Defence Therapeutics, Bayer AG, Palantir Technologies - Networked data revolutionizes the future of production

Defence Therapeutics: Vaccine against pancreatic cancer successfully enters next trial

Pancreatic cancer is an insidious disease and is predicted to be the second leading cause of death by 2030. This cancer is typically only discovered when it is too late. Now an AI project from Germany is causing a stir, because thanks to strategically secure networked health data patients can be treated better. They would thus regain their quality of life.

The right data also play an important role at the Canadian biotech company Defence Therapeutics. The Company is an expert in AI-supported platform technology. Defence Therapeutics has developed a revolutionary approach to transforming so-called mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) into potent antigen-presenting cells. MSCs are found in bone marrow and adipose tissue in adult humans. It is, therefore, ethically justifiable and easier for researchers and physicians to work with these MSC cells in cancer research. At least sooner than with embryonic stem cells.

Thanks to the method developed by Defence Therapeutics, effective antitumor responses against solid tumors can be developed. In vivo animal trials with solid T-cell lymphomas and melanomas reveal: The potential vaccine is consistently effective, leading to complete tumor regression in 80-100% of treated animals.

The biotech company is moving forward in research, focusing on pancreatic cancer cells. In the new study, the lysate from the Pan02 cell line, which serves as a source of tumor antigens, is mixed with the A1 dimer before the MSCs are inoculated in vitro. The final ARM vaccine is then administered to allogeneic animals in combination with the anti-PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibitor.

"This trial is designed to demonstrate the efficacy of Defence Therapeutics' ARM vaccine in the treatment of fatal pancreatic cancer where standard therapy has failed and to confirm the versatility of this universal standard vaccine. Developing a pancreatic cancer vaccine capable of eradicating this disease would be a major step in the global fight against cancer", says Sébastien Plouffe, CEO and Director of Defence Therapeutics.

As with BioNTech in the fight against cancer, Defence Therapeutics is on par with big pharma in terms of innovation. Investors who sense the market power of biotech combined with connected data and platform technology should start early to recognize the opportunities there.

Bayer AG partners with Canadian gene therapy company Acuitas

For Bayer AG, Canada is also a country with flourishing trade relations opening up. The Leverkusen-based company is entering into a collaboration with Acuitas Therapeutics Inc. to gain access to the Canadian biotech company's lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology and further strengthen its gene therapy portfolio. The global gene therapy market was estimated to be worth EUR 6.79 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach EUR 16 billion by 2027. Estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6% from 2022 to 2027.

Bayer and its subsidiary Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio) will gain access to Acuitas' highly potent ionizable lipid technology and LNPs through the development agreement with a licence option. This will enable efficient and targeted delivery of gene-editing RNA components to the liver. The technology is market-ready, and manufacturing can be carried out in a scalable manner. This could advance the clinical drug development of Bayer and AskBio's in vivo gene editing programs.

"Developing therapies at scale is essential to provide breakthrough innovations to patients who don't have time to wait," said Jost Reinhardt, Head of Cell and Gene Therapy at Bayer's Pharmaceuticals Division. "The addition of Acuitas' clinically validated and scalable LNP technology to our genomic medicine portfolio is another important step in expanding our leadership in cell and gene therapies."

Palantir and Panasonic Energy North America develop connected factory

Today, Palantir Technologies and Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd, a Panasonic company and the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality lithium-ion batteries, announced a multi-year partnership. The two will work on a "Smart Factory" for Panasonic Energy of North America's (PENA) plant in Sparks, Nevada. Palantir has been selected as a partner to use its Foundry technology to help integrate edge sensors into production lines, introduce automated improvements and enable connected operations for factory workers. Through this agreement, Palantir is expanding its signature platform to include artificial intelligence and edge capabilities in manufacturing.

Through Foundry technology, the "Smart Factory" will be deployed in PENA's IT and operations processes. The system will use Foundry to drive operational decision-making at the existing Nevada factory and, starting in 2025, at the new De Soto, Kansas facility. This strategic partnership will enable Panasonic Energy North America to achieve significant cost savings and increase return on investment quickly.

"We engaged Palantir to help us on our journey to a connected factory by addressing the challenges of disparate data systems and manual workarounds that lead to inaccurate data analytics," says Justin Herman, Chief Information Officer of PENA. "With Foundry, we were able to operationalize our data and reduce waste across our manufacturing process in a matter of months. Across multiple use cases in different functional groups, Foundry is helping PENA drive operational excellence, empowering our people through accurate data-driven decision-making and delivering significant ROI per year. And we are just getting started."

Defence Therapeutics is developing a promising treatment for pancreatic cancer. By using strategically networked health data, patients can be better treated. Bayer enters new business areas through strategic partnerships and gains access to Acuitas' lipid nanoparticle technology to strengthen its gene therapy portfolio and make advances in gene editing. Palantir Technologies is now testing its AI optimization on battery power. With Panasonic Energy North America, the two are collaborating on a "Smart Factory" using Palantir's Foundry technology to introduce connected operations and automated improvements. This collaboration enables efficient and precise production in the manufacturing industry.