Microbial Immunotherapy Company Prokarium Raises $30M On Heels Of Ginkgo Bioworks Partnership

  • 📰 ForbesTech
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 95 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 41%
  • Publisher: 59%

Ireland News News

Ireland Ireland Latest News,Ireland Ireland Headlines

the next time you think Salmonella, think Prokarium. These bacteria may cause food poisoning in one form, but engineered the right way can become living medicine — turning not fuel into fire but fire into fuel.

, the immediate association might be food poisoning, or even eggs; for, the pair would usually be tuberculosis.

With its evolutionarily optimized Salmonella strain chassis, Prokarium’s flagship “living medicine” bacteria-based immunotherapy program aims to move forward in the fight against bladder cancer — for which BCG is currently standard-of-care. While the company is approaching treatment in its first patient this year, “what truly inspires the team at Prokarium is our aim to design the perfect bacterium to create living cures for difficult-to-treat cancers,” says CEO Kristen Albright.

This microbial immunotherapy system created by the engineered strain of Salmonella stands to particularly benefit patients suffering with bladder cancer with its potential to lyse cancer cells, counter tumor microenvironments, bolster anti-tumor host immune responses, and deliver a variety of therapeutic payloads in the form of custom synthetic circuits — based on the ingrained tumor-colonizing features of the organism.

While Prokarium’s bacterial technology sets it apart and is strengthened by a background in vaccine clinical research, Albright has worked as CEO since 2021 to assemble a high-caliber team to enable the company’s transition into the oncology, which will be crucial for the company to carefully navigate the various challenges associated with microbial immunotherapy. “Bacteria-based immunotherapy began with Coley's toxin over a century ago,” she explains.

These key elements of the journey ahead stand in relief against the various toxicity and targeting challenges sometimes faced by viral delivery for similar gene therapy systems. Enabled particularly by this funding round and the company’s new partnership with cell programming powerhouse Ginkgo Bioworks,January 9, 2023. Prokarium aims to harness the utility of bactofection — “infecting” mammalian cells with a genetic payload, in this instance RNA, through bacteria like Salmonella.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 318. in İE

Ireland Ireland Latest News, Ireland Ireland Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Destination EV Charging — Australia Company Opening Doors To The FutureDestination EV charging is seeking to increase the number of convenient destination chargers at venues in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Source: cleantechnica - 🏆 565. / 51 Read more »

OnePlus Pad is the company's first tablet | EngadgetOnePlus has unveiled its first tablet, not to mention a big upgrade to its high-end wireless earbuds.. I don’t have extremely high hopes for a tablet from current oneplus, their software isn’t as good as it used to be. Is that an iPad picture as a placeholder?
Source: engadget - 🏆 276. / 63 Read more »

Australian mine company to open new office in TucsonFor Star subscribers: The mining company, South32 is developing a new silver mine in Patagonia. There wont be anything left of SE Arizona when Australian mining companies are done with it. Just a bunch of dirt and holes
Source: TucsonStar - 🏆 339. / 59 Read more »

A Biotech Company Is Working To Save The BeesHow does a special nutrient-packed formula designed to save the bees boost their immune systems and make them stronger in colder temperatures?
Source: cleantechnica - 🏆 565. / 51 Read more »

Brooklyn judge orders company to stop selling device that prosecutors say turns rifles into machine gunsA federal judge in Brooklyn has ordered firearm company Rare Breed Triggers to stop selling a device that prosecutors say can transform rifles into illegal machine guns, making it easier to fire multiple bullets quickly. Mass shootings like in Chicago every weekend? Easily solvable, enforce laws and keep criminals in jail
Source: Gothamist - 🏆 456. / 53 Read more »

Khan-led FTC declines to appeal court approval of Meta acquisition of VR companyThe Federal Trade Commission will not appeal a court decision to allow Meta to acquire a virtual reality fitness developer, the first significant admission of failure for the agency's new aggressive approach to antitrust.
Source: dcexaminer - 🏆 6. / 94 Read more »