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.