Conference Reports
BIO 2008
San Diego, CA, USA, 17th-20th June 2008
The world’s largest and most anticipated biotechnology event, BIO 2008, was held in California, attracting more than 20,000 attendees. With nearly half of all spending on biotech research and development occuring in California, a staggering US$4.3 billion in 2007, it was only fitting to hold this event in downtown San Diego.
BIO 2008 certainly pulled out all the stops. This year, the event kicked off with a spectacular firework display and welcome reception on board the USS Midway, America’s longest serving naval ship, followed by enchanting animal shows at the world-famous San Diego Zoo. And if that was not enough, there was also a block party on 5th Avenue in the glamorous Gaslamp Quarter.
Once again there was an all all-star keynote line up, with speeches from Dr Craig J. Venter, President of the Venter Institute, Colin Powell and the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. First up, Dr Venter discussed the translation of his early successes of mapping the genome into potentially life-saving breakthroughs. He was followed by the star attraction, Gov. Schwarzenegger, who praised the world's biotechnology industry particularly for tackling currently untreatable diseases. He urged the BIO community to speed up the translation of research and discovery into meaningful patientrelevant advances. He ended with a heart-rending account of his father-in-law's battle with Alzheimer's disease, stating "I've witnessed the disease first hand, along with millions of others, and know that changes need to be made”.
A topic that resonated throughout BIO was stem cell research and its huge potential. The capacity of stem cells to differentiate into a diverse range of specialized cell types to treat diseases that cause death of life-sustaining cells is rapidly becoming a driving force in biotechnology and a central focus in medicine. Amongst the first to present was NOXXON Pharma, an early stage biopharmaceutical company boasting a pipeline of novel and highly potent therapeutics capable of blocking protein-protein interactions, known as spiegelmers. Spieglemers are synthetic L-nucleic acids, mirrors of natural D-nucleic acids, that bind to their target molecules with incredible specificity, with the added advantage of being biostable. In addition, they combine the favourable characteristics of both antibodies and small molecules, and are non-immunogenic and non-toxic. NOXXON has multi-year drug discovery collaborations with Pfizer and Hoffmann-La Roche, and intends to enter its first clinical trials in the 1st half of 2009 in two indications.
Representing the diversity of biotech on show was Magforce, a company developing anticancer nanoparticles coated with an intelligent aminosilane structure which provides stabilization against agglomeration and sedimentation, thus maximizing particle concentration within a tumour. These nanoparticles then heat the tumour from within, rather than introduce a heat source from outside the body, helping to ensure surrounding healthy tissue is spared. The company reported on the success of the first clinical study in March 2003 in 14 patients with malignant brain tumours, and has since been pushing the research forward into many other indications. Currently it is in 2 Phase II trials for glioblastoma multiforme and prostate carcinoma, with filings expected in 2009.
Also presenting was DSX Therapeutics, an early-stage biotech outfit developing monoclonal antibodies to treat sepsis. If successful, it will have the first pharmaceutical to treat the early-stage pathology of sepsis and tap into a US$19 billion annual therapeutic market. Whilst conducting IVD clinical trials, DSX discovered plasma microvesicle-associated particulate inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was only present in the plasma of septic patients. In further preclinical studies, isolated iNOS-containing microvesicles from septic patients induced heamodynamic collapse, thus confirming particulate iNOS as a therapeutic target. Additionally, administration of a lead candidate, a chimaeric anti-iNOS antibody, rescued up to 80% of challenged animals from death by sepsis. This antibody is currently in preclinical development with Phase I safety studies planned.
Profectus BioSciences captivated the audience with its breakthrough antiviral therapy that combines antiviral agents with specific immune-modulating drugs to solve challenges that ultimately lead to therapy failure, such as adverse events and drug resistance. Currently there are two platforms in the programme, namely antivirals and cell cycle inhibitors, using both antibody and small molecule approaches. Profectus, established in 2004, primarily focuses on developing cutting-edge products and technologies for HIV/AIDS.
BIO is renowned for record-breaking numbers and this year was no exception. There were more than 2,100 companies presenting, and over 208,000 sq. feet of exhibition space, the largest ever at the convention. And at the centre of it all were the 14,500 one-on-one partnering meetings. The comprehensiveness of BIO 2008 certainly surpassed all expectations and next year we hope that the resounding success that is BIO will be back.
The next BIO International Convention will be held May 17-20 2009 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, the US.
Amir Hakim
Pharmaprojects Analyst
