Meet BitBio, the company reprogramming the future of Synthetic Biology
Today, Good AI is excited to announce our Series B investment in Bit Bio, a synthetic biology company that is coding human cells to precision engineer the next generation of medicine.
We are so honored to be investing alongside some of the most prominent life sciences and technology investors including Robert Nelsen ( Arch Venture Partners ), Jim Tannebaum ( Foresight Capital ), Rick Klauser ( Juno Therapeutics, Grail, Illumina ), Yuri Milner, Charles River Laboratories, National Resilience, Metaplanet, and Tencent.
The Challenges
With the tremendous progress in biomedical research ( CRISPR, CAR-T Cell Therapies ), therapies have progressed from small molecules to biologics. Nevertheless, due to their cell manufacturing challenges, cell therapies have become very expensive. As a result, the development of new drugs has not kept up with the progress in biology.
Basic scientific research into new drugs and treatments often starts with tests in mice, or in the most widely used human cell lines such as kidney cells and cervical cancer cells. Since the cells being experimented on may have major differences to the cells that a candidate drug is supposed to target in the human body, a drug that works in a mouse may turn out not to work when it's tested in humans. This has led to the majority of the clinical trials’ failure.
Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies continue to depend on these inefficient models because of the lack of reliable human cells. To bridge the gap, a scalable source of consistent human cells is needed.
Bit Bio’s Mission
Enter BitBio. With its OptiOx (Optimised inducible Over-Expression) precise cell reprogramming technology, BitBio sets out to revolutionize clinical research and drug discovery by producing precisely engineered batches of human cells.
Based on a combination of various protein transcription factors, cell reprogramming can trigger the gene expression ( turning on and off genes ) in cells and generate real stem cells from a blood draw or skin sample from any individual. Resolving the ethical issues surrounding the use of stem cells, the discovery of the Yamanaka factors has won Shinya Yamanaka the Nobel prize in 2012. Reprogramming can also be used to convert stem cells back into any desired cell type, be it a brain, blood, or liver cell.
However, reprogramming has traditionally been inefficient with low cell yields. To overcome such a hurdle, BitBio has developed OptiOx, a gene engineering platform based on Mark Kotter’s ( CEO Bit Bio ) research at the University of Cambridge, that would enable precise reprogramming of entire cultures of stem cells into any desired cell type, ultimately unlocking the full potential of any stem cell.
Why Do We Invest in BitBio?
As an early investor in Mekonos, who has just raised $25M to tackle the cell and gene therapy delivery hurdles, we are acutely aware of the stem cell manufacturing challenges. BitBio’s innovative approach in inserting the transcription factors in the genetic safe harbor in order to avoid gene silencing has been extremely impressive. Applying machine learning and experiments, the OptiOx system can discover unique master codes for all human cell types. With a strong pipeline that includes Charles River, BitBio has achieved a great deal of product-market fit.
With a deep commitment to ensuring healthy lives and achieving sustainability through its platform, BitBio’s value is strongly aligned with Good AI’s. We can’t be more excited about the partnership where we can play a role in transforming the future of synthetic biology.
2022 is off to a great start!