Annual Review 2024: Reflecting on a Year of Progress and Purpose

BlueRock Therapeutics announced positive 18-month and 24-month data from exPDite, a Phase 1 clinical trial of bemdaneprocel, an investigational cell therapy for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

BlueRock’s investigational cell therapy bemdaneprocel for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease has been granted RMAT designation from the U.S. FDA. The RMAT program is dedicated to investigational regenerative medicines, including cell therapies, intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure serious diseases. Investigational therapies that receive RMAT designation are eligible to receive expedited development review and development planning guidance from senior CBER managers.

The FDA has cleared BlueRock's IND application to initiate clinical testing for the first iPSC-derived investigational cell therapy to be clinically tested for treating primary photoreceptor diseases.

Sound Agriculture has announced this year offerings built to help growers manage risk as they improve soil health and strengthen their nutrient mix. Grower incentives for synthetic fertilizer replacement and a new beneficial fungi product that enhances nutrient and water uptake will help growers optimize their nutrients and boost crop yields.

For the first time, researchers at eGenesis have succeeded in connecting a functioning liver from a genetically modified pig to a human body. This achievement offers a possible temporary treatment for people with acute liver failure.

Surgeons from eGenesis announced the first ever transplantation of a genetically engineered porcine kidney into a living human recipient. If successful, the breakthrough offers hope to hundreds of thousands of patients whose kidneys have failed.

Fork & Good organized the very first tasting of hybrid cultivated meat in Davos this year. The food startup shared its product with thought leaders and local residents at its first large-scale tasting since the launch of its pilot facility in 2023.

NextPoint Therapeutics announced that it has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with solid tumors expressing HHLA2/B7-H7, a tumor antigen that is strongly upregulated in many human tumors.

A Cambridge University paper published in October mentioned Oerth Bio's proprietary platform called ATTUNE™, which is PROTAC’s first agricultural discovery engine. As E3 ligases are essential for enabling PROTAC activity, Oerth Bio focuses on identifying kingdom- and phylum-specific E3s to dial-in applications specific to crop protection.

Metagenomi announced data this year from an ongoing preclinical study designed to provide evidence of the potential durability and safety of the company’s hemophilia gene editing therapy MGX-001.

Sudo Biosciences is pleased to confirm that this year the first participants have been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating a novel brain-penetrant allosteric inhibitor for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.

Amfora announced the launch of its first commercial offerings - the company’s first generation of ultra-high quality plant protein products (Ultra-High Protein Soy flour, Texturized Vegetable Protein and Crisps). The products use conventional breeding technologies to naturally contain protein content that is approximately 25 percent higher than conventional soybeans.

Recursion has announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1/2 clinical trial of REC-1245, a new chemical entity for the treatment of biomarker-enriched solid tumors and lymphoma.

Recursion is proud to inform that they tested a repurposed molecule called REC-994 in about 60 patients with symptomatic cerebral cavernous malformation, a rare neurological disorder that can cause strokes, seizures, and partial paralysis.

NewLeaf Symbiotics has this year announced the launch of its first EPA-registered biocontrol technology to repel Corn Rootworm (CRW) pest activity and help corn varieties grow to their fullest potential with stronger roots. NewLeaf’s technology introduces a new mode of action for CRW control, priming the plant’s own defenses to produce a compound that repels larvae at the root.

Mozart Therapeutics announced the dosing of the first cohort of participants in the company’s initial clinical study of MTX-101, a novel approach to restoring immune homeostasis - aiming to achieve safer, more effective, targeted approaches to preventing and treating chronic debilitating autoimmune diseases.

Affini-T Therapeutics has announced that the first patient has been dosed in the company’s Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating AFNT-211 targeting KRAS mutations (G12V). Affini-T’s goal is to address the significant unmet need of patients with difficult-to-treat solid tumors.

EarthOptics has announced this year that it has mapped and physically measured one million acres of farmland and ranchland. The important milestone places the company and its SoilMapper™ platform in the top market position, demonstrating a growing demand among farmers and ranchers for comprehensive soil intelligence.

ReCode Therapeutics has announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1b study evaluating RCT2100, an investigational inhaled mRNA therapy for people with cystic fibrosis.

Rantizo achieved a major milestone in drone operations with the approval of rotary-wing operators to swarm up to three drones weighing more than 55 pounds without a visual observer and at night.

Indapta Therapeutics has announced this year that the U.S. FDA has cleared the IND for the company’s Phase 1 clinical trial of its g-natural killer (g-NK) cell therapy, in progressive multiple sclerosis.

Pairwise received approval from the USDA for nine new exemptions that allow the company to develop genome edited blackberries with novel seedless, compact, and thornless traits and determined that the fruit will be treated with the same regulations as conventionally bred plants.

Using the company’s proprietary Fulcrum™ platform, a complete suite of novel tools for CRISPR application in plants, Pairwise has succeeded in achieving seedlessness in a caneberry for the first time.