Robert Sebra

Better health outcomes start with access to the right tools. Bill A4163 would break down barriers to biomarker testing for patients across NJ. 🔗 Details here: https://lnkd.in/e4XX5AVa Bill A4163 is sponsored by Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, Assemblyman Gary Schaer, and Assemblywoman Shama A. Haider. American Cancer Society American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) #biomarker #biomarkertesting #NewJersey

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🔬 Advancing Precision Oncology in Metastatic RCC New findings highlight the potential of longitudinal ctDNA monitoring as a predictive biomarker for treatment response and progression-free survival in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This study demonstrates high concordance between ctDNA dynamics and clinical outcomes, paving the way for more personalized approaches to therapy and surveillance. Discover how these insights could impact the future of RCC management. 📖 Read the full study here: https://lnkd.in/ejQhtz6H #RenalCellCarcinoma #ctDNA #PrecisionMedicine #CancerResearch #OncologyInnovation

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Excited to share a new publication in the Journal of Molecular Therapy which highlights the eShunt®️ Platform as a CNS gene therapy delivery method. Thanks to the teams at UMass Chan Medical School and Tufts Medical Center for your work on this study. "We're very excited about these promising preclinical results, which suggest that the eShunt System delivery approach could provide biopharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations with a minimally invasive method for delivering gene therapies directly to the cortex and brain." #bbb #CNS #drugdelivery #neurovascular #endovascular https://lnkd.in/eeKCGPm7

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Excited to announce the 2025 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Protein Engineering, this second GRC on Protein Engineering will be held at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI from July 27th to August 1st 2025 https://lnkd.in/g-763SeF. please come join us if you would be interested in this exciting field. Different fields have experienced a transformative expansion in research distinction and capabilities. There now exists a strategic opportunity for protein engineering to take the lead and spearhead the integration of this joint effort, reflected by The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024. We believe that this GRC conference will create a gateway for the next generation of engineers and researchers, and will be a vehicle toward future development in the midst of an amazing convergence of multiple cutting-edge areas in protein engineering and its applications. Confirmed speakers include the Nobel Laureate Prof. Frances Arnold and distinctive scientists showing below: 1.            Fundamental Principles of Protein Engineering Possu Huang (Stanford University)/Frances Arnold (CalTech, Nobel Laureate)/Huimin Zhao (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) 2.    Biosensors and Imaging Jennifer Prescher (UC Irvine)/Jin zhang (UC San Diego)/Robert Campbell (Tokyo University)/Nathan Shaner (UC San Diego) 3.    Rational Design of New-to Nature Proteins Jiri Damborsky (FNUSA-ICRC & Masaryk University, Czech Republic)/Joelle Pelletier (University of Montreal)/Sílvia Osuna (University of Girona & ICREA, Spain)/Koga Nobuyasu (Osaka Univ, Japan) 4.    AI for Protein engineering Zhongyue John Yang (Vanderbilt University)/ Jennifer Listgarten (UC Berkeley)/Doug Barrick (Johns Hopkins University) 5.    Biocatalysis and Industrial applications Carlos Martinez (Pfzer)/ Stephanie Galanie (Merck)/Zhi Li (National University of Singapore, Singapore)/Brent Dorr (Ginkgo Bioworks) 6.    Protein Engineering for Synthetic Biology Pimchai Chaiyen (Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Thailand)/Weixin Tang (University of Chicago)/Jay Keasling (University of California, Berkeley) 7.    Directed Evolution for Enzyme Optimization Yang Yang (University of California Santa Barbara)/Leilei Zhu (Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)/Miguel Alcalde (Institute of Catalysis, CSIC, Spain)/Chang Liu (University of California, Irvine) 8.    Protein engineering for Immunotherapy and other diseases Anna Wu (Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope)/Xue Gao (University of Pennsylvania)/Bingfei Yu (University of Southern California)/Wilson Wong (Boston University) 9.    Repurposing Protein for Novel Chemistry and Applications Stefan Lutz (Codexis Inc)/Xiongyi Huang (Johns Hopkins University)/Xiaojing Gao (Stanford University)

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No discussion today in the Illumina earning calls on GRAIL financials but they're in the Illumina press release: another giant loss: -$2B. No surprises there I guess but what I think is interesting is revenue: last 3 quarters are $30M, $27M, $29M. So the company burns $180M a quarter to generate $30M in sales and no growth. Super interested to hear the Q&A on their first earnings call next week...market cap is about $450M, about half the $1B or so they have in the bank...

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Check out my interview with "The Onc Doc": Sanjay Juneja, M.D. on his podcast "Target Cancer." We discuss how the SAGE Oncotest can guide you and your oncologist to identify the best treatment for your very unique cancer.

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The #biosecure act is bad legislation and anti-competitive and will force US #biotech companies to abandon strong and honest #CDMO partners without making us more secure. Longstanding, productive drug-discovery collaborations will inevitably be compromised by an ill-conceived initiative — all for short-term political gain. Patients in need of innovative medicines are the ones that will lose out; I urge leaders in the #biotech industry to stand up and be counted in opposition to this proposed legislation.

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In the quest to revolutionize pediatric oncology, the Dana-Farber / Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center teams have made monumental strides. By harnessing the power of OncoPanel sequencing, they've meticulously classified diagnoses and unearthed genomic variants that align with precision oncology trials. This 6.5-year journey of sequencing 888 patients has not only shed light on the diverse genetic landscape of pediatric cancers but also paved the way for 14% of these young warriors to receive targeted therapies. It's a testament to the potential of personalized medicine and the critical role of data sharing in conquering the myriad of rare cancers that affect children. As we continue to push the boundaries of medical science, let's celebrate this milestone and the hope it brings to families and the medical community. Here's to more breakthroughs and a future where every child has a fighting chance against cancer p/b Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Alyaa A., Sanda Alexandrescu, Pratiti (Mimi) Bandopadhayay, Elizabeth Mullen, Susan Chi, Tali Mazor, Keith Ligon, Priyanka Reddy Shivdasani, Monica Manam, Laura MacConaill, Evelina Ceca, MBA, Sidney Benich, Suanna Steeby Bruinooge, Jaime Guidry Auvil, PhD, Ethan Cerami, Ph.D., Barrett Rollins, Neal Lindeman, Bruce Johnson, Alanna Church, M.D., Katherine Janeway #PediatricOncology #PrecisionMedicine #Genomics

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🩸 Working with blood? Looking at peripheral responses? Join Andrew Warkman, Martin Karam, Ph.D. and me on April 30th to delve deeper into the utilization of blood fixation for single-cell analysis. "Unlocking the potential of whole blood for downstream single cell analysis: A guide to multiplexing and fixation." https://lnkd.in/g28CYHzs

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Biotia Gets First-Ever NY State Regulatory Approval for a Urine Infectious Disease Test Powered by Genomics and AI We are thrilled to share big news at Biotia! After years of development and regulatory review, our BIOTIA-ID Urine NGS Assay has received New York State Department of Health regulatory approval! This is a major milestone for Biotia, as well as clinicians and patients seeking cutting-edge UTI tests which are more informative and accurate. This is especially important for patients suffering from recurrent or complicated UTIs. More about the test: - Unmatched Accuracy: 97% sensitivity and 99% specificity, far surpassing traditional methods. - AI-Powered: Our advanced machine learning algorithms deliver rapid and precise results. - Comprehensive: Identifies a broader range of pathogens, including those often missed by culture. Learn more about BIOTIA-ID and its potential to transform UTI diagnostics: https://lnkd.in/emQGZy6w #UTI #diagnostics #womenshealth #precisionmedicine #AI #innovation #healthcare

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University of Pennsylvania spinout Interius BioTherapeutics raises $67M in a private equity round. The Philadelphia company is seeking to raise a total of $82.5 million from its Series B round. July 9, 2024 Interius was granted Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval and Clinical Trial Notification (CTN) clearance by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to commence a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of INT2104, its lead in vivo CAR candidate for treatment of B-cell malignancies. #funding #financing #genetherapy #invivo #CARtherapy #therapeutics #Bcellmalignancies #celltherapy #genetherapy #advancedtherapies #regenerativemedicine #lifescience #lifesciences #biotech #biotechnology #clinicaltrials #seriesfinancing #equityfinancing

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Liquid biopsy is a game-changer for early cancer diagnosis and monitoring treatment responses. LBs are crucial for screening high-risk groups and spotting new cancer-driving mutations. They monitor tumor heterogeneity, and track disease evolution to prevent relapses. But LBs have some hurdles: they lack specificity, sensitivity, and standardization. We need improved technology for multi-organ cancer detection and deeper tumor analysis. Tackling these issues can make LBs a staple in clinical settings, pushing cancer research forward. What do you think? Could liquid biopsies ever replace solid biopsies? #biopsy #liquidbiopsy #solidbiopsy #oncology #cancerdetection

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𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗮 - 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 (𝗱𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗺?) HLA altered, CD47 upregulated, genetically modified allogeneic cadaver islets shows c-peptide release after 1 month implant without immune suppression. Sana up ~2x, adding ~$500M to market cap. Major breakthrough in islet therapy for T1 diabetes? Certainly good progress, with more work to be done. * Investigator initiated trial, data derived from single patient. As described, this is subtherapeutic intramuscular injection, akin to a sentinel implant study, not really a phase 1 study. Will need to be further conducted in a much larger scale perhaps under more stringent clinical criteria. * Four week survival without immune suppression is a great start. Next will need to see if islets survive out beyond one or two years, to determine whether allogeneic cell fragments may cause immune response apart from HLA and CD47 pathways. Durability of treatment becomes important for commercial success of a genetically modified living cell product. * Batch to Batch variation to be further determined, will all donor islets be equally rendered hypoimmune after genetic modification? Or whether there will be patient to patient variation in pre-existing immune response to islet antigens. Certainly a good start for Sana to head into JPM 2025 with a splash, to show a potential alternative to standard immunosuppression regimens associated with cadaveric islet transplants. Fierce Biotech: https://lnkd.in/e3uufWUg

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There is great news for Illumina embedded in a new DeciBio liquid biopsy report. DeciBio projects the LB market to grow at 30% and reach $10B in 2029 and as they note, it's a crowded market with numerous approaches. But NGS is the common them as it's the ubiquitous technology for generating data for DNA, Methylation, RNA and multiomics (assuming genomics is base-line in omics). Trying to put a number on this effect from the figure below, NGS is the underlying technology for 151/217 = 70% of the LB companies. That makes LB a huge opportunity for Illumina (primarily) and other low cost SR providers. Situation is challenging for LR (PacBio and Oxford Nanopore Technologies) and slow/no scaling SR providers (Thermo Fisher Scientific, gotta buy Element Biosciences🤣).

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The 12th Annual Tumor Models Boston Summit is kicking off next week. If you're attending, mark your calendars for Dr. Edward Ayoub's presentation, "Leveraging Single-Cell Multi-omics for a Comprehensive Analysis of AML, PDX Model, and Drug Development." In his presentation, Dr. Ayoub will be: 💡 Interrogating case studies leveraging single-cell DNA + protein multi-omics to understand AML disease evolution, treatment response, and mechanisms of resistance 💡 Exploring how PDX models and sample multiplexing were used for baseline and end-point analysis in AML samples 💡 Introducing a novel single-cell multiomics approach to dissect disease models, reduce downstream clinical trial costs and failure rates Not able to attend the Summit this year? Learn more about leveraging single-cell multiomics for disease modeling here ➡ https://lnkd.in/gvX3A2AB

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It was indeed a great day! Thank you, @Sophia Kambanis, and @Massachusetts Innovation Network, for the fantastic opportunity. @InnoTech Precision Medicine had the honor of presenting as one of the @EDDIES 2024 finalists. InnoTech Precision Medicine is revolutionizing cancer diagnostics with its cutting-edge, multi-omics, non-invasive point-of-care solutions. Our flagship product, Recognize™-OPSCC, enables the early detection of HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer through a simple saliva test, integrating advanced multi-omics biomarker detection with AI-driven analysis. By providing rapid, accurate results, we empower healthcare providers to make timely treatment decisions, improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. With a strong focus on accessibility and scalability, InnoTech is transforming the future of diagnostics for early cancer detection. #MassachusettsInnovationNetwork, #Innotechprecisionmedicine, #Eddies2024

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a highly cited review, 1500 citations, Tumor microenvironment complexity and therapeutic implications at a glance Mechanism of interaction Tumors develop in complex and dynamic microenvironments that influencetheir growth, invasion, and metastasis. In this space, tumor cells and their adjacent microenvironments are in frequent communication. The interaction of cancer cells with their microenvironment is dynamic and bidirectional and includes (i) cell-cell contacts, or cell-free contacts (involving ECM) and (ii) the mediators that enable these contacts. Mediators are secreted soluble molecules/factors/vesicles that are responsible for the horizontal transfer of genetic information between cellular/non-cellular communicating cells. Understanding these interactions can help to implement better therapeutic regimes for cancer management, however, a combination of strategies appears to be more effective than single modalities, since the tumor heterogeneity arises from a variety of signaling pathways/cross talks existing in the network of communicating cancer cells. The dynamic interactions of cancer cells with their microenvironment consisting of stromal cells (cellular part) and extracellular matrix (ECM) components (non-cellular) is essential to stimulate the heterogeneity of cancer cell, clonal evolution and to increase the multidrug resistance ending in cancer cell progression and metastasis. The reciprocal cell-cell/ECM interaction and tumor cell hijacking of non-malignant cells force stromal cells to lose their function and acquire new phenotypes that promote development and invasion of tumor cells. Understanding the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms governing these interactions can be used as a novel strategy to indirectly disrupt cancer cell interplay and contribute to the development of efficient and safe therapeutic strategies to fight cancer. Furthermore, the tumor-derived circulating materials can also be used as cancer diagnostic tools to precisely predict and monitor the outcome of therapy. This review evaluates such potentials in various advanced cancer models, with a focus on 3D systems as well as lab-on-chip devices. https://lnkd.in/eEM_T7U7

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