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Innovation Award Winner Announced at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2024


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The European Laboratory Research and Innovation Group (ELRIG) plays host to Drug Discovery 2024, Europe’s largest conference for the drug discovery community. With tracks covering topics from the mechanisms of aging to drug target identification and disease modeling, the event aims to connect minds, transform science and empower the community.

To support and amplify young companies in biotech and drug discovery, ELRIG’s Breakthrough Zone returned this year, inviting companies of fewer than 25 full-time employees and/or with a turnover of less than £2.5 million to showcase their innovations. This year’s event welcomed 26 Breakthrough Zone companies, each also in the running for the ELRIG Innovation Award.

Applicants for the Innovation Award submitted 3-minute videos explaining the challenges their technology is working to solve and the innovations behind their solutions. The videos were judged by an expert panel based on their scientific innovation, the scale of the challenges involved, business readiness and their potential impact.

At this year’s ELRIG Drug Discovery event, held at ExCel London, the Innovation Award was presented to Constructive Bio, a biotechnology startup focused on whole-genome writing and engineered protein translation.

Technology Networks had the pleasure of speaking with Constructive Bio’s CEO, Dr. Ola Wlodek, to discuss its award-winning innovations and learn more about its mission.




Sarah Whelan, PhD (SW):






For
those not familiar with your work, could you explain the broad aims of
Constructive Bio’s technology?



Ola Wlodek (OW):






At Constructive Bio, we rewrite the genome to build the biomolecules of the future. Our unique technology turns living cells into biofactories, creating sustainable new materials and therapeutics. With full control of the genetic sequence and code, we are exploring chemical space previously unreached by natural biology.

Through exclusive access to breakthrough science from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, based on the research carried out by our founder Professor Jason Chin, Constructive Bio alone has the ability to rewrite entire genomes and incorporate multiple non-canonical amino acids in a single molecule. 

Constructive Bio is realizing the full scientific and commercial potential of its technologies through its proprietary platforms. These include:

  • Full genome synthesis: We assemble DNA into genome-scale pieces, stitching and replacing megabases of DNA inside living cells. Through this process, we create entirely new genomes from scratch, writing the genetic blueprint of cells with unprecedented flexibility and precision.
  • Engineered protein translation: Constructive Bio synthesizes proteins with expanded functions by incorporating non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs).  Through reprogramming the genetic code of cells and expanding their repertoire of chemical building blocks, our technology creates biofactories for the discovery and manufacturing of novel biopolymers. These molecules have unique properties and diverse applications across science and industry, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture and biomaterials.




SW:






How
do these concepts stand to impact research and development, not just in
biopharma but other fields as well? For example, materials science?



OW:






As we describe in our latest press release: ‘Synthetic genomics is redefining how we harness biology. Our suite of proprietary technologies and incomparable team allow us to build novel materials and products that will revolutionize drug manufacturing and discovery.”

We have the unique capacity to produce fully programmable biomolecules with unprecedented fidelity, specificity and scalability. This means we have the potential to incorporate a vast universe of new chemistries into molecules to create new drugs, biomolecules and materials with valuable chemical properties, and to manufacture them sustainably and at scale.




Blake Forman (BF):






Are
there any exciting case studies using this technology that you can share with
us?



OW:






ncAAs are critical for the success of incretin mimetics, including the recent blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic® and Wegovy® (based on semaglutide as the active ingredient). The incorporation of non-canonical building blocks is required for molecule stability, opening up a hugely impactful class of drugs.

Other examples include antibody–drug conjugate assets developed by AMBR-X – a company acquired by Johnson and Johnson for $2 billion earlier this year. Here, ncAAs are used to precisely program the position of conjugation for the cytotoxic payload to the tumor-homing antibody.




SW:






What sets these innovations apart from current solutions
in the biotech space?



OW:






Only
Constructive Bio can write genomes from scratch and recode entire organisms.
Only Constructive Bio can incorporate multiple ncAAs into a single molecule,
delivering unprecedented fidelity, specificity and scalability.




SW:






Can
you elaborate on some specific challenges your technology is aiming to solve?



OW:






Improving existing drugs: Addressing known limitations with existing drugs and drug candidates including stability, therapeutic index and homogeneity.

Creating new drugs: Building new molecules with an expanded chemical toolkit.

Scalable manufacturing: Addressing issues with complex multi-step manufacturing processes and sustainability and scalability challenges associated with chemical synthesis of peptides (which involves the use of large quantities of harmful solvents).




SW:






You
mention that your technology can contribute to sustainable industrial
processes. How do you envision your innovations influencing sustainability
challenges?



OW:






Our technology enables the biomanufacturing of peptide and protein drugs that would conventionally be produced by chemical synthesis. In doing so, we vastly reduce the reliance on processes that require the use of large quantities of harmful solvents.

With biomanufacturing, we can scale up the production of peptides and proteins using biology, in a more sustainable way.




BF:






What
does winning the 2024 ELRIG Innovation Award mean to you?



OW:






Constructive
Bio is all about novel technology – and it is fantastic to be recognized with
the 2024 ELRIG Innovation Award. We are extremely excited about the potential
of our technology to transform drug development and manufacturing and can’t
wait to continue making breakthroughs.




SW:






What
are your aspirations for the impact of these innovations in the future?



OW:






It’s
our ambition that our technology will be used to help improve treatments for a
vast range of indications across a range of areas including metabolic diseases,
oncology and immunological disorders. We look forward to working together with
pharma to build the next generation of biological therapeutics.

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