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While most people who contract the new coronavirus develop a mild case of Covid-19, for some the disease is deadlyand researchers are exploring whether a person's DNA may play a role in determining the disease's severity.

How Dignity Health keeps patients connected to telegeneticsduring and beyond Covid-19

Researchers already have determined that a person's age and whether they have certain underlying health conditions can affect their risk of developing a severe case of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. But now, some research suggests a person's blood type may be another factor in whether they have a higher risk of developing a severe case of the disease.

For example, a preprint study published Tuesday that has not been peer-reviewed examined blood samples from 1,610 Covid-19 patients who developed severe cases of Covid-19, which the researchers classified as needing oxygen or a ventilator as part of their treatment. The researchers sequenced part of each those patients' genomes, and then performed the same analysis on samples from 2,205 blood donors who did not have Covid-19 and compared the results.

The researchers found that many of the patients who had severe cases of Covid-19 possessed the same variant on a gene that determines a person's blood type. Specifically, the researchers found that having blood type A was linked with a 50% increase in the likelihood a patient would develop a severe case of Covid-19.

According to the New York Times, a separate preprint study conducted by researchers in China that hasn't yet been peer-reviewed found similar results. The study found that, out of 2,173 Covid-19 patients with different blood types, blood type A was associated with a higher risk of death from Covid-19 when compared with other blood types. The study also found that people with blood type A appeared more likely to contract the new coronavirus, whereas those with blood type O appeared to be the least likely to contract the virus.

Andre Franke, a molecular geneticist at the University of Kiel in Germany, who led the first study said he and his colleagues also identified another locus on Chromosome 3 that appeared to be linked with Covid-19. However, the researchers noted that locus hosts six different genes, and they've yet to determine which of those genes influences how Covid-19 develops.

Despite the findings, Franke said researchers are still unsure exactly how a person's blood type plays a part in how Covid-19 affects them. "That is haunting me, quite honestly," he said.

Franke said the locus that hosts the blood-type gene also contains a portion of a person's DNA that controls a gene that makes a protein that generates robust immune responses, the Times reports. According to the Times, researchers and providers have found that the new coronavirus can trigger a so-called "cytokine storm" in some patients, which occurs when a patient's immune system overreacts to a pathogen and damages a patient's organs, and it's "theoretically possible that genetic variations influence that response."

For a separate study published last month in Cell, researchers looked into how the new coronavirus affects human cells and found that, within three days of infection, the virus activates genes in the cells that produce cytokine proteins, which are the proteins that can cause cytokine storm. At the same time, the virus blocks genes in the cells that produce interferons that could constrain the virus' replicationsomething most other viruses don't do, according to Benjamin tenOever of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who co-authored the study. "It's something I have never seen in my 20 years of" studying viruses, he said.

tenOever explained that, without interferons, "there is nothing to stop the virus from replicating and festering in the lungs forever."

According to STAT News, the researchers' findings could help scientists identify treatments for Covid-19. For instance, Vineet Menachery from the University of Texas Medical Branch said providing high-risk patients with interferons could potentially "allow treated cells to fend off the virus better and limit its spread."

But more research on how genetic variants might affect Covid-19 are needed, according to Jonathan Sebat, a geneticist at the University of California-San Diego who was not involved in the studies. According to Sebat, previous studies attempting to identify variances in genetic loci that are significantly more common in sick people than healthy people have failed, meaning it's possible that the variants identified in the recent studies may not play as much as a role as in how Covid-19 develops as the new findings may imply (Zimmer, New York Times, 6/3; Begley, STAT News, 5/21; Mangin, Scientific American, 4/30).

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What's your blood type? The answer could affect your risk from Covid-19. - The Daily Briefing

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autobahn Therapeutics is launching to create the next generation of regenerative medicines to restore hope for people affected by CNS disorders. The company has completed a $76 million Series B fundraising co-led by ARCH Venture Partners and Cowen Healthcare Investments, with participation from BVF Partners L.P., Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer Ventures, Invus, Section 32, Samsara BioCapital and Alexandria Venture Investments. Proceeds will be used to advance Autobahns lead program candidate, ABX-002, a thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), a rare genetic disorder, and a portfolio of transformational CNS programs leveraging the companys brain-targeting chemistry platform.

Autobahn is harnessing the regenerative power of the human body to treat both rare and prevalent CNS disorders. We are coupling our deep knowledge of thyroid hormone biology and remyelination with our brain-targeting chemistry platform to restore the brain to a healthier state, said Kevin Finney, chairman and chief executive officer of Autobahn. We stand well-positioned to advance our pipeline with funding from the highest quality investors and pharmaceutical leaders who share our mission of improving life health for people affected by these conditions.

Innovating Treatments for CNS Disorders

Autobahns scientific approach is based on the well-established role that thyroid hormone plays in the production of myelin, the protective sheath that forms around nerves. The degeneration of myelin is associated with many CNS disorders, including MS. Autobahn is developing small molecule, thyroid hormone receptor beta agonists designed to stimulate remyelination and address the progressive nature of MS and other diseases that result from demyelination. The companys strategy leverages validated human biology to de-risk and accelerate its development programs, a brain-targeting chemistry platform to maximize exposure selectively in the brain, and biomarker-driven development to establish on-target activity and proof-of-mechanism early in development.

We believe Autobahn has the insights and expertise to turn this world-class research into important medicines for patients. The work pioneered by Dr. Tom Scanlan of Oregon Health & Science University served as a strong base on which to add a highly talented team of researchers and clinical innovators to create Autobahn, said Kristina Burow, managing director with ARCH Venture Partners. We are proud to be working alongside the company to harness the transformative potential of Autobahns remyelinating therapies.

Leadership Team with Proven Track Record

Autobahn has built a team of experts in thyromimetics, drug discovery and development, clinical operations, and corporate and business development:

Autobahn is developing a differentiated portfolio of CNS therapies, backed by validated science and led by proven scientific and business leaders, said Tim Anderson, managing director of Cowen Healthcare Investments. Investing in innovative life sciences companies is at the heart of Cowen Healthcare Investments, and we are excited to join the Autobahn team to help develop products that can fundamentally change the way people with CNS disorders are treated.

Expert Board of Directors

Autobahn has established a board of directors with significant experience in company formation and scientific innovation. Directors include:

Autobahn benefits from the winning combination of validated human biology supporting its therapeutic hypothesis, clever chemistry enabling tissue-selective CNS delivery of compounds and an exceptional team to drive it forward, added Dr. Cravatt. I am highly confident in our potential to create the next generation of regenerative medicines for the brain.

About Autobahn Therapeutics

Autobahn Therapeutics is focused on improving life health for people affected by CNS disorders. Autobahn is leveraging a deep understanding of validated human biology coupled with its brain-targeting chemistry platform to develop thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist therapies that harness the regenerative power of the human body. The companys pipeline is led by ABX-002 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), a rare genetic disorder. Autobahn Therapeutics is based in San Diego. For more information, visit http://www.autobahntx.com.

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Autobahn Therapeutics Launches with $76 Million Series B Financing to Develop Next Generation Therapies for CNS Disorders - Business Wire

Cancer is caused by mutations that lead to uncontrolled cell division. One of the most aggressive types of cancer is glioblastoma, a form of brain tumour with a very poor prognosis. Relatively little is known about how mutations in non-coding regions drive glioblastoma. To address this knowledge gap, researchers at Uppsala University have performed whole-genome sequencing of DNA in tumour tissues from patients with glioblastoma and analysed the identified mutations.

One of our key tasks was to identify functional mutations associated with regulatory elements and potential relevance to the development of cancer cells, and to distinguish them from all random variations without presumed significance, says Professor Karin Forsberg-Nilsson at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University.

The researchers assumed that DNA sequences that have remained unchanged in mammals throughout evolution are likely to have important functions. Therefore, they intersected the thousands of mutations they had found with information about evolutionary conservation of the genetic regions where the mutations lie.

The researchers validated their results using the gene SEMA3C, partly because they found a large number of mutations in non-coding regulatory regions near this gene and partly because previous findings, by others, suggest that SEMA3C is linked to a poor cancer prognosis.

We studied how mutations in non-coding regions affect SEMA3C's function and activity. Our results show that a specific, evolutionarily conserved, mutation in the vicinity of SEMA3C disrupts the binding of certain proteins whose task is to bind genes and regulate their activity, says Forsberg-Nilsson.

The study also identifies more than 200 other genes enriched for non-coding mutations in the regions concerned. These likely have regulatory potential, thus further increasing the number of genes that are relevant to the development of brain tumours.

Our results confirm the importance of the association between genetic alterations in non-coding regions, their biological function and disease pathology, concludes Forsberg-Nilsson.

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New method to identify genes that can drive development of brain tumours - ETHealthworld.com

It may seem too much to expect that a persons geographic origin can be determined from a DNA sample. But, thanks to a mathematical technique called principal component analysis, this can be done with remarkable accuracy. It works by reducing multi-dimensional data sets to just a few variables.

We live in the age of big data. Voluminous data collections are mined for information using mathematical techniques. The data may be assembled in a matrix a rectangular array of numbers with a column for each individual and a row for each variable.

For a medical database, the variables might be age, height, weight, blood-group and numerous other relevant factors, resulting in a very large matrix. We can examine small tables of numbers visually and detect interesting patterns but, with many variables, each requiring a separate dimension, simple inspection may reveal nothing of value.

A simple example illustrates dimension reduction. Suppose we let the two axes of a graph measure height and weight. Taller people are usually heavier than shorter ones, so these two variables are not independent; they are correlated. Each individual is represented by a point, and all the points form a cloud. The cloud is not round in shape, but elongated. We can fine a straight line through the centre of the cloud in the direction of elongation, so that all the points lie close to this line. Thus, the essentials of the two-dimensional cloud are captured in the one-dimensional line.

Problems are much tougher to solve in higher dimensions; this is called the curse of dimensionality. Dimension reduction is essential in big data science. Interesting features can often be captured by isolating a few key combinations of variables. What is the best way to represent data so as to highlight features of interest? Can we reduce a large data set to a much smaller one while preserving essential characteristics? Is there redundancy that can be exploited, with many variables determined by others?

Many sophisticated analysis techniques have been developed that reduce the dimensions and reveal signals buried in extraneous noise. One method of great power is called principal component analysis (PCA). From data in a high dimensional space, this method determines a small number of new variables called principal components, allowing us to spot patterns. PCA also allows us to visualize the data in a simple two-dimensional diagram that often encapsulates the essence of the problem. Clusters of points with distinct behaviour can often be detected.

PCA has many applications, in acoustics, seismology, forensic science, meteorology and medicine. An intriguing application in genetics has shown that DNA can be used to infer an individuals geographic origin with remarkable accuracy - often to within a few hundred kilometres.

A paper in the journal Nature, with lead author John Novembre of UCLA, studied the genetic variation in a sample of more than 3000 European people. Each DNA specimen was genotyped at about half a million loci. PCA was then used to drastically reduce this data set to just two dimensions and depict it on a plane graph.

The first two principal components are correlated with perpendicular combinations of longitude and latitude. With appropriate orientation, their visualization had a striking resemblance to a map of Europe (a detail is shown in the figure). Individuals from the same region cluster together so that major populations can be identified. For example, clusters corresponding to the Iberian and Italian peninsulas are clear, and the Irish and British groups are easily distinguished.

The results mean that European DNA samples contain vital information about their donors. Thus, one can place 90 per cent of individuals within about 700 km of their geographic origin.

Peter Lynch is emeritus professor at UCD School of Mathematics & Statistics he blogs at thatsmaths.com

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The geography of Europe is mapped in our genes - The Irish Times

Imagine a world in which we can produce meat without animals, cure previously incurable diseases by editing an individuals genetic fabric, and manufacture industrial chemicals in yeast factories. The foundational technologies that could make all this possible largely exist. Rapid and ever-cheaper DNA sequencing has deepened our understanding of how biology works and tools such as CRISPR are now being used to recode biology to treat diseases or make crops less vulnerable to climate change. This is what we call the Bio Revolution.

Explored in a new McKinsey Global Institute research report, which we helped co-author, the Bio Revolution is already benefiting society. A confluence of breakthroughs in biological science and ever faster and more sophisticated computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence technologies has powered scientific responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Scientists sequenced the virus genome in weeks rather than months, as was the case in previous outbreaks. Bio innovations are enabling the rapid introduction of clinical trials of vaccines, the search for effective therapies, and a deep investigation of the transmission patterns of the virus.

The report estimates that bio innovations could alleviate between 1% and 3% of the total global burden of disease in the next 10 to 20 years from these applications roughly the equivalent of eliminating the global disease burden of lung cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer combined. Over time, if the full potential is captured, 45% of the global disease burden could be addressed using science that is conceivable today.

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As much as 60% of the physical inputs to the global economy today are either biological (such as wood for construction or animals bred for food) or nonbiological (such as cement or plastics) but could, in principle, be produced over time using biology. Nylon can already be made using genetically engineered yeast instead of petrochemicals, for instance, leather is being made from mushroom roots, and bacteria have made a type of cement.

This Bio Revolution has the potential to be as transformative to business and economies as the Digital Revolution that proceeded it, creating value in every sector, disrupting value chains, and creating new business opportunities. Businesses clearly see the potential investment in a new generation of biological technologies had already surged to more than $20 billion by 2018.

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Many applications are being commercialized. We identified a visible initial pipeline of about 400 use cases, almost all scientifically feasible today, that could create a direct economic impact of $2 trillion to $4 trillion in the next 10 to 20 years more than half of which is outside health, in sectors as diverse as agriculture and textile manufacturing.

The confluence of biology and computing is already creating new capabilities. Computing is accelerating discovery and throughput in biology. An explosion of biological data due to cheaper sequencing is being used by biotech companies and research institutes that are increasingly using robotic automation and sensors in labs. Biotech company Zymergen, for example, has found that throughput in biological screening can be increased up to 10 times. Advanced analytics, more powerful computational techniques, and AI are also being deployed to generate more acute insights during the R&D process.

New biology-based manufacturing is already cutting costs, improving performance, and reducing the impact on the environment and the natural world. In cosmetics, for instance, Amyris is now making squalane, a moisturizing oil used in many skin-care products, by fermenting sugars using genetically engineered yeast instead of processing liver oil from deep-sea sharks, which was not only expensive but threatened the species with extinction. In textiles, U.S. startup Tandem Repeat is producing self-repairing, biodegradable, and recyclable fabric using proteins encoded by squid genes.

The Bio Revolution could utterly change the food business as plant-based proteins and lab-grown meat gain popularity and in the process cut greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and animal husbandry. One study found that cultured meat could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% or more compared with conventional meat if all of the energy used in manufacturing comes from carbon-free sources.

Cultured meat and seafood are made using tissue-culture technology, a lab process by which animal cells are grown in vitro. Producers still face a major technical challenge in finding a cost-effective way of growing cells. New players such as Finless Foods, Mosa Meat, Memphis Meats, and Meatable are experimenting with different approaches, including using synthetic molecules and pluripotent stem cells to replace expensive growth factors. Cultured meat and seafood could be cost-competitive with conventional animal production systems within 10 years.

In agriculture, greater understanding of the role of the microbiome offers opportunities to improve operational efficiency and output. By profiling bacteria and fungi in the soil, Trace Genomics, for one, produces insights that help choose tailored seeds and nutrients, and enables early prediction of soil diseases. In consumer markets, ongoing research into the relationship between the gut microbiome and the skin is being used to personalize skin care. Singapore-based genomics firm Imagene Lab, for instance, offers a personalized serum based on the results of its skin DNA tests that assess traits such as premature collagen breakdown.

Such examples give a sense of the breadth of applicability of bio innovation, but there is a significant caveat: risk. Biology will preserve life through innovative treatments tailored to our genomes and microbiomes, but biology could also be the greatest threat to life if it is used to create bioweapons or genetically engineered viruses that can do lasting damage to the health of humans or ecosystems. The CRISPR gene-editing tool is revolutionizing medicine and is being applied to agriculture with great effect. But consider that CRISPR kits are now available to buy on the Internet for $100 and so-called biohackers are using them at home.

Like the Digital Revolution, the Bio Revolution comes with risks but of a different order of magnitude. If citizens already have misgivings about data being gathered about their shopping habits, how much more nervous will they be about genetic data gathered from their bodies for medical treatment or ancestry tracing data that couldnt be more personal.

Another risk is that biological organisms are, by their nature, self-sustaining and self-replicating. Genetically engineered microbes, plants, and animals may be able to reproduce and sustain themselves over the long term, potentially affecting entire ecosystems. Once Pandoras box is opened and we have already cracked the lid we may have little control over what happens next.

Unless such risks are managed, it is possible that the full potential of the Bio Revolution may not materialize. We estimate that about 70% of the total potential impact could hinge on societal attitudes and the way innovation is governed under existing regulatory regimes. Yet if the risks can be managed and mitigated, the Bio Revolution can reshape our world. Scientists, in conjunction with forward-thinking companies, are now harnessing the power of nature to solve pressing problems in medicine, agriculture, and beyond, and helping craft a response to global challenges from pandemics to climate change.

Matthias Evers is a senior partner and global leader of research and development in McKinsey & Companys pharmaceuticals and medical products practice. Michael Chui is a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, McKinseys business and economics research arm.

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The Bio Revolution is changing business and society - STAT - STAT

Knowing what cancer will do next could lessen the likelihood of it becoming resistant to treatment. A new U of T study investigates how cancer adapts its metabolism to potentially overcome therapies still in development.

Several clinical trials have failed because metabolism is such an adaptive process by which cancer cells gain drug resistance, saysMichael Aregger, a co-lead author and Research Associate working withJason Moffat, Professor of molecular genetics in the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, who co-led the work. If you know how cells are able to adapt to perturbations, maybe we can target them more specifically to avoid resistance from developing.

The research was also led byBrenda AndrewsandCharles Boone, University Professor and Professor of molecular genetics at the Donnelly Centre, respectively, andChad Myers, a Professor of computer science at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Thestudy, published this week in the journalNature Metabolism, is the first to investigate global changes in cancerous cells as they adapt to a shortfall of critical nutrients such as fat molecules, or lipids, which make up the cells outer envelope.

When cancer cells are unable to make their own lipids, they gobble them up from their environment to ensure a steady supply of these essential building blocks, the study found. Lipids also serve as fuel and chemical signals for communication between cells, among other roles.

"If you know how cells are able to adapt to perturbations, maybe we can target them more specifically to avoid resistance from developing" - Michael Aregger, Research Associate

The switch in metabolism could be bad news for drugmakers seeking to target cancer by reducing its lipid reserves. In particular, drugs that inhibit an enzyme called FASN, forfattyacidsynthase, involved in an early step of lipid synthesis, are being explored in patient trials. Fatty acids are precursors of larger lipid molecules and their production is increased in many cancers thanks to elevated FASN levels, which are also associated with poor patient prognosis.

The U of T study suggests that the effectiveness of FASN inhibitors could be short-lived owing to cancers ability to find another way to procure lipids.

Because FASN is upregulated in many cancers, fatty acid synthesis is one of the most promising metabolic pathways to target saysKeith Lawson, a co-lead author and PhD student in Moffats lab enrolled in the Surgeon-Scientist Program at the Faculty of Medicine. Given that we know there is a lot of plasticity in metabolic processes, we wanted to identify and predict ways in which cancer cells can potentially overcome the inhibition of lipid synthesis.

To block fatty acid synthesis, the researchers employed a human cell line from which the FASN coding gene was removed. Using the genome editing tool CRISPR, they deleted from these cells all ~18,000 or so human genes, one by one, to find those that can compensate for the halt in lipid production. Such functional relationships are also referred to as genetic interactions.

Data analysis, performed byMaximilian Billmann, a co-lead author and a postdoctoral fellow in Myers lab at Minnesota-Twin Cities, revealed hundreds of genes that become essential when cells are starved of fat. Their protein products clustered into well-known metabolic pathways through which cells hoover up dietary cholesterol and other lipids from their surroundings.

Cells intake of cholesterol has become textbook knowledge since it was discovered half a century ago, winning aNobel Prizeand inspiring the blockbuster drug statin and many others. But the new study found that one component of this process remained overlooked all this time.

The gene encoding it was only known as C12orf49, named after its location on chromosome 12. The researchers re-named the gene LUR1, forlipiduptakeregulator 1, and showed that it helps switch on a set of genes directly involved in lipid import.

This was a big surprise to us that we were able to identify a new component of the process we thought we knew everything about, says Aregger. It really highlights the power of our global genetic interaction approach that allowed us to identify a new player in lipid uptake in a completely unbiased way.

By a remarkable coincidence, two groups working independently in New York and Amsterdam also linked C12orf49 to lipid metabolism, lending further support for the genes role in this process. The New York team published their findings in the same journal issue as Moffat and colleagues.

Inhibiting LUR1, or other components of lipid import, along with FASN could lead to more effective cancer treatments. Such combination therapies are thought to be less susceptible to emerging drug resistance because the cells would have to simultaneously overcome two obstaclesblocked lipid production and importwhich has a lower probability of occurring.

Therapeutic context that comes out of our work is that you should be targeting lipid uptake in addition to targeting lipid synthesis and our work highlights some specific genes that could be candidates, says Lawson.

The research was supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Ontario Research Fund, Canada Research Chairs Program and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Reference:Aregger, M., Lawson, K.A., Billmann, M. et al. (2020) Systematic mapping of genetic interactions for de novo fatty acid synthesis identifies C12orf49 as a regulator of lipid metabolism. Nat Metab. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-0211-z

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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When Cancer Cells Cant Produce Their Own Fat, They Import More of It - Technology Networks

With $76 million in financing, San Diego-based Autobahn Therapeutics is hitting the ground with a goal of developing regenerative medicines aimed at treating disorders of the central nervous system (CNS).

This morning, the company officially launched with a Series B funding round backed by some of the biggest names in the life sciences, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Biogen and Pfizer. The companys scientific approach is focused on the role that thyroid hormone plays in the production of myelin, the protective sheath that forms around nerves. The degeneration of myelin is associated with many CNS disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Autobahn is developing small molecule, thyroid hormone receptor beta agonists designed to stimulate remyelination and address the progressive nature of MS and other diseases that result from demyelination. The companys work is built on research conducted by Thomas Scanlan, a professor of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry at Oregon Health & Science University.

Proceeds from the Series B funding round will be used to advance the companys lead candidate, ABX-002, a thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), a rare genetic disorder. Funds will also be used to develop a portfolio of transformational CNS programs leveraging the companys brain-targeting chemistry platform.

Kevin Finney, chairman and chief executive officer of Autobahn, said the company is using the bodys own regenerative power to both treat and prevent prevalent disorders of the central nervous system.

We are coupling our deep knowledge of thyroid hormone biology and remyelination with our brain-targeting chemistry platform to restore the brain to a healthier state. We stand well-positioned to advance our pipeline with funding from the highest quality investors and pharmaceutical leaders who share our mission of improving life health for people affected by these conditions, Finney said in a statement.

In addition to the pharma giants that backed Autobahns Series B, the round was led by ARCH Venture Partners and Cowen Healthcare Investments. Other supporters of the financing were BVF Partners L.P., Invus, Section 32, Samsara BioCapital and Alexandria Venture Investments.

Alongside CEO Finney, Autobahn established a leadership team with a proven track record in thyromimetics, drug discovery and development, clinical operations, and corporate and business development. Keith Lenden will serve as president and chief operating officer; Brian Stearns will serve as chief scientific officer; and Chan Beals will serve as head of translational medicine. Scanlan serves as a senior adviser to Autobahn.

Tim Anderson, managing director of Cowen Healthcare Investments and a member of the Autobahn Board of Directors, said the companys differentiated portfolio of CNS therapies is backed by validated science and led by proven scientific and business leaders.

In addition to Anderson, the board includes ARCHs Kristina Burow, Finney and Ben Cravatt, the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and professor in the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research. Institute.

Autobahn benefits from the winning combination of validated human biology supporting its therapeutic hypothesis, clever chemistry enabling tissue-selective CNS delivery of compounds and an exceptional team to drive it forward, Cravatt said in a statement. I am highly confident in our potential to create the next generation of regenerative medicines for the brain.

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Autobahn Therapeutics Takes Aim at CNS Disorders with $76 Million Series B - BioSpace

Scientists have long debated which genetic information carrier DNA or RNA started life on Earth, but a new study suggests life could have begun with a bit of both. The research, led by scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), in Cambridge, shows for the first time how some of the building blocks of both DNA and RNA could have spontaneously formed and co-existed in the primordial soup on Earth.

The work challenges one of the leading hypotheses for the advent of life the RNA world theory, which arose in the 60s and has gained wide acceptance.

Today, all known living organisms use the same genetic molecules called nucleic acids to store information. There are two sorts of nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. DNA encodes instructions in genes. Genes are turned into messages using RNA, which carries instructions to make proteins. Proteins can make structures and act as molecular machines.

In the RNA world theory, life started with RNA molecules, which can both store instructions and can act as a modest machine, potentially enabling them to self-replicate. It proposes that through evolution, life in the RNA world gave way to the era of DNA and proteins, because DNA is more stable and durable than RNA.

In the current study, published in Nature, the researchers simulated the conditions on a primordial rocky Earth with shallow ponds in the lab. They dissolved chemicals that form RNA in water, then dried them out and heated them, then they simulated the early suns rays by exposing them to UV radiation.

In this recreation of early Earth geochemistry, intermediates in the synthesis of two of the building blocks of RNA were simultaneously also converted into two of the building blocks of DNA.

It is the first demonstration that reasonable amounts of a genetic alphabet made up of four building blocks, two for RNA and two for DNA potentially sufficient to have encoded early life, which was far less complex than life today may have been available on the primordial Earth.

Professor John Sutherland from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, who led the work, says: The RNA world hypothesis suggests that life began with RNA, before a genetic takeover occurred involving primitive biosynthetic machinery and natural selection to result in DNA.

Our work suggests that in conditions consistent with shallow primordial ponds and rivulets there was a mixed genetic system with RNA and DNA building blocks co-existing at the dawn of life. This fulfills what many people think is a key precondition for the spontaneous emergence of life on Earth.

The teams experiments to simulate early Earth geochemistry showed that four of the building blocks for DNA and RNA can arise from the same reagents and conditions. They produced cytidine and uridine, two of the building blocks of RNA, and deoxyadenosine, which is one of those of DNA. Deoxyadenosine was partly converted to deoxyinosine, which can take the role of another DNA building block.

They believe that these four building blocks may have coexisted before life evolved and were the beginnings of a primitive genetic alphabet.

Professor Sutherland adds: The nucleic acids, RNA and DNA, are clearly related and this work suggests that they both derive from a hybrid ancestor, rather than one preceding the other.

Since genetic information always flows from nucleic acids to proteins, and never in reverse a principle called the central dogma of molecular biology by Francis Crick we now need to uncover how the information which can be stored and purveyed by these nucleic acids could have been first used to make to proteins.

Understanding the chemical origins of life is a fundamental aspect of natural science, and can inform the design of future synthetic biology.

Dr. Megan Dowie, head of molecular and cellular medicine at the MRC commented: This study shows that blue skies research can reveal fascinating insights into how the very beginnings of life may have emerged, and demonstrates the importance of supporting fundamental research. These underpinning discoveries in the life sciences could enable exciting future strategies for artificial biology.

Reference: Selective prebiotic formation of RNA pyrimidine and DNA purine nucleosides by Jianfeng Xu, Vclav Chmela, Nicholas J. Green, David A. Russell, Mikoaj J. Janicki, Robert W. Gra, Rafa Szabla, Andrew D. Bond & John D. Sutherland,3 June 2020, Nature.DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2330-9

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Did Life Emerge in the Primordial Soup via DNA or RNA? Surprising Answer From New Research - SciTechDaily

Autobahn Therapeutics, a San Diego, CA-based developer of regenerative medicines to restore hope for people affected by CNS disorders, completed a $76m Series B funding round.

The round was co-led by Arch Venture Partners and Cowen Healthcare Investments, with participation from BVF Partners L.P., Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer Ventures, Invus, Section 32, Samsara BioCapital and Alexandria Venture Investments.

The company intends to use the funds to advance its lead program candidate, ABX-002, a thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), a rare genetic disorder, and a portfolio of transformational CNS programs leveraging its brain-targeting chemistry platform.

Led by Kevin Finney, chairman and chief executive officer, Autobahn Therapeutics is focused on improving life health for people affected by CNS disorders. The company is leveraging a deep understanding of validated human biology coupled with its brain-targeting chemistry platform to develop thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist therapies that harness the regenerative power of the human body. The pipeline is led by ABX-002 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), a rare genetic disorder.

The company has built a team of experts in thyromimetics, drug discovery and development, clinical operations, and corporate and business development:

Kevin Finney, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer;

Keith Lenden, co-founder, president and chief operating officer;

Brian Stearns, Ph.D., chief scientific officer;

Chan Beals, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president of translational medicine;

Christine Maurer, senior vice president of development operations and program management;

John Borkholder, J.D., general counsel and senior vice president of administration; and

Thomas Scanlan, Ph.D., co-founder and senior advisor to Autobahn, and professor of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry, Oregon Health & Science University.

FinSMEs

09/06/2020

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Autobahn Therapeutics Raises $76M in Series B Financing - FinSMEs

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Personalis, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSNL) today announced a collaboration with Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRPT), a leader in precision genetic medicine for rare disease. As part of this research collaboration, Sarepta will be working with the Personalis team to characterize immune response to precision genetic therapeutics, utilizing Personalis advanced proprietary analytics.

We are excited to announce this collaboration with Personalis. By bringing together Sareptas expertise in precision genetic medicine and Personalis advanced neoepitope prediction, our goal is to better characterize certain types of immune response to benefit patients with rare disease, said Dr. Tanya Teslovich, Senior Director, Genomics at Sarepta.

We are excited to work with Sarepta to apply our proprietary analytics in the rapidly emerging area of genetic medicine. This collaboration demonstrates the extensibility of our technology platform beyond cancer to additional therapy development areas, said Dr. Richard Chen, CSO at Personalis.

About Personalis, Inc.

Personalis, Inc. is a growing cancer genomics company transforming the development of next-generation therapies by providing more comprehensive molecular data about each patients cancer and immune response. The Personalis ImmunoID NeXT Platform is designed to adapt to the complex and evolving understanding of cancer, providing its biopharmaceutical customers with information on all of the approximately 20,000 human genes, together with the immune system, from a single tissue sample. Personalis also provides genomic information to the VA Million Veterans Program as part of their goal to sequence over a million veteran genomes. The Personalis Clinical Laboratory is GxP aligned as well as CLIA88-certified and CAP-accredited. For more information, please visit http://www.personalis.com and follow Personalis on Twitter (@PersonalisInc).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains or may imply "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, forward-looking statements include statements regarding potential positive outcomes resulting from the collaboration of Personalis and Sarepta, such as the ability of the collaboration to yield novel discoveries. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Personalis filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in the Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of the Companys most recently filed periodic report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings and in the documents incorporated by reference therein. Except as otherwise required by law, Personalis disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

Link:
Personalis Announces Scientific Collaboration with Sarepta Therapeutics on Immune Response to Precision Genetic Therapeutics - Business Wire

GOVERNMENT

Baker names Judy Chang undersecretary of energy

Governor Charlie Baker has a new undersecretary of energy: Judy Chang, formerly an energy economist with the Brattle Group consultancy. Changs main job in state government will be to advise Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Katie Theoharides on developing and implementing energy policies. Chang replaces Patrick Woodcock, who was promoted to be commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources in February. JON CHESTO

JOBS

Companies cut 2.8 milion jobs in May, far less than expected

US businesses shed 2.8 million jobs in May, significantly less than the 9.3 million job losses that were expected. The payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that businesses have let go of a combined 22.6 million jobs since March, with the bulk of the layoffs occurring in April. The virus forced employers to shutter offices, factories, gyms, and schools, while demand for gasoline, clothing, airline tickets, hotel rooms, and restaurant meals quickly vanished. The damage was concentrated in two sectors. Manufacturers cut 719,000 jobs in May. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector let go of 826,000. Other sectors that suffered as part of Aprils 19.6 million job losses saw their layoffs slow sharply. The leisure and hospitality industry which includes hotels and restaurants shed 105,000 jobs last month, down from a revised 7.7 million losses in April. The private industry report comes two days ahead of the official monthly job figures from the US Labor Department. Economists expect the Friday report will show 8 million job losses in May as the unemployment rate approaches 20 percent. ASSOCIATED PRESS

FINANCE

N.Y. regulators probe Deutsche Banks ties to Jeffrey Epstein

New York state regulators are investigating Deutsche Banks relationship with the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, adding another compliance issue to a growing list for chief executive Christian Sewing. The New York Department of Financial Services has been looking into the banks dealings with Epstein as part of a broader look into the German lenders compliance and controls, according to a person familiar with the matter. Epstein was arrested last year on federal sex-trafficking charges more than a decade after he pleaded guilty to Florida state charges of soliciting an underage girl for sex. His death in a New York City jail was ruled a suicide. BLOOMBERG NEWS

ENERGY

Germany wants major boost to offshore wind power

The German government wants to increase offshore wind power capacity fivefold by 2040 as part of its plan to wean the country off fossil fuels. The Cabinet on Wednesday agreed on a bill that would set a goal of 40 gigawatts of installed offshore wind power capacity in 20 years, from about 7.5 gigawatts at present. It also raised the target for 2030 from 15 gigawatts to 20. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the new offshore wind target for 2030 would help Germany achieve its goal of meeting 65 percent of its gross electricity consumption with renewable energy in a decade. ASSOCIATED PRESS

INTERNATIONAL

France blasts US probe into digital taxes

France slammed the United States over its probe into digital taxes that are being considered by a number of countries, saying it contradicts Washingtons call for unity among leading economies. There is a real contradiction between the US demanding unity within the Group of Seven which we support and the possiblity of new trade sanctions, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said after a G-7 telephone conference Wednesday. The French and US government agreed a truce earlier this year in a dispute over Frances digital services tax, according to which Washington is holding back on sanctions and Paris is suspending the collection of its levy. France will resume collecting the tax at the end of the year unless there is an agreement in talks at the OECD on new global tax rules. On Tuesday, the Trump administration started investigations into digital services taxes considered by several trading partners from the European Union to India. A similar investigation into Frances tax led to the threat of tariffs. BLOOMBERG NEWS

VIDEO CONFERENCING

Zoom sales climb as virtual meetings become the norm

Zoom Video Communications Inc. demonstrated that paying customers have flocked to its virtual-meeting software, transforming the once-niche appmaker into a popular communications service and positioning it to benefit as the nature of work, school, and life is upended. Zoom reported that sales soared in the three months ending April 30, when the coronavirus pandemic spurred a wave of stay-at-home orders for millions of people worldwide. The company expects the trend to continue the rest of the year, and projected that revenue and profit will leapfrog investors earlier expectations. While security and privacy issues plagued the system early in the quarantine, Zoom has become an essential service, attracting more than 300 million participants some days, up from 10 million in December. The software maker allows gatherings of as long as 40 minutes for no charge. While Zoom has attracted more buzz than corporate rivals, the results Tuesday suggested it can attract the paying clients needed to compete against services from Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Google. BLOOMBERG NEWS

COSMETICS

Coty wants Kim as well as Kylie

Coty Inc. cant seem to get enough of the Kardashians. The cosmetics company is in talks with Kim Kardashian West for a possible collaboration with respect to certain beauty products, according to a regulatory filing. The possible partnership comes just months after Coty closed a $600 million deal with the reality TV stars sister, Kylie Jenner. Coty agreed last month to sell Clairol and other brands for $4.3 billion in part to prioritize investment in Kylie Cosmetics. BLOOMBERG NEWS

POULTRY

CEO of 2nd largest US chicken producer charged with price fixing

The chief executive officer of Pilgrims Pride Corp., Americas second-biggest chicken producer, was charged by US prosecutors with conspiring to fix prices as part of an antitrust investigation of chicken-processing companies. Jayson Penn was indicted by a grand jury in Colorado along with Roger Austin, a former vice president of the company, the Justice Department said Wednesday. They face a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The allegations against the leader of a top American poultry producer were the latest bombshell to hit the meat industry thats been reeling from thousands of workers sickened by COVID-19, forcing shutdowns at processing plants. The US government is also probing potential market manipulation at beef processors, who were turning big profits while farmers suffered from plant outages. BLOOMBERG NEWS

Excerpt from:
Sarepta to expand in Ohio - The Boston Globe

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stoke Therapeutics, Inc., (Nasdaq: STOK), a biotechnology company pioneering a new way to treat the underlying cause of genetic diseases by precisely upregulating protein expression, today announced the appointment of Julie Anne Smith to its Board of Directors. Ms. Smith has also been appointed to the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Ms. Smith will replace Samuel Hall, Ph.D., whose term on the Board of Directors expired.

Julie brings more than two decades of experience in the life sciences industry, with a strong track record of successfully developing and commercializing medicines for rare and inherited diseases. Her expertise in drug development for neurodegenerative diseases will be particularly valued as we advance STK-001 for Dravet syndrome into the clinic later this year, said Edward M. Kaye, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Stoke Therapeutics. We thank Sam for his many important contributions to Stoke from our inception and as we matured through our successful IPO to become a public company prepared to enter the clinic with STK-001, the first potential medicine developed using our TANGO platform. We welcome Julie to the Board and look forward to her insights and contributions.

This is an exciting time for Stoke as it transitions to a clinical stage company and looks to the future, said Ms. Smith. I am pleased to work with the Board members and the executive leadership team as they advance their work in Dravet and expand the pipeline to help people who are living with severe genetic diseases and realize the potential of the TANGO platform.

Ms. Smith currently serves as President and CEO of ESCAPE Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company developing precisely targeted therapeutics for genetic forms of neurodegenerative disease. She previously served as President and CEO of Nuredis, Inc., a biotechnology company developing small-molecule therapies for nucleotide repeat disorders such as Huntingtons disease. In 2014, Ms. Smith was appointed President and CEO at Raptor Pharmaceuticals, a public biotechnology company with two commercial medicines for orphan diseases, where she served until its acquisition in 2016 (by Horizon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). Prior to joining Raptor, Ms. Smith served as the Chief Commercial Officer at Enobia Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). Earlier in her career, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, Genzyme, Novazyme and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Ms. Smith previously served on the board of directors of Audentes Therapeutics, Inc., a genetic medicines company, and as a director on the Health and Emerging Companies Section Governing Boards of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). She currently serves on the board of directors of Exelixis, Inc., a public genomics-based drug discovery company. Ms. Smith holds a B.S. in biological and nutritional sciences from Cornell University.

About Stoke Therapeutics

Stoke Therapeutics (Nasdaq: STOK), is a biotechnology company pioneering a new way to treat the underlying causes of severe genetic diseases by precisely upregulating protein expression to restore target proteins to near normal levels. Stoke aims to develop the first precision medicine platform to target the underlying cause of a broad spectrum of genetic diseases in which the patient has one healthy copy of a gene and one mutated copy that fails to produce a protein essential to health. These diseases, in which loss of approximately 50% of normal protein expression causes disease, are called autosomal dominant haploinsufficiencies. Stoke is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit https://www.stoketherapeutics.com/ or follow the company on Twitter at @StokeTx.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to: Stokes expectation about timing and execution of anticipated milestones with respect to STK-001, including advancement of STK-001 to the clinical stage, and expansion of the Companys pipeline. Statements including words such as plan, continue, expect, or ongoing and statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause Stokes actual activities or results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement, including risks and uncertainties related to Stokes ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize STK-001 and its future product candidates, the timing and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, Stokes ability to protect intellectual property; and other risks set forth in our most recent annual or quarterly report and in other reports we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on our current believes and expectations and speak only as of the date of this press release. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements.

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Stoke Therapeutics Appoints Julie Anne Smith to its Board of Directors - Business Wire

HOUSTON, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Golden Helix Foundation and the Pharmacogenomics Access & Reimbursement Coalition (PARC) will co-present the inaugural Pharmacogenomics Access & Reimbursement Symposium (PARS) at the National Academy of Sciences Building on October 8, 2020 in Washington D.C. to define opportunities to expand patient access to personalized medicine. Public- and private- sector members across healthcare will assemble to develop a path forward through discussions of best practices, improved economic evaluation and strategic alignment.

"Since genetic variation impacts medication responses, it is important to leverage technologies that can translate genetic information into care tailored for each patient.Market access is a critical step in achieving widespread adoption of personalized medicine." Sara Rogers, PARC Co-Chairman and Director at the American Society of Pharmacovigilance.

The symposium program includes speakers from industry, government agencies, payer organizations, health systems and health policy organizations. Thought leaders will explore the newest developments in health technology assessment, health economics and value-based payment strategies for pharmacogenomics. In addition to convening decision-makers from around the world, the symposium will develop solutions that identify actionable ways that stakeholders can work together to democratize personalized medicine.

"Defining the value of personalized medicine interventions is of utmost importance to expedite the incorporation of these innovative healthcare solutions in routine clinical practice that would directly impact patient care and quality of life." Christina Mitropoulou, The Golden Helix Foundation Managing Director, Executive Board member and Principal Investigator of the Ubiquitous Pharmacogenomics Consortium.

Organizations across health care have partnered to support the symposium, including Intermountain Precision Genomics, Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) and Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN). Stakeholders are encouraged to join the discussion by registering to participate athttp://www.parcoalition.org/symposium. A live webcast will be provided to accommodate attendees who prefer to participate remotely.

About the Golden Helix Foundation The Golden Helix Foundation is an international non-profit research organization (registered London-based UK charity) aiming to advance research and education in the area of genome and personalized medicine. The Golden Helix Foundation aims to promote the development of research and the transfer and communication of knowledge from researchers and scientists in the wider scientific community through collaborative projects and conferences in the field of pharmacogenomicsand personalized medicine.

About the Pharmacogenomics Access & Reimbursement Coalition (PARC)PARC seeks to address barriers to patient access and payer coverage of Pharmacogenomics (PGx) testing by sharing resources and leveraging shared expertise in PGx. For more information, please contact [emailprotected] and follow @PGxARC

American Society of PharmacovigilanceP.O. Box 20433Houston, TX 77225www.stopADR.org

Contact: Geneva MorelDirector of Communications Email: [emailprotected] phone: 469-939-8475

SOURCE American Society of Pharmacovigilance

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The Golden Helix Foundation and PARC Co-Present International Meeting to Expand Patient Access to Personalized Medicine - PRNewswire

Mark Williams The Columbus Dispatch

TuesdayJun2,2020at5:11PM

A Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company plans to create 100 jobs as part of an expansion of its Columbus operations.

Sarepta Therapeutics will open an 85,000-square-foot building at 3435 Stelzer Rd. as part of its Gene Therapy Center of Excellence.

The company says it will invest more than $30 million, and that hiring for research, technician and general operations positions will begin immediately.

Employees currently working out of the companys offices in Dublin will move to the new building over time.

Sarepta, based in Cambridge, focuses on gene therapy programs to treat rare diseases.

It has two approved drugs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and more than 40 treatments in development.

Duchenne slowly steals muscle, making children weaker and weaker as they grow older. Many died by their mid-20s. The disease afflicts mostly boys.

We are confident that gene therapy will revolutionize genetic medicine, and we chose Ohio for our Gene Therapy Center of Excellence because we believe Columbus will become a hub for genetic medicine innovation, the companys president and CEO, Doug Ingram, said in a statement.

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams

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Sarepta to expand Columbus operations, add 100 jobs - The Columbus Dispatch

SALT LAKE CITY, June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN, Myriad or the Company), a global leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, today announced the publication of a prospective study demonstrating that the EndoPredict test predicts which patients with ER+, HER2- early-stage breast cancer will benefit from neoadjuvant therapy. The article titled, The EndoPredict score predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and neoendocrine therapy in hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative breast cancer patients from the ABCSG-34 trial, appeared online in theEuropean Journal of Cancer.

This study demonstrated that the EndoPredict (EP) test predicted response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy or neoadjuvant endocrine therapy in women with ER+, HER2 negative early-stage breast cancer, said Peter Dubsky, M.D., lead author, speaking on behalf of the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group (ABCSG). Based on these findings and prior studies, we are confident the EndoPredict test can add valuable information to aid in personalized treatment selection in neoadjuvant therapy and provides an important basis for future design of neoadjuvant clinical trials.

The primary objective of this prospective study was to test the predictive value of the EndoPredict test regarding tumor response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NaCT) or neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) within the ABCSG-34 trial. The analysis included data from 217 women with HR+ breast cancer. Of these, 134 patients were assigned to receive NaCT (eight cycles of anthracycline/taxane) according to aggressive clinico-pathologic tumor features. The remaining 83 patients were clinically identified as having luminal A-like types of breast cancer and were assigned to receive NET (six months of letrozole). The primary endpoint was residual cancer burden RCB0/I (i.e., good tumor response) vs. RCB II/III (i.e., poor tumor response) at time of surgery.

In the neoadjuvant chemotherapy group, 125 patients had high EP scores and nine had a low EP score. The results show that 26.4 percent of those with a high score showed a good tumor response (RCB0/I) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, while all patients with a low score showed only a poor tumor response (Table 1). In the luminal A group receiving neoendocrine therapy, 39 patients had a high EP score and 44 had a low EP score. The results show that 27.3 percent of those with a low EndoPredict score and 7.7 percent with a high score achieved excellent tumor response (RCB0/I) to neoendocrine therapy (Table 1).

EndoPredict Low Score

EndoPredict High Score

0.0

%

26.4

%

p=0.0001

In this prospective study, we demonstrated that the EndoPredict test is a useful tool pre-operatively, said Ralf Kronenwett, M.D., director of International Medical Affairs at Myriad. In two distinct ER-positive, HER2-negative cohorts selected by clinicians to receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy or neoadjuvant endocrine therapy, EndoPredict identified patients with poor neoadjuvant treatment response. Clinicians can use information to determine who might forgo these therapies prior to surgery.

About EndoPredictEndoPredict is a second-generation, 12-gene molecular prognostic test for patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The test provides vital information that helps clinicians devise personalized treatment plans for their patients. EndoPredict has been validated in more than 4,000 patients with node-negative and node-positive cancer and has been used clinically in more than 20,000 patients. In contrast to first-generation multigene prognostic tests, EndoPredict detects the likelihood of late metastases (i.e., metastasis formation after more than five years) and, therefore, can guide treatment decisions regarding the need for chemotherapy, as well as extended anti-hormonal therapy. Accordingly, therapy decisions backed by EndoPredict confer a high level of diagnostic safety. For more information, please visit: http://www.endopredict.com.

About Myriad GeneticsMyriad Genetics Inc., is a leading personalized medicine company dedicated to being a trusted advisor transforming patient lives worldwide with pioneering molecular diagnostics. Myriad discovers and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests that: determine the risk of developing disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease progression, and guide treatment decisions across six major medical specialties where molecular diagnostics can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. Myriad is focused on three strategic imperatives: transitioning and expanding its hereditary cancer testing markets, diversifying its product portfolio through the introduction of new products and increasing the revenue contribution from international markets. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: http://www.myriad.com.

Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, myPath, myRisk, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice CDx, Vectra, Prequel, Foresight, GeneSight, riskScore and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, MYGN-G.

Safe Harbor StatementThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to the EndoPredict test adding valuable information to aid in personalized treatment selection in neoadjuvant therapy and providing an important basis for future design of neoadjuvant clinical trials; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertainties associated with COVID-19, including its possible effects on our operations and the demand for our products and services; our ability to efficiently and flexibly manage our business amid uncertainties related to COVID-19; the risk that sales and profit margins of our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may decline; risks related to our ability to transition from our existing product portfolio to our new tests, including unexpected costs and delays; risks related to decisions or changes in governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests or our ability to obtain reimbursement for our new tests at comparable levels to our existing tests; risks related to increased competition and the development of new competing tests and services; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and any future tests and services are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities and our healthcare clinic; risks related to public concern over genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we license or acquire; risks related to our projections about our business, results of operations and financial condition; risks related to the potential market opportunity for our products and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents or other intellectual property; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and patents or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court decisions in Mayo Collab. Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), Assn for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 569 U.S. 576 (2013), and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Intl, 573 U.S. 208 (2014); risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; the risk that we may be unable to comply with financial operating covenants under our credit or lending agreements; the risk that we will be unable to pay, when due, amounts due under our credit or lending agreements; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

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Myriad Genetics Announces Publication of a Prospective Clinical Study of the EndoPredict Test in Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer - GlobeNewswire

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Chemical compound restores tetracycline's effectiveness by blocking bacterial resistance

Shown above are two different 3D views of TetX7 (green), a tetracycline-destroying enzyme that causes resistance to all tetracycline antibiotics (the small multicolored molecule in the center). Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that genes that confer the power to destroy tetracyclines are widespread in bacteria that live in the soil and on people.

The latest generation of tetracyclines a class of powerful, first-line antibiotics was designed to thwart the two most common ways bacteria resist such drugs. But a new study from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that genes representing yet another method of resistance are widespread in bacteria that live in the soil and on people. Some of these genes confer the power to destroy all tetracyclines, including the latest generation of these antibiotics.

However, the researchers have created a chemical compound that shields tetracyclines from destruction. When the chemical compound was given in combination with tetracyclines as part of the new study, the antibiotics lethal effects were restored.

The findings, available online in Communications Biology, indicate an emerging threat to one of the most widely used classes of antibiotics but also a promising way to protect against that threat.

We first found tetracycline-destroying genes five years ago in harmless environmental bacteria, and we said at the time that there was a risk the genes could get into bacteria that cause disease, leading to infections that would be very difficult to treat, said co-senior author Gautam Dantas, PhD, a professor of pathology and immunology and of molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Once we started looking for these genes in clinical samples, we found them immediately. The fact that we were able to find them so rapidly tells me that these genes are more widespread than we thought. Its no longer a theoretical risk that this will be a problem in the clinic. Its already a problem.

In 2015, Dantas, also a professor of biomedical engineering, and Timothy Wencewicz, PhD, an associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, discovered 10 different genes that each gave bacteria the ability to dice up the toxic part of the tetracycline molecule, thereby inactivating the drug. These genes code for proteins the researchers dubbed tetracycline destructases.

But they didnt know how widespread such genes were. To find out, Dantas and first author Andrew Gasparrini, PhD then a graduate student in Dantas lab screened 53 soil, 176 human stool, two animal feces, and 13 latrine samples for genes similar to the 10 theyd already found. The survey yielded 69 additional possible tetracycline-destructase genes.

Then they cloned some of the genes into E. coli bacteria that had no resistance to tetracyclines and tested whether the genetically modified bacteria survived exposure to the drugs. E. coli that had received supposed destructase genes from soil bacteria inactivated some of the tetracyclines. E. coli that had received genes from bacteria associated with people destroyed all 11 tetracyclines.

The scary thing is that one of the tetracycline destructases we found in human-associated bacteria Tet(X7) may have evolved from an ancestral destructase in soil bacteria, but it has a broader range and enhanced efficiency, said Wencewicz, who is a co-senior author on the new study. Usually theres a trade-off between how broad an enzyme is and how efficient it is. But Tet(X7) manages to be broad and efficient, and thats a potentially deadly combination.

In the first screen, the researchers had found tetracycline-destructase genes only in bacteria not known to cause disease in people. To find out whether disease-causing species also carried such genes, the scientists scanned the genetic sequences of clinical samples Dantas had collected over the years. They found Tet(X7) in a bacterium that had caused a lung infection and sent a man to intensive care in Pakistan in 2016.

Tetracyclines have been around since the 1940s. They are one of the most widely used classes of antibiotics, used for diseases ranging from pneumonia, to skin or urinary tract infections, to stomach ulcers, as well as in agriculture and aquaculture. In recent decades, mounting antibiotic resistance has driven pharmaceutical companies to spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing a new generation of tetracyclines that is impervious to the two most common resistance strategies: expelling drugs from the bacterial cell before they can do harm, and fortifying vulnerable parts of the bacterial cell.

The emergence of a third method of antibiotic resistance in disease-causing bacteria could be disastrous for public health. To better understand how Tet(X7) works, co-senior author Niraj Tolia, PhD, a senior investigator at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, and co-author Hirdesh Kumar, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Tolias lab, solved the structure of the protein.

I established that Tet(X7) is very similar to known structures but way more active, and we dont really know why because the part that interacts with the tetracycline rings is the same, Kumar said. Im now taking a molecular dynamics approach so we can see the protein in action. If we can understand why it is so efficient, we can design even better inhibitors.

Wencewicz and colleagues previously designed a chemical compound that preserves the potency of tetracyclines by preventing destructases from chewing up the antibiotics. In the most recent study, co-author Jana L. Markley, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Wencewiczs lab, evaluated that inhibitor against the bacterium from the patient in Pakistan and its powerful Tet(X7) destructase. Adding the compound made the bacteria two to four times more sensitive to all three of the latest generation of tetracyclines.

Our team has a motto extending the wise words of Benjamin Franklin: In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes and antibiotic resistance, Wencewicz said. Antibiotic resistance is going to happen. We need to get ahead of it and design inhibitors now to protect our antibiotics, because if we wait until it becomes a crisis, its too late.

Gasparrini AJ, Markley JL, Kumar H, Wang B, Fang L, Irum S, Symister C, Wallace M, Burnham CAD, Andleeb S, Tolia NH, Wencewicz TA, Dantas G. Tetracycline-inactivating enzymes from environmental, human commensal, and pathogenic bacteria cause broad-spectrum tetracycline resistance. Communications Biology. May 15, 2020. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-0966-5

This work is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number R01 AI123394; the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, training grant number T32 GM007067; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, training grant number T32 DK077653; and Washington University, W.M. Keck Postdoctoral Program in Molecular Medicine and the Chancellors Graduate Fellowship Program.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

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Antibiotic-destroying genes widespread in bacteria in soil and on people - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

What happened

Shares of Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) rose as much as 18% today after the company announced an expansion of its partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN).

The pair will jointly develop drug candidates to treat hereditary blood disorders hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Additionally, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will gain rights to develop drug candidates using both in vivo (inside the body) and ex vivo (outside the body) drug candidates and delivery tools developed by Intellia Therapeutics.

The gene editing pioneer will earn a combined up-front payment of $100 million in cash and equity. It ended March 2020 with roughly $250 million in cash. As of 11:05 a.m. EDT, the pharma stock had settled to a 12.1% gain.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors have punished Intellia Therapeutics for falling behind peers CRISPR Therapeutics and Editas Medicine in clinical development. The company will be the last of the trio of CRISPR gene editing companies to enter clinical trials. While it told investors the delay was largely due to work on delivery technologies -- one of the most important components of a genetic medicine -- Wall Street didn't have much patience.

As a result, Intellia Therapeutics boasts a market valuation of $1 billion, which is far behind the $3.9 billion valuation of CRISPR Therapeutics and the $1.5 billion market cap of Editas Medicine.

Today's news might not completely remove doubt from the minds of investors, but it serves as a reminder that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals remains a committed development partner. If other CRISPR gene editing platforms stumble in the clinic because of a lack of attention to delivery technologies, Intellia Therapeutics might be rewarded for its slow-and-steady approach.

Things are finally heating up for Intellia Therapeutics. In addition to the expanded partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced today, the gene editing pioneer announced in March that a sickle cell disease drug candidate being developed with Novartis had earned the green light for clinical trials from regulators.

Meanwhile, the company's lead drug candidate is expected to begin a phase 1 clinical trial in the second half of 2020. Multiple other drug candidates are expected to earn regulatory permission in 2021 for clinical trials. There's a long way to go for Intellia Therapeutics, but investors will finally have tangible milestones to look forward to in the coming quarters.

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Here's Why Intellia Therapeutics Gained as Much as 18.0% Today - Motley Fool

The Forest Service is proposing to remove the prohibition against logging trees larger than 21 inches that grow in national forests on the eastside of the Cascades in Oregon. The probation was put into place when ecological studies demonstrated the critical importance of large-diameter old-growth trees to overall forest ecosystem function.

The Forest Service argues that it needs the flexibility to cut larger fir and other tree species competing with ponderosa pine to restore forest health. The agency suggests thinning the forests will enhance the resilience of the forest against the ravages of wildfire, bark beetles, and other sources of tree mortality.

The so-called need for restoration to what ails the forest by chainsaws medicine reflects the agencys Industrial Forestry Paradigm. By happy coincidence, such restoration happens to provide wood fiber to the timber industry, and typically at a loss to taxpayers.

One might assume that green and fast-growing trees are more desirable than dead or slow-growing trees. What the agency doesnt acknowledge due to its inherent Industrial Forestry bias is that healthy forest ecosystems require significant sources of tree mortality. The healthy forest that the Forest Service promotes is a degraded forest ecosystem.

Dead trees provide food and shelter to many plants and animals. By some estimates, more species depend on dead trees than live trees. These species live in mortal fear of green forests, which is the ultimate expression of the Industrial Forestry Paradigm.

Indeed, the second-highest biodiversity in forest ecosystems occurs after high severity wildfires kill most of all living trees.

However, due to the Industrial Forestry worldview bias of foresters and the Forest Service, that views any source of tree mortality as antithetical to forest health. Forest health is not the same as forest ecosystem health.

Logging does not restore forest ecosystems. It removes the snags and down wood that is critical wildlife habitat for many species of animals and plants. It removes carbon that is stored in those trees. It compacts soils and spread weeds. Logging roads fragment forest habitat and provide access for ORVs, hunters, and just more human disturbance for wildlife.

Worse for our forest ecosystems, thinning/logging can reduce the genetic diversity of our forest, eliminating, rather than enhancing, forest resilience. We know that some individual trees possess genetic traits that allow them to endure drought or resist bark beetles, and even some ability to survive some wildfires.

If foresters were concerned about forest ecosystem health, not just whether trees remained green until they were cut for lumber, they would welcome the wildfires, bark beetles, drought, and all the other sources of mortality that maintain healthy functioning forest ecosystems.

Yet the Forest Service continuously justifies timber cutting to restore forest health and resilience to the forest by trying to limit or exclude the very ecological processes like high severity wildfire, bark beetles, mistletoe, and other agents that sustain healthy forest ecosystems.

Allowing natural processes to thin the forest or select which trees have the best attributes to survive is how you preserve healthy forest ecosystems. Chainsaw medicine, the favored response of the timber industry for restoration, is not the solution; it is the problem.

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The Problem With Chainsaw Medicine: the Forest Service's Move to Cut Oregon's Big Trees - CounterPunch

Based on market cap,CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)ranks as the top biotech focused on developing CRISPR gene-editing therapies. It's more than 2 1/2 times the size ofEditas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) and nearly four times larger thanIntellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA).

But based on stock performance so far in 2020, Intellia wins the prize as the hottest CRISPR biotech stock. Its shares have soared more than 40%, thanks in large part to the expansion of its partnership with Regeneron.

While CRISPR Therapeutics and Intellia have captured investors' attention lately, Editas Medicine could now be the CRISPR stock to really watch. There are both near-term and long-term reasons why investors should keep their eyes on this company.

Image source: Getty Images.

In March, Editas and its partner Allerganannounced the dosing of the first patient in a phase 1/2 clinical study evaluating EDIT-101 in treating Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA10), an inherited form of blindness. Editas CEO Cynthia Collins called it "a truly historic event," as it wasthe world's first human study of anin vivo (inside the body) CRISPR gene-editing therapy.

Editas' Chief Scientific Officer Charlie Albright stated in the company's Q1 conference calllast month that the study "has been cleared to continue based on a review of safety data on the first patient." That's great news, especially considering the pioneering nature of the LCA10 therapy.

I don't necessarily look for this clinical trial to provide a big catalyst for Editas over the next few months, at least not directly. But it could give the biotech an indirect catalyst.

Editas Medicine's experience with EDIT-101 in targeting LCA10 has enabled it to move forward with EDIT-102, a CRISPR therapy targeting another genetic eye disease, Usher syndrome 2A. Allergan is currently reviewing a preclinical data package for the potential licensing of EDIT-102. Editas expects a decision from Allergan on exercising its option for EDIT-102 by the third quarter of 2020.

My hunch is that Allergan will decide to license EDIT-102 unless some safety issue emerges in the phase 1/2 study for EDIT-101. A positive decision would likely cause Editas' shares to jump.

CRISPR Therapeutics is the leader in developing a CRISPR therapy for treating rare blood diseases sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. The company and its partner, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, expect to report additional data from two phase 1/2 studies in progress evaluating CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing therapy CTX001 later this year.

Editas is behind CRISPR Therapeutics right now. But I won't be surprised if Editas emerges as a winner in sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia over the long term.

The company plans to file for FDA approval by the end of 2020 to begin clinical testing of EDIT-301 in treating sickle cell disease. EDIT-301 uses its proprietary enzyme Cas12a (also known as Cpf1) instead of Cas9, the enzyme most commonly used in CRISPR gene-editing therapies.

Editas thinks that EDIT-301 could be the best-in-class CRISPR therapy for treating both sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. One reason behind the biotech's confidence is that the therapy edits the HBG1 and HBG2 genes rather than theBCL11Ae gene targeted by CRISPR Therapeutics' CTX001. Editas believes that this difference will give EDIT-301 a better safety profile than CTX001 will have. The company also thinks that using Cas12a will lead to sustained higher fetal hemoglobin levels than using the Cas9 enzyme will.

There's another intriguing possibility for Editas Medicine. Its partner on EDIT-101, Allergan, was recently acquired by AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV). The primary reason for this deal was for AbbVie to reduce its dependence on Humira, which faces biosimilar competition in the U.S. beginning in 2023.

AbbVie has other arrows in its quiver for offsetting the inevitable loss of revenue from Humira -- notably including its new immunology drugs Rinvoq and Skyrizi. However, the closer the date approaches for Humira's U.S. sales decline, the more I suspect that AbbVie will be interested in making additional smaller deals to boost its top line.

If EDIT-101 is successful in phase 1 testing and advances to phase 2, Editas Medicine could very well be on AbbVie's acquisition radar. The biotech wouldn't be so expensive that it would require AbbVie to take on a lot of additional debt. Buying Editas could also boost AbbVie's oncology program since Editas has several preclinical programs that use CRISPR gene editing in cancer cell therapies.

To be sure, Editas Medicine is a speculative play. For that matter, so are CRISPR Therapeutics and Intellia Therapeutics. All of these biotech stocks face significant risks that their gene-editing therapies won't work or won't be safe. But the possibility of near-term catalysts and the tremendous long-term potential for Editas make this CRISPR biotech one for investors to closely watch.

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Why Editas Medicine Is Now the CRISPR Stock to Really Watch - Motley Fool

The former Walter Reed Army Medical Center, now known as The Parks at Walter Reed, is adding a new development. A partnership of Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden Development Group recently closed on a 1.5-acre site for the construction of The Hartley, a 323-unit luxury community. The team has two other communities underway: The Brooks, an 89-unit condominium building, and the 301-unit The Vale. All these projects are set to add much-needed supply to the upper northwest part of Washington, D.C., which has seen limited multifamily construction in the past decades.

Katie Wiacek, managing director with Hines, shared details about the upcoming residential projects and revealed the companys plans within the $1 billion master development. Wiacek expects the live-work-play destination to add a total of more than 2,000 affordable, market-rate and luxury units, as well as senior housing apartments.

READ ALSO: Whos Still Investing in DCs Multifamily Market?

How will The Hartley differ from the other two residential developments that are currently underway at The Parks at Walter Reed?

Wiacek: The Hartley will differentiate from The Vale when it comes to its location within the Parks, design, as well as scale. The Hartley is situated within the retail center and active plaza at the north end of the site, while The Vale is adjacent to the bucolic Great Lawn and the historic Arts Park district. Both projects offer high-quality unit finishes and great building amenity packages, but with different interior design aesthetics. The Hartley has more of a nature-inspired, modern look, while The Vale has an artistic, contemporary vibe.

The Hartley is expected to include 58,000 square feet of retail space, whereas The Vale will have only 18,000 square feet. Moreover, units at The Hartley will be slightly larger. The other residential development, The Brooks, encompasses 89 condominiums with a different unit mix, unit sizing and amenity package.

What features set The Hartley apart from other multifamily projects?

Wiacek: The Hartley will have a Whole Foods store on the ground floor. At the same time, the project is designed to feature an indoor-outdoor connection, something that is also at the heart of the master plan. The ground-floor lobby connects through a staircase to the second-floor amenity space, which includes a double-height club room with views to the Parks plaza, and a coworking lounge and game lounge with access to two courtyards. These include a pool, an outdoor fitness area, grilling and dining areas, as well as a Zen garden. A gym and fitness studio space connects directly to the courtyards outdoor fitness zone. The penthouse level includes a more intimate party lounge and roof deck.

How will sustainability and technology be integrated in The Hartley?

Wiacek: Sustainability and energy efficiency are very important to The Parks project. The Hartley is designed to a LEED Silver standard and will include elements like a green roof, energy-efficient HVAC system, lighting and appliances. The site is an infill development, being constructed atop an existing ground-level parking garage, much of which will be reused.

The project is a short walk to the metro station as well as several bus routes, and multiple bike share stations will be added within The Parks. The technology part will include features such as smart thermostats, an intercom entry system and a package management system.

The Parks at Walter Reed will also include ambulatory care. Tell us a bit more about how your project is approaching resident health and wellness.

Wiacek: Access to health care will be found on the site, with a planned ambulatory care facility by Howard University. Childrens National Medical Center is constructing a pediatric research and innovation campus within the historic Walter Reed site, anchored by its Center for Genetic Medicine Research and Rare Disease Institute, as well as Johnson & Johnson JLABS @ Washington, D.C., Virginia Tech and The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. A clinic will house comprehensive primary-care services that will provide more convenient access to expert care for new and existing patients in northwest Washington, D.C.

We are fortunate to build on the legacy of the historic Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which was a place of healing for over a century. That legacy will be physically represented via the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and open spaces as we recognize that the built and natural environments have a tremendous impact on human health and wellness.

Plans for the development also include the creation of outdoor spaces, ranging from the historic Great Lawn and rose garden to a new playground and the retail-oriented central plaza. The site offers recreational opportunities for an active lifestyle, linking directly to Rock Creek Park and to healthy dining in the retail offerings. Whats also great about The Parks outdoor amenities is that they will be open to the wider community.

What can you share about financing the development?

Wiacek: Each project at The Parks at Walter Reed was separately financed. The Hartley project was financed with equity from a qualified opportunity fund through Bridge Investment Group and development partners Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden Development Group. Santander Bank and EagleBank provided a construction loan.

What is the timeline for these projects?

Wiacek: Three projects are currently underway, including The Brooks, The Vale and The Hartley.The Brooks and The Vale are currently scheduled to open by the end of 2020 and early 2021, respectively.

What is the status of the other components of The Parks at Walter Reed?

Wiacek: We are in design now for two mixed-use, residential-over-retail projects. These projects will both be built above an existing parking garage that is being renovated under The Hartley contract. Our goal is to get these new projects underway by spring 2021, to align with The Hartley.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus Dents Multifamily Development

What impact do you expect The Parks at Walter Reed to have on D.C.s real estate market?

Wiacek: We think The Parks beautiful green spaces, unique historic buildings and walk-to retail opportunities will make it the Districts next mixed-use, live-work-play destination.

What about the impact on D.C.s multifamily sector in particular?

Wiacek: The District has a significant amount of multifamily in the pipeline. However, upper northwest D.C., where The Parks is located, has had limited new construction in the past decades. This project will provide an opportunity for new and existing residents to live and stay within this well-established area of northwest D.C., with great access to downtown and Maryland. The Parks offers an ideal blend of urban, walkable retail and amenities, with significant parks and open space.

Do you think the demand for luxury units in Washington, D.C., will shift in upcoming quarters, considering the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic?

Wiacek: COVID-19s resulting job losses may affect apartment demand in the D.C. area, though it is too early to forecast the exact impacts and duration. D.C.s economy has historically been bolstered by the stability of the federal government, which, in the wake of COVID-19, may add jobs that help offset job losses in the hospitality and service industries.

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Washington, DCs The Parks at Walter Reed Makes Headway - Multi-Housing News