In this podcast, in partnership with Molecular Devices, we cover CRISPR in therapeutic settings and in pharmaceutical discovery with experts Dr Jakob Haaber, Vice President & Head of Delivery Technologies, SNIPR Biome and Dr Richard Fox, Co-Founder, CEO and CTO of Infinome Biosciences. 

Tune in to hear about how CRISPR edits genes, how it can be applied to both industrial bioproduction and microbiome engineering and why this field is yet to see more exciting innovation! 

Key learning points:

- What CRISPR is and how it can be applied therapeutically and for pharmaceutical discovery

- The potential of targeting the microbiome with CRISPR-based precision medicines

- How to accelerate biomanufacturing processes 

- The advantages of CRISPR and recent developments

- Important considerations for gene editing

- The future of CRISPR and how gene editing workflows are evolving.

In this episode of Drug Target Review's podcast, sponsored by Leica Microsystems, Dr Tobi Langenhan, Professor of Biochemistry at the Universität Leipzig, Germany, discusses microscopy in the context of neuroscientific research in conversation with Dr Abdullah Ahmed, Advanced Workflow Specialist at Leica Microsystems. 

Listen to this podcast to discover how microscopy can be used to understand the molecular basis of mechanoceptive and synaptic pathways, some of the technologies that can help to overcome these challenges, plus much more! 

Key learning points:

- Why microscopy is such an important tool in neuroscientific research 

- The advantages of microscopy over other techniques 

- How to overcome common challenges encountered in microscopy 

- How microscopy is applied in the Langenhan lab to investigate synaptic protein assemblies and study the mechanoceptive properties of adhesion-type GPCRs.

In this episode of Drug Target Review's podcast, sponsored by Bio-Rad, we discuss adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors used in gene therapy and how to ensure their quality. Dr Jorge Haller, Director and Head of Analytical Development at Prevail Therapeutics and Dr Mark White, Associate Director of Biopharma Product Marketing at Bio-Rad explore how host cell residual DNA (rDNA) can occur and why it is important to detect this in gene therapy vectors. 

Listen to Jorge and Mark explore all this, plus the processes such as PCR that can be used to analyse rDNA throughout the production workflow!

In this episode, we cover the benefits of 3D imaging over 2D, workflows surrounding organoids and how the bottlenecks of 3D imaging can be overcome. Featured are expert speakers, Hilary Sherman, Senior Applications Scientist at Corning Life Sciences and Dr Oksana Sirenko, Research Scientist at Molecular Devices.

This episode of Drug Target Review's podcast covers cell line development and the assurance of monoclonality in cell lines. Featuring expert speakers Dr Natasa Skoko, Group Leader of the Biotechnology Development Unit at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Dr Hugh Graham, Director of Cell Culture Sciences at MacroGenics.

In this episode of Drug Target Review’s podcast, in association with Molecular Devices, Editor Victoria Rees speaks with Dr Carter Mitchell, Chief Science Officer at Kemp Proteins and Dr Sharath Madasu, Manager of Protein Characterisation at Kemp Proteins about the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against SARS-CoV-2 and why the workflow to develop these biologics has changed over the course of the pandemic.

The speakers began by explaining why mAbs are useful against SARS-CoV-2 and how they work to neutralise the virus.

"In particular with SARS-CoV-2, you want to disrupt the binding of spike proteins with ACE2 receptors and most of the neutralising antibodies used disrupt this interaction. We are essentially denying the entry into the host cells," said Madasu.

Madasu and Mitchell then went on to explore the rates of effectiveness seen with antibodies in relation to SARS-CoV-2. While they agreed that the antibodies given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) worked well against the wildtype virus and for the first several variants that emerged, they said that mAbs were shown to be less effective at neutralising the Omicron variant.

"With the Omicron variant, there are at least 36 mutations that are found on the spike protein... If these mutations result in differential glycosylation, that allows for the virus to be able to evade previously formed immunological responses or evade the neutralisation of mAbs," explained Mitchell.

However, both Mitchell and Madasu said that mAbs remain an effective tool against SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, developing mAbs that can tackle the Omicron variant is essential and having an accelerated discovery and development workflow is thus key.

"The process for antibody development has been established and the pandemic, I believe, created a sense of urgency to develop these antibodies," said Madasu.

The speakers also discussed how automation is crucial in mAb development, saving researchers time and money.

"Traditionally, we grow hybridomas in semi-solid mediums that allows for single cells to form a colony – but it is a slow process,” said Madasu. “Now, we have tools and robotic instruments that can allow us to print single cells into each well, thereby improving both the throughput as well as the efficiency."

“One of the great ways to decrease turnaround time is to implement robotics,” Mitchell summarised.

Mitchell and Madasu concluded that mAbs will be vital in ending the pandemic, working in tandem with other therapeutics and vaccines. Therefore, making sure that development pipelines for mAbs are as efficient as possible will allow patients to receive their required treatments sooner.

Keep an eye out for Drug Target Review’s next podcast, coming soon!

In this episode of Drug Target Review’s podcast, sponsored by Beckman Coulter, Deputy Editor Victoria Rees speaks with Dr Sheraz Gul, Head of Drug Screening and Compound Repurposing at the Fraunhofer Institute and Dr John Fuller, Global Commercial Product Manager at Beckman Coulter about the automation of small molecule discovery and development.

Discussing the drug discovery industry, Gul explained that “what we want to do is try and shrink, or condense, the pre-clinical research stage as much as possible, without any compromise and obtain that critical in vivo data that demonstrates the safety and efficacy of a compound.”

Gul and Fuller agree that automation can really help researchers to mitigate the challenges associated with the discovery of drugs. According to Gul, “the whole pre-clinical process can take five or seven years and we now are using automation and computational methods to try and accelerate drug discovery as much as possible.”

“Some of the specific areas where challenges can be alleviated are automating assays, which are a waste of human resources when done manually,” added Fuller.

Also covered in this episode is how drug development has changed in the hit-to-lead phase. Both Gul and Fuller say that newer technologies like CRISPR, next-generation sequencing (NGS), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are leading the way when it comes to the evolution of lead generation.

“In terms of new technologies, such as CRISPR and AI, we can now apply as many of these tools as possible to assay systems. For example, we can do cell-based screening and the cell population in that well can go through mass spectrometry analysis or NGS,” explained Gul. 

The speakers also discuss the Beckman Coulter Echo Acoustic Liquid Handling platform that can aid researchers to automate their small molecule screening studies, concluding that equipment that saves time and money for researchers will enable molecules to reach the clinic rapidly.

Keep an eye out for Drug Target Review’s next podcast, coming soon!

In this episode of Drug Target Review’s podcast, sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Deputy Editor Victoria Rees speaks with Tyler Pascoe, Technical Sales Consultant at Thermo Fisher Scientific and Matt Gruver, Product Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific about LIMS systems and the company’s upcoming Watson v7.7 release.

We begin by discussing what Watson LIMS is; Pascoe explained that the software is “specifically designed and built to support bioanalytical testing. When an organisation pursues the development of a new therapeutic, bioanalytical testing plays a critical role in that journey to seek regulatory approval.”

“As Watson LIMS is ever-evolving, our focus is to serve all bioanalytical testing customers – really empathising with the user personas that we support and what their daily challenges are, all while reacting to the regulatory landscape in which the majority of our customers operate,” said Gruver.

We also discussed how the Import Study Protocol feature and how the user interface and expanded capabilities will provide a more robust tool for importing sample metadata into study design.

“In Watson v7.7, the user interface has been updated to catch errors from within the Import file,” explained Pascoe. “It will also highlight conflicts within the existing design samples. This UI allows users to resolve errors with an integrated feature, which is also backed by audit trail records. So, for any error that cannot be immediately resolved, the user can opt to isolate the discrepant samples, allowing the valid records to be accepted into the study design. This helps to reduce any potential workflow bottlenecks.”

Gruver also explored some of the areas of focus for future Watson v7.7 releases. “Method validation will be our next near-term focus and that is true if you are talking about concentration measurement types of assays, like chromatographic or ligand-binding assays. In that case, we will be addressing any method validation gaps aligned to global ICHM10 guidance. For customers that are generating ADA endpoints and doing method validation for ADA assays, we will be aligned to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance for industry.”

Make sure to keep an eye out for Drug Target Review’s next podcast, coming soon!

In this episode of Drug Target Review’s podcast, Deputy Editor Victoria Rees discusses cell and gene therapies with Dr Sam Wadsworth, Chief Scientific Officer of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and Dr Eric Ostertag, Chief Executive Officer of Poseida Therapeutics.

Both will be presenting and speaking at the Cell & Gene Therapy Advancements online summit on 3 – 4 November 2021 – find out more here: https://bit.ly/3Bo44jo

Dr Wadsworth will be joining the session on combatting the immune response to AAV vectors and discussing the challenges associated with AAVs for gene therapy and why engineering better vectors could help to overcome these issues.

In the podcast, he explores why AAV vectors are used to deliver gene therapy and the benefits they offer, as well as ways to reduce the dosage required.

“AAV vectors are ideal for many applications and the basic simple reasons are that they have a great safety profile and they have a long duration of expression,” said Dr Wadsworth. “Today, we have clear proof that AAV vectors can be lifesaving… they have tremendous ability to deliver lifesaving therapies.”

Dr Ostertag will join the session on utilising CAR T-cell therapies against solid tumours and will explore why CAR T-cell therapies are less effective in solid tumours than in blood cancers and how to minimise toxicity to ensure a targeted approach.

In this episode, he covers why CAR T cells have shown success in haematological cancers and promising new developments that mean they could be used for a wide range of tumours.

“Blood tumours are relatively easy to access for a CAR T product and that’s not always the case for solid tumour indications,” said Dr Ostertag. “There are other hypotheses that revolve around the so-called tumour microenvironment; meaning that solid tumours have certain characteristics – hypoxia in the centre of the tumour or checkpoint inhibitors that cause problems with the T cells killing the solid tumours – that can limit success.”

Make sure you don’t miss out and reserve your spot at Drug Target Review’s Cell & Gene Therapy Advancements online summit today: https://bit.ly/3Bo44jo

In this episode of Drug Target Review’s podcast, sponsored by Bio-Rad, Deputy Editor Victoria Rees speaks with Dr Justin Lee from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Professor Vasan from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Dr Chantal Vogels from Yale School of Medicine, US. The topic of this podcast is focused on SARS-CoV-2 variants and why it is important to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“If emerging variants do have increased transmission, or perhaps have the ability to cause more severe disease, the sooner we know about them, the more effective our public health interventions can be,” said Dr Lee.

The discussion also includes how SARS-CoV-2 variants can be identified and sequenced, as well as some of the advantages and disadvantages to sequencing technologies.

“The variants are essentially detected by comparing against the original Wuhan reference strain and then comparing against it, what has changed. Unless we are able to track these variants, in almost real time, we will have lost the edge if a particular variant emerges that is dangerous… However, in practice it takes a long time for the patient turning positive to the sequencing being completed,” said Professor Vasan.

Also in this episode, Dr Vogels explains how her team developed a PCR assay that can aid in the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 variants in areas with fewer resources.

“In an ideal situation, you would have the ability to diagnose someone, determine which variant it is and then make an informed decision on how to treat this patient. However, it is hard to do that on a very short time scale. For instance, with next-generation sequencing – which is currently the golden standard for variant identification – it takes time,” said Dr Vogels. “Right now, there is at least some more capacity for sequencing and there is definitely development to sequence more and at a larger scale. However, there are many areas in the world where sequencing is just not accessible and that is because it is expensive, time consuming and you need specific expertise. Without the access to sequencing, it is very hard to do any sort of variant surveillance. But, many places are equipped to run PCR and having a variant PCR can at least help to get a rough idea of population-level variants that are circulating.”

The speakers conclude that identifying and monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants will be key in ending the pandemic.

Keep an eye out for Drug Target Review’s next podcast, coming soon!