The PMWC 2023 Emerging Therapeutics Showcase will provide a 15-minute time slot for selected companies and researchers in the CRISPR, Cell and Gene Therapy fields. Major advancements in safer cell- and gene-level editing technologies are bringing us closer toward cures for life-threatening disorders, from cancer to HIV to Huntington’s disease. Cell therapy, in which cellular material such as T cells capable of fighting cancer cells, is injected into a patient, has been demonstrated safe and effective. The popular new CRISPR tool that has been used to edit the genetic code of nearly any organism will have an enormous impact on human health. More than a dozen clinical trials employing CRISPR on human cells are already underway.
Confirmed Presenting Companies:
Biography
Dr. Serafini is one of the three principal founders of Atreca and was CEO from the company’s inception in 2010 until 2018. In his role as Chief Strategy Officer, Dr. Serafini is responsible directly for research, preclinical development, technology, and intellectual property. Before co-founding Atreca, he was Chief Scientific Officer of Nuon Therapeutics, a development-stage biotechnology company. Previously, Dr. Serafini was a founder of Renovis, a public biotechnology company, where he served as an executive officer in multiple technical and business management roles, including leading the research and M&A functions. Prior to founding Renovis, Dr. Serafini was an award-winning faculty member in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he established the university’s Functional Genomics Laboratory.
Talk
Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Atreca, Inc.
Atreca is a clinical-stage biotechnology company inverting the traditional approach to cancer drug discovery. Atreca’s unique platform allows access to an unexplored landscape in oncology through the identification of unique antibody-target pairs generated by the human immune system during an active immune response against tumors.
The Next Frontier of Therapeutic Antibodies
Addressing unmet medical need in oncology and identifying novel targets at a more rapid pace.
Biography
Susan Bobulsky leads the clonoSEQ MRD clinical diagnostic testing business at Adaptive Biotechnologies. She brings 20 years of experience in biotechnology and diagnostics commercialization. Prior to her current role, Susan served in commercial and strategic planning roles of ascending responsibility at Adaptive. Before joining Adaptive, Susan was an associate partner with ZS Associates, a healthcare management consulting firm, where she specialized in commercialization strategy and execution for oncology therapeutic and diagnostic products. Susan holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Science, Technology and Society from Stanford University.
Talk
Transforming Care for Lymphoid Cancer Patients Using MRD
We will discuss promising work in MRD: recent data, KOL perspectives, and how MRD transforms patient care.
Biography
Anil Narasimha is the co-founder and CEO of Mekonos. He is a scientist by training, having done his graduate work at UC San Diego and a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Michael Snyder at Stanford University. His expertise lies in enabling technologies in cell and gene therapy, and he co-founded Mekonos in hopes of making delivery of molecules more efficient, precise, and automated.
Talk
Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Mekonos
Mekonos is an enabling technology company developing a platform for ex-vivo delivery of molecules into cells.
Ex-vivo Delivery of Payloads into Cells using Silicon Technology
Mekonos is a Series A company developing a platform for precise delivery of payloads into cells.
Biography
Dr. Robert Hayes oversees Immusoft’s preclinical research. He spearheads the near-term advancement of ISP-001 for treating of Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) into a clinical study and additional Immune System Programming (ISP™) candidates towards clinical development.
He has a proven record for building teams around scientific concepts and technologies, including cell therapeutics, transposon systems, cancer vaccines, and bispecific monoclonal antibodies. He has significant experience forming partnerships to advance the development and application of novel therapeutic platforms.
Dr. Hayes obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Imperial College London as a Royal College of Science Scholar. He joined a start-up computational biology company called Xencor in Pasadena, California, where he helped establish their “Antibodies by Design” technology.
Dr. Hayes then joined Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), where he co-founded and developed the vision and strategy for Centyrex. This stand-alone Janssen R&D venture develops alternative scaffolds with applications beyond traditional protein therapeutics.
Talk
Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Immusoft Corporation
Our mission at Immusoft is to develop novel cell therapies by programming B cells to produce therapeutic proteins that improve the lives of patients with rare diseases.
Immusoft: B cells as biofactories
We program B cells to produce therapeutic proteins that improve the lives of patients with rare diseases.