MBC BioLab's first company, Alector, is getting ready to go public

Alector moved into MBC BioLabs on the day we opened our doors, and now just over five years later they have two programs in the clinic, a partnership with AbbVie, and are now are preparing to go public. Alector set terms for its initial public offering, which would value the immuno-neurology company at about $1.4 billion!
Alector team members at MBC BioLabs San Francisco in 2016

Alector is developing therapeutics that harness the body's immune cells power to target neurodegenerative diseases. The company's lead drug candidate, AL001, is a therapeutic candidate for frontotemporal dementia carrying a progranulin (PGRN) loss-of-function mutation. Full Press Release
Cypre and Molecular Devices sign co-marketing agreement to collaborate on delivering solutions for screening biologically relevant assays
Cypre and Molecular Devices signed a co-marketing agreement to jointly market Cypre's Symphony®/VersaGel® 3D cell culture platform and Molecular Devices' ImageXpress® high-content imaging systems. Advances in both 3D cell culture and high-content imaging are driving big changes in in vitro and ex vivo translational modeling and cell-based screening assays. Cypre and Molecular Devices' technologies combine to give drug discovery and development researchers access to more biologically relevant assays and higher throughput. The two companies will kick off their partnership by co-presenting at SLAS 2019.
Kolin Hribar, PhD, CEO and Founder of Cypre Inc. with their Symphony®/VersaGel®
"As a high-content imaging leader, Molecular Devices synergizes with the Symphony/VersaGel platform to provide a complete solution for high-throughput 3D cellular assays, and moreover, they've been a great partner to work with. We look forward to building on this relationship in the coming year," said Kolin Hribar, CEO of Cypre.

Sarah Vargas-Hurlston, Senior Director of Marketing at Molecular Devices comments, "Cypre's 3D solutions for customers align with our continual focus to provide better support for customer applications. Together we offer a new solution for simplifying access to and scaling 3D assays."
 
News of this partnership comes at the same time as Cypre's Symphony/VersaGel platform being selected as a candidate for Best New Drug Discovery and Development Product of 2018 in the Scientists' Choice Awards. 
Events
Founders At Work Speaker Series
 
Nitrome Biosciences: Discovery of a new class of enzyme(s), initially for treatment of Parkinson's disease
 
February 27, 2019
12:30 to 1:30 PM
MBC BioLabs
953 Indiana Street, San Francisco
RSVP
Irene Griswold-Prenner, CEO/CSO of Nitrome Biosciences, was previously a Co-founder and the CSO of Imago Pharmaceuticals; Senior Director of Neurobiology at iPierian and True North, and a Senior Scientist at Elan. She received her BA from Colorado University in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and PhD from University of Chicago in Physiology and Cellular Pharmacology.
Newcomers
Abate Med is developping targeted immune-blocking proteins for atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases.
Atropos creates senescence-modulating therapeutics ("senomodulators") that may be used to treat aging-related diseases and cancers. We begin with our proprietary FATES discovery platform to identify compounds that critically regulate the rate at which senescent cells form. Our pipeline includes potential solutions for inherited genetic aging, acquired senescence, and other aging syndromes that involve heightened senescence and cancers that may be resistant to cytostatic drugs because they suppress the senescence pathway. Atropos is currently doing preclinical studies toward lead identification.

Deciduous Therapeutics is an aging therapeutics company developing a novel class of immune modulatory therapies to promote healthy lifespan. Senescent cells accumulate and play a central role in the pathogenesis of a number of age related diseases. Deciduous was founded on the premise that accumulation of senescent cells is due to a failure of the immune system to eliminate them. In order to solve this problem, Deciduous is developing therapies to activate the endogenous immune cell population that normally carries out immune surveillance and clearance of senescent cells.  
Mojo is a Men's Health & Fertility company building an accessible test kit that destigmatizes the status quo of Men's Fertility. Through novel approaches to semen analysis and cryopreservation, Mojo will enable men to be proactive in understanding their fertility and overall health. In partnership with experts from Stanford and UCSF we will bring clinically relevant information to consumers across the US.