San Diego biotech news: Local maker of mRNA used in COVID-19 vaccine opens new facility

San Diego-based TriLink BioTechnologies went from working with a few local biotechs in 2019 to months later helping pharmaceutical giants Pfizer-Biontech deliver the life-saving, COVID-19 vaccine globally.

Now it’s about to take another big step with a new manufacturing site.

For more than two decades, TriLink has produced the scientific puzzle pieces that researchers use to find new drugs and vaccines. That includes manufacturing mRNA — the genetic material that tells your body how to make proteins — which was key to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Think of it as a Lego brick,” said Kate Broderick, chief innovation officer at TriLink parent company Maravai LifeSciences, which employs about 600 workers, up from 400 in 2020, in San Diego. “The whole components are Lego bricks that all stick together and we went from producing a small amount to within months having to scale up to provide this for global level vaccine production — it was an incredible feat.”

As more companies look to mRNA as a potential vehicle for new treatments, the local biotech has prepared to meet that demand. TriLink opened a 32,000 square feet manufacturing site last month at 10247 Flanders Court focused on mRNA production.

The site is adjacent to a sister facility they opened right before the pandemic. Both sites are the culmination of a roughly $130 million investment, including support from the government, into expanding mRNA manufacturing.

“We’re just at the cusp of the revolution of what we’re calling genomic medicines,” Broderick said, also noting recent approvals for novel genomic therapies.

A quality control lab at TriLink BioTechnologies’ new mRNA-focused manufacturing facility.

(Courtesy of TriLink BioTechnologies)

The COVID-19 vaccine is currently the only FDA-approved mRNA-based treatment on the market. But, there are more moving through clinical trials, said Drew Burch, president of nucleic acid products at TriLink.

After the mad dash to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, Burch said scientists turned back to the diseases they were researching and asked how mRNA could offer a solution. For example, he said there are companies applying this technology to flu and RSV vaccines that are seeking approval in the coming year.

Kevin Lynch, who heads operations at the new facility said TriLink supports companies from clinical trials to commercial drug production. But before medicines reach consumers, TriLink helps these companies monitor quality control during production, which is necessary to show drug regulators.

Endeavor BioMedicines raises more than $132 million

San Diego’s Endeavor BioMedicines exceeded its fund-raising goal last month by landing $132.5 million to advance its lead drug candidate.

Their investigational drug is aimed at improving lung function for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and progressive pulmonary fibrosis. These diseases cause scarring of the lung tissue and Endeavor sees the potential to reverse that process.

Current treatments on the market may slow the disease, but none effectively stop it or reverse its persistent damage to the patient. Endeavor plans to move this drug into Phase 2b trials this year.

The local biotech company is also looking to move a cancer drug into early clinical trials this year that could potentially make treating tumors more effective and minimize common side effects to patients.

The financing was led by AyurMaya, an affiliate of Matrix Capital Management.

Goldman Sachs backs Alterome Therapeutics

Local biopharma, Alterome Therapeutics, is developing a small molecule therapy to treat cancer, and investors are taking notice. Alterome brought in $132 million last month in a Series B financing round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

The San Diego company, which was founded in 2021, is betting on precision medicine to tackle common mutations that drive cancer. The goal is to make medicines that selectively weed out cancer cells instead of normal cells, thus increasing the treatment’s effectiveness and safety.

Alterome is leveraging a machine learning platform to guide its drug discovery. The company’s two lead drug candidates are designed for cancer patients with limited treatment options.

Eric Murphy, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Alterome Therapeutics, said this huge round of funding will help the company advance multiple drugs into the clinic over the next 12 months.

“The precision oncology field has arrived at a special moment with the exciting evolution of both drug discovery and precision medicine,” Murphy said in the announcement. “A unique integration of structure-guided drug discovery with deep translational biology is facilitating the development of novel therapies that address previously inaccessible proteins.”

Startup nets $100 million for first-in-class cancer, disease treatment

Enlaza Therapeutics, a local biotech, just landed $100 million to develop its new approach to treating cancer and other diseases. The big selling point for Enlaza’s pipeline of therapeutics is that it would “lock to disease related targets” via a covalent bond, according to the company website.

The La Jolla biotech, which launched in 2020, calls its covalent biologic platform War-Lock, because its drug protein tracks down and binds to a specific disease protein. The company says this novel treatment is aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of drugs while minimizing toxic side effects to patients.

“This support will enable continued expansion of our covalent protein drug platform, establishment of a diversified pipeline that demonstrates the broad potential of this approach, and advancement of our lead assets toward clinical development,” said Sergio Duron, Ph.D., CEO of Enlaza Therapeutics.

The funding round was led by the Life Sciences group of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Private Capital division.