November 2024 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 32-33
// WOMEN IN PHARMA //
Synth revival
Dr Amy Walker, Chief Operating Officer at UK-listed synthetic DNA designer and manufacturer 4basebio, shares her experiences at the forefront of the synthetic DNA revolution
Amy is enabling the development of the next generation of gene therapies and vaccines with novel synthetic DNA molecules.
The cell and gene therapy (CGT) and vaccines market continues to rely on a decades-old, biological technology, plasmid DNA, with prohibitively long lead times and costs associated with large-scale manufacture for clinical applications.
Synthetic DNA represents a paradigm shift, offering unrivalled speed and flexibility in driving CGT and vaccine innovation. This is her story…
Shared journey
I joined 4basebio back in 2020. I had just completed a year of postdoctoral research and joined the company when it was at the very start of its journey.
So, in a sense, it has been a shared journey from the beginning. I am very fortunate to have been at the forefront of its development to date, building the exceptional teams and nurturing the technology and products we have today.
It has been a remarkable journey, with many exciting and important milestones along the way.
Moving on up
When I started, there were four of us in the UK team; four years later, this has grown to over 100 people, across our four locations.
During that time, we have scaled our platform from μL (microlitre) scale reactions in microtitre plates to gram-scale batches and built out our cleanroom manufacturing facilities.
We have progressed from proof-of-concept feasibility studies to commercial product revenues in what now seems like the blink of an eye.
To date, we have filed 25 patent families along the way. Innovation is central to everything we do.
Reputation building
We have built a reputation for solving some of our customers’ most complex challenges in relation to their drug development pipelines.
Our synthetic DNA molecules address the bottlenecks associated with plasmid fermentation, offering enhanced performance and application-specific benefits, depending on the downstream application, be that viral vector manufacturing, mRNA production, or gene editing applications.
The platform also enables the creation of next-generation DNA modalities with an improved safety profile compared with plasmid DNA, owing to the lack of bacterial sequences or contamination.
Personal growth
The journey for me has been equally exciting, having joined as one of the original members of the team, I have been privileged to experience the highest of highs and some difficult lows.
The last four years have been tremendously stimulating. There have been many challenges along the way but overcoming these has made me much more resilient and determined to succeed.
‘Teamwork makes the dream work. I have been accompanied by many amazing colleagues, with 57% of our staff being women’
It’s also very important to enjoy the journey and celebrate the wins along the way. The journey isn’t finished and, at 4basebio, we feel ready for whatever challenges come next and are poised for success.
Team dream
Teamwork makes the dream work. I have been accompanied by many amazing colleagues, with 57% of our staff being women.
Our multidisciplinary teams and their exceptionally diverse skill sets have been instrumental in the success of 4basebio.
My time at the company has allowed me to grow both personally and professionally; I could not have imagined the personal opportunities 4basebio has afforded me to learn and develop my career.
Because of that, it is vitally important to me that employees are able to seize opportunities for growth and personal development; we strive to empower all team members.
Together, we now support our growing client base from early development right through to clinical application and are proud to have witnessed the first patients dosed with an mRNA vaccine derived from our synthetic DNA.
‘My approach to leadership is to inspire and motivate
people – I want to make people believe in themselves’
Patient well-being is at the heart of everything we do, and we are excited to commence several more clinical trials with our DNA products in the near future.
Blazing squad
I have recently taken on the role of COO, responsible for the breadth of staff and activities across the entire organisation.
My approach to leadership is to inspire and motivate people – I want to make people believe in themselves and aspire to become the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.
I take great pride in helping people develop and achieve their career goals; this brings me a lot of satisfaction. For me, it is critically important to make sure everyone feels involved in the mission of the company and the impact of the work we conduct.
Future-proofing
Whenever you work hard at something, it is often nice to receive some form of validation.
I was delighted that 4basebio recently won the award for Best Technology at the European Mediscience Awards 2024.
We do indeed believe that our technology deserved such an accolade. In addition, 4basebio received validation from our new investors, having recently announced a £70 million capital raise from M&G Investment Management and Patient Square Capital.
They share our vision that #thefutureissynthetic.
There is still so much to achieve. We continue to innovate, and we continue to grow, with utmost conviction in the future and the synthetic DNA revolution.
PharmaTimes
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