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cyber security and battery technology industries. WisdomTrees thematics UCITS range, launched in 2018 with just one product, now has USD1.8 billion in assets under management.Alexis Marinof, Head of Europe, WisdomTree, says: Our approach of partnering with sector experts to construct indices within our thematics product range has resonated with investors and delivered strong investment performance. This approach has contributed to the building of a USD1.8 billion platform of differentiated thematic products which providing transparent and pure sector exposure in an ETF. WDNA brings together all the elements of the biology revolution and is at the sweet spot of innovation and diversification.

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WisdomTree expands thematics UCITS range with BioRevolution ETF - ETF Express

A new biotech startup with operations in Seattle and Durham, N.C., has launched with $40 million in new funding and a leadership team peppered with veterans of Seattle cell therapy biotechs.

Tune Therapeutics is deploying technology to fine-tune the activity of genes in cells. The company has developed a proprietary platform called TEMPO that operates as an epigenomic therapy, according to a statement. Epigenomics is a broad term typically applied to the machinery in cells that organizes how DNA is packaged, which affects gene activity.

Genetic diseases, cancers, and other conditions can result when gene activity is too high or low. TEMPO can locate epigenomic elements involved in disease, and it can tune the activity of genes or gene networks.

The company aims to take its tools from proof of concept in rare, single-gene disorders to common conditions that arent linked to a single gene mutation but are treatable through epigenomic control, said Charles Gersbach, acting chief scientific officer and biomedical engineering professor at Duke University, in a statement.

Gersbach co-founded the company with president and CFO Akira Matsuno and Fyodor Urnov, chair of the scientific advisory board. Urnov is a professor of genetics, genomics, and development at the University of California, Berkeley and previously led discovery and translational research at Sangamo Therapeutics.

Matsuno is formerly head of corporate development at Lyell Immunopharma, a gene and cell therapy company with a presence in Seattle that went public this year. He is also a former program lead at Seattles flagship cell therapy biotech, Juno Therapeutics, which was acquired by Celgene in a multibillion dollar deal in 2018.

Two other Juno veterans help round out the team, head of technical operations Heidi Zhang and head of research Blythe Sather. Sather also was previously senior director of T cell engineering at Lyell.

Tune is helmed by CEO and director Matt Kane, previously co-founder and CEO of gene and cell therapy company Precision BioSciences, which went public in 2019.

A company spokesperson told GeekWire that its TEMPO platform has two distinct modules. A targeting module binds to target DNA sequences, and effector module dials the activity of genes up or down by acting on epigenetic marks. These molecular marks are involved in packaging up DNA, for instance determining if it is tightly or loosely wound up, which affects gene activity.

By varying the target and effector modules in an iterative process, the platform can fine tune gene expression in diseased or exhausted cells.

Recent publications by Gersbachs research team have focused on advancing a commonly-used epigenome editing approach. This approach involves delivering a two-component protein to cells: one component (dCas9) binds to target DNA sequences, and a second modulates epigenetic marks.

In one recent study, Gersbachs group at Duke used this approach to activate a gene in stem cells in culture. His group has also delivered a similar system to the livers of mice to silence a gene involved in regulating cholesterol. Tune will maintain ongoing collaborations with Duke University to advance its platform.

The biotechs emergence builds on long running efforts by biotech and pharma to target the epigenome. Another epigenomics company, Chroma, also launched this November, with $125 million in funding. Tune currently has 35 employees and is advertising for positions in both Seattle and Durham.

Co-lead investors for the Series A round were New Enterprise Associates and Emerson Collective, with participation from Hatteras Venture Partners, Mission BioCapital, and others.

Editors note: This story has been updated with more details about Tunes platform.

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Tune Therapeutics launches with $40M in funding, aims to fine-tune activity of genes in cells - GeekWire

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberrys signature on the shows first contract with Lucille Balls Desilu Productions is now an NFT. Roddenberry Entertainment is calling it the first Living Eco-NFT, which seems straight out of science fiction itself.

The NFTs creators implanted the signature, signed in 1965, into a living bacteria cell in the form of DNA code. As the cell duplicates, it creates new copies of the NFT over a billion in one night.

Even though there could quickly be billions of replicas, the NFT is called El Primero, which means the first in Spanish. Right now, though, the bacteria cells are dormant. Scientists working on the project freeze-dried the cells after 10 hours. They can be re-animated in the future, and then the zombie-bacteria can begin replicating themselves once again. In the meantime, the desiccated bacteria will be exhibited at the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair that kicks off on December 2nd. They fit inside a vial thats encased in a glass cube.

DNA is natures way of storing data. But instead of encoding that data as zeros and ones as computers do, the basic building blocks for DNA are the nucleotides adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine A, T, C, and G for short. Different combinations of those nucleotides are essentially genetic instructions for characteristics like hair and eye color. That code can also be used to store digital information like say, an NFT.

There are significant climate controversies swirling around NFTs and digital data more broadly. Data centers, where digital data is stored on hard disk drives, are notorious for guzzling up water and burning through electricity to keep servers cool. And NFTs tied to blockchains like Ethereum operate on an outstandingly energy inefficient security mechanism called Proof of Work. This method prompts miners to solve complex puzzles using energy-hungry machines to verify transactions and earn tokens, protecting the blockchains record of transactions by making it too expensive to mess with the ledger.

El Primero manages to avoid some of the climate drama of traditional data storage and NFTs. For starters, early research has shown that synthetic DNA can potentially save energy and avoid greenhouse gas emissions compared with current commercial data storage by storing way more data in a much smaller, denser package.

Second, the NFT wont be bought and sold on the most energy-hungry blockchains. Roddenberry Entertainment partnered with Solana Labs, whose blockchain operates on a mechanism called Proof of Stake that uses significantly less energy in comparison to the blockchain Ethereum of which most other NFTS are part. Proof of Stake nixes puzzles, instead requiring users to lock up some of their existing tokens as a security measure to prove they have a stake in keeping the ledger accurate. Getting rid of those puzzles drastically cuts energy usage and associated emissions.

A single transaction on Ethereum uses about as much electricity as the average US household over 6.81 days, by one estimate. Solana says a single transaction is equivalent to about two Google Searches. Minting one NFT on Solana uses about the same amount of energy as about eight Google searches, according to Solana head of communications Austin Federa.

Trevor Roth, COO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said in a statement that like Star Trek itself, the new NFT speaks to the world around us, acknowledging todays constant convergence of life and technology. For a franchise thats been imagining bizarre new uses of genetic engineering technology for more than thirty years, it feels appropriate.

Update November 30th 6:08PM: This story has been updated with more information about Solanas energy use and plans to exhibit the desiccated bacteria at Art Basel Miami Beach.

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Star Trek creators signature will live long and prosper in new NFT - The Verge

We've seen how 3D-printing can revolutionize certain manufacturing processes whether on Earth or anywhere else but there's a growing field of research looking at ways this can be applied to producing living, biological structures as well.

In a new study, scientists have outlined a new type of 'living ink' or bioink made from programmedEscherichia coli bacterial cells, which can be 3D-printed to create hydrogels in different kinds of shapes that release different types of drugs or absorb toxins, depending on how they're engineered.

What makes this approach different from previous bioinks is how it uses genetic programming to control the mechanical properties of the ink itself leading to better end results in the finished material and more practical uses for the ink (some existing bioinks don't operate properly at room temperature, for example).

Examples of the printed bioink. (Joshi et al., Nature Communications, 2021)

"A tree has cells embedded within it and it goes from a seed to a tree by assimilating resources from its surroundings in order to enact these structure-building programs," says chemical biologist Neel Joshifrom Northeastern University in Massachusetts.

"What we want to do is a similar thing, but where we provide those programs in the form of DNA that we write, and genetic engineering."

The way it works is by bioengineering the bacterial cells to create living nanofibers. The E. coli cells were combined with other substances to create the fibers, using a chemical process inspired by fibrin a protein that plays a key part in blood clots in mammals.

These protein-based nanofibers can then be fed into a 3D-printer and manipulated into various shapes. Unlike previous bioinks, this one doesn't use any artificial substances, and is instead entirely biological. It's squeezed out like a toothpaste, but can then keep its form if it is kept from drying out.

So far the technique has been used to make very small objects: a circle, a square, and a cone. But now that the scientists have shown that the microbial ink can be 3D-printed in this way, it opens up more possibilities for the future.

"If you were to take that whole cone and dunk it into some glucose solution, the cells would eat that glucose and they would make more of that fiber and grow the cone into something bigger," says Joshi.

"There is the option to leverage the fact that there are living cells there. But you can also just kill the cells and use it as an inert material."

In experiments, the team was able to combine their bioink with other microbes to perform specific tasks: absorbing toxic chemicals, for example, or delivering an anti-cancer drug. In the future, the ink could also be engineered to self-replicate, the researchers say.

This study builds on previous work by the same team, looking at how E. coli cells could be formed into a hydrogel that self-replicates when it comes into contact with a particular tissue opening up a new and sustainable method of manufacture that could be used on the Moon and Mars as well as here on Earth.

Although the 3D-printable bioink has only been used on a small scale so far, further down the line it could ultimately be used in everything from building self-healing structures to producing bottle caps that are able to remove dangerous chemicals from water.

"Biology is able to do similar things," says Joshi. "Think about the difference between hair, which is flexible, and horns on a deer or a rhino or something. They're made of similar materials, but they have very different functions.Biology has figured out how to tune those mechanical properties using a limited set of building blocks."

The research has been published in Nature Communications.

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This 3D-Printer Uses Ink Made From Microbes to Print Blobs That Are Alive - ScienceAlert

Preclinical modeling demonstrates potential for filler to enhance cell proliferation and new tissue regeneration for aesthetic medicine applications

REHOVOT, Israel, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CollPlant Biotechnologies (Nasdaq: CLGN), a regenerative and aesthetic medicine company developing innovative technologies and products for tissue regeneration and organ manufacturing, today announced the publication of an article in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal titled "The Potential Use of Novel Plant-Derived Recombinant Human Collagen in Aesthetic Medicine." The article highlights favorable in-vitro and in-vivo results of CollPlant's photocurable dermal filler as well as other potential applications of this collagen technology in aesthetic medicine.

Schematic representation of the injection, sculpting, photocuring, and tissue regeneration phases in a photocurable dermal filler application

Following light illumination of the skin, CollPlant's photocurable dermal filler showed improved physical properties compared with standard of care, suggesting enhanced lifting effect and appearance. Biological properties assessed in a preclinical animal model, showed that the photocurable filler enhances cell proliferation and new tissue regeneration compared to standard of care.

"We are very pleased with these promising results of CollPlant's photocurable collagen technology, demonstrating its broad potential in aesthetic medicine applications", said Yehiel Tal, CollPlant's Chief Executive Officer. "Regenerative medicine aims to mimic nature, providing cells with growing environment as similar as possible to the original one. These published results further demonstrate recombinant human collagen's (rhCollagen) ability to serve as the ideal building block in regenerative medicine applications," Yehiel added.

CollPlant's photocurable dermal filler is composed of rhCollagen and hyaluronic acid and is intended for contour deficiencies corrections. The filler is designed to allow easy injection, followed by sculpting and in-situ hardening by light illumination of the skin.

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The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal is the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons representing more than 7,000 Member Surgeons.

About CollPlant

CollPlant is a regenerative and aesthetic medicine company focused on 3D bioprinting of tissues and organs, and medical aesthetics. The Company's products are based on its recombinant human collagen produced with CollPlant's proprietary plant based genetic engineering technology. These products address indications for the diverse fields of tissue repair, aesthetics, and organ manufacturing, and are ushering in a new era in regenerative and aesthetic medicine.

At the beginning of 2021, CollPlant entered into a development and global commercialization agreement for dermal and soft tissue fillers with Allergan, an AbbVie company, the global leader in the dermal filler market. Later in 2021, CollPlant entered into a strategic co-development agreement with 3D Systems for a 3D bioprinted regenerative soft tissue matrix for use in breast reconstruction procedures in combination with an implant.

For more information, visit http://www.collplant.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to CollPlant's objectives plans and strategies, as well as statements, other than historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that CollPlant intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are often characterized by terminology such as "believes," "hopes," "may," "anticipates," "should," "intends," "plans," "will," "expects," "estimates," "projects," "positioned," "strategy" and similar expressions and are based on assumptions and assessments made in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors believed to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Many factors could cause CollPlant's actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the Company's history of significant losses, its ability to continue as a going concern, and its need to raise additional capital and its inability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the Company's expectations regarding the timing and cost of commencing clinical trials with respect to tissues and organs which are based on its rhCollagen based BioInk and products for medical aesthetics; the Company's ability to obtain favorable pre-clinical and clinical trial results; regulatory action with respect to rhCollagen based BioInk and medical aesthetics products including but not limited to acceptance of an application for marketing authorization review and approval of such application, and, if approved, the scope of the approved indication and labeling; commercial success and market acceptance of the Company's rhCollagen based products in 3D Bioprinting and medical aesthetics; the Company's ability to establish sales and marketing capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties and its reliance on third party distributors and resellers; the Company's ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships and other corporate collaborations; the Company's reliance on third parties to conduct some or all aspects of its product manufacturing; the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights and the Company's ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; the overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies; general market, political, and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the Company's strategy; and litigation and regulatory proceedings. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting CollPlant is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" included in CollPlant's most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC, and in other filings that CollPlant has made and may make with the SEC in the future. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and reflect CollPlant's current views with respect to future events, and CollPlant does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact at CollPlant:

Eran RotemDeputy CEO & Chief Financial OfficerTel: + 972-73-2325600/631Email: Eran@collplant.com

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CollPlant Announces Publication Highlighting its rhCollagen-based Photocurable Dermal Filler in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal - Yahoo...

"Andreas and Jessie are both recognized industry leaders whose collective expertise perfectly complements that of our existing leadership team," said Emily Drabant Conley, Ph.D., chief executive officer at Federation Bio. "The clinical development and legal experience they bring will be of great value as we prepare to enter the clinic in the second half of 2022 with our lead program, FB-001, in enteric hyperoxaluria."

Dr. Grauer is a highly tenured physician scientist and pharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years of industry experience. He previously served as chief medical officer at Corcept Therapeutics, overseeing clinical development programs in endocrinology and oncology, as well as metabolic and neurologic indications. Prior to Corcept Therapeutics, Dr. Grauer served as vice president of global development at Amgen, leading clinical research efforts in bone, nephrology and inflammation. While at Amgen, he oversaw several large development programs spanning from early clinical research to FDA and international approvals and commercialization.

Dr. Grauer is an internist and endocrinologist by training. He received his medical education at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, UK, conducting subsequent clinical training at the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Grauer has authored more than 100 scientific publications and book chapters.

"Federation Bio's world-class science is fueling the development of an emerging treatment modality, engineered bacterial cell therapeutics, with thepotential treat a wide range of illnesses," said Dr. Grauer. "I'm honored to join the Federation Bio team and applymy extensive drug-development experience to bring this new therapeutic approachinto the clinic, with the aim of delivering therapies that provide meaningful, lasting benefits for serious illnesses."

Dr. Richardson joins Federation Bio from PACT Pharma, where she served as vice president of legal. Prior to PACT Pharma, Dr. Richardson served as senior counsel at Genentech, a member of the Roche group, where she managed legal functions around the company's worldwide oncology and immunology portfolios, from preclinical research through commercial products. Dr. Richardson began her career at the law firms of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and Jones Day, after earning a Juris Doctorate at University of California, Davis, School of Law and a Doctor of Philosophy in Physiology/Biophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

About Federation BioFederation Bio is a biotechnology company pioneering a novel approach to create potent, durable and safe cell therapies. The company's first-in-class platform combines the power of genetic engineering and synthetic consortium design to control systemic immune responses and broad metabolic functions. Federation Bio's pipeline addresses a range of serious illnesses from metabolic disorders to metastatic cancer. The company's lead program is in enteric hyperoxaluria, a serious renal condition that affects more than 250,000 Americans and for which there are currently no approved therapies. Additional information can be found atwww.federation.bio

Media Contact:Michele ParisiForward Health Communications925-864-5028[emailprotected]

Federation Bio Inc.300 Utah Ave, Ste. 100South San Francisco, CA94080www.Federation.Bio

SOURCE Federation Bio

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Federation Bio Expands Leadership Team To Support Continued Advancement of Engineered Bacterial Cell Therapies - PRNewswire