Axial $12 / month

Axial is centered around partnering with and investing in inventors and founders of early-stage life sciences companies. It explores innovative therapeutic approaches, such as immunotherapies beyond cancer, federated learning in healthcare, genetic tuning, and advancements in bioengineering tools. Axial highlights contributions from key figures in the industry and progress in addressing complex diseases.

Biotechnology Immunotherapy Machine Learning in Healthcare Genetic Engineering Proteomics Healthcare Innovation Drug Development Entrepreneurship in Life Sciences Federated Learning CRISPR Technology

The hottest Substack posts of Axial

And their main takeaways

LabKey

7 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups Data Management Software Development Revenue Models Partnerships
  1. LabKey provides data management solutions tailored to researchers, clinicians, and biotech companies.
  2. LabKey's evolution from a project at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to a successful software company is inspiring for startups.
  3. LabKey's strategic shift to a tiered subscription service model helped in sustaining revenue and investing in new product development.

Roche's neurology strategy

7 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Neurology Alzheimer's Drug Development Research Therapies
  1. Roche is focusing on developing therapies for neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, with a new drug called trontinemab showing potential for rapid clearance of amyloid plaques in the brain.
  2. Roche's neurology strategy includes a diverse pipeline of treatments for various conditions like multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders, and gene therapies for muscle-related illnesses.
  3. The company's commitment to Alzheimer's research is driven by the amyloid hypothesis, societal impact, and economic burden, aiming to improve patient outcomes and address the growing need for effective treatments in the aging population.

Gompertz–Makeham law of mortality

7 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
🔬 Science Biology Aging Genetics
  1. The Gompertz-Makeham law of mortality is a mathematical model used to describe age-specific mortality rates in human and other species, crucial in actuarial science and studying aging.
  2. The law was developed by Gompertz with an exponential model showing increased mortality rates with age, later extended by Makeham to include an age-independent mortality term.
  3. While widely used, the Gompertz-Makeham law has limitations, inspiring researchers to propose alternative models to better capture the complexity of mortality patterns, especially at advanced ages.

GPCRs in kidney disease

7 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
🔬 Science Biotechnology Genetics Healthcare Research Pharmacology
  1. Kidney disease, particularly autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (PKD), has been underinvested compared to other conditions like oncology and diabetes.
  2. The development of drugs targeting GPCRs PC-1 and PC-2 in PKD could significantly improve the quality of life for patients by reducing cyst size.
  3. Business models in drug development are shifting towards rare disease candidates like PC-1/2, emphasizing treatments that exceed the current standard of care.

The phenotypic landscape of essential human genes

7 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🔬 Science
  1. A study highlighted that knocking out essential human genes caused various cell defects, showing changes in nuclear morphology, cell size, and more.
  2. Identifying co-functional genes from diverse cellular activities allows for understanding novel gene functions and relationships.
  3. Essential genes often work together, shedding light on how genes collaborate in cellular processes and offering potential new targets for therapeutic interventions.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Human Immunology Biosciences

7 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🔬 Science Biosciences Therapeutics Genetics
  1. Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio) is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on precision medicines for immune-mediated diseases, with the aim to target specific cellular drivers of disease with therapeutics.
  2. HI-Bio's assets include felzartamab and HIB210, targeting dysfunctional plasma cells and other immune system components to potentially provide more effective treatments for diseases like membranous nephropathy and IgA nephropathy.
  3. The company utilizes a platform that integrates human genetics, immunophenotyping, data sciences, and therapeutic engineering to advance its clinical pipeline in understanding and addressing immune-mediated diseases.

Margin of Safety

7 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
💰 Finance Investing Value Risk management Market Analysis Portfolio Management
  1. Investing success involves focusing on undervalued securities with a margin of safety to protect against errors and volatility
  2. Prioritize avoiding losses over seeking speculative gains; learn from others' mistakes to compound returns over time
  3. Value investing requires independent thinking, estimating intrinsic value, and maintaining a margin of safety to achieve excess returns

An Fc engineering approach that modulates antibody-dependent cytokine release without altering cell-killing functions

7 implied HN points • 17 Feb 24
🔬 Science Research Engineering Antibodies Immunotherapy
  1. An innovative Fc engineering approach can adjust antibody-dependent cytokine release without impacting cell-killing functions. This shows that manipulating cytokine release independently is possible.
  2. Different IgG isotypes have varying abilities to stimulate proinflammatory cytokine release. This indicates the importance of isotype selection beyond just cytotoxicity.
  3. Engineering antibodies to selectively engage FcγRs can potentially enhance immune responses. This opens up new possibilities for optimizing antibody immunotherapies against cancer.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics

7 implied HN points • 17 Feb 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Biotechnology Clinical Trials Drug Development
  1. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics is developing a tri-specific nanobody therapy called Sonelokimab (SLK) that has shown significant efficacy in treating inflammatory diseases like HS, PsA, and PsO.
  2. SLK offers unique benefits like blocking all IL-17 pro-inflammatory dimers, enabling tissue penetration, and maintaining high response rates in patients with moderate-to-severe conditions.
  3. MoonLake's SLK has the potential to become a best-in-class IL-17 inhibitor in a multibillion-dollar market, with its innovative structure, clinical success, and competitive advantages over existing treatments.

Natural Product Synthesis in the 21st Century: Beyond the Mountain Top

7 implied HN points • 17 Feb 24
🔬 Science Chemistry Biology Prediction Automation Therapeutics
  1. Natural products and drugs have similarities but drugs are a balance between complexity and accessibility for optimization.
  2. Molecular complexity in drugs is increasing to improve IP coverage, binding affinity, and effectiveness for chronic diseases.
  3. Embracing enabling methods, computational modeling, and deep exploration of complex chemical space can revolutionize natural product synthesis for therapeutic goals.