Winter 2019 LBICnews From the London BioScience Innovation Centre

WELCOME It is good to be back after my maternity leave and see all the exciting updates from our clients. It is wonderful to hear of funding successes and international collaborations, showing that bioscience is still a key sector in the UK economy. Such successes need publicising. On page 7, Sciad gives us advice on creating the perfect press release. There have been some departures during my leave as companies outgrow their LBIC space, but this Prokarium secures £4.6m allows us to welcome new clients in their place, most recently leading ophthalmology company Gyroscope, from Wellcome to fund profiled on page 6. In this issue, we also feature the vaccine against enteric fever LBIC team, to give a little insight into who we all are. Turn to pages 4 and 5 Ted Fjallman, Prokarium CEO (left) and Daniel Gill, Business Development Associate, Wellcome Trust if you would like to find out who bakes, who enjoys sea kayaking and Prokarium has received an investment of £4.59 million from the Wellcome who cooks fufu. Trust to fund two clinical trials of its lead programme, Entervax™, a vaccine against enteric fever.

Enteric fever, primarily caused by bivalent vaccine that has the potential to Lucy Garnsworthy, Editor Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and decrease the use of antimicrobials in the Paratyphi A, is the most common bacterial fight against antimicrobial resistance and to bloodstream infection in South Asia and provide a significant public health benefit to In this issue: causes significant mortality in areas with individuals at risk. poor sanitation. “Funding from a prestigious foundation Prokarium funding Lead story “This is the first new investment such as the Wellcome Trust underlines the deltaDOT launch in China Page 3 Wellcome has made within its new strength of our approach and provides the Meet the LBIC team Pages 4-5 Affordable Innovations for Global Health support necessary to progress to the clinic,” Gyroscope Therapeutics Flagship”, said Sally Nicholas, Partner, the said Ted Fjallman, Ph.D, Chief Executive expands to LBIC Page 6 Wellcome Trust. The collaboration shows Officer, Prokarium. Rules for the perfect press release Page 7 the joint commitment to develop a novel Client News Round-up Funding to help Virokine Therapeutics Ori manufacture reports preclinical brighter futures studies with NIH

Ori Biotech are very pleased to announce Virokine Therapeutics Ltd (VTL), a new the finalisation of their seed funding round, start-up at01 LBIC, is excited to report the 02 after making their home at LBIC earlier this launch of its preclinical studies of VTL year. Ori’s disruptive manufacturing immunotherapeutics with an award from the technology for cell and gene therapies National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the promises a new way to produce these living USA. This is in medicines and Ori is now fully primed to collaboration take on the challenge of the commercial- with leading level scale that the industry needs. Their Fabrican’s drink seal experts in DNA vaccination at the long-term aim is to enable access for all Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the patients to the hope and promise that cell Fabrican’s spray-on University of Louisiana Veterinary School. and gene therapy brings. sterile seal for canned VTL is 03engaging in further in vitro studies 04 to complement this work and associated IP drinks with support from a recent round of USA Business Angel Seed investment. New Fabrican has produced a sterile, appointments for this work include biodegradable spray-on coating to seal the Research Assistant Laboratory Manager, top of a drinks can. The innovative formula Sean Briggs, with first class and distinction will be sprayed during the packaging BSc/MSc degrees in immunology from process, protecting the can from dust and Newcastle University. The Scientific bacteria so consumers can peel then drink Advisory Board members are joined by Dr from a sterile surface. Persephone Borrow, Professor of Viral The Ori Biotech team Fabrican aims to minimise packaging Immunology at the University of Oxford, Dr waste and improve the convenience of Jane Minton, Clinical Consultant and transporting six-pack cans. The coating Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases, removes the need for traditional rings that “We feel at home at LBIC Trials Leader at NIHR and NHS Hospital can harm the environment and it degrades and hope to use our new University of Leeds, and Dr Ann Kwong, in compost or seawater. It can be Pharma Consulting LLC, Boston, USA. VTL funding to expand customised with colour for specific brands also welcomes Corporate Finance Director, operations as we bring our and can even be infused with scent. Michael Martin, experienced investment proprietary cell and gene The formulation is composed of natural banker and biotechnology start-up advisor. fibres, a biodegradable polymeric resin and therapy manufacturing VTL has recently joined key other additives. The texture of the formula platform to market” biotechnology industry networks as an has the feel of a non-woven material and is affiliate of the new Milner Institute at the not limited by can size. This unique University of Cambridge and as a member application has created much interest in the CEO of Ori Biotech, Jason Foster of One Nucleus. beverage industry to address the growing environmental concerns of consumers. www.fabrican.co.uk

LBIC welcomes these new clients to the Centre: • Evelobio • Freeline Therapeutics • Drive Phase PV • Gyroscope Therapeutics • Scalene • Sporegen Dr Ursula Gompels, Virokine CEO/CSO, speaking at the Anglonordic Life Science Conference

2 London BioScience Innovation Centre News Winter 2019 deltaDOT launch in China deltaDOT’s Capillary Electrophoresis molecules and is particularly useful product (known as the HPCE-512) has when characterising a complex been launched in China by Hanon mixture or quantitating specific Instruments. This product has been analytes (e.g. mAb and vaccine manufactured by Hanon with assistance stability studies). from deltaDOT over the past two years. The Nigel Stokes, Managing Director version manufactured in China is the same of deltaDOT, commented: “It is a instrument, but with a new colour scheme great achievement by both our and that reflects the colours in Hanon’s logo. Hanon’s technical teams that this Hanon plan to sell the HPCE-512 to clients product is now being manufactured in the academic, pharmaceutical, and sold in China. We believe that biotechnology and manufacturing sectors in the product will prove very useful for

China and the Pacific Rim countries. The many QA/QC applications.” Launch of deltaDOT’s HPCE-512 at a recent HPCE-512 analyses a wide range of trade show in Beijing

Introducing Drive Phase PV

LBIC welcomes new client • Eudravigilance services personalised PV support to clients around Drive Phase PV, experts • Risk Management Plans and signal the world. in pharmacovigilance. detection Tom is an Honorary Fellow of the • UK Qualified Person for Pharmaceutical Information and Drive Phase PV provides pharmacovigilance Pharmacovigilance and deputy Pharmacovigilance Association (HonFPIPA) (PV), device-vigilance and auditing services services and has served on the committee for in both clinical and post-marketing settings, • Periodic report preparation several years, collaborating on documents with particular expertise in oncology • Pharmacovigilance System Masterfile such as guidelines for clinical and post- and biologics. creation and maintenance marketing PV and implementing GDPR • Standard Operating Procedure requirements for PV departments. Services include: creation and maintenance He is also a member of the Alliance for • PV system design and optimisation Director Tom Nichols has worked across Clinical Research Excellence and Safety • Audit and Corrective and Preventative the full PV spectrum from early-phase (ACRES) working group, developing Action management clinical trials through to generics. Following standards for the outsourcing of PV • Safety database updates a period heading up the PV function at a activities, and co-leads the Drug Information and migration leading clinical research organisation Association (DIA) pre-market safety • Safety Data Exchange Agreement (CRO), Drive Phase PV was launched with working group. preparation and management the goal of providing high-quality and

Inspiring Growth and Creating Opportunities in Life Sciences

SPONSORSHOWCASEATTEND LONDONAPRIL28-292020 Meet the LBIC Ken Larkin Janette Pickles CEO Operations Manager

YEAR JOINED: 2009 YEAR JOINED: 2007 Ken lives in the East Midlands with his wife, Team Janette lives in Aylesbury with the love of their daughter and two dogs. In his spare her life, her seven-year-old Border Collie, time, he enjoys going out on one of his Indy. She enjoys nothing more than taking many bikes and clocking up the miles on him for long walks come rain or shine. She Strava. Ken is pleased to have a few bakers also enjoys good food and a glass of wine within the LBIC team, and is always happy whilst watching a bit of rugby. to sample the treats that they bring in.

Lucy Garnsworthy Roo Goodwin Mariane Meyer Communications Manager Administration Manager Administrator

YEAR JOINED: 2010 YEAR JOINED: 2018 YEAR JOINED: 2005

Lucy lives in London with a French man and Roo lives in Bedfordshire with her husband, Outside of the office, Mariane loves to read their baby girl, born in 2018. Lucy used to two miniature schnauzers Sprocket and and listen to music. When she can, she work as an archaeologist excavating Doozer, cat Hershel and rabbit Nutkin. She heads home to South Africa to see her building sites all over southeast England, enjoys running (slowly) with her local club, children and grandchildren. She recently and excavated on Dartmoor and in listening to podcasts, frequently going to met the new man in her life, little grandson Honduras during her studies at UCL. She see her favourite band play live and baking Benjamin, who has just turned one. Her sings with a rock and pop choir based in cakes and cookies, which usually find their birthplace of Scotland is also always calling Camden and enjoys eating good food at way in to the LBIC office. so she makes frequent trips up over home and in restaurants as often the border. as possible.

4 London BioScience Innovation Centre News Winter 2019 Adam Rasmussen Arda Lindy Brand-Daloze Ellen Carrick Sterilisation Suite Technician Receptionist Receptionist

YEAR JOINED: 2019 YEAR JOINED: 2016 YEAR JOINED: 2019

Adam joined the LBIC team at the start of Hailing from tropical North Queensland, Ellen is the newest member of the LBIC September this year after four years at Lindy has six grown-up children and four team and is looking forward to getting Newcastle University where he first grandchildren. She moved to Brussels in stuck into her new role. When not at work, graduated in Biology, BSc and then 2009 for love, and later lived in France prior Ellen can usually be found with her two Industrial and Commercial Biotechnology, to moving to London five years ago. Lindy gorgeous girls, ferrying them around MSc. He spends most of his weekends loves travelling, supporting her Australian between their various acting and gymnastic playing hockey and catching up with friends. Rules football team, and vegetarian clubs or at a park with them somewhere! In cooking. her spare time, she enjoys a spot of aqua aerobics and planning holidays!

LBIC is also supported by team members from the RVC

Soumen Bhowmik Yvonne Mercer Bevan McWilliam IT Infrastructure Engineer Management Accountant Client Relationship Manager

YEAR JOINED: 2002 YEAR JOINED: 2013 YEAR JOINED: 2013

Soumen lives with his wife and two Yvonne was born and raised in Ghana, and Originally from New Zealand, Bevan has beautiful daughters who keep him on his her African name is Maame Yacoba. She spent the past decade in London, now living toes. He enjoys sailing and kayaking in the loves spicy food (and enjoys cooking in the Docklands. Bevan uses this as a coastal waters of Alentejo (Portugal) and African foods), namely jolloff rice, palm nut base to explore Europe with his partner riding his motorbike. Soumen always soup with fufu, fried yams and shito (spicy Wynter and his tiny dog Milly. Bevan plays returns from his annual visits to Spain and shrimp sauce). Yvonne is a mother of one, the bagpipes (badly) and enjoys baking Portugal full of tales to entertain the team. and enjoys spending time with her (with adequate results), but his favourite daughter. moments are spent in London pubs, telling outrageous lies to his friends.

London BioScience Innovation Centre News Winter 2019 5 Gyroscope impairment for people aged 65 and older surgeons to access an area of the eye and there are no approved treatments. called the subretinal space without needing Therapeutics Research suggests that when a part of to remove the vitreous (the gel-like the – the complement substance that fills the eye) or make a hole expands to LBIC system – is overactive, it in the retina. This is leads to important as it may that damages healthy increase the likelihood of Ophthalmology company Gyroscope eye tissues. Gyroscope’s lead treatment success by delivering therapies Therapeutics is establishing a new base investigational gene therapy, GT005, is to critical target tissues while keeping the at LBIC. designed to restore balance to the vitreous and retina intact. Gyroscope is working to build something . The goal is to slow, or In addition to developing the Orbit SDS special – a company to preserve people’s possibly stop, the progression of dry-AMD. for delivery of its proprietary therapies, sight and fight the devastating impact of Patients in the company’s ongoing Gyroscope is partnering and licensing the blindness around the world. Its gene Phase I/II clinical trial, known as the technology to other gene and cell therapy therapies and surgical devices may offer FOCUS study, receive a single dose of the companies worldwide. people the chance to see what they therapy through an injection below Gyroscope is funded by Syncona and otherwise would have missed. their retina. Cambridge Innovation Capital, with bases in Gyroscope is developing gene therapy Gyroscope is also developing surgical London, Stevenage and in the US. beyond rare disease and using it to treat a devices and procedures designed to safely, Gyroscope’s Research Team will be leading cause of blindness: dry age-related precisely and consistently deliver therapies based at LBIC and they look forward to macular degeneration (dry-AMD). Dry-AMD into the eye. The Orbit Subretinal Delivery meeting other LBIC tenants. is the leading cause of permanent vision System (Orbit SDS) is designed to allow For more information visit gyroscopetx.com

Protein from methane brings further funding success and new partnerships for Unibio

Unibio has completed a USD 15m high-quality , sold under the brand (GBP 12.4m) financing name of Uniprotein®. This decouples round led by West protein production from farming and fishing Hill Capital and and helps to address one of the key enabling a challenges of today’s world: how to feed the establishment of a protein production plant global rollout of soon-to-be 10 billion people worldwide in this region. Unibio’s without further exploiting depleted fish Unibio is part of SDG Accelerator for patented protein- stocks or converting ever more land to SMEs 2019. SDG Accelerator is a United from-methane intensive agriculture. Nations Development Programme initiative production technology Unibio and Core Protein LLC have begun aspiring to accelerate business solutions through full-scale commercial preparation for the establishment of a for its Sustainable Development projects around the world. sustainable protein production plant in Goals (SDGs). Texas utilising the U-Loop® technology, and Unibio is a world-leading alternate protein a master licence agreement has For more information, please contact: company with core competences in been executed. Henrik Busch-Larsen, Unibio Group CEO microbial fermentation technologies that Unibio and its local partner Edhafat have Phone: +45 6310 4040 owns the rights to the unique U-Loop® signed an MOU with SAGIA, the General E-mail: [email protected] technology. The technology allows the Investment Authority of Saudi Arabia, www.unibiogroup.com sustainable production of affordable, beginning the preparations for the

6 London BioScience Innovation Centre News Winter 2019 Create a perfect press release 10 quick and easy rules

BY MARIA PATEY FROM BUSINESS SUPPORT NETWORK PROVIDER SCIAD

Most professionals outside of the PR world that job is to cut through a huge volume of expect pitching to media to be a breeze. noise and cherry-pick the stories that they Why wouldn’t the Editor-in-Chief at Nature feel will be of most interest to their readers. be interested in how your proprietary drug If you think you have a newsworthy story, delivery technology could improve life in the then a well-written press release future for thousands of patients? Or why will land your news on the desks wouldn’t the FT want to include you in its of the editors who will decide on centre pages as the next company to watch whether or not it makes the cut. since your latest partnership deal was your biggest to date, and your executive board has added several new industry leaders? The fact is, the editors and journalists of every media outlet have a job to do, and

TOP 10 RULES

Craft a strong headline including Create an additional paragraph Provide contact information and links to 1 keywords that appeal to the 4 providing more details about 8 the specific destination page on your audience you intend to reach the announcement: try to company website where you intend (think about the words people respond to all relevant readers of the release to be directed are most likely to search for W-questions (where, what, (note: this could be your e-commerce online and reverse engineer this why, when and who) page rather than your home page if you into your headline) intend to sell products) Have one killer stat/number to Start with a brief description of 5 show why your story is Distribute wisely: select and send the 2 your announcement in plain important 9 release only to relevant publications/ English, without industry jargon! media platforms with a strong presence Be very clear about your Include a call to action and a among the audience you’re targeting message and why it matters to 6 URL address where your the audience you’re customers can find more Stay motivated and excited about your communicating to information about the story 10 story! For maximum impact and optimum results, promote the news on all of your Include a short, compelling quote Add a relevant image (online media channels, i.e. the company 3 from a company representative 7 media outlets appreciate these website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. related to the news (anecdotes – but use owned images only) Re-post any pick-ups and respond and facts are most memorable) quickly to all enquiries

If you are looking to increase your company understanding your Google Analytics, or Good luck with your news! For targeted profile among key customers and improve how to improve SEO, we will respond to distribution, check out Sciad’s tailor-made your reputation, then Sciad are offering all your specific need. Please contact Deborah science and technology newswire: LBIC clients a free 30-minute consultation. Cockerill ([email protected]) or www.sciadnewswire.com Whether you need strategic advice on a Maria Patey ([email protected]) for communications challenge, help further details.

London BioScience Innovation Centre News Winter 2019 7 £ Virtual tenancy offers 600 Contact us for the first six months* LBIC has been supporting flexible London base life sciences companies since 2001. Today we host more than 50 companies, ranging from For companies looking to establish a London base, it is easy to think that a entrepreneurial start-ups to physical office is required. However, many companies find it simpler to take more established UK companies on a ‘virtual’ tenancy at LBIC, giving access to meeting room space when and overseas subsidiaries from needed for important face-to-face meetings, but without the commitment Europe, North America and Asia and setup required with dedicated office space. Pacific. The Centre is owned and operated by the prestigious Royal Veterinary College, one of LBIC’s experienced team has developed the virtual package to suit the varied needs of life the independent Colleges of the science companies of all sizes. University of London. The Centre is a 10-minute walk Benefits of an LBIC Virtual tenancy from St Pancras International for Eurostar services and The • A Central London address less • Post collection and redirection Francis Crick Institute. than 10 minutes’ walk from the • Courier bookings at client rates international transport links of • Business Support Network to St Pancras International station assist with doing business in • One-year complimentary Gold the UK membership of One Nucleus, the • Access to RVC equipment and international membership facilities, including the stunning organisation for life science and Lightwell café healthcare companies • Visible profile within LBIC and • Discounted client rates on through our marketing and meeting rooms, catering and video communications conferencing facilities • Option to cancel at any time, with Our management team • A dedicated telephone line just one month’s notice period comprises: answered in the client’s name and Dr Ken Larkin redirected as needed Chief Executive Janette Pickles Operations Manager The set-up process is quick and straightforward Lucy Garnsworthy Contact us at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7691 1122 today to enquire Communications Manager about becoming a Virtual client. Roo Goodwin Administration Manager * Additional charges may apply for certain services. A full list of charges can be supplied on request. Prospective clients will be subject to due diligence checks by LBIC management. Introductory rate is excluding VAT. For further information, or to enquire about our services, contact: Would you like to feature in our newsletter? The London BioScience If you would like to contribute to a future issue of LBIC News, Innovation Centre, contact Lucy Garnsworthy on +44 (0) 20 7691 0982 or email [email protected] 2 Royal College Street, London, NW1 0NH

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8 London BioScience Innovation Centre News Winter 2019

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