SYNOPSIS: 7^th Boston Paris Biotechnology Summit™

FULL INFORMATION: www.bostonbiotechnolgysummit.com

The 7^th Edition of the Boston/Paris Biotechnology Summit™ was held on 4 June 2023, 11AM-5PM US EDT at District Hall Boston 02210. Close to 200 attendees represented 15 organizations, the majority from the USA (Boston MA leading) and France. They were joined by representatives from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada and Germany. The invited country was Japan. About 50% of the audience were CEO & C-Level Executives.

Major pharmaceutical and established biotechnology companies included, but were not limited to: Alnylam, Astra Zeneca, Eli Lilly & Company, Sage Therapeutics, Sanofi/Sanofi Ventures, Scholar Rock, Servier, Stallergenes Greer, Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Thermo Fisher Scientific Group.

Non-pharmaceutical organizations included several major academic groups: : Boston Mayor’s Office, Boston University, Business France, Columbia University, Public Health (New York, [ESCP Paris Business School]* Campus Sites: Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Turin & Warsaw, France Biotech, French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA), CIC: Cambridge Innovation Center, Consulate General of France in Boston [Scientific Attaché], Harvard Medical School, Japan Desk, Cambridge MA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rouen Faculty of Pharmacy (France), Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA), [The Wistar Institute]** (Philadelphia, PA).

Sponsors: PPD [Thermo Fisher Scientific Group], CPL Life Sciences, Servier, Banook Group, McDermott Will Emery, ICOSA, Innovation Studios, B2G Life Sciences, French Tech Boston, JAB Law.

Supporting Organizations (general support, no financial contribution):

Business France, CIC, ESCP Business School, France Biotech, Quest for Health, The Wistar Institute.

Summit Mission

An exclusive, Trans-Atlantic bridge designed to foster innovative synergies between biotech and pharma companies, healthcare-focused cities and regional clusters, and institutional, philanthropic and strategic investors. 

The Summit’s intent is to spark projects, their financing and strategic deals to solve unmet medical needs to improve patient lives globally.

PROGRAM

SNAPSHOT OF THE US ECONOMY by Mac Martirossian, CPA, and Atlanta GA.

MASTER CLASS: Dr. Claude BERTRAND

Claude Bertrand has 25 years’ experience in research and development and international operations within a number of leading pharmaceutical groups (Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Ipsen), He joined Servier in 2017 as Executive Director R&D and Chief Scientific Officer. In 2018, he was appointed to the Group’s Executive Committee and the role of Executive Vice President Research and Development. Claude Bertrand also sits on the Boards of Directors of Eclosion2 and MAAT Pharma. He is President of the Scientific Committee for LabEx Medalis and Vice President of MEDICEN. After graduating as a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Strasbourg, he completed a PhD and pursued his postdoctoral studies at the University of California, San Francisco, conducting research in immunopharmacology and neurogenic inflammation.

ART & SCIENCE OF ENGAGING BOSTON ACADEMIC CENTERS.

Dr. Vanessa El Harrar, Moderator

Professor Reza Dana, Harvard Medical School.

Ingredients for good collaboration:

• Clear communication between all parties;
• Set realistic expectations regarding: Timeline, Deliverables, Use of IP, Authorship of work;
• Keep the process moving;
• Anticipate things in advance: Don’t wait for the term of agreement to end before negotiating an extension. Don’t wait until the week before option term ends to conclude the license agreement, etc.

Dr Cecile Le Camus, Sanofi

• Build relationships grounded in mutual trust and respect; acknowledge and celebrate successes, learn from mistakes;
• Openly discuss intended benefits, requirements and risks for both partners;
• Consider which mode of collaboration optimally fits joint objectives;
• Retain full transparency regarding the terms and conditions of the collaboration;
• Monitor progress frequently, and communicate about alignment with joint and individual objectives.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN DRUG DEVELOPMENT R&D:

Principles and Practice in Boston, Circa 2023

Dr Shahin Gharakhanian, Summit Program Chair, Session Moderator

Professor Bradley Pentelute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Deep Learning Guided Delivery of Programmable Medicines.

Bradley Lether Pentelute is currently a professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research program lies at the intersection of chemistry and biology and develops bioconjugation strategies, cytosolic delivery platforms and rapid flow synthesis technologies to optimize production, achieve site-specific modifications, enhance stability and modulate the functions of a variety of bioactive agents. One main goal of the Pentelute Lab is to invent new chemistry to modify Nature’s proteins in order to enhance their therapeutic properties. The Pentelute Lab has developed a series of highly efficient and selective chemistries that can selectively modify the amino acids cysteine and lysine within unprotected peptides and proteins.

Dr Jonathan Sidi, Sage Therapeutics

• Applying AI/ML to unlock potential efficiency gains in common clinical development challenges;
• Industrial application of AI/ML to account for potential imbalances in the allocation of subjects to treatment arms in RCTs;
• Case study presentation of AI/ML informing traditional models to improve estimates of treatment effects in depression trials.

Dr Mark Chang, Boston University

Medical AI

• Help drug discovery and development and health management, improve people’s health and QOL;
• It’s better to have an AI team;
• Start from existing studies and early trials and then gradually move to new pivotal trials;
• Work proactively with regulatory agencies;
• Synergize AI with precision medicine + adaptive clinical trials + trial simulation + real-life experiences + stage-wise market authorization with enhanced pharmacovigilance, in order to reduce costs and time to market;
• Caution: reduce the importance of pseudoscience.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON AI:

• Chang M. Artificial Intelligence for Drug Development, Precision Medicine and Healthcare. 2020, Boca Raton FL, CRC Press/Chapman & Hall.

• Kisinger H, Schmidt E, Huttenlocher D. The Age of AI and Our Huma Future. New York: Little Brown & Co, 2023

• Haug CJ and Drazen JM.AI in Medicine: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Clinical Medicine. New England Journal of Medicine 2023; 338, 1201-1208.

• Hockfield S. The Age of Living Machines. How Biology will build the Next Technology Revolution. 2019, New York: WW Norton & Co.

INTERNATIONAL PITCH COMPETITION

JURY MEMBERS (in alphabetical order):

James Carroll, MBA, Chief Executive Leadership, Early Financing, Founder & Managing Partner. Boston Life Science Investors [Est. 2013].

Leslie P. Cousens, PhD, Senior Director, Search & Evaluation, Respiratory & Immunology ASTRAZENECA, BioPharmaceuticals R&D | Business Development, Licensing & Strategy.

Cecile Le Camus, MD, MBA, Global Head of Hemophilia for RBD: Rare Blood Disorders, Medical Affairs Group, SANOFI, BOSTON MA, USA.

Eric Evans, MBA, Executive Committee, Mass Medical Angels (M2A) and Member, Launchpad Venture Group, Boston MA, USA.

Marc B. Garnick, MD, The Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he also directs the Hospital’s role as a tertiary cancer center for 7 affiliated community cancer centers. He has just completed a 10-year tenure as a special governmental advisory member of multiple FDA panels and advisory committees.

Jessica Foley, MS RAC (Regulatory Affairs Certification), Gaia Consulting LLC, Cambridge MA.

Srujan (Sru) Jamindar, MBA, Executive Director of Venture Engagement within the clinical research business, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Raleigh, NC.

Retsina Myer, PhD, Head of Corporate Strategy, DELIX Therapeutics, Cambridge MA, USA.

Session coordination: Dr. Silvia HELOU, New York.

COMPANIES PITCHING (in alphabetical order):  

ACTICOR BIOTECH

Glenzocimab, developed to treat Acute Ischemic Stroke as an add-on treatment to thrombolysis with Activase® (rtPA) and/or mechanical thrombectomy (and other cardiovascular indications). 

APMONIA

Apmonia is developing a portfolio of proprietary first-in-class peptide-based therapies that target the tumor extracellular matrix (ECM).

BIOPHTA

Ophthalmological platform technology for a pharmaceutical form that assures continuous micro-dosing to the eye, delivered via self-application once a week and replacing traditional eye drops.

BIPER THERAPEUTICS

First-in-class therapeutics that drive cancer cells to burn-out.

INNOTECH PRECISION MEDICINE

First-in-class medical diagnostics platform that will enable the adaptable, accurate and orthogonal detection of disease biomarkers using their patented technology.

REBIRTHEL

Platform technology for T-cell regeneration from pluripotent stem cells for use against cancer, infectious diseases and other immune-related conditions.

PITCH OUTCOME

GOLD [1^st PLACE]: BIOPHTA

SILVER: BIPER TX

Honorable Mention by the Jury: ACTICOR-BIOTECH

[NOTA BENE] Text compiled and written: 8 JUNE 2023