InnovationRx: Beethoven’s Genome; Plus, Billionaires Back New Kind Of Health Research

by techlowdown · 22 March 2023

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The composer Ludwig van Beethoven first began to experience hearing loss in his mid-20s. He also suffered from chronic stomach pain and, towards the end of his life, displayed jaundice – the yellow skin associated with liver disease. His health problems have been the subject of much speculation and a team of international scientists have finally gotten some answers: thanks to developments in whole genome sequencing and five strands of his hair. The research, published in Current Biology today, was unable to find a genetic explanation for the hearing loss but did find he had a Hepatitis B infection in the months leading up to his death, as well as genetic risk factors for liver disease that “likely contributed to his death.”

It took more than a billion dollars and 20 years to sequence the first human genome. Advances in technology have now rapidly driven down the time and cost. (Element Biosciences says it can do it for $200 a person.) A U.K. government agency recently announced a $126 million program to sequence the genomes of up to 200,000 babies for more than 200 genetic diseases. There is a similar project underway in New York City to test 100,000 newborns. Some people have raised concerns about the privacy and security of the genetic data, as well as issues with how people may interpret the results: just because a person has a genetic mutation does not mean they will necessarily develop a disease. Read more from Forbes’ Arianna Johnson here.

Why Billionaires Ken Griffin And Eric Schmidt Are Spending $50 Million On A New Kind Of Scientific Research

Ken Griffin (L) and Eric Schmidt (R).

AARON KOTOWSKI FOR FORBES (LEFT)

‘Focused Research Organizations’ aim to provide useful information to the scientific community in areas that currently aren’t being served by academia or business. This new influx of capital will be aimed at organizations developing a dataset of small molecule interactions with human proteins as well as a suite of tools aimed at improving protein analysis to aid in research of conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

Deals Of The Week

Blood Test: Swiss pharma giant Roche announced plans to jointly develop a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease with Eli Lilly.

Neurotechnology: Cognito Therapeutics, a company developing a non-invasive neuromodulation device to treat Alzheimer’s disease, raised a $73 million Series B led by FoundersX Ventures, as it enrolls patients for its pivotal trial.

Personalized Cancer Therapy: San Francisco-based Artera Launched out of stealth with $90 million in funding. The company has developed an AI test for prostate cancer that’s aimed at guiding doctors to providing the best course of treatment, and the influx of capital is aimed at its distribution.

Precision Medicine: Flare Therapeutics, which is developing precision medicines for cancer and other diseases by targeting transcription factors, announced that it raised a $123 million series B round led by Pfizer Ventures and GordonMD Global Investments.

Antibody Against Lung Cancer: BioNTech has entered an exclusive agreement with pharmaceutical company OncoC4 to license and distribute its next-generation antibody treatment, which currently has a Fast Track designation with the FDA against immunotherapy-resistant non-small cell lung cancer.

Pear Therapeutics Looks For A Buyer As It Struggles To Get Paid For Prescription Apps

Pear’s apps guide users through behavioral therapy.

getty

Pear Therapeutics, which has three FDA-cleared prescription apps to help treat substance use disorder and insomnia, announced last week it was “exploring strategic alternatives,” including a sale, merger or licensing of assets, and would no longer hold a fourth quarter earnings call. The move highlights the main challenge facing companies developing software as medicine: getting commercial insurers and government health programs to pay for it.

Other Healthcare News

The CDC reported the number of Americans dying due to pregnancy or childbirth soared in 2021, particularly among Black women, as the U.S. continues to lag far behind other wealthy nations.

The CDC also warned that cases of Candida auris, a hard-to-treat fungal infection, is spreading across the U.S. and becoming increasingly resistant to the few drugs available to treat it.

Former Microsoft CEO and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called artificial intelligence the “most important advance” in technology since the development of computers and smartphones with far-reaching implications in healthcare and education.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law allowing nurse practitioners to practice independently, meaning they no longer require oversight by a physician, becoming the 27th state to do so.

Scientists in China have used Crispr gene editing to restore vision in blind mice, according to a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.