b'All of this combined has created a thrivingCELL AND GENE THERAPYediting of DNA and RNA. The companys most ecosystem for cell and gene therapy thatPOISED TO GROW recent milestone was a $40 million Series A Smith said is crucial to its innovative future.IN COLORADO targeted at expanding its clinical sequencing CU Anschutz has created a balance of research,product offerings and growing its staff to development and implementation that can30+nearly 150 by the end of 2022.serve as a model for other hubs. As Watchmaker rides a wave of interest in Having all those together and all those peoplecell and gene therapy to save and change talking to each other and putting their headspatient lives, Co-Founder & CEO Trey Foskett together is really critical, Smith said. I thinkCompanies in Statesaid he has seen a distinct change in this if one of those pieces is missing, youre prob- field in the last decade, from mostly research ably not going to be able to effectively andto real-life application.efficiently move the needle forward. Maggie Chen, Senior Director of Manufacturing 1000Steve Dow, D.V.M., Ph.D., Professor of Immunology,Trey Foskett, Co-Founder & CEO In the last decade weve seen this pretty In addition to his role at the Blood Disorderpowerful shift from the R&D to translational and Cell Therapies Center, Smith serves asto true clinical application, he said.the Medical Director for UCHealth and theAGC Biologics Director of the Center for Immune and Watchmaker Genomics With its latest round of funding, Watchmaker CU Innovation Centers, overseeing collabo- Jobs Created in 5 YearsRegenerative Medicine Clinical Sciences, CSUhas invested in upgrades of the campus toplans to accelerate investment in its protein rations between research and private compa- We think theres a large unmet need in thatColorado, this early-stage funding plays a keyengineering platform to deliver new prod-nies. He thinks this part of his job is anothercreate a multi-product facility that is focusedimportant bridge to take crucial researchon cell therapy and viral vector materials for230market for immunotherapy, Dow said. Thererole in the growth of the ecosystem. firstucts that address the demands of clinical from academia to commercialization. gene therapy products, utilizing the latest$ are no approved immunotherapy drugs asFunding is obviously critical for thatsequencing and support emerging applica-The academic world must partner closely ifautologous and allogeneic methods for cellM eye drops to treat eye infections or ocularproof-of-concept stage where a lot of earlytions in single-cell analysis, epigenetics, and therapy and the adherent and suspensionsurface cancer. startups find themselves, Dow said. Thecell-free DNA, the company said. we are to make life better for our patients,capabilities for viral vectors. With a long background in cell and genestate can help bridge that gap. Colorado has played a critical role in the he said. Its not sufficient for me to be ableBeing Raised in therapy, Dow said Colorado has carved outglobal growth of cell and gene therapy, and to cure cancer in a mouse, we have to be ableIn her role, Chen said the recent advance- Current Funding Rounds a nice niche in the space, specifically with aFresh Capital, Foskett doesnt anticipate that momentum to take that to the next level, and you cannotments in this space have opened endlessfocus on treating cancer. He said the successLarge Ambitions will slow anytime soon.do that without a commercial partner. possibilities for the future. CBSA data represents projections at the lowin this arena will drive other companies to useThere are companies that are looking to con-Innovation and technology have been theWatchmaker Genomics has hit the ground A Global Leader end of each range for jobs and fundraising. this technology for other orphan diseases. Inrunning since its founding in 2019, growing totinue to grow and expand in the Colorado main driver for cell and gene markets, she with Colorado Ties said, calling the growth disruptive in a pos- nearly 100 employees at its Boulder locationarea, and that will likely be a long-term trend With a background in engineering, Maggieitive way. AGC Biologics believes with theFunding is obviouslyand attracting investors as it develops appli- for us, he said. from other states and seeing more candi- cations focused on the reading, writing, and Chen held a variety of bioscience roles beforeenhancements to the site, Longmont is welldates relocating to Colorado.critical for that first landing at AGC Biologics in Longmont nearlypositioned to address this disruptive growth one year ago. Chen is the Senior Director ofand support developers in need of develop- Melding Business Acumenproof-of-concept Manufacturing for the companys Coloradoment and manufacturing services.with Quality Research stage where a lot location and is primarily responsible for over- Having held bioscience roles across the world, seeing the production of viral vectorChen said Colorado is well-positioned toSteve Dow, D.V.M., Ph.D., agreed that talentof early startups and cell therapies. AGC Biologicscan hold back bioscience entities, adding that is a global contract develop- lead the charge on cell and genetop-level executive talent is often the mostfind themselves.therapy. She touted the states ment and manufacturingcentrallocation,akeyforchallenging target. In addition to serving as aThe state can helpadvancing cell therapyorganization(CDMO),Colorado isProfessor of Immunology at Colorado State providing pharmaceu- some volatile treatments, asUniversitys College of Veterinary Medicinebridge that gap.well-positioned well as the access to talentLOW PASSAGE TISSUEtical development andand Biomedical Sciences, Dow has servedSTEVE DOW, D.V.M., PH.D. HUMAN PRIMARY CELLS: ENGINEERING:manufacturing servicesto lead the charge and an overall collaborativeas an executive and co-founder at a variety nature. With talent oftenof companies. Diverse Donor Pool Sca\x02old Productsfor protein-based bio- on cell and geneserving as a limiting factororder to reach that point, he said the state1M Cells/Vial At Thaw Spectral Demineralizedlogics and cell and genefor bioscience companies,His latest venture, Laporte Immunotherapeutics,should continue the progress it has made onBone Matrixtherapies. The companytherapy. Chen said Colorado scoresis an early-stage immunotherapy companyearly-stage funding for bioscience startups. cGMP & ISCT Compliant Human Native Type I Collagenhas seven facilities aroundwell for internal and externalworking to prevent and treat infections atCOMING SOON!the world, including Longmontcandidate pools.mucosal sites for animals and eventuallyDow added that the funding Laporte has and Boulder. humans. Laportes early focus is providingreceived from Colorados Office of Economic Colorado does have a strong college andtreatment to animals before it ultimately tran- Development and International Trade has The Longmont site is the companys NorthCDMO capabilitiesacademia base which consistently providessitions its technology to ocular viral infectionsbeen crucial to the companys development.ESSENTBIOLOGICS.ORG subject to requestAmerican hub for cell and gene therapy ser- talent to cell and gene [companies], she said.With more and more startups popping up in vices. Since the site acquisition, AGC BiologicsWere also attracting more professional talentand ocular surface cancer in humans.18 BIOSCIENCECOLORADO 2022-2023 2022-2023 BIOSCIENCECOLORADO 19'