UB-led study presents critical step forward in understanding Parkinson’s disease and how to treat it – UBNow: News and views for UB faculty and staff…

A new study led by a researcher in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB has important implications for developing future treatments for Parkinsons disease (PD), a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement and often includes tremors.

In this study, we find a method to differentiate human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to A9 dopamine neurons (A9 DA), which are lost in Parkinsons disease, says Jian Feng, professor of physiology and biophysics in the Jacobs School and senior author on the paper published May 24 in Molecular Psychiatry.

These neurons are pacemakers that continuously fire action potentials regardless of excitatory inputs from other neurons, he adds. Their pace-making property is very important to their function and underlies their vulnerability in Parkinsons disease.

This exciting breakthrough is a critical step forward in efforts to better understand Parkinsons disease and how to treat it, says Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School. Jian Feng and his team are to be commended for their innovation and resolve.

Feng explains there are many different types of dopamine neurons in the human brain, and each type is responsible for different brain functions.

Nigral dopamine neurons, also known as the A9 DA neurons, are responsible for controlling voluntary movements. The loss of these neurons causes the movement symptoms of Parkinsons disease, he says.

Scientists have been trying hard to generate these neurons from human pluripotent stem cells to study Parkinsons disease and develop better therapies, Feng says. We have succeeded in making A9 dopamine neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells. It means that we can now generate these neurons from any PD patients to study their disease.

Feng notes that A9 DA neurons are probably the largest cells in the human body. Their volume is about four times the volume of a mature human egg.

Over 99% of the volume is contributed by their extremely extensive axon branches. The total length of axon branches of a single A9 DA neuron is about 4.5 meters, he says. The cell is like the water supply system in a city, with a relatively small plant and hundreds of miles of water pipes going to each building.

In addition to their unique morphology, the A9 DA neurons are pacemakers they fire action potentials continuously, regardless of synaptic input.

They depend on Ca2+ channels to maintain the pace-making activities. Thus, the cells need to deal with a lot of stress from handling Ca2+ and dopamine, Feng says. These unique features of A9 DA neurons make them vulnerable. Lots of efforts are being directed at understanding these vulnerabilities, with the hope of finding a way to arrest or prevent their loss in Parkinsons disease.

Pace-making is an important feature and vulnerability of A9 DA neurons. Now that we can generate A9 DA pacemakers from any patient, it is possible to use these neurons to screen for compounds that may protect their loss in PD, he notes. It is also possible to test whether these cells are a better candidate for transplantation therapy of PD.

To differentiate human iPSCs to A9 DA neurons, the researchers tried to mimic what happens in embryonic development, in which the cells secrete proteins called morphogens to signal to each other their correct position and destiny in the embryo.

Feng notes the A9 DA neurons are in the ventral part of the midbrain in development.

Thus, we differentiate the human iPSCs in three stages, each with different chemicals to mimic the developmental process, he says. The challenge is to identify the correct concentration, duration and treatment window of each chemical.

The combination of this painstaking work, which is based on previous work by many others in the field, makes it possible for us to generate A9 DA neurons, he adds.

Feng points out there are a number of roadblocks to studying Parkinsons disease, but that significant progress is being made.

There is no objective diagnostic test of Parkinsons disease, and when PD is diagnosed by clinical symptoms, it is already too late. The loss of nigral DA neurons has already been going on for at least a decade, he says.

There was previously no way to make human dopamine neurons from a PD patient so we could study these neurons to find out what goes wrong.

Scientists have been using animal models and human cell lines to study Parkinsons disease, but these systems are inadequate in their ability to reflect the situation in human nigral DA neurons, Feng says.

Just within the past 15 years, PD research has been transformed by the ability to make patient-specific dopamine neurons that are increasingly similar to their counterparts in the brain of a PD patient.

Houbo Jiang, research scientist in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and Hong Li, a former postdoctoral associate in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, are co first-authors on the paper.

Other co-authors are Hanqin Li, a graduate of the doctoral program in neuroscience and currently a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley; Li Li, a trainee in UBs doctoral program in neuroscience; and Zhen Yan, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Physiology and Biophysics.

The study was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institutes of Health and by New York State Stem Cell Science (NYSTEM).

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Fujifilm Life Sciences Showcases its Comprehensive Solutions to Support Advanced Therapies at BIO2022 – B – Benzinga

Cambridge, Mass., June 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fujifilm Life Sciences, a portfolio of companies with comprehensive solutions ranging from Bio CDMO services to drug development support, and including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), cell culture media, and reagents, today announced that it will have a unified presence at BIO2022 (June 13-16) at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

Fujifilm Life Sciences will showcase each company's individual unique solutions, explore new business partnerships, and sponsor an interactive panel educational session on microbiome therapy development.

"The many and diverse offerings of Fujifilm Life Sciences support and accelerate the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of new therapies," said Yutaka Yamaguchi, general manager, Life Sciences Business Division, FUJIFILM Corporation; chairman and chief executive officer, FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc. "As one Fujifilm, BIO2022 gives prospective partners a sense of the synergies and depth of experience Fujifilm can provide during the various stages of bringing new treatments to market."

Sponsored Educational Session

With numerous mid-to-late-stage trials targeting the microbiome well underway, a host of 2022 readouts, and the first-ever microbiome therapy approval on the horizon, there is growing interest in the field. Sign up for this panel of industry experts as they share recent gains in harnessing the power of the microbiome and what key stakeholders should be watching for the rest of 2022.

Gut Check: Current Trends in Microbiome Therapeutics Development

(Wednesday, June 15, 12:15pm - 1:30pm, Room 6B, San Diego Convention Center)

Moderator

Panelists

To register please click here: https://www.bio.org/events/bio-international-convention/sessions/930537

"As a leader in the life sciences industry, Fujifilm Life Sciences is committed to advancing the field through ongoing research and education at BIO2022," added Yamaguchi.

The following Fujifilm Life Science companies look forward to welcoming attendees and forging new partnerships at BIO2022:

Exhibition and meetings based at Booth #1137

FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific Inc. a world leader in the development and manufacture of serum-free and chemically defined cell culture media and solutions for bioproduction and cell therapy manufacturing.

FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Corporation is a leading manufacturer and supplier of laboratory chemicals, specialty chemicals and diagnostic reagents.

FUJIFILM Wako Chemicals, U.S.A. Corporation, LAL Division is a provider of the PYROSTAR ES-F line for the detection of bacterial endotoxin.

Exhibition and meetings based at Booth #1427

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is an industry-leading cGMP Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) supporting the biopharmaceutical industry in the development and production of biologics, vaccines and advanced therapies.

Meetings based in the BIO Business Forum

FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, Inc. is a leading developer and manufacturer of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) utilized in drug discovery and cell therapies.

Learn more about Fujifilm Life Sciences:https://lifesciences.fujifilm.com/

About Fujifilm

FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation is the regional headquarters for the Americas. It is comprised of more than 20 affiliate companies across North and Latin America that are engaged in the research, development, manufacture, sale and service of Fujifilm products and services. The company's portfolio represents a broad spectrum of industries including medical and life sciences, electronic, chemical, graphic arts, information systems, industrial products, broadcast, recording media, and photography. For more information, please visit:https://www.fujifilm.com/us/en/about/region.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, leverages its depth of knowledge and proprietary core technologies to deliver Value from Innovation in our products and services in the business segments of healthcare, materials, business innovation, and imaging. Our relentless pursuit of innovation is focused on providing social value and enhancing the lives of people worldwide. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information about Fujifilm's Sustainable Value Plan 2030, click here. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company had global revenues of approximately 2.5 trillion yen (21 billion $USD at an exchange rate of 122 yen/dollar). For more information, please visit: http://www.fujifilmholdings.com.

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Fujifilm Life Sciences Showcases its Comprehensive Solutions to Support Advanced Therapies at BIO2022 - B - Benzinga

Century Therapeutics (IPSC) vs. Its Competitors Head-To-Head Analysis – Defense World

Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ:IPSC Get Rating) is one of 262 publicly-traded companies in the Biological products, except diagnostic industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Century Therapeutics to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Century Therapeutics and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Century Therapeutics and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

Century Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 260.05%. As a group, Biological products, except diagnostic companies have a potential upside of 122.93%. Given Century Therapeutics stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Century Therapeutics is more favorable than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares Century Therapeutics and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

57.5% of Century Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.1% of shares of all Biological products, except diagnostic companies are held by institutional investors. 16.1% of shares of all Biological products, except diagnostic companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Century Therapeutics beats its rivals on 7 of the 12 factors compared.

Century Therapeutics Company Profile (Get Rating)

Century Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops transformative allogeneic cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumor and hematological malignancies. The company's lead product candidate is CNTY-101, an allogeneic, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived chimeric antigen receptors (CAR)-iNK cell therapy targeting CD19 for relapsed, refractory B-cell lymphoma. It is also developing CNTY-103, a CAR-iNK candidate targeting CD133 + EGFR for recurrent glioblastoma; CNTY-102, a CAR-iT targeting CD19 + CD79b for relapsed, refractory B-cell lymphoma and other B-cell malignancies; CNTY-104, a CAR-iT or CAR-iNK multi-specific candidate for acute myeloid leukemia; and CNTY-106, a CAR-iNK or CAR-iT multi-specific candidate for multiple myeloma. Century Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Century Therapeutics (IPSC) vs. Its Competitors Head-To-Head Analysis - Defense World

Bioabsorbable Stents Market to Grow at a Fine CAGR of 9.6% through 2032: Improvements in Healthcare Infrastructure and Growing Geriatric Population to…

Owing to Rising Demand for Less Invasive Treatments Among Heart Patients, Fact.MR Study Opines the Global Bioabsorbable Stents Market Share is Estimated to Reach a Value of Nearly US$ 1 Billion by 2032 from US$ 372 Million in 2021

Growing incidences of physicians and healthcare professionals preferring bioabsorbable stents over conventional stents is believed to have rapidly surged the bioabsorbable stent market growth in the global market.

Fact.MR, a Market Research and Competitive Intelligence Provider - The global bioabsorbable stents market is predicted to witness a moderate growth rate of 9.6% during the forecast years 2022 to 2032. The net worth of the bioabsorbable stents market share is expected to be valued at around US$ 1 Billion by the year 2032, growing from a mere US$ 372 Million recorded in the year 2021.

The growing prevalence of cardiovascular disease is sighted to be the leading cause of heart-related mortality worldwide. Around 17.5 million people die each year as a result of cardiovascular disease as a consequence of changing lifestyles, dietary habits, and rising blood pressure difficulties. All these factors have boosted the demand for bioabsorbable stents in the global market.

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Cardiovascular illnesses were responsible for more than 32% of fatalities in 2015, and this number is anticipated to grow to 45 per cent by 2030. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased. Obesity, which is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes in adults, has increased as a result of changes in trends, food patterns, and regular exercise. The proliferation of such correlated diseases is suggested to be the major driving factor for the sales of bioabsorbable stents across the globe.

However, due to an increase in the prevalence of coronary artery disease, increased knowledge of bioabsorbable stents, increased demand for minimally invasive surgery, and increased adoption of unhealthy lifestyles, Asia-Pacific is predicted to have the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2032.

What is the Bioabsorbabale Stents Market Outlook in Asia Pacific Region?

As per the global market study on bioabsorbable stents, Asia Pacific is predicted to develop at the quickest rate. The rising number of cardiac patients in the Asia Pacific countries with the highest population count is predicted to drive the demand for bioabsorbable stents in the regional market.

During the projected period, the China bioabsorbable stents market is predicted to lead at the fastest rate of 8.8% in this geographical region. The net worth of the market is estimated to be around US$ 28 Million in 2022 and is projected to reach a total valuation of US$ 71.6 Million in the year 2032.

Other than that, bioabsorbable stents market opportunities in Japan and South Korea are also quite promising for the forecasted years, with an estimated growth rate of 8.1% and 7.3%, respectively. This new market research report on bioabsorbable stents also sheds light on the growth prospects in Indian Market as well.

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Key Takeaways from Market Study

Competitive Landscape

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Recent Developments in the Market

Fact.MRs Domain Expertise in Healthcare Sector

Our healthcare consulting team guides organizations at each step of their business strategy by helping you understand how the latest influencers account for operational and strategic transformation in the healthcare sector. Our expertise in recognizing the challenges and trends impacting the global healthcare industry provides indispensable insights and support - encasing a strategic perspective that helps you identify critical issues and devise appropriate solutions.

Point of Care Diagnostics Market - Shipments of point of care test (POCT) kits are projected to surge at a CAGR of around 7% from 2021 to 2028, as per this new analysis. In 2020, the global point of care diagnostics market stood at US$ 34.1 Bn, and is anticipated to surge to a valuation of US$ 66 Bn by the end of 2028.

Spectrometry Market - The global spectrometry market is projected to increase from a valuation of US$ 7.1 Bn in 2020 to US$ 13.8 Bn by 2028, expanding at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period, Demand for mass spectrometry is set to increase faster at a CAGR of 7.4% over the forecast period 2021-2028.

Coronary Stents Market- Worldwide sales of coronary stents were valued at around US$ 10.1 Bn in 2020. The global coronary stents market is projected to register 12.9% CAGR and reach a valuation of US$ 25.7 Bn by the end of 2028.

Osteoporosis Therapeutics Market- The global osteoporosis therapeutics market stands at a valuation of US$ 12.7 Bn currently, and is predicted to reach US$ 14.2 Bn by the end of 2026. Consumption of osteoporosis therapeutic drugs is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 2.9% from 2022 to 2026.

CNS Therapeutics Market- The CNS therapeutics market stands at a valuation of US$ 116.7 Bn in 2022, and is expected to reach US$ 142.1 Bn by the end of 2026. CNS drug sales are projected to rise at a steady CAGR of 4.9% from 2022 to 2026.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Market- The global induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) market stands at a valuation of US$ 1.8 Bn in 2022, and is projected to climb to US$ 2.3 Bn by the end of 2026. Over the 2022 to 2026 period, worldwide demand for induced pluripotent stem cells is anticipated to rise rapidly at a CAGR of 6.6%.

Doxorubicin Market- Demand for doxorubicin is anticipated to increase steadily at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2022 to 2026. At present, the global doxorubicin market stands at US$ 1.1 Billion, and are projected to reach a valuation of US$ 1.3 Billion by the end of 2026.

Heart Attack Diagnostics Market- The heart attack diagnostics market is predicted to grow at a moderate CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period of 2022 to 2032. The global heart attack diagnostics market is estimated to reach a value of nearly US$ 22.2 Billion by 2032 by growing from US$ 10.4 Billion in 2021.

Smart Implants Market- The global smart implants market is estimated at US$ 3.9 billion in 2022, and is forecast to surpass a market value of US$ 22.2 billion by 2032. Smart implants are expected to contribute significantly to the global implants market, with demand surging at a CAGR of 19% from 2022 to 2032.

Facial Implants Market- The global facial implant market was valued at US$ 2.7 Billion in 2022, and is expected to rise at a 7.7% value CAGR, likely to reach US$ 5.6 Billion by the end of the 2022-2032 forecast period.

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Bioabsorbable Stents Market to Grow at a Fine CAGR of 9.6% through 2032: Improvements in Healthcare Infrastructure and Growing Geriatric Population to...

IPSCs For Democratized Cell Therapy – BioProcess Online

By Matthew Pillar, Editor, BioProcess Online

Differentiated Focus On Harnessing The Innate Immune System

Cytovia Therapeutics was launched in 2019 on the premise that allogeneic, innate immune cells held the best promise for next-generation cell therapy development in oncology. The co-founders of Cytovia, CEO Dr. Daniel Teper and Board Director Dr. Laurent Audoly, built the company on two complementary technologies: (1) natural killer cells differentiated from stem cells (iNK cells), that could potentially be edited, and (2) multifunctional tetravalent cell engager antibodies that boost the activity of natural killer cells (dubbed FLEX-NK cell engagers). Both technologies, says Dr. Teper, generate so-called off the shelf therapeutics that can be suited to all patients.

The unmet needs Cytovia seeks to address represent some very large patient populations. Worldwide, there are close to 800,000 hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and about 100,000 suffering from myeloma. Myeloma, while representing a smaller patient population, is a more mature market. In recent years, pharmaceutical treatments for myeloma grew from a few billion in worldwide sales to more than 20 billion, and sales are expected to approach 30 billion by 2026, says Dr. Teper. The largest product in that category is the CD38 antibody DARZALEX (daratumumab) from J&J, which alone tallied $6 billion in sales in 2021.

Daniel Teper, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, Cytovia Therapeutics, IncHepatocellular carcinoma, on the other hand, represents a new frontier. Less than 30 percent of the patients with advanced disease responds to current treatment, with an average of just 6.8 months of progression-free survival, says Teper.

That technology has given rise to a preclinical pipeline that company co-founder, chairman, and CEO Dr. Daniel Teper repeatedly characterizes as differentiated. We noticed that a number of cell therapy companies have migrated toward targets that are well-validated, but very crowded, such as CD19 or BCMA, he says. Noting that theres nothing wrong with that and hes right, because competition yields innovation in drug development he acknowledges that the business risk of joining the well-validated masses gets real at the clinical stage. Once you validate the technology and order clinical trials, if youre number seven of 25 CD19 or BCMA therapies, youve got a big challenge ahead of you, he surmises.

Regarding Cytovias differentiation strategy, its programs display different indications and treatment modalities, including a FLEX-NK cell engager targeting GPC3 for the treatment of solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma, another FLEX-NK cell engager targeting CD38 for multiple myeloma, and even a CAR-iNK cell candidate targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) for glioblastoma. Its a balanced portfolio of relatively novel targets, he says.

Fast Moving R&D Efforts And A Compelling Strategy

In April, Cytovia Chief Medical Officer Stanley R. Frankel, MD and Chief Scientific Officer Wei Li, Ph.D. presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Dr. Teper calls it a milestone for two reasons. First, this marked the initial presentation of our own data at one of the most relevant scientific meetings, which is an important achievement for a young company. Second, consistently with our mission to differentiate, were the only company thats developed both an IPSC-derived NK cell platform and an NK engager antibody platform. At the AACR meeting, we presented in vivo proof-of-concept data combining our iNK cells together with our GPC3-targeting NK engagers, demonstrating that we could reduce the tumor burden and the relevant biomarker protein in hepatocellular carcinoma, he says.

The combination of antibodies and cells is unique and important, says Dr. Teper, because as the disease becomes more severe, the patients functional NK cell count is depleted. The capability of an antibody that redirects NK cells to kill tumor cells is limited if those NK cells arent functional when theyre engaged.

The ability to add billions of NK cells, off the shelf, to reestablish the patients immune pool, leads to very significant efficacy, says Dr. Teper. He says the approach might be an alternative to CAR-NK therapy, or it might be complimentary, but it will definitely improve accessibility. He anticipates the therapy being administered on an outpatient basis due to the limited risk of cytokine release syndrome and GVHD.

If clinical trials confirm that the combination of the two is safe and effective, we're essentially opening up the opportunity for many more patients to benefit from cell therapy.

Included among those patients, he says, are those suffering from solid tumors, which have presented cell therapy developers with a particularly vexing challenge. The differentiator in Cytovias NK cell engagers, says Dr. Teper, is that they target NKp46, an activating receptor on the NK cell. Unlike some other activating receptors, NKp46 is very stable in its expression in infiltrating NK cells and we believe this is a potential advantage in targeting solid tumor., he says. Gene editing techonology will allow the company to consider edits to further reduce the inhibition of the tumor microenvironment and perhaps, he says, increase the persistence of NK cells.

Locking Down Best-In-Class Allogeneic Cell Therapy Manufacturing

Dr. Teper says that while the currently marketed autologous products are working for many patients, their production process is complex, the cost to produce them is too high, and the risk of side effects including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) limit their use. Allogeneic CAR T-cell products have initially demonstrated some promising data, but not to the level of autologous products, he says. In contrast, allogeneic NK and CAR NK approaches have shown initial efficacy, have very good safety profiles, and are more reasonably manufactured. While most of those approaches to-date have been produced from donor-derived cells, Dr. Teper believes induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) are the way of the future due to the consistency and scalability they lend to the manufacturing process. In addition to batch-to-batch consistency challenges in donor-derived cells, which limit their scalability, their lack of homogeneity makes gene editing more difficult, he says. IPSCs, on the other hand, offer excellent product characterization, better scalability, a lower cost of goods, and easier gene editing opportunity. Thats because they originate from a highly controlled master cell bank that enables engineers to differentiate, expand, and cryopreserve trillions of highly characterized cells. There are inherent process development, manufacturing, and cost advantages to IPSCs, and we think the FDA and other global regulatory agencies will increasingly request that cell therapy products be perfectly characterized. That's much easier to do when you have a monoclonal cell bank and you're able to characterize the product at every step of development.

For its part, Cytovia is manufacturing its current supply internally. The CDMOs are catching up with new cell therapy manufacturing technologies, and IPSC technologies in particular, says Dr. Teper. That requires a sometimes-inefficient transfer of knowledge and processes. We believe that internal control of manufacturing allows us to control the quality and availability of the product for clinical trials, and these are both extremely important for a young company.

Rather than wholly outsource to a CDMO, Cytovia partners on R&D and GMP manufacturing with organizations including Cellectis, CytoImmune, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, INSERM, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, STC Biologics, and the University of California San Francisco. In partnership with BioSciencesCorp, the company maintains a dedicated 100,000 square-foot facility in Puerto Rico comprised of six clean rooms and a process development lab, staffed entirely by Cytovia, which is currently producing clinical CGMP batches in anticipation of filing INDs late this year in preparation for clinical trials in early 2023.

Tracking To Plan On Securing Capital To Enable R&D And Clinical Trials

Pending the closings, proceeds from private placements, funds in Isleworth's trust account (net of redemptions), and proceeds from other prospective financings in the aggregate of up to $100 million, Cytovia forecasts up to two years of operating capital for further development of its gene-edited iNK and FLEX-NK cell engager technologies. The company plans to focus on multiple milestones, the most near-term being the filing of the companys first INDs in 2022 and early 2023 for its GPC3 FLEX-NK cell engager antibody (CYT-303) and its non-edited iNK cell (CYT-100) in hepatocellular carcinoma and its CD38 FLEX-NK cell engager antibody (CYT-338) for multiple myeloma. In clinical trials, the company plans to study the antibodies and the cells alone and in combination. By the end of 2023, it intends to bring two additional productsCYT -150, a gene-edited iNK cell and CYT -503, a GPC3-targeted CAR iNK productto the clinic. Its a franchise of multiple modalities, and our phase 1/2 trial will interrogate the safety and clinical response of each of them in one therapy or in combination, and then determine which well move forward for pivotal trials, says Dr. Teper.

By the end of 2023, it intends to bring two additional productsfor hepatocellular carcinomaCYT -150, a gene edited iNK cell and CYT -503, a GPC3-targeted CAR iNK productto the clinic. Its a franchise of multiple modalities that can be used alone or in combination, and our phase 1/2 trial will interrogate the safety and clinical response of each of them in one therapy or in combination, and then determine which well move forward for pivotal trials, says Dr. Teper.

Learn more about Cytovia Therapeutics at http://www.cytoviatx.com

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IPSCs For Democratized Cell Therapy - BioProcess Online

Theranexus : THERANEXUS PARTICIPATES IN SEVERAL LEADING SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND BUSINESS CONVENTIONS – Marketscreener.com

Lyon, France 9 June 2022 6 pm CEST Theranexus, a biopharmaceutical company innovating in the treatment of neurological diseases and pioneer in the development of drug candidates modulating the interaction between neurons and glial cells, today announces its participation in several scientific and business events including the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum, the Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA) Conference and the BIO International Convention to be held in June and July 2022.

Theranexus will be presenting at the BIO International Convention which will bring together more than 15,000 life science players from over 70 countries running from June 13 to 19, 2022 in San Diego, United States. The company will have the benefit of speaking during a face-to-face session, this will give Theranexus the opportunity to present its latest innovations and meet companies as part of its development strategy approach.

Julien Veys, Chief Business Development Officer of Theranexus stated, "I am delighted to be able to share with fellow industry professionals the company's new strategic direction and its assets in the field of rare neurological diseases on Tuesday 14 June at 11am during the BIO International Convention, our sector's biggest business convention gathering the full complement of international stakeholders from the pharma and biopharma industry".

In addition, Theranexus will be at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies FENS 2022 Forum, running from 9 to 13 July 2022 in Paris and presenting the latest innovations to emerge from its NeuroLead platform, in collaboration with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the Collge de France:

Theranexus will also be presenting progress on its Batten-1 clinical program in Batten disease at the annual Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA) Conference to be held in Cleveland, Ohio from 8 to 10 July 2022.

Finally, Theranexus gave a presentation entitled "Pharmacological modulation of brain connectivity and visual response in a pathological rat model revealed by functional ultrasound imaging" at the Functional ultrasound imaging of the Brain conference fUSbrain 2022 held in Corsica in early June, and on 31 May took part in the French Rare Diseases Foundation's annual scientific symposium at the Collge de France, delivering a presentation of the company and its assets.

Mathieu Charvriat, Deputy CEO and Chief Scientific Officer concluded: "These different presentations highlighting advances in both our Batten-1 drug candidate in clinical application for Batten disease and the discovery of novel drug candidates with our NeuroLead platform in the field of rare neurological diseases. These presentations give us an opportunity to strengthen our visibility and connection with academic and industry stakeholders and patient organizations and confirm the remarkable dynamism and recognition of the scientific merits of our R&D teams".

Next financial publication:

Tuesday 12 July: Cash position as of 30 June 2022

About Theranexus

Theranexus is an innovative biopharmaceutical company that emerged from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). It specializes in the treatment of central nervous system disorders and is a pioneer in the development of drug candidates targeting both neurons and glial cells.

Theranexus has a unique drug candidate of advanced therapy identification and characterization platform focused on rare neurological disorders and an initial drug candidate in clinical development for Batten disease.

Theranexus is listed on the Euronext Growth market in Paris (FR0013286259- ALTHX).

Presentation at the Bio Convention on Tuesday 14 June at 11am PST in Theater 1

2022 ActusNews

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Theranexus : THERANEXUS PARTICIPATES IN SEVERAL LEADING SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND BUSINESS CONVENTIONS - Marketscreener.com

Fifth annual University of Rhode Island Research and Scholarship Photo Contest winners announced – University of Rhode Island

KINGSTON, R.I. June 7, 2022 The University of Rhode Islands fifth annual Research and Scholarship Photo Contest attracted a stunning collection of photos from university students, staff, and faculty.

The contest provides a unique opportunity for URIs researchers and scholars to convey their ideas and work, as well as their unique perspectives, through the photographs and digital images they capture.

The annual contest is co-sponsored and coordinated byUniversity of Rhode Island Magazine;the URI Division of Research and Economic Development magazine,Momentum: Research & Innovation; and the Rhode Island Sea Grant/URI Coastal Institute magazine,41N: Rhode Islands Ocean andCoastalMagazine. A panel of judges, which includes URI alumni and staff, selects the winning images.

This year, for the first time, all winning photos were submitted by URI studentsboth undergraduate and graduate students, and all our winning entries were from work being done in the same college, the College of the Environment and Life Sciences.

The stunning photos reinforce that time-tested adage: A picture is worth a thousand words. Winning photographers are listed below, with descriptions of their photos.

FIRST PLACE Water Collection of a Honeybee Casey Johnson, graduate student in plant sciences and entomology, of Warwick.

In the heat of summer, honeybees can often be found collecting water from puddles, gutters, and other unsavory sources, says Johnson, who is a graduate student in Professor Steven Alms lab at the URI Agricultural Experiment Station at East Farm in Kingston. She continues, We noticed that our honeybees were drinking water from sphagnum moss in the pots of pitcher plants, which led us to investigate the water-collecting behavior of honeybees on four local moss species. Here, a water forager honeybee rests on one of our observational moss setups, drinking water that she will bring back to her hive.

SECOND PLACE Jam-Packed Micromussa Michael Corso 24, aquaculture and fisheries science major, of Medford, Massachusetts.

This Micromussa lordhowensis coral colony was shot at Love the Reef, a marine animal distributor/coral aquaculture facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts, where I work, says Corso, who aspires to preserve tropical marine species. He continues, In the wild, this species is found in the South Pacific and along Australias Great Barrier Reef. The bioluminescent colors emanate from the corals symbiont algae, zooxanthella. Rising ocean temperatures and acidification can prevent the corals from holding onto the algae they depend upon, resulting in coral bleaching. Land-based sustainable aquaculture efforts may be the last chance coral species like these have at surviving in our future environment.

THIRD PLACE Piping Plover Chick Branden Costa, graduate student in environmental science and management, focused on conservation biology, of Westport, Massachusetts.

Costa observed this juvenile piping plover foraging after a rainstorm on Washburn Island (Massachusetts). These birds, says Costa, who studies migratory bird behavior and population dynamics are vulnerable to many threats before and after hatching, including predation, desiccation, human disturbances, and storm surges. They begin foraging for themselves mere hours after hatching and remain flightless for 2530 days as they develop flight feathers for end-of-season migration. This chick was the last surviving member of its brood. The others were taken by two off-leash domestic dogs. This chick demonstrates the unwavering resilience piping plovers must exhibit to survive.

HONORABLE MENTION Last Nerve Michelle Gregoire, doctoral student in cell and molecular biology, of Goshen, Connecticut.

Nerves relay sensory or motor information in the body and are made up of nerve cells, or neurons, says Gregoire. In Professor Claudia Fallinis lab, where I do my research, we study cellular pathologies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD). We differentiate the neurons we study from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), derived from patient skin or blood cells. Using immunofluorescence and our Leica DMi8 Widefield Fluorescence microscope, we visualized this stunning motor neuron. During the differentiation process, not all the stem cells differentiated into neurons, instead forming a mass of cells, visible here above the lone neuron.

HONORABLE MENTION Radiotagged Diamondback Terrapin Hatchling, Spring 2021 Carolyn Decker, graduate student in natural resources science, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts.

This nine-month-old, rare salt marsh turtle is about the size of a poker chip and has just emerged from the secret sandy burrow where he spent his first winter, says Decker. For my masters thesis, I documented the movements and habitat use of this species. This individual turtle helped us better understand the differing needs of hatchling and adult terrapins. My observations helped us to make wildlife management and conservation recommendations to protect the animals at all ages. This photo shows the tiny radio transmitter that was glued to the terrapins shell so researchers could track his movements.

HONORABLE MENTION Microplastic Particle from Narragansett Bay Sarah Davis, doctoral student in biological and environmental sciences, of New York City

This strangely beautiful image of a 1 millimeter microplastic particle was captured with an Olympus BX63 automated light microscope, says Davis, who works with Professors Coleen Suckling and Andrew Davies on a Rhode Island Sea Grant project investigating microplastic particles in Narragansett Bay. For this project, she says, we trawl a plankton net behind a URI vessel. The net collects material floating on and just below the waters surface; the material collected is processed and analyzed in the lab. By studying the concentration and characteristics of microplastics in our local environment, we can help inform decisions about mitigating pollution at the source.

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Fifth annual University of Rhode Island Research and Scholarship Photo Contest winners announced - University of Rhode Island

Senti Bio Debuts as Publicly Traded Company Focused on Developing Next-Generation Cell and Gene Therapies Engineered with Gene Circuits -…

- Business combination with Dynamics Special Purpose Corp. completed today; gross proceeds from transaction to Senti Bio expected to total approximately $156.5 million -

- Combined company Senti Bio will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under ticker symbol "SNTI" -

- IND filings for preclinical oncology candidates SENTI-202 and SENTI-301 anticipated in 2023 -

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Senti Biosciences, Inc. (Senti Bio), a biotechnology company developing next-generation cell and gene therapies using its proprietary gene circuit platform, today announced the completion of its business combination with Dynamics Special Purpose Corp. (DYNS; Nasdaq: DYNS), a special purpose acquisition company. Senti Biosciences, Inc., the resulting combined company, will commence trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol SNTI on June 9, 2022.

Over the last year, we have made significant pipeline progress in optimizing our gene circuit technology and generating promising data across our lead programs, SENTI-202 and SENTI-301, which we plan to advance toward IND filings in 2023, said Timothy Lu, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Senti Bio. We believe that with the funding from this successful transaction, we are well positioned to maximize this unique opportunity to develop the next generation of gene circuit-enabled cell and gene therapies for patients in need.

Senti Bio is developing next-generation cell and gene therapies engineered with gene circuits, which are designed to reprogram cells with biological logic to sense inputs, compute decisions and respond to their respective cellular environments. Senti Bio's oncology pipeline uses healthy adult donor-derived, natural killer (NK) cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) gene circuits that are cryopreserved and dosed off-the-shelf. Senti Bios oncology pipeline is primarily focused on three preclinical-stage programs: SENTI-202, a Logic Gated (OR+NOT) off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy designed to target and eliminate acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells while sparing the healthy bone marrow; SENTI-301, a regulatable Multi-Armed off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy designed for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); and SENTI-401, a Logic Gated (NOT) off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy designed to target and eliminate colorectal cancer (CRC) cells while sparing healthy cells elsewhere in the body. In addition, the company is collaborating with Spark Therapeutics (a member of the Roche Group) and BlueRock Therapeutics (a wholly-owned and independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG) on applications of its gene circuit technology outside of oncology.

Omid Farokhzad, MD, Executive Chair of the DYNS Board of Directors, said, We believe in the powerful potential of engineering gene circuits with programmable computer-like logic in cell and gene therapies. We look forward to continued progress from the Senti Bio team including advancing product candidates towards and into clinical trials, solidifying its clinical-scale cGMP manufacturing capabilities, and expanding its gene circuit offerings across multiple diseases and modalities via partnering opportunities.

Mostafa Ronaghi, PhD, CEO of DYNS added, We have been very impressed with Sentis approach and platform, which has the potential to define the future of cell and gene therapy. Sentis scientific founders and management are pioneers in the field of mammalian synthetic biology and have assembled a highly qualified team to use this platform to improve the lives of patients in oncology and many other disease categories.

Senti Bio received gross proceeds of approximately $140.3 million of the expected $156.5 million in connection with the business combination, which included funds held in DYNS's trust account of $84.5 million (net of redemptions), $50.6 million of the expected $66.8 million in proceeds from a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing that closed concurrently with the consummation of the business combination, and a recent $5.2 million investment by Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG, through the purchase of a convertible note that was exchanged (at $10.00 per share, with accrued interest canceled) at the closing of the business combination for common equity with the same rights as the PIPE shares. Senti Bio expects the proceeds from this transaction, combined with cash on hand, to fund operations into 2024.

Investors in DYNS include funds managed by ARK Investment Management LLC, funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley Investment Management), Invus, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., among others.

Investors participating in the PIPE financing as of the closing of the business combination included 8VC, Amgen Ventures, funds and accounts managed by Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley Investment Management), Invus, NEA, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and T. Rowe Price funds, among others. Of the $66.8 million in subscriptions for the PIPE financing, $16.2 million has yet to be funded as one investor, who entered into a subscription agreement concurrently with Senti Bio and DYNSs execution of the business combination agreement in December 2021, has not funded its commitment. Senti Bio intends to enforce such one investor's legal obligations under its subscription agreement. Solely for purposes of consummating the business combination on June 8, 2022, Senti Bio agreed to waive the $150 million available cash closing condition under the business combination agreement previously entered into with DYNS (as a result of such one investor failing to timely fund its $16.2 million commitment).

DYNSs board members, Dr. Omid Farokhzad and David Epstein, have joined the Senti Bio Board of Directors. The other Senti Bio board members are Susan Berland, Dr. James Collins, Dr. Brenda Cooperstone, Dr. Timothy Lu and Edward Mathers.

Uses of Proceeds and Planned Milestones Proceeds from the transaction are expected to provide Senti Bio with capital to further develop its gene circuit technologies and therapeutic pipeline, including:

Summary of Progress to Date

Advisors J.P. Morgan acted as lead capital markets advisor to DYNS and as co-placement agent to DYNS on the PIPE. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to DYNS and as co-placement agent to DYNS on the PIPE. BofA Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor to Senti Bio and as co-placement agent to DYNS on the PIPE. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as legal advisor to DYNS. Goodwin Procter LLP acted as legal advisor to Senti Bio. Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and BofA Securities in their roles as placement agents for the PIPE.

About Senti Bio Our mission is to create a new generation of smarter medicines that outmaneuver complex diseases using novel and unprecedented approaches. To accomplish this, we are building a synthetic biology platform that may enable us to program next-generation cell and gene therapies with what we refer to as Gene Circuits. These Gene Circuits, which are created from novel and proprietary combinations of DNA sequences, are designed to reprogram cells with biological logic to sense inputs, compute decisions and respond to their cellular environments. We aim to design Gene Circuits to improve the intelligence of cell and gene therapies in order to enhance their therapeutic effectiveness, precision and durability against a broad range of diseases that conventional medicines do not readily address. Our synthetic biology platform utilizes off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cells, outfitted with these Gene Circuit technologies, to target particularly challenging liquid and solid tumor oncology indications. Our lead programs include SENTI-202 and SENTI-301. SENTI-202 is a Logic Gated OR+NOT off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy designed to target and eliminate acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells while sparing the healthy bone marrow. SENTI-301 is a Multi-Armed off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy designed for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We anticipate filing Investigational New Drug (IND) applications in 2023 for both candidates. Over the past several months, Senti Bio scientists have presented preclinical proof-of-concept data across various programs including at the annual meetings of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and the American Society of Hematology (ASH). We have also demonstrated the breadth of our Gene Circuits in other modalities and diseases outside of oncology and have executed partnerships with Spark Therapeutics and BlueRock Therapeutics to advance these capabilities. For more information, please visit the Senti Bio website at https://www.sentibio.com.

About Dynamics Special Purpose Corp. DYNS was formed in May 2021 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. It focused its search in healthcare and the life sciences, including development platforms that enable applications in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or advanced biomaterials and, within that context, life-sciences tools, enabling software, synthetic biology and novel drug discovery.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to DYNS and Senti Bio. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words believe, could, predict, continue, ongoing, project, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, strategy, future, opportunity, plan, may, should, will, would, will be, will continue, will likely result, forecast, seek, target and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations of Senti Bios and DYNSs management and assumptions, whether or not identified in this document, and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of financial and performance metrics, projections of market opportunity and market share, expectations and timing related to preclinical, clinical and regulatory milestones, potential benefits of the business combination and the potential success of Senti Bio's business strategy, the initial market capitalization and cash runway of the combined company, the benefits of the business combination, as well as statements about the potential attributes and benefits of Senti Bios product candidates and the progress and timing of Senti Bios product development activities, IND filings and clinical trials and expectations related to the effects of the business combination and the PIPE financing, including the unfunded portion thereof. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Senti Bio and DYNS. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to: (i) changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions, (ii) risks that the transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Senti Bio and potential difficulties in Senti Bio employee retention as a result of the transaction, (iii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Senti Bio or DYNS related to the Business Combination Agreement or the transaction, or any governmental or regulatory proceedings, investigations or inquiries, (iv) volatility in the price of Senti Bios securities, which may arise due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which Senti Bio currently operates and plans to operate, variations in operating performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting DYNSs or Senti Bios business and changes in the capital structure of the combined company, (v) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts and other expectations after the completion of the transaction, to realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction, and to identify and realize additional opportunities, (vi) the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in Senti Bios highly competitive industry, (vii) risks relating to the uncertainty of any projected financial information with respect to Senti Bio, (viii) risks related to uncertainty in the timing or results of Senti Bios preclinical studies and any future clinical trials, product acceptance and/or receipt of regulatory approvals for Senti Bios product candidates, (ix) the ability of the combined company to compete effectively and its ability to manage growth, (x) risks related to delays and other impacts from the COVID 19 pandemic, (xi) the ability of the combined company to issue equity or equity-linked securities in the future, and (xii) the success of any future research, development and commercialization efforts by the combined company.

Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Senti Bio assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Senti Bio gives no assurance that Senti Bio will achieve its expectations. The inclusion of any statement in this communication does not constitute an admission by Senti Bio or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material.

Non-Solicitation This press release does not constitute (i) a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the Business Combination or (ii) an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation to purchase any security of Senti Bio, or any of its respective affiliates. No such offering or securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Additional Information About the Business Combination and Where To Find It DYNS filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (the Registration Statement) with the SEC, which was declared effective on May 13, 2022. The Registration Statement includes a proxy statement/prospectus. The proxy statement/prospectus contains important information about DYNS, Senti Bio and the business combination. Senti Bios stockholders may access a copy of the Registration Statement, as well as other documents filed with the SEC by DYNS, without charge at the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov.

INVESTMENT IN ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SEC OR ANY OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY NOR HAS ANY AUTHORITY PASSED UPON OR ENDORSED THE MERITS OF THE BUSINESS COMBINATION OR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

Find more information atsentibio.com Follow us on Linkedin:Senti Biosciences Follow us on Twitter:@SentiBio

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Senti Bio Debuts as Publicly Traded Company Focused on Developing Next-Generation Cell and Gene Therapies Engineered with Gene Circuits -...

Ncardia inks $60M funding deal to expand discovery and commercial production services for stem cells – FierceBiotech

Ncardia is the result of the 2017 merger of Pluriomics and Axiogenesis. (Getty/designer491)

Ncardia, a human-induced pluripotent stem cell developer,picked up $60 million via a strategic partnership with Kiniciti.

The Belgian iPSC contract research, development and manufacturing company is partnering with the U.S. investment firm to boost discovery, clinical and commercial production capabilities, the companiessaid Tuesday.

Ncardia manufactures iPSC derived cells and provides assay development, disease modeling and cell-based screening. The company is the result of a 2017 combination ofPluriomics and Axiogenesis. Within months of the merger,Ncardiasigned disease modeling licensing pacts with Roche and Evotec.

Now, through its Kiniciti deal, Ncardia can expand globally and invest in good manufacturing practice capabilities for cell therapies, the company said. Ncardia's discovery services will benefit from the financing, said Kiniciti CEO Geoff Glass in a statement.

RELATED:On back of Roche pact, newly formed Ncardia wins iPSC deal with Evotec

That includes building more human cellular models that can predict whether drugs are safe and effective earlier in the development stage, said Stefan Braam, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Ncardia, in a statement. The manufacturing technology will go toward iPSC-based allogenic platforms for immuno-oncology.

Kiniciti is a platform company from private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe that launched in February with$250 million to invest in non-therapeutic cell and gene therapy startups.Biospring Partners joinedas an investor earlier this month for an undisclosed amount.

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Ncardia inks $60M funding deal to expand discovery and commercial production services for stem cells - FierceBiotech

ElevateBio Supercharges Gene Editing and Therapeutic Product Development Capabilities Through Acquisition of Life Edit Therapeutics – Yahoo Finance

- Life Edit's genome editing capabilities to be fully integrated with ElevateBio's other cell and gene enabling technologies, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), viral vector, and cellular engineering

- Brings a broad array of editing modalities, including deletion, insertion, base editing, and CRISPRa/CRISPRi

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., October 27, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ElevateBio, LLC (ElevateBio), a cell and gene therapy technology company focused on powering transformative cell and gene therapies, today announced that it has acquired all of AgBiome Delta, LLCs (AgBiome) shares of Life Edit Therapeutics, Inc. (Life Edit). Life Edit offers a powerful suite of gene editing technologies that have the potential for any genomic sequence of interest to be removed, added, or altered. Life Edit holds one of the world's largest and most diverse arrays of novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors that offer greater specificity and broad genome access. These nucleases were derived from AgBiome's proprietary non-pathogenic microbe collection, which could potentially reduce immunogenicity risks.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211027005153/en/

"ElevateBios powerful suite of enabling technologies, which now includes Life Edits genome editing capabilities as well as our existing iPSC, viral vector, and cell engineering platforms, is designed to disrupt the rapidly advancing fields of cell and gene therapy," said David Hallal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ElevateBio. "Our vision is to build a world-class center of excellence in genome engineering to push the boundaries of therapeutic development and drive innovation for our own therapeutic pipeline as well as provide access to these critical technologies to our growing number of industry partners."

"Genome editing is a central component of all cell and gene therapy development, and access to novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors that offer specificity and broad genome coverage will be critical. We believe Life Edit's technology is one of the most versatile in the field, opening up enormous potential," Mitchell Finer, Chief Executive Officer of Life Edit and President, R&D of ElevateBio. "This integration will also enable Life Edit to have greater access to ElevateBios drug development and manufacturing capabilities as we build and advance the pipeline, which will initially focus on developing in vivo gene therapies to address neurologic conditions with high unmet need. In addition, by combining Life Edit's gene engineering capabilities with ElevateBios iPSC technology, our goal is to expand the number of therapeutic uses, including potentially making universal or hypoimmune cells that go undetected by the immune system."

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Life Edit was spun out of AgBiome in October 2020 and AgBiome continues to retain rights for gene editing outside of human therapeutics.

About Life Edit Therapeutics:Life Edit has one of the world's largest and most diverse arrays of novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors active in mammalian cells. They were developed from a proprietary collection of non-pathogenic organisms and offer gene editing tools with higher fidelity, novel functionality, reduced immune response risk, and easier delivery. Life Edit has a large and diverse library of RNA-guided nucleases, including Type II and Type V systems that encompass knock-out and knock-in capabilities, transcriptional regulation, and base editing when coupled with one of our proprietary deaminases. The company's nuclease collection has a broad range of Protospacer Adjacent Motifs (PAMs). These short sequences must accompany the DNA sequence for the enzyme to edit a gene, which offers unprecedented access to genomes. Life Edit has identified several classes of DNA modifying enzymes, including novel deaminases that can edit cytidine (C) or adenine (A). Many of the company's RGNs are smaller than widely used CRISPR-Cas systems, offering ease and flexibility for in vivo delivery and manufacturing.

Life Edit is headquartered in Morrisville, NC. Visit us at http://www.lifeeditinc.com, or follow Life Edit on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About ElevateBio:ElevateBio is a cell and gene therapy technology company built to power the development and manufacturing of transformative cell and gene therapies today and for many decades to come. The company has assembled industry-leading talent, built world-class facilities, and integrated diverse technology platforms necessary for rapid innovation and commercialization of cell, gene, and regenerative therapies. The company has built an initial technology stack, including gene editing, induced pluripotent stem cells, and protein, viral, and cellular engineering, that can be leveraged across the entire portfolio and by strategic partners. At the center of the business model is ElevateBio BaseCamp, a centralized research and development (R&D) and manufacturing company that offers R&D, process development (PD), and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) manufacturing capabilities. The company is focused on increasing long-term collaborations with industry partners while also developing its own highly innovative cell and gene therapies. ElevateBio's team of scientists, drug developers, and company builders are redefining what it means to be a technology company in the world of drug development, blurring the line between technology and healthcare.

ElevateBio is located in Waltham, MA. Visit us at http://www.elevate.bio, or follow ElevateBio on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211027005153/en/

Contacts

Investor: Catherine Hu chu@elevate.bio 646-535-8276

Media: Courtney Heath ScientPR Courtney@scientpr.com 617-872-2462

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ElevateBio Supercharges Gene Editing and Therapeutic Product Development Capabilities Through Acquisition of Life Edit Therapeutics - Yahoo Finance