As good scientific investigators, we strive to make our research more reproducible, repeatable, and translatable. These traits are ostensibly engrained in researchers from the start of their careers but often fall to the wayside in pursuit of experimental answers. Throughout this three-episode GENcast series, sponsored by The Baker Company, we will weave the common thread of these essential research traits and discuss some ubiquitous techniques common to so many laboratories—focusing on areas that are often overlooked but can have a considerable impact on recapitulating physiological conditions and the efficacy of your experiments. So tune in to this first podcast where we discuss the importance of oxygen biology in common lab experiments.

Single-use systems have been steadily climbing toward the top of the tools utilized by biomanufacturers for the commercial-scale production of critical therapeutic products. However, COVID-19 created an inflection point for this technology, generating an even greater demand that will shape the market for many years. Yet, with considerable demand comes the need to focus on the key aspects driving growth while discovering the appropriate solutions to the challenges that invariably arise when technologies are being developed and utilized rapidly.

This is our third and final episode of GENcast, where Dr. Ger Brophy, the Executive Vice President of Biopharma Production at Avantor, joins me. We sat down to discuss several essential facets of single-use systems and some ways to help manage risk and decrease the intricacies most often associated with single-use supply chains. Make sure you check out episode one and episode two for more in-depth discussions with Dr. Brophy.

The demand for safe and efficacious biologics has accelerated exponentially in the past several years due to the tremendous success of some of the initial therapeutic offerings in this space. Yet, along with this increased demand comes the need for innovative solutions to improve downstream production workflows. For example, eliminating purification bottlenecks and improving overall yields from chromatography steps can significantly impact the final product’s cost.

In this second episode of GENcast with Executive Vice President of Biopharma Production at Avantor, Dr. Ger Brophy, we dive into some of the challenges biomanufacturers face during downstream purification and how addressing the traditional thinking surrounding chromatography resins, and buffers can be highly advantageous and immensely cost-effective. Take a listen to episode 2 below, and if you want to check out episode 1, click here!

The success and applications of cell and gene therapies are seemingly limitless, and economic forecasts project a compound annual growth rate of almost 40% over the next eight years. This rapid expansion is a double edge sword for biomanufacturers of cell and gene therapy products. On the one hand, the tremendous growth is excellent for business. Yet, on the flip side, biomanufacturers are faced with solving the numerous challenges of scaling-up production workflows: from raw material sourcing to supply chain management to adopting new and innovative production modalities. Having a trusted global partner that can help organizations navigate the tumultuous bioprocessing waters of cell and gene therapy production is advantageous and often the key to continued success in the space.

In this GENcast, we sit down with the Executive Vice President of Biopharma Production at Avantor, Dr. Ger Brophy, to discuss some of the precautions and improvements for cell and gene therapies and how manufacturers can address many of the challenges they face. Take a listen!

This GENcast is part 1 of a 3-part series on Cas-CLOVER, “the proven alternative to CRISPR-Cas9,” sponsored by Demeetra AgBio—exclusive Cas-CLOVER licensing partner for bioprocessing, synthetic biotechnology, and agriculture. Here I sat down with Dr. Eric Ostertag, MD, PhD, Executive Chairman at Poseida Therapeutics, and Harvard/MIT professor Dr. George Church, PhD, who leads synthetic biology at the Wyss Institute. A wealth of gene editing experience, stories, and applications are shared in this GENcast, from massive gene editing multiplexing of 24,000 sites at once to new technologies that “will be a bigger deal than CRISPR-Cas9”. Enjoy!

Poseida Therapeutics’ recent paper in Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, “Cas-CLOVER is a novel high-fidelity nuclease for safe and robust generation of TSCM-enriched allogeneic CAR-T cells.”

For more information on Cas-CLOVER for bioprocessing, agriculture, and synthetic biotechnology, please visit Demeetra.

This is the final episode in our three-part GENcast series, where we discuss the virtues of mechanistic modeling and how it can significantly impact critical decision-making points in the drug discovery process, especially as drug developers move closer toward the IND process. In our two previous podcasts, we were introduced to mechanistic modeling concepts and the basics of how they can be applied to drug discovery workflows. You can listen to the earlier podcasts with the following links: episode 1, episode 2. In this latest GENcast, I met up once again with Dr. John Burke, President, CEO, and Co-founder of Applied BioMath, to discuss the specific applications of mechanistic modeling, especially concerning the process of deciding the first human dose numbers, and how his company is helping biotech and pharma organizations reduce their late-stage drug attrition rates. Take a listen!

This is part two in our three-part GENcast series, where we discuss various aspects of the drug discovery and development process and, in particular, how advanced computational techniques like mechanistic modeling can help advance the therapeutic drug pipeline for many developers. In our initial podcast, we were introduced to mechanistic modeling concepts and the basics of how they can be applied to drug discovery workflows. In this latest GENcast, I sat down once again with Dr. John Burke, President, CEO, and Co-founder of Applied BioMath, to take a deeper dive into the specific applications of mechanistic modeling and how his company is helping biotech and pharma organizations reduce their late-stage drug attrition rates. Take a listen!