Jeff Aronin, Chairman
Evozyne
The cure to life is Biotechnology
Way to save the life of every individual.
Embarking on the Prospects to Foster Bio-Innovations
Editor’s Desk
AbhishekJoshi
AbhishekJoshi
Biotechnologyhasbecomeamajorenginefor
nationalandurbancompetitivenessinthetwentyfirstcentury.Biotechnologyisbeingexploredasa crucialdevelopmentforfutureadvancementsandgrowing competitionforpolicymakers.
Ithasalwaysbeenaknowledge-drivensectorbecauseofits consistencyincomprehensivelyworkingtocreatevalue, decodinggenomicsandproteomicsandbeinga paradigmaticknowledge-basedeconomicactivity. Biotechnologyindustriesarealsoamongthemost innovativeandimportanteconomicdriversinthemodern businessworld.
However,thebiotechnologymarkethasraisedexpectations amonginvestors,workers,andconsumers.Thisispartly relatedtotheCOVID-19pandemic,whichmotivatedthe accelerationininvestmentsinthesectorsocommonly characterizedbyitslong-termresults.Biotechindustry trendshaverevolvedarounddiversifyingtheproductionof patentsandinvestingalotofcapitalwithoutexpecting shortandmid-termresults—atypicalscriptregardingthe sectorthatcouldholdontoinvestors.
Eventually,thisrequiresconsideringhowtheycanscaleup andwhatisrequired,inordertodeliverontheirpromiseof providinginnovativemedicinestopatients.Earlyinthelife cycle,abiotechcompany'smanagementteamtypically growsthebusinessthroughafewcoreassetsandlimited programmers,focusingitsresourceswherethemostvalue canbegained,suchasdifferentiationinmanufacturing, understandingofdiseaseandbiology,ordrugchemistry
Oneoftheimportantaspectsthathavebeensignificantly contributingtocoredriversoflonger-termsuccessis buildingaportfolioofproductstosustaingrowth–this researchseekstoidentifywhichportfolioapproacheshave
enabledbiotechtoscaleitsprogress,stimulateinnovation forpatientsandcreatedfinancialsuccessforinvestorsand founders.
Tofurthersucceedintheniche,emergingcompaniestryto createan"end-to-end"entityfromresearchand developmenttocommercialization,bringingtheir product(s)tomarketthemselves.Moreover,ensuringthe R&Dprofilecontinuestobethefocusofmostotherbiotech companies'attentionremainsaprimaryaimforthese biotechcompanies.
AmongthosewhoareR&D-focused,someadopta "diversifyapproach,"resultinginasignificantincreasein thenumberofassetsacrossmultipletherapeuticareasand relyingheavilyonrevenuegeneratedthroughcollaboration agreementstoadvanceassetspastpre-clinicalandPhase1 stages.
Embracingtheascendingodysseyofthestarletsthatare enablingtransformationsinthebiotechindustry,Insights Successfeaturesthetriumphtrailof"The 10 Most Emerging Biotech Companies to Watch in 2022 ”
Flipthroughthepagesandreadontocomprehendthe immersiveadvancementsthatarebeingdrivenbyavision toempowerlimitlessennoblementsintheglobalhealthcare industry.
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The 10 Companies To Watch in 2022 Most Emerging Biotech
CompanyName
3Scan 3scan.com
ClinCapturec lincapture.com
CMICInc en.cmicgroup.com
FeaturedPerson
ToddHulman, CEO&Co-founder
ScottWeidley, President&CEO
JennyLin, COO&BoardofDirector
JeffAronin, Chairman Evozyne evozyne.com
GoldenHelixh goldenhelix.com
AndreasScherer, President&CEO
JimKaskade, CEO Janrain janrain.com
JanMiotto, President Metrendalytics metrendalytics.com
PeachtreeBioResearch Solutions peachtreebrs.com
SharonHilton, COO &KristyNichols, CEO
RoyFarfara, Founder&CTO TrioxNano
Brief
3Scanisturningtissuebiologyandhistopathologyintodata science,givingresearcherstheinsightstheyneedtobreaknew ground.
ClinCaptureisrevolutionizingtheclinicaltrialindustrywith VirtualDataCapture®andistheonlyproviderofVDC®,a leading-edgesuiteofproductsdesignedtoexpediteremoteand decentralizedclinicaltrials.
CMICisaninnovativeanduniqueproviderofhigh-quality solutionsforthehealthcareindustry. Wecreatevaluebyacceleratingtheaccesstotherapiesthat improvepatients’lives.
Evozynecombinesevolutionanddeeplearningtechnologyto createhighlyfunctionalnovelproteins—NaturalMachines™ —tosolvelongstandingchallengesintherapeuticsand sustainability
GoldenHelixhasbeendeliveringindustry-leading bioinformaticssolutionsforover20yearswith1,000sofusers aroundtheworld.
Janrainisthefirstchoiceofglobalenterprisesformissioncriticalcustomeridentityandaccessmanagement(CIAM) needs.
MetrendalyticsConsulting,focusedonhelpingcompanies develophighlycustomizedandflexiblebusinessintelligence solutions.
Theorganizationaimstodeliverexcellentclinicaldevelopment servicesandinnovativeresourcingsolutionsthatletourclients completetheirclinicaltrialsinanefficientandcost-effective manner
TrioxNanoLtd(Israel)isaninnovativebio-technology companydevelopingprogrammablebiologicnanocarriersthat areabletoaccuratelydeliverpayloadstotheirtarget.
o v e r S t o r
Evozyne
Engineering Biology to Solve Societal Challenges
If nature is the world's best engineer, imagine what it can do if it's fast-forwarded by a few million years.
-Jeff Aronin, Chairman, Evozyne
Technicaladvancementsingeneticsand
supercomputingaredrivinganastonishingamount ofscientificprogress,colloquiallyknownasthe biologyrevolution.Theadvancescomeatafortuitoustime. Environmentalthreatsarechippingawayatthequalityof lifeformillions,whilenewviralillnessescontinueto emergeandthousandsofknowndiseaseslackeffective treatments.
Evozyne,foundedbyParagonBiosciences,wascreated onthepremisethatthenew-foundabilitytocreatehighperformanceproteinscandeliversolutionstothesomeof mostintractablemodernproblems. Thecompanybelieves thatbylearningfromevolution,itispossibletoengineer future-proofedinterventionsforpatientsandaddress environmentalchallengesincarboncaptureandenergy storage.
Tolearnmoreaboutitsbiology-basedadvancements,weat InsightsSuccesscrossedpathswithEvozyne'steam,andin thefollowinginterview,thecompanyoutlinesits pathbreakingvisiontobenefithumanity
Below are the highlights of the interview.
Whatwastheinitialideabehindtheinceptionof Evozyne?
EvozynewasfoundedbyParagonBiosciencestoadvance boundary-breakingbiologyfromthelaboratoryandintothe realworld,whereitcansolvecomplexproblems. Believingthattheengineeredproteinswilldramatically acceleratescientificbreakthroughs,intwoyearswe recruitedaworld-classteamofnearly100computational scientists,researchers,andcommercialleaderstoconducta seriesofvalidationprojectsfromEvozyne'snew30,000square-footlabinChicago.
Evozyne'sevolution-baseddesignisaboutencapsulating vitalinformationfromtheevolutionaryhistoryofaprotein intoacomputationallydefinedlatentspacethatenables rationaldesignofnatural-likeproteins.Whencombined withaniterativedesign-build-testapproach,themodels generateproteindesignsthatfarexceedperformanceof naturalproteinsandcanbedeployedininreal-world applications.
Inanearlyproject,EvozynepartneredwithTakeda,the Japanesepharmaceuticalcompany,toimprovethe therapeuticpotentialofaspecifictargettotreatasevere geneticdisease.Thisinheriteddisordercausesadangerous
build-upofphenylalaninewhenapersoneatsproteinor foodscontainingaspartame,whichseverelyalterstheir qualityoflife.
Evozynedeliveredanengineeredenzymethatgreatly exceededTakeda'sdesignspecifications,whichledtoan initialmulti-assetlicensingagreementworthupto$400 millionpluspotentialroyaltiesfromanycommercial productresultingfromthecollaboration.Ourtechnology outperformedexpectationsinthiscriticaltestandresulted inanimportantcollaborationforbothcompanies.Weare hopefulthispartnershipwithTakedawillleadtonew treatmentsthatsignificantlyimprovethequalityoflifefor patients.
Whataretheprimaryobjectivesandphilosophyof Evozyne?
Webelieveboundary-breakingbiologyisthekeyto transformationalapplicationsintherapeuticsand sustainability.Understandingthatnatureistheoriginaland bestengineer,weusedeepevolutionarylearninginthelab tounderstandmillionsofyearsofevolution.
Byusingevolution-baseddesign,we'reabletotacklesome ofsociety'sbiggestchallenges,likefindingtreatmentsfor patientswithuntreateddiseasesanddevelopingsolutions forsustainabilityconcerns.
Philosophically,wearehighlypragmaticandourdesignbuild-testapproachisappliedtoeveryaspectofourwork. Wepartnerwithlike-mindedentities,workingtogetherto findworld-changingsolutions.
Torealizetheimpactandpotentialofourengineered proteins,weneedpartnerswhoshareourvisionforabetter worldandacommitmenttothebreakthroughapproaches requiredtogetthere.Ournext-generationproteinscanbe tailoredacrossfunctions,andourefficientdesign-build-test cyclesenablecommercial-scalesolutionsthatunlocknew productsandIPforourpartners.
Whatareyourkeyofferingsthathaveafootholdinthe industry?
Evozynebeganbycombiningartificialintelligence, specificallymachinelearning,withappliedbiologyto acceleratescientificdiscovery.Theprocessspeedsuplead identificationfornewmedicines,whichcanresultin findingsthatsupportinvestigationalnewdrugapplications andbiologiclicenseapplicationsforexperimental
therapeutics.Fromatimelinepointof view,Evozyneworksfromtheearliestpoints, identifyingandoptimizingleadtargets,andcontinuesits workthroughdevelopingexperimentaltherapeuticsand supportingthemthroughPhase3clinicaltrials.
Currently,wearecreatinghigh-performanceenzymesfor ourpartnersatTakedaanddevelopingantibody,gene optimization,andCRISPRtechnologyplatformsthatwe believewillleadtothedevelopmentofbreakthrough therapeuticsforpatients.
Onthesustainabilityside,proteinengineeringmovesthe sciencebeyondtraditionalchemicalcatalystsbydeveloping enzymesthatcanwithstandindustrialconditions, functioninginhigh-temperatureconditions,and overcomingpHresistance.
Ourleadsustainabilitycandidateisengineeredtoperform attemperaturesabove260degreesFahrenheitinan industrialsetting.Untilnow,noenzymehasbeenableto
functioninthe conditions associatedwithpowergeneration.
Ourtestsindicatethatwehaveaproductthatmeetsthe challengeofenzymaticon-sitecarboncapture,which meansifsuccessfultheCO frompowergenerationisnever 2 releasedintotheatmosphere.Welookforwardtoproving itsperformance,firstattheUniversityofKentuckythisyear andlaterattheNationalCarbonCaptureCenterin Alabama.
WhataretheroadblocksthatEvozynefacesintheeverchanginglandscapeofthebusinessworld?
Scienceisunpredictable,andit'shard.Thosetwofacts,plus thecompetitivenatureofbiotechbusinesses,makeit temptingtorushproductstomarket.Therearenotable examplesofsyntheticbiologycompaniesthatgaveinto thattemptation,soldproductsthatdidn'tperformasbilled andsubsequentlyfailed.
Evozynefollowedthosestoriesclosely,andourteamis committedtodoingthingsdifferently.Ourhighly pragmatic,design/built/testmodelrequiresustorepeatedly provetoourselves,withobjectivedata,thatthetechnology performsasexpectedinreal-worldconditions.Evozyne willbringproductstomarketwhenandiftheyareproven toahighlevelofcertainty
Beingfirstcanbeadisadvantageifyoufailtomeetmarket expectations.Protectingourreputationisatoppriorityfor Evozyne,andthatmeansmakingsurewe'vedonethehard worktoprovetheperformanceofourtechnologyplatforms.
Beyondreputationmanagement,recruitingtopscientific talentisahurdleformanybiotechcompanies.Fortunately, Evozynehasprovenitsabilitytohiretoptalent,whichwe attributetoourpragmaticapproach,theimpactofthe problemswe'reworkingtosolve,andthefinancialhealthof ourcompany.IthelpsthatChicagoisaworld-classcity, withgloballyrenowneduniversitiesandathriving ecosystemthatsupportsemergingbiotechandpharma companies.Thescientifictalentweneedtosucceedwants toworkhereand,more important,ishappy livinghere.
Howisyourcompanyadaptingtomarketorientation?
Nearlyhalfoftheworld'sdiseaseburdenwillbeaddressed bybiologyinthenext20years.Withthatinmind,we're pursuinglife-changingtreatmentsforpatientsandfinding waystoimprovelifeforpatientswithdiseasesthataren't currentlytreatable.Therearemorethan10,000diseasesfor whichnomedicineexists,andwehopetobepartofthe solutionforpatientswholackoptions.
Onthesustainabilityside,we'reworkingtoaddressclimate changewithanon-sitesolutionforcarboncapture.We're uncoveringnewpathstoreplaceharmfulplasticsand addressingglobalwarmingbymakingcarboncapturea reality.Ourgoalistobuildhigh-performanceproteins,with exceptionallyadvancedfunctionalitythatmakeswhat's possibleareality.Theyaredesignedtobeconsistentwith thelawsofnatureandmatchthecomplexcharacterof naturalenvironments,enablingbiology-basedsolutionsthat openourimaginationtowhat'spossibleinsolvingsomeof society'smostintractableproblems.
Whatisyourapproachtoimplementinginnovative technologies?
It'simportanttounderstand thattheproteinsequence
spaceisimpossiblylarge—muchlargerthanthenumberof atomsintheknownuniverse—andnoexistingapproach cancomprehensivelysearchit.
Yetthat'swherewebelievewe'llfindanswerstotheworld's mostpressingscientificquestions.
Ourmachinelearningmodelshelpusfindevolvable proteinsfromthatvastspacethatcanbeengineeredtomeet realworldchallenges.Moreimportantly,welearnfrom everysequencegeneratedinthedesignprocess,notjust fromtheonesthatwork.
Evozynegeneratesgenotype-phenotypemappingforevery sequencegenerated,addingtoourlibrariesandabilityto finddesiredsolutionsfaster.Thedesignrulesuncovered fromthesesequenceshelpussimultaneouslyoptimize severalproteinfunctions.That'sawholelotmoreefficient thanoptimizingonepropertyatatime.
Thisfunctionalinnovationformsourdesignphilosophy, unlockingthenaturalpotentialofevolvedproteins.
Howdoesyourcompanyprovideasocietalbenefit?
We'reusingsciencetosolvesomeofthemostcomplex problemsoursocietyfaces.
Thinkaboutitlikethis.Ourplatformiscapableofcreating moleculesthatsurpassthecurrentlimitsofperformance. Wecanachievetargetedimprovementsinfunctionthat mirrorsthecapabilitiesofnaturalevolution.Ifnatureisthe world'sbestengineer,imaginewhatitcandoifit'sfastforwardedbyafewmillionyears.
WhatisthenextchapterforEvozyne?
Ourfocusisondevelopingtechnologyplatformsfor therapeuticsandsustainability.Onthetherapeuticsside,the focusisongeneoptimization,geneediting,andfutureproofedantibodies.
Genereplacementtherapyrequiresbetter-than-wildtype performinggenestominimizedosing,maximizeefficacy, andreduceimmunogenicity.Existinggenetherapiesarenot simultaneouslyoptimizedacrossallthesedimensions. Furthermore,certaindiseasesrequirereplacementofgenes thataretoolargetofitintoexistingdeliverytechnologies, renderingtheminaccessible.
Usingourcomputationalbiologyapproach,weengineer transgeneswithsuperiorperformanceinactivity,affinity, stability,andimmunogenicity.Inaddition,Evozyne's technologyenablesminiaturizationofthegenecassette, unlockingcuresforpreviouslyinaccessiblediseases. GeneeditingwithCRISPR-Casnucleaseshasintroduced newtherapeuticmodalitiestotreatawiderangeofdiseases. Yettheexistingnucleasesarenotspecificenoughandcan causeoff-targetediting,whichmeanstheyeditthegenome inareasthatarenotintended.
Byaugmentingandredesigningthenucleasescreatedby nature,Evozyneisdevelopingacomprehensivelibraryof highlyspecificCasnucleasesthatcanaccessmostofthe genome.Thiscombinationofaccessibilityandspecificity willallowpreviouslyuntreatablediseasestobecuredsafely andeffectivelywithourenzymes.
ThePandemicprovidedanothercomplexproblemthatwe hopetosolve.Weallknowthatasvirusesmutate,they developresistancetoantibodies,renderingtherapeutics ineffective.Theproblemtreatingviralinfectionisoneof understandingtheevolvabilityofthevirus.Despite widespreadresearch,currentdiscoverytoolshavelimited successincounteringviralresistance.
Usingourabilitytounderstandtheconstraintsonviral evolution,Evozyneisdevelopinganapproachtogenerate future-proofed,broadlyneutralizingantibodies.Ourfirst applicationofthisplatformisavariant-resistantCOVID-19 antibody.
Evozyne'ssustainabilitypracticeisfocusedoncarbon captureandbatterytechnology.
Capturingcarbonatthepointofproductionhasbeen inefficientandenergy-intensive.Rightnow,it'stoo expensivetoreduceemissions.Whilenaturallyoccurring solutionscanimproveefficiency,theycannotwithstand harshindustrialconditionsandcan'tperformathigh temperatures.
Leveragingdesignrulesencodedbynature,Evozyneis developingahighlyefficientorganiccatalystthatremains stableintherequiredindustrialconditions,makingcarbon captureatthepointofproductioncost-effective.
2022 | 19 | www.insightssuccess.com
