Robert Langer

BIND Biosciences - 2008 Fierce 15

John Carroll — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:35:29 -0400

BIND Biosciences

Based: Cambridge, MA
Founded: 2006
Website: www.bindbio.com

The Scoop: Anyone familiar with the work of MIT scientist Robert Langer knows just how prolific he has been, translating cutting edge science into biotech startups. Bind Biosciences is one of his latest brainchildren, and a familiar group of venture backers are betting that he's helped create another biotech winner--this time using advances in nanotechnology to improve drug delivery.

What makes it Fierce: For an MIT scientist, Robert Langer has great friends in the venture field. Polaris Ventures has been a regular champion of various Langer ventures, hitting a home run with Momenta. This time around Langer has contributed his scientific know-how to developing new technology that marries polymers and existing therapeutics to deliver drug payloads at key targets. One clinical success here could spell a string of programs.

Polaris and Flagship combined on a small seed round early on and were joined in

A second, $16 million round by NanoDimension and Arch, another venture firm with a pronounced taste for early-stage ventures exploring advanced technology. That doesn't add up to a tremendous amount of money, by drug development standards, but it should be plenty to get this technology to proof-of-concept.

What to look for: Bind's science is built for partnering with drug companies that can see an opportunity to further develop proved drugs. That kind of licensing cash can help the founders keep their equity as Bind explores a future that may one day lead to an IPO.

The 2008 Fierce 15 is brought to you by Quintiles

'Pharma postman' Langer wins €800,000 tech prize

John Carroll — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:19:59 -0400

The prolific Harvard/MIT scientist Robert Langer, whose ideas have spawned a string of biotech start-ups, has won the €800,000 Millennium Technology Prize. Langer has been credited with creating new "smart pills" that can hit a precise disease target with a precise dose. That work has earned him the nickname of biotech's "pharmaceutical postman." He holds more than 600 patents.

Langer says he's now working on "using ultrasound to open the nano pores of the skin so that drugs can pass in non-invasively. It's like Star Trek but if you had the choice between being injected or not injected, you know which one you would choose".

- read the report in the India Times

Related Article:
VC/researcher team create biotech start-ups

ALSO NOTED: AstraZeneca teams up on Alzheimer's; Breast cancer vaccine posts positive data; and much more...

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> AstraZeneca and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have announced a research collaboration that will focus on ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease. The major focus of the alliance will be biomarkers, characteristic changes in the brain and spinal fluid, that physicians can use to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and track its response to treatment. Report

> Researchers report that Apthera's NeuVax breast cancer vaccine significantly reduced the risk of reoccurrence in patients expressing the HER2-neu protein. Report

> Dynogen Pharmaceuticals has scrapped plans to go public via a reverse merger with a SPAC called Apex Bioventures Acquisition. The company is focused on gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders. Release

> More evidence that biologic drugs are where it's at: Experts are predicting tough times ahead for contract manufacturers that focus too closely on Big Pharma's bread-and-butter small-molecule products. Report

> Researchers at Johns Hopkins have come up with a synthetic vaccine for HPV that can be delivered as a nasal spray. The current vaccine, Gardasil, is delivered via three injections. Report

> San Diego-based Illumina is commercializing three new products aimed at a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that give rise to cancer. Report

> The nexus between academic researchers and investors is a prime breeding ground for biotech start-ups. The Wall Street Journal profiles one prime example: MIT scientist Robert Langer and Polaris Venture Partners' Terry McGuire, who have teamed up on 13 new companies in 15 years. Report

And Finally... Want to get a good forecast of the influenza strains Americans, Europeans and other people around the globe need to guard against? Then look to Asia. Report

SPOTLIGHT: Scientist and investor form string of start-ups

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:59:53 -0400

The nexus between academic researchers and investors is a prime breeding ground for biotech start-ups. The Wall Street Journal profiles one prime example: MIT scientist Robert Langer and Polaris Venture Partners' Terry McGuire, who have teamed up on 13 new companies in 15 years. Report