Amid a backdrop of industry-wide headwinds such as inflation, talent shortages and tight regulatory landscapes, Nona Biosciences holds great promise as an emerging global leader in biotechnology. On November 28, the Cambridge, Massachusetts company celebrated “Nona Innovation Day,” marking an impressive first year of groundbreaking advances and growth.
With the theme “Harnessing advanced technologies for therapeutic breakthroughs”, the event was attended by nearly one hundred guests from industry, well-known scientific research institutions and investment institutions. With guest panels and speakers from key partners, from Harvard Medical School to Verseau Therapeutics, on topics ranging from CAR-T treatment case studies to “Key Technologies Driving Next-Gen Therapeutic Innovation,” the event cast an optimistic light to a company on the rise, providing a window into a year of exciting developments and ambitious goals for the future.
Dr. Jingsong Wang, President of Nona Biosciences, shared insights into the company’s ambitious vision during his keynote.
Using our world-leading platform, we strive to work together with partners to accelerate the R&D of antibody-based therapies. Our ultimate goal is to offer better and faster treatment options to patients around the world.”
Dr. Jingsong Wang, President, Nona Biosciences
Dr. Wang acknowledged the challenges in the industry, but maintained an optimistic outlook. “This is an exciting time of innovation in life science, and we are excited about the potential for our collaborative efforts to lead to important discoveries.”
Nona Biosciences’ rapidly growing presence in the global biotech landscape can be attributed in part to its collaborative efforts. Powered by “Idea to IND” (I to I™) suite, the company offers a comprehensive suite of technology solutions spanning from target validation and antibody discovery to preclinical research, offering a variety of applications in oncology and beyond. With its broad service solutions, the company serves an eclectic and growing mix of partners – from academic researchers and fledgling startups to experienced biopharma giants. “With “Idea to IND” (I to I™), we aim to leverage our technology solutions ecosystem with biotechnology leaders to innovate and transform healthcare for the better,” states Dr. Wang, emphasizing the company’s long-term cooperative vision.
Bridging concept to IND with innovative port mice® technology
Behind Nona Bioscience’s ‘Idea to IND’ solutions, the engine driving its innovation lies in Harbor Mice® technology platform. Producing fully human monoclonal antibodies in H2L2 and HCAb forms, the revolutionary system is the world’s leading clinically validated HCAb platform. Boasting an outstanding range of applications in the field of antibody development, from the generation of multispecific antibodies to advanced ADC, CAR-T and mRNA therapies, Harbor mice® brings exciting implications for the future development of oncology and the life sciences as a whole, with the potential to reshape the medical landscape in the coming years.
Key milestones and partnerships
Since its inception, Nona Biosciences has wasted no time in establishing a reputation as a trailblazer in the field. The company has successfully secured over 65 patents with strong global intellectual property protection and has achieved collaboration with over 50 leaders from industry and academia, validating the effectiveness and power of its Harbor Mice® technology platform. The application of the technology in more than 200 discovery programs proves its flexibility and effectiveness, and with more than 18 projects using this technology having advanced to IND or clinical stages, the platform is already demonstrating great impact and future potential in the field biotechnology.
Seeking advances in oncology through innovative approaches and diverse collaborations
Nona Biosciences’ innovation in oncology and beyond spans from discovery to clinical research approval. This includes a wide range of functional characterization with diverse in vitro assays, extending beyond immuno-oncology to cover various therapeutic areas and enhanced antibody discovery through the adoption of high-throughput screening methods.
The company also places significant emphasis on in vivo pharmacology, using more than 30 mouse models for early Mechanism of Action (MOA) research. One part of her diverse endeavors includes protein engineering, with the goal of developing new molecular properties and innovative therapies. In addition, the extension of Nona Bioscience’s technology to Harbor HCAb PLUS™ The platform has allowed her to embrace a wide range of new ways.
Nona’s expertise spans a wide range of therapeutic areas, enabling the company to rapidly strengthen its strong position in the biopharmaceutical industry through the establishment of several important partnerships. Nona’s expertise in various therapeutic areas has led to significant collaborations with well-known organizations such as Moderna and Mythic Therapeutics among other innovative institutions, and most recently, a major exclusive license agreement with Pfizer Inc., announced on December 14u.
Using his harbor mice® technology, Nona’s collaboration with Moderna focuses on the discovery and development of nucleic acid-based immunotherapies, an area of increasing importance in genetic medicine, while the collaboration with Mythic Therapeutics focuses on the creation of ADCs, an emerging approach to targeted cancer therapies.
In addition, Nona and Dragonfly Therapeutics collaborated on the development of active Natural Killer (NK) cells, representing an exploration of new immunotherapy methods for cancer treatment, while the collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on the development of CAR-T therapy highlights further Nona Biosciences involvement in innovative cancer treatment technologies. These collaborations, while varying in focus, highlight Nona Biosciences’ role in contributing to advances in various areas of oncology research.
Finally, Nona Biosciences’ latest collaboration with Pfizer focuses on the development and commercialization of the MSLN-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), HBM9033. With fully human monoclonal antibody (mAb) derived from Harbor mice® platform, HBM9033 is designed to target human MSLN, a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) overexpressed in a range of solid tumors. The mAb’s specialized design offers enhanced efficacy and safety in various preclinical tumor models with varying levels of MSLN expression, making HBM9033 a potentially world-leading therapeutic option.
Looking to the future in biomedicine
Celebrating its first year, Nona Innovation Day showcased exciting developments to come for Nona Biosciences. Amid current industry challenges, the company continues to keep its sights set on the future with the upcoming release of its updated Harbor Mice® platform in 2024, further demonstrating its continued innovation and leadership at the frontier of biotechnology and oncology.
With its advanced platforms and ongoing strategic partnerships, look for Nona Biosciences to continue to pave the way for breakthrough developments in biomedicine and cement its position as a key contributor and innovator in the global biotech industry.
