Latest news with #PurnaKashyap
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
32 Biosciences Surpasses Financing Target, Accelerates Toward Series A and FDA Milestones
Microbiome-focused company receives $6 million in funding to advance gut microbiome platform technologies NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--32 Biosciences, a leader in the field of gut microbiome medicine, today announced it has received $6 million in funding to support the continued development of its lead assets. The funding comes as the company prepares for a future Series A fundraise and advances toward key regulatory milestones. 32 Biosciences' diagnostic platform technology quantitatively evaluates the gut microbiome's functional health, assessing its ability to support key bodily functions. Developed utilizing AI/machine learning and powered by mass spectrometry, this diagnostic management tool is intended to provide clinically actionable information and to support the development of microbiome-based interventions. The company's therapeutic innovation is a potential first-of-its-kind non-antibiotic antimicrobial designed to prevent gut-derived bacterial infections by inhibiting virulence gene expression, enhancing the gut mucosal barrier, and promoting beneficial bacteria growth. Proven effective in robust animal models, this potential therapy is expected to significantly reduce infection rates and infection-related mortality without contributing to antibiotic resistance, if approved by FDA, offering a transformative approach to infection prophylaxis. "This is our second fundraise, and both times we exceeded our goals," said Peter Farmakis, CEO of 32 Biosciences. "It's a testament to our focused approach to restoring the functional health of the gut microbiome, our strong management team, and the groundbreaking science from the University of Chicago." 32 Biosciences is progressing toward FDA clearance for its gut microbiome diagnostic management tool, which is targeted for late 2026. The funds will support key development milestones, including clinical validation, regulatory submissions, and commercial readiness. The company is on track to submit its FDA Pre-Submission Meeting Package in late Q2, a pivotal step in securing regulatory clearance. Parallel progress continues in advancing 32 Biosciences' lead therapeutic candidate, toward Phase I clinical trials. Expanded Scientific & Business Advisory Boards 32 Biosciences has appointed five distinguished leaders to its Scientific & Business Advisory Boards to support its scientific and strategic growth: Purna Kashyap, MD – Co-Director of the Microbiome Program at Mayo Clinic; expert in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and microbiome-host interactions. David Rubin, MD – Professor and Section Chief at the University of Chicago; internationally recognized expert in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and precision medicine. Jay Wohlgemuth, MD – Chief Medical Officer at Genesis BioCapital; former CMO, CSO, and SVP R&D at Quest Diagnostics with deep expertise in clinical diagnostics development and commercialization. Jack Kalavritinos – CEO of JK Strategies; former Director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), specializing in regulatory strategy and public affairs. Don Potter – Former Executive at UnitedHealthcare Group; expert in payer strategy, reimbursement, and healthcare innovation. "These appointments reinforce our commitment to scientific rigor and commercial readiness," said Farmakis. "Their collective expertise will be instrumental as we advance our diagnostic and therapeutic platforms through development and into the market." Executive Team Expansion 32 Biosciences has also strengthened its leadership team with key promotions and strategic hires: Greg Aronin – Chief Operations Officer Patrick Hennessey, MD – Chief Medical Officer Sharon Ayd, PhD – Chief Regulatory Officer Jeff McCown – Vice President, Commercial Operations Andrew Headley – Vice President, Finance, Data & AI Strategy Kaitlyn Read, PhD – Director of Product Development "Our expanded leadership team and advisory boards position us to scale operations and drive innovation across diagnostics and therapeutics," Farmakis added. "We're building the foundation for long-term impact in gut microbiome medicine." About 32 Biosciences 32 Biosciences is redefining the field of microbiome medicine through precision diagnostics and therapeutics. The company's mission is to revolutionize healthcare by defining, diagnosing, and restoring the functional health of the gut microbiome to prevent and treat chronic diseases, thereby improving health span and longevity. For more information, visit Legal Statements Nothing in this press release constitutes an offer to buy, or a solicitation of an offer to sell, securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful. This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about 32 Biosciences' beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, and you should not place any undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, (i) capital market volatility, (ii) local and global economic conditions, (iii) our anticipated growth strategies, (iv) our ability to gain approval of our products with the U.S. Federal and Drug Administration, and (v) our future business development, results of operations and financial condition. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to," "prepare," "on track" or other similar expressions. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and 32 Biosciences undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law. View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Greg AroninChief Operations Officergaronin@ (248) 207-9977 Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
The ick factor that could save a life: US cancer researchers look to fecal waste for treatment clues
A leading US clinic hopes its fecal waste biobank will help researchers make new discoveries about how to treat cancer patients – one of several efforts to turn human waste into medicine. The Mayo Clinic biobank is part of researchers' years-long effort to 'personalize' medicine by uncovering how the microbiome changes how patients react to cancer medications. 'If I can figure out by looking at somebody's microbiome and their genes as to what drug they would most likely respond to, I would want to pick that drug as a first step,' said Purna Kashyap, director of the Mayo Clinic's microbiomics program, which oversees the biobank. By comparison, most cancer drugs today are used as a regimen or, as Kashyap describes it: 'Everybody gets this as a first-line therapy, and everybody gets this as a second-line therapy and everybody gets this as a third-line therapy.' At the heart of the clinic's effort to understand the microbiome is a biobank of more than 2,000 stool samples – a collection with ick factor – but one that researchers hope can help them understand why patients respond differently to cancer treatment. The idea behind the research is that, in addition to human cells, every person has a microbiome, a collection of 100tn 'microbial symbionts': bacteria. Microbiomes are what 'we rely [on] to aid in nutrition, resist pathogens, and educate our immune system', researchers once wrote for Science. These bacteria colonize our bodies, from skin to guts. The biobanks' work on cancer is just one of several large-scale efforts that seek to understand how the gut microbiome may mediate how patients respond to cancer treatment – such as whether tumors shrink in response to chemotherapy or the severity of side effects. Along these lines, researchers have experimented with colonizing patients' guts with new bacteria through fecal transplants. Although still in the research phase, the trials have produced some promising results. The same idea has researchers investigating 'crapsules' and 'crispr-ing' the gut microbiome, according to a new book by Dr Eric Topol, chair of the department of translational medicine of the Scripps Research Institute. The private biobank's work, and Kashyap's expectation that it could publish some results this summer, comes as the broader scientific community is under attack by the Trump administration. The White House has proposed disproportionately large cuts to the US's scientific institutions, including a 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While private companies and hospital systems, such as the Mayo Clinic, are working on individual studies, almost no one in the research community believes 'puny' private budgets can fill a federal government-sized void. Similarly, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's cut of roughly 20,000 jobs from the Department of Health and Human Services has jeopardized some government biobanks – as is the case with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's bank of roughly 50,000 gonorrhoea samples, whose fate is unknown after the entire staff was laid off. 'The kinds of biobanking and data collection the NIH funds are open-ended and openly available,' said Derek Lowe, an organic chemist and author of the popular In the Pipeline blog on drug development. 'There aren't too many other people doing stuff like this.'
