Biologically Inspired Engineering, synbio, synthetic biology, crispr
Simons Chase 
Cell Squeeze® is a commercial technology designed to manipulate individual cells (ie. a patient’s own cells) through mild perturbation that leaves the cells viable after mechanoporation – or the insertion of a cargo directly into a cell’s cytosol. SQZ Biotech is the sole developer of this technology. One early application consists of a microchip that … Read more
A look inside a leading venture capital firm’s portfolio is like a lens for understanding the current state of the future of healthcare. Illumina Ventures’ is an independently-managed, healthcare-focused venture firm in a strategic partnership with Illumina, Inc. The portfolio illustrates as much about business models as it does about the science behind synthetic biology. … Read more
Chinese companies have capitalized on the U.S.’s open capital markets for decades. As the U.S.-China relationship frays, examining Chinese integration in the healthcare and biotech sectors must involve U.S. national security. This table includes Chinese companies listed on the NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, and NYSE American, the three largest U.S. exchanges. As of October … Read more
SQZ Biotech IPO’d in November with a $350 million+/- market cap on the basis of a new technology called Cell Squeeze®. What we can observe about this company in the present is limited to a very short history and is mostly anecdotal and risky. The company and the science is a good example of how … Read more
Dr. Bradley Harding is a scientist specializing in DNA-based computing. His research, recently published in the prestigious journal Nano Letters, holds the potential to advance the field reusable biodevices controlled by logical operations. Dr. Harding’s research was co-supervised by the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Dr Joanne Macdonald and Dr Nina Pollak, assisted by collaborator … Read more
In February, biotechnology company Beam Therapeutics Inc closed its initial public offering (IPO) of 12,176,471 shares of common stock, including the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1,588,235 additional shares of common stock, at a public offering price of $17.00 per share. The aggregate gross proceeds to Beam … Read more
U.S.-based cancer testing startup Grail Inc has filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) to complete the commercialization of its population-scale multi-cancer early detection testing capability based on a technology called liquid biopsy. Grail was spun out of gene sequencing company Illumina Inc in 2016, with investments from ARCH Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures … Read more
Quantgene started in 2015 in a small UC Berkeley Lab under the leadership of Jo Bhakdi and Dr. Monika Hagen. Their theory was that most disease can be detected far earlier by introducing quantitative science and a new level of precision into medical practice. Since then, the Quangene team has spent over 4 years building … Read more
I interviewed Dr Nina Pollak via Zoom to discuss her research interests and career aspirations. She is presently a CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellow at the Molecular Engineering Group led by A/Prof Macdonald at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Originally from Austria, Dr. Pollak has completed a number of international research projects … Read more
One of the many shock waves created in COVID-19’s wake is a flood of companies employing artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly develop a safe and effective vaccine. AI is a broad term that encompasses many technologies. The AI subfield that holds the most promise for vaccine development is machine learning (ML). ML is an AI … Read more