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Hi ,

What a wonderful opening day at SynBioBeta 2023! I’ve been eager to take the stage to welcome our attendees. Check out the highlights of day 1 of SynBioBeta 2023 by our writers Embriette Hyde, Jenna Gallegos, Sohum Phadke, and other SynBioBeta Staff Writers.

Sean McClain, CEO of Absci, and John Cumbers, CEO of SynBioBeta. (Photo by Patrick T. Power)


From Embriette: 


The day opened with a pair of sessions focusing on the future of human health and the pharma industry, built by synbio. First, Renee Wegrzyn of ARPA-H (who has attended every single SynBioBeta Conference) took to the stage for her keynote session, during which she shared ARPA-H’s vision to address the equity and disparity gap in modern healthcare. “We’re not interested in publications or technology that sits on shelves,” said Renee. 


Next up was a panel session on revolutionizing healthcare with synbio and pharma. The panelists took the audience through the progress the field has undergone over the past 25 years and why we should all embrace biopharma. A central theme of the discussion centered around the “dark days'' of funding the industry is currently experiencing—but all panelists agreed there is a way forward: Don’t do it alone, and the funding will come. 


Ron Weiss of MIT said, “It really feels like it’s the beginning of the golden age for mammalian synthetic biology in health.” Jason Kelly of Ginkgo Bioworks agreed: “Biopharma is the biggest market for synthetic biology today.”


A variety of other healthcare and pharma-related sessions took place throughout the day, discussing a wide range of topics, with AI’s contribution to the success of synbio in biopharma a concept that came up again and again.


“What if the next transformative drug wasn’t discovered but was created at the click of a button with generative AI?” asked Sean McClain as he described the work Absci is doing to get drugs to patients faster with AI.

 


After lunch, bit.bio hosted a series of panel discussions on the intersection of synthetic biology and biopharma on theDouble Helix Stage. The first panel explored the nuts and bolts of how synthetic biology and biopharma synergize, with some important thoughts on accelerating progress. Next, Renee Wegrzyn joined the stage with bit.bio’s Mark Kotter to really bring life to bold goals by bringing together a diverse community and diverse set of technologies. 

“We have this incredible technology now, cells as therapies, and they can interact with the environment, and they can replace cells—what we need to do is make them much more sophisticated, bring the costs down, and expand the use case of cells to the regenerative medicine paradigm,” said Mark at the end of the discussion.

Renee Wegrzyn and Mark Kotter share ideas on bold goals in synbio and biopharma. (Photo by Embriette Hyde)


The next panel focused on improving targeting, potency, and payload delivery for cell and gene therapies using synbio, and the session concluded with a panel of investors who shared their thoughts on platforms and therapeutic assets and whether the key to the success of synbio in biopharma lies in one or the other. 


Later, back on the main stage, Christina Smolke of Antheia talked about how her company is using synbio to address the inefficient and fragile supply chains behind the critical drug shortages we face today. “Everybody deserves access to critical life saving medicines,” she said, closing her talk by sharing a firm belief: “Synthetic biology is the future of biopharma manufacturing.” In the final session of the day, John joined Twist Bioscience CEO Emily LeProust for a Fireside Chat, where they discussed the current status of the DNA synthesis market and exciting new capabilities at Twist — including having  in vitro, in vivo, and in silico capabilities all under one umbrella now. When John asked Emily whether she’s worried about the competition in the DNA writing space, her response was immediate and emphatic: “Competition is fantastic, it keeps us pushing forward, and the beneficiaries are the users.”


 From Jenna: 


A major theme of the synbio + pharma panel was collaboration. “It’s important to remember that synthetic biology is not the solution itself, it’s all about pairing up with domain experts,” said Ron Weiss (MIT). 


Synthetic biology is all about applying a higher level of control. Only activating in the right cell, at the right time, in the right dosage. How the synthetic biology platforms are applied is up to the market. 


“Don’t try to do it alone,” agreed Jason Kelly (Ginkgo). It will take different partners to build the tech, manufacture the therapeutics, run clinical trials, and commercialize. “It’s not enough to just be a platform company,” noted Kaan Certel (Sanofi). For a company to be successful, they need to be thinking about a pipeline. 


Lesley Stolz suggested taking the time for customer discovery to be able to tell the story, the “imagine if” story. “Imagine if this technology was a reality, how would it impact human health.” 


Assuming we can form the right partnerships, Ron Weiss suggests that we are preparing to enter a “golden age for synthetic biology in health.”


There are few talks this year devoted to plants. In a breakout session about engineered foods, the reason became clear. Synbio in food and agriculture is an uphill battle. The panelists of “How Crop Engineering is Creating a Sustainable Path for the Future of Agriculture” discussed how genetically engineered foods’ storied history has hurt its market progress. The antidote is communication. “It’s not about educating consumers,” said Ian Miller (Pairwise), “it’s about engaging them.” We need to identify products that consumers want - like more nutritious purple tomatoes, more palatable mustard greens, and - some day - even pitless cherries you can eat out of a bag like M&Ms. 

SynBio + Pharma: Revolutionizing the Future of Medicine panel. (Photo by Patrick T. Power).


From Sohum:


Following a brief coffee break, conference attendees gathered at the Main Stage for a series of nine rapid Lighting Talks. The topics covered ranged from advancements in lab-grown meat by the "tesla of lab-grown meat" to the future of lab inventory tracking. 


Kicking off the talks was Mariam Elgabry, who presented the Kino by Bronic project, which focuses on environmental sustainability and improving health access. Kino, named after the Greek term for movement and community, aims to build a community of biohackers, artists, and more. “We transform biology into art, and art into action,” said Elgabry. 

Mariam Elgabry, Founder & CEO of Bronic. (Photo by Patrick T. Power).

Next up were two leading food companies utilizing the tools of synthetic biology, Orbillion Bio and Ayana Bio. Orbillon’s Patricia Bubner shared the company’s pioneering delicious water-neutral beef products. This beef cuts 90% of land use and 92% of greenhouse emissions created by traditional beef produce. Moreover, Ayana Bio’s Frank Jaksch spoke on addressing agriculture limits and two recently launched plant-cell-based ingredients which attendees can sample at Ayana Bio’s booth. Their lighting talks certainly left the audience ready for lunch! 


But before that, Associate Director of the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) Abigail Kukura shared the National Action Plan for the U.S. Bioeconomy. The plan includes a roadmap to ensure the United States competitiveness in the Biotechnology industry. “We are entering an era of general-purpose tech,” Kukura shared, “We work by, with, and through the private sector.” 


“We can’t bring to market what we can’t physically produce,” Synonym’s Joshua Lachter stated in a panel on the biomanufacturing dilemma after lunch. Centered around the difficulties of fermentation facilities and capacity, the panel underscored the importance and need for more fit-for-purpose facilities. Additionally, Pow Bio CEO Shannon Hall spoke on the future of biomanufacturing being a combination of continuous and batch manufacturing. As a parting note to the conversation, panelist Mark Warner from Liberation Labs stated “There has to be more of a sense of urgency in this industry. Push for virtue hasn’t given the market the offset that we need.” 

The Biomanufacturing Dilemma: Building Capacity in the Context of Capitalism. (Photo by Patrick T. Power)

“Biomanufacturing our Future: Producing 30% of Chemicals via Sustainable and Economic Pathways,” featuring Mary Maxon, Executive Director, BioFutures Schmidt Futures, (Photo by Patrick T. Power).

 

“Biomanufacturing our Future: Producing 30% of Chemicals via Sustainable and Economic Pathways,” featuring Christopher Szakal, Acting Director, Program Coordination Office, NIST, Gaurab Chakrabarti CEO, Co-Founder, Solugen & Mary Maxon, Executive Director, BioFutures Schmidt Futures(Photo by Patrick T. Power).

Other news:
Jon Brennan-Badal with Opentrons Flex III

Jon Brennan-Badal with Opentrons Flex III

Regards,
Jeff

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Jeff Buguliskis, PhD
Director of Content, SynBioBeta

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