10 things to watch in life sciences in 2022

In the last year, I've had the privilege of having real face-to-face interactions with hundreds of life science companies, and I've learned a lot about life sciences. Prime Movers Lab recorded more than 3,000 real outcome deals last year, an incredible number that sounds naturally shocking (and it is!). . While I'm no forecaster, this does give me some perspective on the life sciences as a whole. This impressive volume also gives me hope, and very optimistic hope, because I see amazing progress being made in the field of biotechnology.

I am inspired to interact with the founders of life sciences companies every day and work with them to pursue goals that impact billions of lives. As others have said, we are truly in the midst of a golden age of biotechnology, and I am deeply grateful to the team dedicated to solving these difficult problems in the life sciences and making life better for all. In order to let you also understand the things that are closely related to your life, I have made a list that is not exhaustive but is worth paying attention to - 10 things to watch in the life sciences field in 2022:

1. Cancer will have nowhere to go

Since the "war on cancer" was declared in 1971, although it has been 40 years, we have been in the panic of talking about cancer. Now I finally feel that science has the upper hand in the spread of this disaster. Science against cancer has achieved amazing results, using the body's own immune system to attack cancer tumors, that is, most of us are familiar with tumor immunotherapy has been applied. In addition, there is a new technology that can transform "cold" tumors, which the immune system usually cannot recognize and attack, into "hot" tumors, which can be used to kill "cold" tumors. The application of technology to transform "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors opens up an entirely new therapeutic route for the most aggressive cancers.

In the case of those pesky glioblastomas, if that doesn't work, we could have tiny nanorobots swim to the right spot in the brain to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to the tumor or its remnants. So they can be killed directly by the drug! Also, in 2022, we should see widespread use of GRAIL's cancer antigen (Galleri) test, which is good news because it fights cancer at the source, and will be rolled out in 2021. With a single blood test, more than 50 different types of cancer can be detected and even the location of the cancer can be predicted. Imagine the lives that would be saved with these types of cancers. The days of cancer are numbered.

2. There will be a great breakthrough in the research and development of hallucinogens

I've written enthusiastically about psychedelics in the last year, so it won't surprise you to see them on your watch list. The reason I'm still excited about this topic this year is because the field has changed so much. If you've been following current events, you'll notice that many of the new psychedelic startups are starting to develop new molecular drugs between 2018 and 2020. This means that these New molecular drugs, if they pass pharmacological and toxicological tests under an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, will begin to enter clinical trials and applications.

A flurry of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trial announcements are expected in 2022, marking the transition of many preclinical startups into outstanding clinical stage companies, with leaps forward reflected in their program progress and evaluation. Paying attention to which clinical trials are successful and which are failing is worth doing.

3. Bio-electronic medicine will form a strong competition for drugs

Because I grew up in a family that loved horse racing, I've always loved the phrase "run for the money." Let me tell you, bioe-health will be an area worth betting on in 2022. The Feinstein Institute defines it as "device technology that reads and regulates electrical activity within the human nervous system." This regulation can be transmitted to the central (brain) and peripheral nervous system via electrical, magnetic, and ultrasonic pulses. Most of these devices (there may be a few differences) are completely noninvasive and placed outside the body. I've seen neuromodulation devices used to regulate sleep, migraines, pain, and even depression.

In 2021, a landmark study showed that transcranial magnetic stimulation can successfully treat treatment-resistant depression. Similarly, this stimulation from the device can also be directed to the spleen, peripheral nerves, and cranial nerves to treat conditions elsewhere in the body, such as rheumatoid arthritis, neuropathic pain, sleep apnea, tinnitus, and opioid use disorders. I wonder which of these devices will win the race!

4. Edible fungi (macrofungi) are not only "magical", they will also flourish this year

If you haven't seen the documentary Fantastic Fungi yet, do check it out. Don't read this article for now, and instead watch The Magic Fungus! The beauty of mycelium is reflected in the continuous spreading and spreading process of division.

While "magical" edible mushrooms have gotten a lot of media attention in the last year, strategic companies are turning them into gorgeous high-end leather products that could make the traditional leather industry obsolete. When it comes to the edible value of edible fungi, there are several startups focused on the development of the basic protein of fungi (mycin), which has proved to be delicious. Edible mushrooms can be used as ingredients, not only to increase the content of other plant proteins in food, but also as "meat pieces" to grow, because it has a very similar taste to meat. Edible fungi like ganoderma lucidum, Turkey tail, chaga, lion mane, and a few others have unique functions and can be used as food (burritos!). It can also be used as a nutritional supplement. These edible mushrooms with unique functions have also been used to enhance the function of the human immune system and improve cognition, and some research and development institutions have conducted some very compelling studies.

I admit, because mushrooms are so powerful, I like to drink mushroom coffee in the morning! Edible fungi also contribute to the improvement of climate. Mycelium splits and spreads in the underground, interweaving, loosening the soil, promoting the growth of forests, and strengthening the exchange of nutrients between trees. What else can we expect in the development of fungal organisms this year?

5. We start paying attention to the world of microbiota inside (and on our bodies)

A glance at the headlines these days tells us that the human body has a vast microbiome. These trillions of microbes live in and on our bodies, making us our unique selves. They are everywhere, not only in our digestive systems, but also on our skin. As a New Year's gift to myself (yes, that geek), I went to a commercial company to have my gut microbiome sequenced. The result is that I have at least 407 travel companions (detectable by RNA sequencing), and my fellow travelers and I are just beginning to get to know each other.

I went to get tested out of scientific curiosity and a growing appreciation for the role of the gut - not just in digestive health, but in overall health. First, there is substantial evidence that the gut microbiome plays an important role in the emergence of inflammation. They play a central role not only in the digestive tract, but also in the body's overall inflammation, and scientists are now investigating the potential role of the gut microbiome in autoimmune disorders and even neurodegenerative diseases. Then came the gut-brain axis, "the bidirectional biochemical signaling that occurs between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system." The gut actually produces a lot of neuroactive compounds, and this system also plays a role in relieving stress and depression. Perhaps 2022 will be the year when we fully understand the massive microbial teams that inhabit our bodies?

6. The demand for tele-health and home diagnostics began

If there's a silver lining to the coronavirus, it's that it's finally bringing telehealth into the mainstream. In the past two years, it has turned what was merely a convenience of telehealth into an essential part of our health care system. This opens up a whole new mechanism for implementing healthcare at home and on a scale. For tele-health to be transformative, it also needs to be integrated with new therapies and services. May 2021 is the most nasal swabs in history.

The increase in home testing also reflects the shift in opportunities for diagnosis and health monitoring from the clinic to the home. I suspect there will be a wave of home testing devices coming to market, including PCR quality results. In the New Year, in order to start a scientific and rigorous exploration, I also bought several home test kits for various biomarker tests. But I couldn't muster up the courage to prick my own finger with enough force for a self-administered blood collection. Eventually, I had to hire a phlebotomist to come to my house, and it was much more difficult to test myself at home than to go to a clinic or testing company. I do think that testing companies should pay attention to home testing. This demand is just beginning.

7. Neuroscience data, artificial intelligence, and middleware will advance neuroscience

I'm still learning the terminology that should be used in this section. Over the past decade, neurotechnologies have dominated hardware cores, and I call for neuroscience middleware to distinguish itself from these hardware cores. I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's as if the neuroscience community woke up and realized that the data stores we've always had are the real treasure. The ability to manipulate data and bring together different data sources (behavioral observations, cognitive tests, tissue samples, blood, cerebrospinal fluid) is the real "big discovery." We can then use these integrated data sets to answer questions about deep diagnosis and clinical outcomes.

A group of companies is using neuroscience data to stratify patients in clinical trials to save compound drugs abandoned by big Pharma from disappearing from the drug market and start a complex but exciting research journey toward early diagnosis of several neurodegenerative diseases. According to my prediction, neural science measurement hardware (electroencephalography (eeg), Electroencephalograms, EEGs, nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Near Infrared optical Imaging technology, Near - Infrared Spectroscopy, NIRS, etc.) will continue to commoditize, and the data in these datasets and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) processing will advance neuroscience in the coming years.

8. There will be strong regulation of biology on the blockchain

At the end of last year, the biology blockchain issue caught my attention. I've gotten used to thinking about blockchain in a lot of different contexts. However, the blockchain mentioned here no longer only refers to the blockchain of cryptocurrency! Blockchain makes a lot of sense for biology. Naturally, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the blockchain for medical records, which would be an important application. But I'm talking about tissue, cord blood, organs, stem cells, embryos, eggs, sperm... Biological matter on these biological blockchains.

The field of biological blockchain is about to be widely studied, especially as the demand for fertility treatments and egg freezing increases. Did you know that due to lack of regulation in the fertility market and other reasons, embryos and reproductive tissues can be misplaced (permanently)! And biological blockchains can be regulated using tamper-proof ledger system applications. If you do this, you will put small parts of your body such as organs, stem cells... on the biological blockchain. Did you?

9. The vaccine family tree is growing, and it's not just for infectious diseases anymore!

One of the most striking highlights of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019 was that the global scientific community was able to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine quickly and well. From traditional vaccine approaches to emerging mRNA and peptide vaccines, our vaccine family tree has expanded.

This expanded vaccine family tree can now be used against some non-" traditional "infectious pathogens, that is, other nasty targets. These targets include cancer. We know that HPV causes cervical cancer, and an HPV vaccine has been developed; It also includes Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, developing vaccines against neurodegenerative diseases; There is also a World Health Organization Cancer List where vaccine candidates are currently being tested for each type of cancer on the list, and this move is expected to continue and expand testing.

Although the use of vaccines for non-communicable diseases is new, it is interesting to think in terms of aging and the relative vitality of the human immune system. Because a young healthy immune system can protect the body from these infectious diseases, but as we age, the body's immune capacity will gradually decrease and become extremely vulnerable to attack, which is why these diseases have become typical diseases of old age. Can we be vaccinated against Alzheimer's disease as we age? It's worth exploring.

10. Regenerative medicine

To be honest, I did put the topic I was most interested in at the end of the article. Within the human development theme of the Prime Motifs Lab, we are particularly interested in longevity, which also includes regenerative medicine. I think regenerative medicine is the next big frontier that needs to be broken through in terms of how we see life and improving human biology and its limitations. From regenerating tissue, replacing organs, and using gene therapy to give old tissue new functions, the potential for regenerative medicine is enormous. I've witnessed exciting work on wound healing, limb regeneration and tissue 3D printed scaffolds that really blew my mind.

Have we ever thought about repurposing tissue from our own body, like lymph nodes, and turning it into a second liver? I hadn't thought about it either! Sadly, my time at the Department of Defense coincided with a period of higher casualties from IEDs. The work of repairing limbs is one of the most important things the Department of Defense does in biology. However, limb restoration at that time was still only the replacement of lost limbs with prosthetics. My biggest dream and hope this year is to see our bodies repair themselves through regenerative medicine.