Yeda's Newsletter - June 2023
In recent years, most early R&D for innovative biotech products has taken place in startups and small companies, while mature products are often commercialized by big pharma companies. Inspired by this trend, technology transfer companies have focused their efforts on spinning out companies to develop their technologies. The current economic uncertainty shines a spotlight on the challenges of bringing new technologies to market, and particularly academic spinouts requiring early-stage funding.
This company is changing the way we think about computers!
LightSolver, a spinoff company of Yeda - Technology Transfer Company of Weizmann Institute of Science, has been gaining well-deserved recognition as it works toward revolutionizing computing.
CEO & Co-Founder, Ruti Ben Shlomi, was recently featured in the acclaimed "Faces in Photonics" series by Laser Focus World.
In the feature, Ruti discusses the groundbreaking laser-based processing unit pioneered at LightSolver, developed in the lab of Nir Davidson at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
We are pleased to share the latest investment in Quantum Source Labs Ltd!!
This represents a great vote of confidence in both Quantum Source and the broader field of quantum computing speaks to the growing interest and potential for innovation in this exciting area of technology.
ClimateCrop
ClimateCrop’s cutting-edge technology can produce more with less land, water, and chemicals, thanks to a discovery of the gene that controls how much daily starch is stored in leaves.
Congratulations to our spinoff company, Larkspur Biosciences on closing the recent $35.5 million financing round!
The #biotech company is spearheading a groundbreaking mission to revolutionize #cancer treatment, working on developing cutting-edge precision #immunotherapies that have the power to outsmart cancer by specifically targeting the devious ways tumors hijack the immune system.
Introducing Prof. Ron Naaman, from the department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science
His remarkable achievements have earned him the 2023 Chirality Medal, recognizing his groundbreaking discoveries in molecular physics and quantum state of matter that can be useful for various applications, such as chemical, light and bio-sensors, chemical patterning, and spin filtering in spintronic devices.
Delve deeper into the remarkable work of Prof. Naaman
Move over cannabis, there's a new plant in town!
Prof. Asaph Aharoni, from the Weizmann Institute of Science has collaborated with Xinteza API to uncover the potential of a South African plant called the wooly umbrella. Despite being unrelated to the cannabis plant, it produces over 40 of the same active compounds- cannabinoids.
Pesticides play a crucial role in preventing crop failure and ultimately
Pesticides play a crucial role in preventing crop failure and ultimately, preventing mass starvation, yet the traditional form of pesticides can have harmful effects on the environment as well as human health.
We are excited to share that Metabolic Insights Ltd. has joined forces with Weizmann Institute of Science's Asaph Aharoni to develop innovative, environmentally safe solutions that can protect crops without putting people or the planet at risk.
Prof. Tony Futerman
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Prof. Tony Futerman was born in London, England in 1959. He received his BSc degree in biochemistry from the University of Bath, England in 1981, and his PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1986. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Carnegie Institution in Baltimore, Maryland, Prof. Futerman joined the faculty of the Weizmann Institute in 1990. He is the incumbent of the Joseph Meyerhoff Professorial Chair of Biochemistry, and the Chair of the Steering Committee of Bina, a new unit recently established in the Weizmann Institute to help develop a path from basic to applied research.
Prof. Futerman’s research work focuses on the function and complexity of a class of lipid molecules known as sphingolipids. Accumulation of sphingolipids causes Gaucher disease, an inherited metabolic disorder that occurs at a comparatively high frequency in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Recently, Prof. Futerman has studied a surprising genetic link between Gaucher disease and Parkinson’s disease. That is, the gene responsible for the accumulation of sphingolipids in Gaucher disease is also a significant risk factor for Parkinson’s disease. Futerman is currently testing the idea that there may be common biochemical pathways that link Gaucher and Parkinson’s diseases.
Among his approximately 300 publications, Prof. Futerman has edited a book on ceramide signaling, and co-edited a book on Gaucher disease. He served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry for 10 years and has chaired two Gordon Conferences related to sphingolipid biology and to inherited lysosomal disorders. More recently, he chaired a conference on the Potential and Limitations of Evolutionary Processes, which reflects his growing interest in whether Darwinian ideas have sufficient explanatory power to account for the development of complex metabolic pathways. He has also initiated a journal, 'BioCosmos: New perspectives on the origin and evolution of life' to establish a forum to discuss novel perspectives on the origins and nature of life that go beyond the standard neo-Darwinian paradigm of biological evolution.
Mr. Steven Romick
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Mr. Romick is a Managing Partner of First Pacific Advisors, LP, a Los Angeles-based investment manager with approximately $24 billion under management in equity, fixed income, and alternative strategies.
His philanthropic involvement includes serving as a member of the International and Executive Boards of the Weizmann Institute of Science. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he currently serves as Chairman of the Finance Committee. Mr. Romick joined the Board of Cedars-Sinai in 2007.
Mr. Romick earned a BS in Education from Northwestern University and is a CFA Charterholder.
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