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CONNECTIONS
- February 2018 -

 SPOTLIGHT 

Introducing the Spring FAST 2018 cohort: Abalone Bio, Antibiotic Adjuvant, Atropos Therapeutics, C. Light Technologies, Melio, and Valley Fever Solutions.

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Entrepreneurship 

  • Inflammatix (FAST Fall 2017), a molecular diagnostics company that is developing rapid tests that read the immune system to improve disease diagnosis, announces appointment of Oliver Liesenfeld, M.D., former CMO of Roche Molecular Diagnostics, as Chief Medical Officer | Read More
  • LogicInk (FAST Spring 2017) is planning on launching its temporary tattoo-like device for recording exposure to UV radiation from the sun during the second quarter of this year. | Read More
  • Read interview with SciBacs (FAST Fall 2016) CEO, Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder, Jeanette Mucha, who is designing live biotherapeutics to treat and prevent antibiotic resistant disease in the microbiome. | Read More
  • Eidos Therapeutics (FAST Spring 2016) presented at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference on developing AG10, a novel small molecule therapeutic for treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis. | Read More
  • Ligandal (FAST Spring 2016) unveils nanotech delivery for genetic therapies: What Good Would Amazon Be Without the Shipping? | Read More
  • GigaGen (FAST Spring 2015) receives NIH grant to develop production technology for recombinant intravenous immunoglobulin. | Read More  
  • GigaGen also announced moving into new office space in South San Francisco to accommodate the company’s expanding research and development activities for 2018 and beyond. | Read More
  • CLSA Fellow AnimalBiome wins $10,000 and is competing to win 2017/2018 Pet Care Innovation Prize. | Read More
  • QB3@953 unites life-science facility under new MBC BioLabs name with addition of brand-new facility in San Carlos | Read More

About FAST Advisory Program

The FAST Advisory Program provides select entrepreneurs with intensive team review and coaching to perfect their business model, product development plans, and to build a compelling commercialization strategy. Experienced entrepreneurs, product and business experts (which may include clinical development, regulatory, reimbursement and business development specialists) will advise selected Fellows during a ten-to-twelve week program, culminating in a Final FAST Showcase to a broad audience that includes potential investors and partners.

For information on the FAST program, contact Steve Karp
at FAST@califesciences.org or Julie Harness at jharness@califesciences.org


Upcoming Events & Key Dates
2/20 Deadline to Apply for Biotech/Biopharma track of Life Science Pitch Summits, UCSF Mission Bay Apply Here
2/22  “Destroyer of Obstacles”: Going from Startup to a Commercial Organization, UCSF Mission Bay, San Francisco Register Here
2/22 Build an Amazing Diagnostics, Tools or Drug Discovery Company, UCSF Mission Bay, San Francisco Register Here
2/26 Deadline to apply for Resource Allocation Program – Catalyst Awards for the Development of Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Devices, and Digital Health More Info
2/27 Call for Entries: Boehringer Ingelheim’s San Diego Innovation Prize for young life-science companies and bio-entrepreneurs  More Info
2/28 Understanding Drug Pricing, South San Francisco Register Here
2/28 GDPR for Academic Medical Centers and Life Science Companies Webinar Register Here
3/1 Sherry Parker, WuXi AppTec: “The Changing Landsape of Medtech Regulation” UCSF, Mission Bay, San Francisco Register Here
3/1 Fireside Chat with Tom Siebel: AI and IoT at Industrial Scale, Santa Clara Register Here
3/2 Deadline to apply for AbbVie and MBC BioLabs 2018 AbbVie Golden Ticket. The AbbVie Golden Ticket provides a year’s use of a lab bench and core facilities at MBC BioLabs' San Francisco or San Carlos site, as well as opportunities to engage with AbbVie scientific and business leaders. It will be awarded to an early stage company developing novel, transformational therapies for autoimmune, oncology, or neurodegenerative disease. To apply, please email your non-confidential company presentation to GoldenTicket@abbvie.com.
3/8 Women Who Lead in Life Sciences, San Francisco, CA Register Here
3/8 Entrepreneur Lessons Learned: Eric Stone, Velano Vascular, UCSF Mission Bay Register Here
3/13-16 Joint Genome Institute Genomics of Energy & Environment Meeting Register Here
3/15 MedTech Innovator 2018: JLABS Pitch Event, JLabs, South San Francisco Register Here
3/29 Meet with Frazier Healthcare Partners, JLabs, South San Francisco Register Here
3/29 Bio on the Bay with CLSA, San Francisco Register Here
4/10 Meet with Illumina Accelerator and Illumina Ventures, JLabs, South San Francisco Register Here
4/23-24 Stanford Drug Discovery Conference Register Here
6/5 Meet with Pappas Capital, JLabs, South San Francisco Register Here
6/20 5th Annual Rosenman Symposium, UCSF Mission Bay Register Here

 CARB-X 

  • CARB-X is seeking to partner with additional accelerators to expand support for its growing early development antibacterial pipeline. | Read More
  • Powered by CARB-X company, Vedanta Biosciences was granted four new US patents expanding coverage for compositions and methods of use for therapeutics based in microbiome-derived bacterial consortia. | Read More
    See a recent profile of
    Vedanta’s CEO
  • Powered by CARB-X company, VenatoRx received an award for up to $16 million from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to support preclinical development of a novel, first-in-class antibiotic for biodefense applications. | Read More
  • Powered by CARB-X company, Antabio announced the appointment of four biotech executives to the management team. | Read More
  • Powered by CARB-X company, Spero Therapeutics appoints David Melnick as Chief Medical Officer to oversee clinical development and regulatory strategy. | Read More
  • Powered by CARB-X company, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals promotes Larry Tsai, VP Clinical Development to Chief Medical Officer to move forward with new drug application for IV eravacycline. | Read More
  • Powered by CARB-X company, BugWorks’ is using advanced mathematical models and algorithms to design appropriate chemical compounds to attack resistant bacteria. | Read More about their approach and other ‘Big Data’ techniques for antibiotic discovery.

Other AMR News

  • New article just published in The Lancet Infectious Disease: Discovery, research, and development of new antibiotics: the WHO priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and tuberculosis. | Read More
  • Debut of FDA Susceptibility Test Interpretive Criteria (STIC) website. | Read More
  • Research project DRIVE-AB (Driving Re-investment in research and development for antibiotics and advocating their responsible use) determined that a market entry reward of $1 billion per antibiotic globally could increase the number of new antibiotics entering the market in the next 30 years. | Read More
  • The Pew Charitable Trusts’ antibiotic resistance project and the World Health Organization (WHO) have both released new analyses of the pipeline of products in clinical development with potential to treat or prevent serious drug-resistant bacterial infections. | Read More
  • Wellcome Trust is bringing together a new international expert group, SEDRIC (Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug-Resistant Infections Consortium) to “help transform the way countries are able to track, share and analyse information about the rise and spread of infections.” | Read More
  • Scientists at the University of Queensland in Australia are attacking antibiotic-resistant bacteria by re-engineering vancomycin to make “supercharged” antibiotics, called vancapticins. | Read More
  • St. Louis startup, BacterioScan received NIH grant to develop laser technology to rapidly test for urinary tract infectious. | Read More
  • Melinta Therapeutics announced the U.S. launch of Baxdela, an antibiotic for the treatment of adult patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by designated susceptible bacteria. | Read More
  • Paratek Pharmaceuticals announced completion of submission of two NDAs to the FDA for once-daily oral and IV formulations of broad-spectrum investigational antibiotic, omadacycline. | Read More
  • FDA cites progress in facilitating the development of new antibacterial drugs, however, additional efforts are needed. | Read More
  • SAB Biotherapeutics announced its first-in-human trial for new immunotherapy approach showing efficacy in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. | Read More
  • Regular surfers and bodyboarders are three times more likely to have antibiotic resistant E.coli in their guts than non-surfers. | Read More

 About CARB-X


The Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Accelerator (CARB-X) is the world’s largest public-private partnership focused on tackling AMR, bringing together leaders in industry, philanthropy, government and academia to rejuvenate the antimicrobial pipeline. The CARB-X consortium includes BARDA and NIAID (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), the AMR Centre, the Wellcome Trust, the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI), MassBio, the Broad Institute, Boston University School of Law and RTI International (RTI).

For more information on CARB-X, please contact Heather Shane, hshane@califesciences.org


Upcoming Events
2/17

Free Webinar on Infectious Diseases – live broadcast and roundtable discussion and Q&A  Register Here

2/28

Deadline for submitting responses for topic: The value of diagnostics to combat antimicrobial resistance by optimising antibiotic use More Info

3/2

Berlin Conference on Life Sciences – Novel Antimicrobials and AMR Diagnostics Register Here

3/11-16

Gordon Research Conference – Mechanisms Underlying Basal Ganglia Function and Dysfunction More Info

3/19-20

Superbugs and Superdrugs 2018 Register Here

4/21-24

ECCMID 2018, Madrid, Spain Register Here

6/7-11

ASM Microbe, Atlanta Register Here

 STEM Education & Careers 

  • NEW COURSE on UNDERSTANDING DRUG PRICING | Read More
  • Guest Article: UC Santa Cruz MCD Biology launches Curricular Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) Initiative | Read More
  • Biotech Primer Article: Drug Discovery 201 | Read More
  • Biotech Primer Article: Nanobodies: These Are Not Your Mother’s mAbs | Read More
  • Biotech Primer Article: Gene Therapy Cures | Read More
  • Biotech Primer Article: Preclinical Development Primer | Read More
  • Biotech Primer Article: From Drug Development to Approval | Read More
  • Biotech Primer Article: Desirable FDA Designations and Drug Approval | Read More

About CLSI Education & Career Programs

CLSI helps build the next generation of life science professionals by bringing industry and institutions of learning together to improve STEM education in California and to inspire and develop life science careers. CLSI also works to ensure that the current and anticipated talent needs of the industry are met, and that the workforce pipeline for the industry remains strong.


Upcoming Events
2/15

MBA Information Session for Biotech Professionals More Info

2/20

Young Women in BIO (YWIB) Speed Networking Event with Female Students, Wallenberg High School, San Francisco  More Info

3/13

MBA Information Session for Biotech Professionals More Info

3/15

Deadline to submit application for BioGENEius (April 26, 2018), South San Francisco, CA More Info

 

About the California Life Sciences Institute

The California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) supports the foundations of innovation that have made California home to the world's most prominent life sciences ecosystem. With a focus on the San Francisco Bay Area, CLSI's mission is to maintain California's leadership in life sciences innovation through support of entrepreneurship, education and career development. CLSI serves as an accelerator for the international CARB-X program devoted to combatting anti-microbial resistance.  CLSI is an affiliate of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), which represents California's leading life sciences organization. The California Life Sciences Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3), and was established in 1990 as the BayBio Institute. Learn more at http://califesciencesinstitute.org.

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