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Milner Update: May 2022
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It has been a busy few weeks at the Milner Institute, as we've been focusing on plans for our annual Therapeutics Symposium in June. It will be our first ever hybrid symposium, where delegates can register to attend either in person at West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge, or online. Find more details about our symposium section below.
 We are delighted to have been announced as a finalist for the Award for Innovation in the 2021-2022 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards. Also shortlisted for awards this year are six Milner affiliated companies - Abcam, bit.bio, Healx, Microbiotica, o2h and Phoremost - and the Milner proudly sits in the same category as our colleagues in life science accelerator Start Codon, which has a base within the Milner Institute. Read more »
Finally, we have been hosting visits from an increasing number of groups interested in our model recently, including this month the MP for South Cambridgeshire Anthony Browne, who engaged in an interesting discussion about the challenges and opportunities facing the life science sector.
In this issue:
 Milner Therapeutics Symposium
Recruitment at the Milner
Affiliated Company Spotlight: Absci and bit.bio
Connect: Health Tech Update
Affiliated Company News
Events
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Milner Therapeutics Symposium: Register now!
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We are excited to share the full programme for our Symposium in June, which is now available to download from our website! View programme »
Speakers and Panellists
As well as a fantastic line-up of speakers, we have released details of our panel session: Shaping the future of interdisciplinary interactions. The session will be chaired by Kristin-Anne Rutter of Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP) and panelists include Michael Anstey (Cambridge Innovation Capital), Andy Neely (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise and Business Relations at the University of Cambridge), Jamie Blundell (Institute for Early Detection of Cancer, University of Cambridge), Jeroen Verheyen (Semarion), and Victoria Higgins (GlaxoSmithKline). Read more »
Meet the Consortium
Registered attendees can now request a short meeting with Pharma companies in the Milner Therapeutics Consortium during the morning of the Symposium. These will be short non-confidential discussions held with a Milner Board member from the company of interest, aimed at identifying collaborative opportunities. Request a meeting »
Posters
We are inviting posters from both academia and industry, to be presented in person and/or digitally as part of our hybrid Symposium. The deadline for abstract submission is Monday 16th May. Submit an abstract »
Registration to the Symposium is free, and is open to academics and Milner affiliated companies only. To find out more about any of the points above, and to register, please click here »
Thank you to our 2022 Symposium sponsors
Platinum Sponsor:
Bronze Sponsors:
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Recruitment at the Milner
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We're fostering an exciting, supportive and productive workplace, providing a unique environment with start-ups, academics and pharma companies working side by side at the bench. We want to let go of preconceptions of what work 'should' look like, and give our team members opportunities to learn and collaborate.
If you would like to be part of our journey, our current career opportunities are listed below.
- Research Associate. We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced researcher to lead on a new collaborative project between the CRUK Cambridge Institute and the Milner Institute - exploring the pathogenesis of astrocytoma, a form of brain cancer.
- Bioinformatician. An exciting opportunity to work on a ground-breaking, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative iLUNG project funded by UKRI BBSRC.
Visit our Careers page »
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Connect: Health Tech Update
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Have you joined the Connect: Health Tech online community?
Connect: Health Tech is the gateway into the University for life sciences and health tech, bringing together the knowledge and expertise of Cambridge — helping researchers, scientists, companies and investors make connections and collaborations to transform innovative ideas into tangible outcomes that benefit society.
Signing up to the online community platform is free and easy. To join us, please click here »
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Affiliated Company Spotlight
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Who to know: Sean McClain, Founder, CEO & Director
Company formed in: 2011; public market debut in July 2021
Location: Vancouver, Washington, USA
Size: SME
Notable: Acquired former Milner Affiliate, Totient Ltd, in 2021
Key research or technology focus: Absci harnesses deep learning AI and synthetic biology to expand the therapeutic potential of proteins. They built their Integrated Drug Creation™ Platform to identify novel drug targets, discover optimal biotherapeutic candidates, and generate the cell lines to manufacture them in a single efficient process. Biotech and pharma innovators partner with Absci to create the next generation of protein-based drugs, including Bionic™ Proteins containing nonstandard amino acids, and other novel drug designs that may be impossible to make with other technologies.
Find out more:
Visit www.absci.com
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Who to know: Mark Kotter (Founder and CEO)
Company formed in: 2016
Location: Cambridge, UK
Size: SME
Type: Synthetic biology for human cells - next generation cell programming
Key research focus: bit.bio combines the concepts of coding and biology to provide human cells for research, drug discovery and cell therapy, enabling a new generation of medicines for every patient, everywhere. This is possible with their proprietary cell coding technology opti-ox™ - a breakthrough gene engineering approach that enables unlimited batches of any human cell to be manufactured consistently at scale through direct reprogramming of stem cells.
They already have three products on the research and drug discovery market under their ioCells brand with disease models and several other cell types to follow this year. They are also building out their cell therapy strategy and their discovery platform to uncover the right 'code' to create every human cell type.
Find out more:
Visit https://www.bit.bio |
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Affiliate News
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We are delighted to share with you details of our new affiliate AlemisLab. Find out more about the company below, and click the logo to head to their website.
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Founded by an experienced team with considerable industry knowledge, AltemisLab utilises this expertise to deliver high
quality products for sample storage, identification and handling.
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Affiliates Abcam, bit.bio, Healx, Microbiotica, o2h and Phoremost have been shortlisted for award nominations in the Cambridge Independent Awards for Technology and Innovation. Read more »
Abcam received six recognitions from CiteAb at their annual industry awards, the highest of any participant evaluated this year. Read more »
Absci opened a new AI Research Lab in New York. The lab will advance the nature and scope of Absci’s therapeutic protein design. Read more »
Alloy Therapeutics led a Series A funding round for Mytide Therapeutics, which raised $7 million. Read more »
Amgen announced that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a final appraisal document recommending Lumykras™ (sotorasib) for use within the Cancer Drugs Fund. Read more »
Axol Bioscience announced that it has raised £3.2 million in the extension of its previous funding round, bringing the total raised to £7 million GBP. Read more »
BenevolentAI and the Drugs for Neglected Disease Initiative announced that they have begun a joint AI research project to tackle dengue, one of the world’s most prevalent infectious diseases. Read more »
Biomax and NeuroScios GmbH announced a new collaboration for advanced analysis of CNS clinical trials. Read more »
Cambridge Innovation Capital raised £225 million for its second fund (Fund II). CIC has invested in c. 40 deeptech and life sciences companies to date, with Fund II already having made six investments, including Epitopea, a cancer immunotherapeutics company based at the Milner Institute. Read more »
CoSyne Therapeutics are currently recruiting for a Laboratory Technician. Read more »
Cyclica and Arctoris are expanding their partnership to progress drug discovery programs for novel neurodegenerative targets with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease. Read more »
Cytiva is opening a new 11,000 m² manufacturing facility in Cardiff, Wales. The site is part of a two year £1.1 billion global expansion plan. Read more »
Eagle Genomics has been listed as 'Top Global FoodTech Company' in FoodTech 500, the world’s first definitive lists of global entrepreneurial talent at the intersection of food, technology, and sustainability. Read more »
Enhanc3D Genomics has been awarded funding and lab space at JLabs as part of an Immunology Innovations QuickFire Challenge, which invited applications aiming to advance precision medicine approaches in immune-mediated disease. Read more »
Genedata announced that Light Chain Bioscience, a brand of Novimmune, has chosen the Genedata Biologics® workflow platform to accelerate discovery and development of proprietary multi-specific antibodies. Read more »
Genestack announced that its flagship Life Science Data catalog, curation and integrative search product, Genestack ODM, has been licensed and implemented by the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Read more »
Intellegens are partnering with Zizo, a provider of big data and edge analytics to help businesses extract more value from their data through advanced data management and analytics. Read more »
Lifebit announced a partnership with the Danish National Genome Center to deliver nationwide personalised medicine. Read more »
Microbiotica raised £50 million to advance a pipeline of microbiome-based therapeutics, and also received Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation funding to develop an ulcerative colitis therapeutic. Read more »
Oppilotech announced a co-development drug discovery partnership with Evariste Technologies, which will use machine learning and AI to establish a first-in-class antibacterial programme. Read more »
Standigm were granted new drug patents on their AI-driven repurposed drugs for psoriasis and Crohn’s disease. Read more »
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Events
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Enterprise Tuesday – The power of connecting
3rd May, online
Hear from entrepreneurs and other experts on how to strengthen your networks and make them work to your advantage. Read more »
Genomics England Research Summit 2022
4th May, London and online
This event explores the latest research and technology innovations from Genomics England, partners and complementary fields.
Make connections, learn new skills and help to shape the next steps in strengthening the ecosystem that's turning science into healthcare for everyone. Read more »
iDMT Learning Lab: Digitalising Chemistry
4th - 5th May, Cambridge
This event will enable companies to learn about emerging digitalisation opportunities and their practical implementations. It will be an opportunity for collaborative learning based on real-life experiences, delivered on the theme of digitalising chemistry. It is open to small companies and early-stage start-ups with an interest in developing their understanding of how the digitalisation of chemistry can be implemented within a business context. Read more »
Target Validation Using Genetics and Informatics
4th - 6th May, Wellcome Genome Campus
This conference will highlight advances in the use of high-throughput methods and functional validation techniques, that can influence the selection of new drug targets and the development of precision medicine. Read more »
Inclusion and Diversity in Scientific Research: Awareness to Action
5th May, online
Inclusive research is influenced by who is carrying out the research, the diversity of individuals involved, how the research is designed and implemented which ultimately impact on who benefits. This discussion will focus on how we can address health inequalities, improve quality of research and create equal health outcomes from bench to bedside. Read more »
EMBL Conference - Target to Patient: Creating tomorrow’s Drug Discovery Toolbox
8th - 10th May, Wellcome Genome Campus and online
Join the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) to discover the latest advances in genomics, in vitro technologies, data analysis and digital health. Sessions will focus on tools for the right choice of targets, experimental and computational optimisation methods and clinical trials design. Read more »
G2T Webinar: Wearable Microfluidic Systems for Personalized Health Management
11th May, online
The next Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences (CATS) G2T webinar will be presented by Dr Roozbeh Ghaffari, CEO and co-Founder of Epicore Biosystems Inc. Dr Ghaffari will talk about the contribution of his company to the recent development of wearable technologies. Read more »
How to Start and Grow a Business
12th May, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre Cambridge and online
Ran in conjunction with Cancer Research UK and aimed at researchers, entrepreneurs, students and executives operating in the cancer space, Dr Jason Mellad (CEO, Start Codon) will share his experiences of starting and growing a business from the ground up. Read more »
Milner Therapeutics Symposium
28th June, West Road Concert Hall Cambridge and online
An opportunity for scientists from academia and industry to discuss the latest academic and pre-clinical research and how it could be applied in the pharma and biotech industry to develop new treatments. Read more »
BPS & ELRIG joint meeting: New Modalities in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
4th - 5th July, The Crick, London
At this conference we will explore new pharmacological modalities of differing mechanisms, shapes and sizes and how these are being translated to create patient benefit. Read more »
ONHelix
7th July, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge
This one-day conference will address the main bio innovation trends, from the developments in life science and technology research to their translation into new diagnostics, prevention tools or treatments. Read more »
AI and Machine Learning in Healthcare Summer School
5th - 9th September, online
The Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine are delighted to announce the world’s first Summer School exclusively focused on AI and machine learning for healthcare. A range of exciting topics will be covered, including data interpretation, clinical trials, graph neural nets, synthetic data, and many more. Bringing in world-leading experts, there will be engaging talks, a mentorship program and accompanying mini-project for students. Read more »
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