Copenhagen, November 7, 2023
Biomia ApS, a synthetic biology company enabling discovery, development, and manufacturing of plant-inspired natural and new-to-nature small molecule medicines, publish novel drug candidates in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
The new paper published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology describes the successful whole-cell biosynthesis of two monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs), alstonine and serpentine, which are known for their therapeutic effects against several indications. The research extends from a recent study reporting the use of Biomia’s fermentation-based manufacturing platform for the biosynthesis of essential anti-cancer drug vinblastine published in Nature journal in 2022 (link). Beyond the potential for a scalable fermentation-based manufacturing, the current study further showcase first-in-class whole-cell biosynthesis of approximately 20 new-to-nature analogues of alstonine and serpentine based on Biomia’s proprietary technology. Acknowledging that half of approved drugs during the last few decades are based on natural products or derivatives thereof, and that a quarter of all approved small molecule drugs are halogenated, the study is a first demonstration of how Biomia’s innovative manufacturing platform can be used for drug discovery campaigns of complex new-to-nature halogenated MIAs with documented links to several target diseases.
“Biomia herein reports its PoC for halogenation of natural MIAs and on manufacturing of new-to-nature MIAs at scales needed for pre-clinical studies”, says Biomia’s CSO Dr. Jie Zhang, adding “not only are these halogenated MIAs impossible to source from natural resources, but they also contain several stereocenters complicating their chemical synthesis and accessibility to drug discovery programs. With halogenation, we now have the chemical handle to derivatize MIAs by adding thousands, if not more, other chemical moieties known to affect ADME properties of drug leads.”
Of relevance to Biomia’s mental health program, the study highlights the manufacturing of alstonine, which has been documented to have anti-psychotic effects in various animal models, and from which Biomia seeks to further optimize and develop novel alstonine analogue drug candidates.
“The World Health Organization has estimated that by 2030 mental health disorders will be a leading cause of disease burden globally, of which schizophrenia, a common psychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of ~1%, is expected to account for a significant part” says CEO Dr. Michael Krogh Jensen, adding “With this publication, we wish to emphasize our commitment to the development of a pipeline of novel, safe and efficacious drug candidates much needed in integrated healthcare for patients suffering from schizo-affective health disorders, and we are now looking forward to entering partnerships for further development of Biomia’s pipeline drug candidates”.
Copenhagen, 26. Sept. 2023 – Biomia, a groundbreaking synthetic biology company and spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark previously funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the European Union, Center for Biosustainability at DTU and BioInnovation Institute, has successfully raised $3.0 million in a pre-seed Financing.
The financing was led by BlueYard Capital, followed by Amino Collective and Nucleus Capital, and will catalyze Biomia's pioneering efforts in developing a pipeline of plant-inspired natural and new-to-nature halogenated small molecule drug candidates for unmet medical needs in pain, mental health disorders, and addiction, as well as its fermentation-based manufacturing platform and AI-assisted drug discovery engine.
Leading Innovation in New-to-Nature Small Molecule Drug Candidates
Biomia's mission is to forge an internal pipeline of Monoterpene Indole Alkaloid (MIA) drug candidates closely linked to target diseases and establish partnerships to leverage its discovery engine.
Recently Biomia published its first-in-class whole-cell manufacturing of the natural plant-derived cancer chemotherapeutic agent “vinblastine (Velban™)” in the journal Nature, exemplifying the longest-ever engineered whole-cell assembly line. The vinblastine molecule was made utilizing Biomia’s proprietary state-of-the-art platform technology and holds promise for developing many more natural and halogenated new-to-nature small-molecule therapeutics.
Biomia's unique focus on designing and integrating halogenation into MIAs, combined with a state-of-the-art fermentation-based manufacturing platform and AI-assisted drug discovery engine, positions the company at the forefront of biosynthetic innovation in drug candidate development. This approach is expected to yield substantially improved drug candidates with optimized absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties and improved toxicity profiles.
Accelerating Transformative Innovation
“We would like to thank Novo Nordisk Foundation, European Union, Center for Biosustainability at DTU and BioInnovation Institute for their support in bringing Biomia to the forefront of innovation in the biosynthesis field, and we are very pleased to welcome a strong syndicate of investors with complementary expertise in our field. The successful conclusion of Biomia's pre-seed financing marks a pivotal step forward the company's mission to create groundbreaking halogenated new-to-nature small molecule drug candidates for patients with unmet needs” said Michael Krogh Jensen, co-founder and CEO of Biomia, and continues:
“With this financing, we are well-positioned to expand our research capacity, and to accelerate our biosynthetic manufacturing platform, our AI-assisted drug discovery engine, as well as our pipeline of exciting new drug candidates aiming at creating novel solutions to the market that have the potential to make a profound impact on healthcare."
Jason Whitmire, General Partner at BlueYard Capital, explains the decision to invest in Biomia. "We are very impressed by the vision and expertise of the Biomia team and excited to support their continued efforts to bring forth novel solutions for unmet medical needs, particularly in pain, mental health disorders, and addiction. With the commitment of its visionary founding team, strategic partnerships, and diverse funding support, Biomia is poised to redefine the biosynthetic landscape of drug discovery and contribute to improving patient outcomes worldwide”.
About Biomia
Biomia is a synthetic biology company developing a pipeline of plant-inspired natural and new-to-nature small molecule drug candidates (Monoterpene Indole Alkaloids - in short MIAs) for unmet medical needs in pain, mental health disorders, and addiction. Biomia is a spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark, and activities have been funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation, European Union, and BioInnovation Institute.
Biomia’s unique ability to design and integrate halogenation into the design of the compounds and in the state-of-the-art manufacturing platform aims to generate substantially improved drug candidates with optimized ADME properties and tox profiles. Biomia is developing an internal pipeline of new-to-nature MIA drug candidates with well-established links between the MIA compounds and the diseases and leveraging its platform and discovery engine through partnerships. Biomia was founded in 2022 by scientists Jie Zhang, Michael K. Jensen, and Jay D. Keasling, and biotech entrepreneurs Sebastian Søderberg and Henrik Stage.
Press Contact: Michael Krogh Jensen, CEO, mkj@biomia.com, +45 6128 4850
Biomia published the first-in-class whole-cell manufacturing of the natural plant-derived cancer chemotherapeutic agent vinblastine (Velban™) in the journal Nature exemplifying the longest ever engineered whole-cell assembly line. The vinblastine molecule was made utilizing Biomia’s proprietary state-of-the-art platform technology and holds promise for the development of many more natural and halogenated new-to-nature small-molecule therapeutics.
Biomia is a synthetic biology company developing a pipeline of plant-inspired natural and new-to-nature halogenated small molecule drug candidates (Monoterpene Indole Alkaloids (MIAs)) for unmet medical needs in pain, mental health disorders, and addiction. Biomia is a spin-out from the Technical University of Denmark and activities have been funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation, European Union, and BioInnovation Institute.
Biomia’s unique ability to design and integrate halogenation into the design of the compounds as well as in the state-of-the-art manufacturing platform is expected to generate substantially improved drug candidates with optimized ADME properties and tox profiles, and Biomia aims to develop an internal pipeline MIA drug candidates with well-established links between the MIA targets and the diseases as well as leveraging its platform and discovery engine through partnerships.
Biomia was founded in 2022 by scientists Jie Zhang, Michael K. Jensen, and Jay D. Keasling and biotech entrepreneurs Sebastian Søderberg and Henrik Stage.
