The field of peptides is exploding, Perpetual Medicines Corp. co-founder, chairman and CEO Kerry L. Blanchard recently told BioWorld, “with a projected growth rate far surpassing large and small molecules, and gene therapies. The area is underinvested, too, so this is a good opportunity to focus on peptide therapeutics.”

The field of peptides is exploding, Perpetual Medicines Corp. co-founder, chairman and CEO Kerry L. Blanchard recently told BioWorld, “with a projected growth rate far surpassing large and small molecules, and gene therapies. The area is underinvested, too, so this is a good opportunity to focus on peptide therapeutics.”

The field of peptides is exploding, Perpetual Medicines Corp. co-founder, chairman and CEO Kerry L. Blanchard recently told BioWorld, “with a projected growth rate far surpassing large and small molecules, and gene therapies. The area is underinvested, too, so this is a good opportunity to focus on peptide therapeutics.”

If we unraveled the DNA of the 46 chromosomes of a single human cell, it would barely measure 2 meters. If we did the same with the rest of the body, if we aligned the 3 billion base pairs of its 5 trillion cells, we could travel the distance from the Earth to the Sun more than 100 times. It seems unreachable. However, that is the unit of knowledge of the large sequencing projects achieved in 2023. From the generation of the human pangenome to cell-by-cell maps of the brain and kidneys, scientists this year have completed several omics collaborative projects stored in large international databases. Now, what’s the plan?

Modifying a patient’s DNA is no longer just for science fiction novels. The CRISPR gene editing technique developed by Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier only took 10 years to reach the market as Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel/exa-cel, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.), treating congenital pathologies such as β-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease. But science does not stop.

The field of peptides is exploding, Perpetual Medicines Corp. co-founder, chairman and CEO Kerry L. Blanchard recently told BioWorld, “with a projected growth rate far surpassing large and small molecules, and gene therapies. The area is underinvested, too, so this is a good opportunity to focus on peptide therapeutics.” Blanchard, who was most recently CEO of Shanghai-based Everest Medicines Ltd. and previous chief scientific officer (CSO) of China’s Innovent Biologics Co. Ltd., is now spearheading efforts to develop novel peptide therapeutics at his own biotech, Perpetual, founded in March 2023.

If we unraveled the DNA of the 46 chromosomes of a single human cell, it would barely measure 2 meters. If we did the same with the rest of the body, if we aligned the 3 billion base pairs of its 5 trillion cells, we could travel the distance from the Earth to the Sun more than 100 times. It seems unreachable. However, that is the unit of knowledge of the large sequencing projects achieved in 2023. From the generation of the human pangenome to cell-by-cell maps of the brain and kidneys, scientists this year have completed several omics collaborative projects stored in large international databases. Now, what’s the plan?

Matinas Biopharma Holdings Inc. has reported results from a series of in vivo studies demonstrating successful oral delivery of two lipid nanocrystal (LNC)-formulated small single-strand oligonucleotides that specifically target the key inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-17A in well-established and validated animal models that mimic acute inflammatory responses seen in human diseases.

Modifying a patient’s DNA is no longer just for science fiction novels. The CRISPR gene editing technique developed by Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier only took 10 years to reach the market as Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel/exa-cel, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.), treating congenital pathologies such as β-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease (SCD). But science does not stop.