Rob Howes

Liquid expectations: you have streaming on demand, groceries and traffic info. Why not biological information too? Providing a new approach to rapid plasmid sequencing has been lingering in the capillary/Sanger zone for a long time. The teams at Plasmidsaurus have been shifting this so that their customers can get their data back faster, as complete fragments- all run on Oxford Nanopore Technologies. For me this is great tech but it’s also an illustration of rising user expectations in science. https://lnkd.in/e7Gumy9t

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World DNA Day. Myself and our team take pride in pushing the boundaries of Next Generation Sequencing with AI technology. More about Geneyx Analysis here >https://lnkd.in/dRHtBVHz #DNAday #WDD2024 #genomics #genetics #biotechnology

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Staying updated on new CGT literature is hard. So, here are 3 recent papers from the space. I'll leave the paper links in the comments below. Any thoughts on these papers? Drop them in the comments. #celltherapy #genetherapy #innovation

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BAM! If you've followed me for a while on Illumina/GRAIL you'll know that I've long been skeptical of the NHS acceptance of GRAIL - clinicians there have been pushing back hard in public against what was probably a politically-driven Illumina/David Cameron partnership. Last week the GRAIL management team doubled down on their dependence on the NHS by mentioning it FIFTY times in their two hour call. It is the anchor of their reimbursement strategy NHS->FDA->CMS. Well, today's there's NHS news and it's bad: the NHS is NOT moving forward with a Galleri pilot. Check out the last paragraph, it's a brutal analysis of GRAIL's future prospects, written by GRAIL itself. From the Form 10 (via Jack Meehan, CFA.): "The NHS determined not to initiate the pilot on the basis of [available] data and will evaluate the final results from the NHS-Galleri Trial, which are expected to be available in 2026, before determining whether to implement the Galleri test in the NHS." "While the NHS intended to commence the commercial pilot if it determined that the results of the early analysis were compelling, it is possible that the final results will be unsuitable to the NHS, which could have a significant adverse impact on the success of our commercial efforts for Galleri, our ability to achieve FDA authorization AT ALL or within our anticipated timelines, our BRAND and REPUTATION, our BUSINESS, and our GROWTH PROSPECTS” [Timing couldn't be worse with the spinout pending this month. Kind of feels like the end to me, I don't see where they go now 😱]

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We, the team at CellCentric, are pioneering a new approach to treat multiple myeloma, with an oral p300/CBP inhibitor drug, inobrodib. Huge progress has been made in treating the disease, particularly with recent antibody-based therapies (BCMA targeting agents, TCEs). But 75% of people diagnosed still die of the condition. Beyond and alongside existing approaches, there is a need for oral agents with novel modes of action. Community based delivery also helps address health inequities, meeting the needs of people who are not suitable or able to access more complex treatments in specialist centres. New financing maintains full momentum to registration studies. RA Capital Management and Pfizer Ventures now join Morningside as shareholders. Further additional contribution too from the American Cancer Society’s impact fund, BrightEdge. Total funding: $60.7m. Great to have Laura Stoppel of RA Capital joining the Board, as well as Irena Melnikova from Pfizer Ventures. Press release: https://lnkd.in/d9QpfvFz Endpoints coverage: https://lnkd.in/dg4geESK. Many thanks Lei Lei Wu Business Weekly: https://lnkd.in/e4ZsaJkA Many thanks Tony Quested #multiplemyeloma Debbie Haynes Tomasz Knurowski Karen Clegg Kris Frese Thea Stanway

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Early cancer detection in the NHS: a worthy goal and a tough climb The NHS faces an uphill battle in reaching its ambitious target for early cancer diagnosis. Resource strain, unequal access to care, and a fragmented patient experience create bottlenecks. There’s always room for optimism though. The NHS's focus on increasing screening rates and reducing waiting times are positive steps. Additionally, initiatives promoting awareness of cancer symptoms within deprived communities can bridge the current knowledge gap. And, fostering better communication between patients and GPs can ensure concerns are heard and acted upon promptly. read here: https://lnkd.in/eNk5RtkP #earlydetection #cancerdiagnosis #NHS

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Lord Ara Darzi's recent report paints a sobering—yet unsurprising—picture of the NHS. After years of austerity and chronic underfunding, he concludes that the system is in serious trouble. Two points really hit home for me: 1) UK cancer care lags behind other countries in both mortality rates and early diagnosis. 2) There's an urgent need to embrace technology to improve healthcare delivery. These findings underscore the potential for AI to transform cancer care in the NHS. **We already have the technology and evidence**: - AI improves early detection and diagnostic accuracy. - AI streamlines diagnostics, cutting down wait times. What's urgently needed is large-scale implementation. As Darzi notes, there's "enormous potential in AI to transform care." It's time to turn that potential into reality for cancer patients across the UK. #NHSFuture #CancerCare #AIinHealthcare #DarziReport

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It's been a busy week for inspection results. Here we have a domestic EIR for a biologics firm - and this is quite a read, When you see the pdf file, 18 SEP 2023, do not be deceived - it is not 'only 6 pages.' The full EIR is over 94 pages. It will give you a lot of detail beyond the usual 483 and much more context around the observations, Obs. 2 is in the image below and, of course, I picked the CSV / DI one, There are however a large set of observations. Here's the FDAs own summary. "The current inspection covered the firm’s Quality, Production, Materials, Facilities and Equipment, Laboratory Controls, Packaging and Labeling systems. A 5-item Form FDA 483 (Attachment 1) was issued to the firm at the end of the inspection on February 10, 2023, for the following observations: (1). Written records of investigations into unexplained discrepancies, the failure of a batch or any of its components to meet specifications, do not always include the appropriate conclusions and follow-up; (2). The firm has not established adequate procedural controls to protect the electronic data acquisition and manufacturing control systems used for drug substance manufacturing in Building lack of assurance that the firm’s drug substance manufacturing operations in Building at the XXXXXXXX facility; (3). There is a (b) (4) at the XXXXXXXX facility are appropriately designed to ensure the prevention of contamination of equipment or product by environmental and processing conditions that would be expected to have an adverse effect on product quality; (4). Standard Operating procedures or work instructions are not followed or are inadequate. (5). The firm’s quality unit’s oversight of its GMP manufacturing operations is inadequate. " The above made preparing this post so much easier. Here's the link to the full EIR: https://lnkd.in/egUgQdss BUT if you only want the traditional 483, 10 FEB 2023, 'only 16 pages' - go here: https://lnkd.in/ehu-SqQY #fda #biolgoics #CBER #dataintegrity #CGMP #Washington

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This latest episode was inspired by the upcoming biosecurity regulations in the USA. I did some research on the topic to provide information regarding China, USA, UK and the EU. I hope you will find it interesting. #clinicalresearch #genomicdata #biosecurity

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I highly recommend reading Shellye Archambeau's book "Unapologetically ambitious". Great for anyone and at any stage of your career. What I have learned: 🚀 Dare to be ambitious. Unless you know and believe in who you want and can become you are unlikely to step up and make it happen. 🤝 Network to learn how others have done it before you and share your vision. 🗒 Make a plan to get there that fits your needs and values. It will then be easy to answer the question "how do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?" What have you done to get where you are?

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Today is my last day at Oxford Nanopore. I joined the company over 17 years ago straight out of my postdoc when the company was around 10 people.  It’s now a public company, around 1,500 strong and has offices and users all around the globe. It’s been an amazing adventure to be part of the phenomenal growth at nanopore and the technical hurdles we’ve overcome. When I joined, no one had ever sequenced DNA using a nanopore. Many of the PhD students and post-docs in the Founder’s lab didn’t even believe it was possible – “vapourware” and “cold-fusion” were expressions used. When I left academia, I thought good research would make the endeavour successful. On my journey, I learnt that a collective vision, belief, and sense of purpose was what really drove success. Every company has a vision now - writing a statement is easy, but as I witnessed at Nanopore, a culture where people live it, with a real sense of purpose, is a rare thing indeed. The ability to focus a group of intelligent and enthusiastic scientists behind a common vision is not trivial, but if you can channel the collective effort, the results are great. We first sequenced a small strand of synthetic DNA in Mar 2011. I always found it reassuring that individuals believed their part of the project would succeed, even if they had doubts about the other areas. In the end, making real progress requires trust in those around you. Individuals may join an organisation for the scientific challenge, or the stock options, or the ability to change the world, but they stay because of the people. I’m lucky to have worked with a group of phenomenal people, both in terms of their professional abilities and their strength of character when we were really up against it. Seventeen years is a long time to spend in one place and investing some of your time in those around you really pays off over that period – it’s especially important when you have benefitted from being mentored yourself, as I have at nanopore. A massive thanks to all those who have helped me on this journey – it’s been crazy hard at times but looking back it was enormous fun. It's now time for a new challenge - trying to replicate some for the success of the last 17 years with a new startup. Not an easy thing to do, but I know that my biggest regret would be if I didn’t try. Whatever happens this time, I can say that I’ve worked for a company that has made significant impact, created jobs, and given scientists new tools and understanding. Rewind to the 26-year-old me, sitting as a temp in the office of an insurance company while filling out his application to an Oxford post-doc position – I think he would be happy with how it all worked out.

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Whole plasmid sequencing using short read from Illumina and long reads from Oxford Nanopore Technologies has the potential to streamline the quality control of plasmids used in #biotechnology and #lifescience. Casey-Tyler Berezin, PhD and Sarah Hernandez led an effort to evaluate the reproducibility of plasmid sequencing workflows. Some commonly used plasmids are surprisingly challenging to sequence, even when using a hybrid assembly strategy that combines long and short reads. Read the preprint at https://lnkd.in/e6VireeS Contact me if you need help verifying your plasmids. #lablife #synbio #syntheticbiology #reproducibility #biology #molecularbiology

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Do you know how growth factors can cause a cell to differentiate and change function? We explain in our weekly blog: https://lnkd.in/etAqwuX7

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*The Big Interview: Mission Genomics to launch the UK economy* I’m incredibly proud to share this insightful and thought-provoking article in the latest issue of Bioscience Today, written by our Chief Scientific Officer Dr Stuart J Grice. In this piece, Stuart shares his thoughts on how public investment in genetic testing can not only save lives but also foster cross-sector investment and innovation in preventative health. The UK life sciences sector continues to produce fantastic innovation, but we are still behind the curve in the adoption and translation of these advancements into the public domain. Public-private partnerships are likely to play a crucial role in driving disease prevention initiatives and realising the benefits of new discoveries. Stuart's keen insight and intelligent analysis are an asset to FitnessGenes, and I look forward to seeing more authored pieces from him in the coming months. You can read the article for yourself here (~3-minute read): https://lnkd.in/e4A8jweW #BigInterview #MissionGenomics #GeneticTesting #PublicInvestment #PreventativeHealth #LifeSciences #Innovation #Healthcare #PublicPrivatePartnerships #DiseasePrevention #HealthTech #FitnessGenes #ScientificInsights #ThoughtLeadership #UKHealth #BioScienceToday #FutureOfHealth #Genomics #HealthInnovation #MedicalResearch #DNA

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Pick of the week from J Med Chem: non peptidic integrin inhibitors from GSK (Tim Barrett ) for fibrosis. Turning a zwitterion (GSK3008348E) designed for inhaled administration into an orally bioavailable molecule (GSK3335103) with adequate projected human dose. Passive permeability was improved by attenuating the pKa of a pyrrolidine with a beta-fluoro substitution, and reoptimization of clearance was performed via a pyrazole/ether chain swap #medchem https://lnkd.in/ecc_DpMD

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🧬 Exciting news out of the UK as the Medical Research Council & THE BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (BBSRC) have provided £28.5 million in funding to establish the Human Functional Genomics Initiative programme. 🧑‍🔬Jonathan Mill has been appointed as Director to lead the #initiative that aims to advance understanding of how genomic variation influences human physiology and how it changes over time and in disease. 📚𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏; - £7 million that will be used to establish a functional genomics screening lab. The lab will perform arrayed #CRISPR genetic screening for HFGI researchers investigating noncancerous diseases including ones affecting the immune, cardiovascular, nervous, and respiratory systems. - £16.9 million will be used to fund 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 research clusters. - £4.6 million will be provided by the 𝐔𝐊𝐑𝐈 councils to support data coordination and networking, as well as collaboration among the program's research clusters and external partners. Good news for #genomic developments across the UK. For more information, take a read of the article below 👇

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Go give the latest edition of MITO-SIS a read! My article, an introduction to my new feature ‘Forgotten Women in Stem’, features discussion on the perception of women in STEM historically, and how this is (slowly) changing - partly inspired by Caroline Criado Perez’s Book; Invisible Women (which I thoroughly recommend reading). I’ll be doing a short feature each month aiming to highlight women in STEM and give them the spotlight they deserve! #womeninstem #STEM #femalescientists #MITOSIS

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https://lnkd.in/e3SUw5WV We know how important clinical validation is when it comes to biomarker developments, diagnostic assay developments and more over understanding disease development research. Biospecimens have always been used in the forefront of such developments but has remained a key challenge in terms of ethical and faster accessibility when it comes to disease state or targeted demographic clinical sample collection. 2BScientific Ltd. have joined hands with Medix Biochemica to make the process easier, reliable, and efficient in terms of offering a wide range of biospecimens from not just plasma, serum, but also non-traditional specimens like faecal matter, cerebrospinal fluids, clinical swabs, sputum from individuals with rare disease that are usually hard to obtain. Let’s take your research potential a step forward in unlocking new insights, speak with our product specialist today NAYANI PRAMANIK (PhD) #biospecimens #clinicalvalidation #hereforyou #2bscientific

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