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Introducing Back of the Napkin - Inspiring Stories from Biotech Pioneers
228 Plays1 year ago
A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind, but every story behind a discovery is different. Perhaps the idea is conceived in a light bulb moment or brainstorming session or captured in scribblings on the back of a napkin. All these great game changing discoveries seem to have one thing in common... and that is that: the pioneers, the scientists, the entrepreneurs that conceive the ideas aren’t afraid to step outside the constraints of every day thinking and to propose new ideas.
In this series, we introduce you to these scientific pioneers, taking you beyond their publications and into innovation corner to hear the untold stories behind their discoveries.
This podcast is brought to you by Bio-Techne and hosted by Alex Moloney.
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Transcript
The Nature of Discovery and Innovation
00:00:03
Speaker
A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind. But every story behind a discovery is different. Perhaps the idea is conceived in a light bulb moment, or a brainstorming session, or captured in scribblings on the back of a napkin. But all these great game-changing ideas seem to have one thing in common.
00:00:25
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And that's that the pioneers, the scientists, the entrepreneurs that conceive these ideas aren't afraid to step outside the constraints of everyday thinking to actually propose something new.
Highlighting Pioneers: Matthew Disney
00:00:38
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In this series, we introduce you to these pioneers, taking you beyond their publications and into innovation corner to hear their untold stories of discovery. Join us on this journey and meet disruptors like Matthew Disney, the godfather of RNA targeting small molecules. We found a ligand that bound to an RNA that causes myotonic dystrophy type 2. So I was like, oh, this is going very rapidly.
00:01:07
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from a basic science question, namely what RNA is buying small molecules to, wow, this data might have a use to help a human being, other than me getting my NIH grant
Jennifer Petter on RNA Therapeutics
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funded. Jennifer Petter, founder of Arrakis Therapeutics and my gosh, inspirational on so many levels. Here we expand on some of the earlier discussions with Matt to discuss these RNA targeting small molecules as therapeutics of the future.
00:01:33
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Startup companies are like a ham and eggs breakfast. The chicken participates, but the pig is committed. And I self-identify as a pig. So, you know, hey, I'm sitting in front of him at breakfast, like, I'm ready to do this. Like, does this start this right now? And so, by the end of that breakfast, in July of 15, I had $2 million, one and a half from Advent Life Sciences, and half a million from Henry Tremere.
00:01:57
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We got started. Two related technologies, or elaborations of the platform. One is to make covalent chemistry. There are some interesting chemistry challenges there because it is not lost upon us that RNA has a severe shortage of cysteines. So you have to find some chemistry that will get you where you need to be from the selectivity and efficacy standpoint.
00:02:23
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The other is targeted RNA degradation, which is very like protax. That is to say, you're going to have a ligand that binds to the RNA, you're going to have a linker, and off the other end of that linker is a bait molecule to recruit some protein that will in some way compromise the function of the RNA.
Amy Ripka and the Value of Collaboration
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And Amy Ripka, one of the most empowering leaders in biotech and CEO of Lucy Therapeutics.
00:02:45
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You might have an unsexy idea already brewing in your head and it might be more special than you think. And I would encourage people to take the time to kind of pressure test it and explore it. And ideas need to be rolled around with lots of people.
Encouraging Innovation Beyond Data
00:03:01
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They shouldn't just roll around in your own head. I think that's something that was important in the founding of Lucy. I talked to a lot of people. I was a scientist by training. I had some
00:03:10
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BD exposure and BC exposure when I worked at the CROs. But there was a lot I didn't know. From recording this podcast, we've learned that science needs new ideas to progress. But to come up with these new ideas, we have to look beyond the data. Yes, okay, of course it's
Exploring Inventors' Motivations
00:03:28
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important. It's the backbone of research, but it doesn't always lead us to propose something new that may end up being the next disruptive innovation.
00:03:37
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In this series, you're going to hear what motivates these inventors. We'll relive their eureka moments and feel the enthusiasm and passion that drives them to uncover what's next. And we'll even get them to leave their very own napkin scribbling that reveals a little piece of their discovery journey.
Podcast Engagement and Subscription
00:03:57
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This podcast is brought to you by Biotechny, and I'm your host, Alex Maloney. You can subscribe now on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also subscribe to our mailing list via the link in the show notes to keep up to date on the latest episode releases.
00:04:16
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I look forward to welcoming you to this first season of Back of a Napkin. And I hope you enjoy listening to these discussions we've had with academics and entrepreneurs who are changing the way we conceive what is possible in biotech.