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Shoreline Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation cellular immunotherapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) utilizing its proprietary iPSC-derived natural killer (iNK) cell and macrophage (iMACs) platforms. The company`s cellular design technologies are built on a deep understanding of iPSC differentiation, immune cell biology and genetic engineering that enable the development of specific effector cell types, including iNK cells and iMACs as allogeneic "off-the-shelf" cellular immunotherapies designed for durability, scalability, safety, and efficacy. Shoreline is advancing a pipeline of programs towards the clinic, on its own and with its strategic partners, Kite, a Gilead Company, and BeiGene, a global pharmaceutical company. Shoreline Biosciences is headquartered in San Diego, CA.
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics that target specific viral diseases. Our current focus areas include Hepatitis B virus (HBV), SARS-CoV-2, and other coronaviruses. To address HBV, we are developing a RNAi therapeutic, an oral PD-L1 inhibitor, and an oral RNA destabilizer to potentially identify a combination regimen with the aim of providing a functional cure for patients with chronic HBV by suppressing viral replication, reducing surface antigen and reawakening the immune system. We believe our lead compound, AB-729, is the only RNAi therapeutic with evidence of immune re-awakening. It is currently being evaluated in multiple phase 2 clinical trials. We also have an ongoing drug discovery and development program directed to identifying novel, orally active agents for treating coronavirus (including SARS-CoV-2). In addition, we are exploring oncology applications for our internal PD-L1 portfolio.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic, life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States, 30,000 new cases are estimated every year with half of those cases diagnosed in young children. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient`s immune system goes awry and attacks and destroys the pancreatic beta cells. Beta cells are responsible for regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels by producing precise amounts of the essential hormone insulin. The discovery of injectable insulin in the 1920s changed T1D from a uniformly fatal disease with a life expectancy of months to one that could be carefully managed for decades through multiple daily blood glucose measurements and insulin injections. However, insulin injections are not a cure and patients face a lifetime of difficult disease management and serious complications including kidney failure, blindness and nerve damage. Despite nearly a century passing since the discovery of insulin, insulin injection remains the only treatment available to patients. Semma Therapeutics was founded to develop transformative therapies for patients who currently depend on insulin injections. Recent work in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Melton led to the discovery of a method to generate billions of functional, insulin-producing beta cells in the laboratory. These cells develop in islet-like clusters grown from stem cells. Initial preclinical work in animal models of diabetes has shown that transplantation of these cells are sufficient to control blood glucose levels. This breakthrough technology has been exclusively licensed to Semma Therapeutics for the development of a cell-based therapy for diabetes. Ongoing research at Semma Therapeutics is focused on combining these proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art cell delivery and immune protection strategy that can protect these cells from the patient`s immune system and allow the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. Implantation of the beta cell-filled device has the potential to provide a true replacement for the missing beta cells in a diabetic patient and would not require patient immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is working to bring this new therapeutic option to the clinic and improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
Eleven Therapeutics is at the forefront of mRNA therapeutics innovation, harnessing combinatorial chemistry, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence to develop next-generation therapies. The company`s pipeline includes extended-release mRNA therapeutics (xRNA) targeting unmet medical needs in metabolic, hematologic, and infectious disease areas. Proprietary high-throughput screening platforms, TERA™ and DELiveri™, underpin Eleven Therapeutics` pipeline by generating chemically modified xRNAs and cell-penetrating delivery carriers. Founded in 2020 by world-leading scientists across Cambridge (UK), Boston (US), and Tel Aviv (Israel), Eleven Therapeutics is supported by top-tier venture capitalists and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Legacy Health System is an Oregon-based not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation that includes five full-service hospitals and a children's hospital.