WEBINAR SERIES
Attracting Big Pharma to the Microbiome Field
Unlike other therapeutic areas, the microbiome therapeutics field is not dominated by Big Pharma. Instead, we see many innovative SMEs dominating, all focused on driving the development of a single or a small pipeline of bio-therapeutics. This has resulted in an impressive range of innovative products in development, often targeting conditions for which conventional “small molecule” drug discovery projects have failed to adequately address. In 2018 we saw the first acquisition of a microbiome company by Big Pharma, with the purchase of Rebiotix by Ferring. However, most Big Pharma are perhaps more tentatively venturing into the microbiome field via collaborations (e.g. MSD and 4D Pharma, Takeda and Finch Therapeutics).
The discussion will begin by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of engaging with Big Pharma, and then move onto looking at what attracts Big Pharma and broadly at the options open in the microbiome field. More specifically, looking at: “Drugs from bugs” (bio-active molecules derived from bacteria), “Bugs as drugs” (therapeutic bacteria and phage with combinations of such from single strain to FMT), “Bugs for drugs” (the use of bacteria as adjuvant technology for enhancing “conventional” therapeutics). The discussion will conclude with hints and tips for those preparing to pitch their technology to one of the Big Pharma.
Alex Therein, Executive Director and Head of Investigational Biology at Merck’s Exploratory Science Center (ESC), and Andrew Wells, Head of the HGF Pharmaceutical Group and formerly in-house council at AstraZeneca (AZ), have direct experience of what Big Pharma look for in emerging technologies. Craig Thomson, Partner and member of the HGF Microbiome IP group (http://www.hgf.com/industry/microbiome/), will be chairing a discussion between these experienced individuals on the above topic.
Presenters:
Craig Thomson
Partner
HGF
Craig is a founding member of the HGF IP Microbiome Team, one of the largest IP teams of its type in Europe (http://www.hgf.com/industry/microbiome/). He has considerable experience in providing pragmatic, commercially focused advice to a wide-range of clients and in relation to biotechnological and pharmaceutical inventions. As well as patent drafting and prosecution, Craig advises on the development of company-wide IP strategies, preparing for or carrying out funding/acquisition due diligence, and advising on aggressive/defensive strategies in relation to third party IP.
After having worked on matters in the field for more than 15 years, a particular focus of Craig’s practice relates to therapeutic microbiome innovations. Craig has worked on projects in relation to OTC products, faecal transplant therapies, bacterial and bacteriophage therapies (single strain and consortia), formulation technologies, bioinformatics analysis of microbiome, production and purification processes, synthetic biology and a wide range of diagnostics (for example, those for detecting or quantifying bacterial infection and those that use bacteriophage).
Andrew Wells, Ph.D.
Partner
HGF
Andrew’s patent practice is principally in the pharmaceutical and chemical fields. He has extensive experience in securing patent protection for pharmaceuticals and specialises in drafting and prosecuting patent applications covering new chemical entities, salts, polymorphs, formulations (including advanced drug delivery technologies), manufacturing processes, medical uses, and medical devices.
Outside of the pharmaceutical field, Andrew’s practice encompasses polymer chemistry, petroleum additives, catalytic compositions, separation chemistry and biosensors. He acts for a diverse range of clients, including international corporations, universities, start-up companies and associate patent attorney firms based outside of the UK.
Andrew has a first class Bachelor of Pharmacy degree and a PhD in the development and evaluation of biodegradable carriers for nucleic acid vaccines, both from the University of Nottingham.
Date: July 8, 2020
Time: 1:00 pm Central Daylight
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Alex Therein, Ph.D.
Executive Director & Head of Investigational Biology
Merck Exploratory Science Center
Alex Therien is currently Executive Director and Head of Investigational Biology at Merck’s Exploratory Science Center (ESC) in Cambridge, MA. He was previously in the Department of Infectious Diseases where he played a key role in the development and licensing of the antitoxin antibody bezlotoxumab, indicated for prevention of recurrent C. difficile infections. He was also briefly Vice President and Head of Biology at Inception IBD / Ventus Therapeutics.
Alex has 19 years of drug discovery experience across a variety of therapeutic areas and has led research projects spanning the entire spectrum of the drug discovery/development process. His interest in the microbiome stems from his work on C. difficile which included the discovery of a key role played by the recovering gut microbiota in long-term protection by bezlotoxumab. His team at ESC continues to study the microbiome in the hope of identifying novel targets and therapeutics for far-ranging disease areas including oncology, neuroscience and infectious diseases.