Launched in 2017, biotech startup Lindy Biosciences is making strides to break into big pharma through innovative drug formulation technology and delivery. We sat down with Founder and CEO Deborah Bitterfield and VP of Corporate Strategic Partnerships Neil Jones to learn more about Microglassification™, the core technology that has scored the RTP-based bioscience company $1.6M in Series A funding this year.
Imagine having to compromise your quality of life because of a diagnosis. This is the reality for many patients living with debilitating chronic diseases. These patients spend hours making routine visits to their healthcare provider for treatments that are offered in one way – through IV infusions.
For many debilitating diseases, the standard of care is medication given intravenously, because the dosage of these biologic drugs is so high that it cannot fit into a single syringe. And because of the many layers of risk in IV therapies, treatments often must be administered under the supervision of doctors and nurses.
Headquartered at the Frontier RTP 400 building, Lindy Biosciences is developing technology licensed from Duke University that breaks free from the crutches of clinic-only treatments, opening up new doors to patients and the pharmaceutical industry.
“Comfort, compliance, and convenience,” Neil reiterates. These are the moving parts that have driven the RTP-based startup to developing their core technology: Microglassification™.
Formulated here in Research Triangle Park, the novel technology condenses and dries down solutions of biologics into tiny particles of a dry powder, allowing for higher dosages, enhanced stability, and most importantly, high-concentration suspensions that can be delivered in a single subcutaneous injection. With Microglassification™, patients can treat themselves in seconds at the comfort of their homes versus spending hours at a clinic.
Providing an alternative by using high-dose suspensions suitable for injections empowers patients, decreases administration costs, increases patient comfort and compliance, and enables high-dose solutions to reach the market. This is especially important for patients with limited mobility and access to transportation, especially those in rural areas, Deborah notes.
Microglassifcation™’s patient-centric approach is poised to make a dent in the biotherapeutics market, and the players are all-in. Lindy Biosciences was bootstrapped three years ago when it first launched, receiving a $200,000 Small Business Research Loan from North Carolina Biotech Center, which Deborah notes was a springboard to the startup’s early successes.
But it didn’t stop there. Lindy Biosciences recently raised $1.6 million in Series A funding early 2019, and now has six full-time employees. What’s more, the company continues to leverage connections, resources, and talent right where they started: RTP.
“We have a strong relationship with the universities,” Neil explains. The Park’s neighboring universities, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, North Carolina Central University, and Duke University, and the North Carolina Biotech Center continue to fuel Lindy Biosciences with talent through its internship program, bringing in bright students ranging from post-docs, undergraduates, and even high school students. “That is what this area is all about: workforce development and opportunity … for all. We’re big on that,” Neil adds.
From consultants to advisors, access to expertise in RTP has been tremendous for the acceleration of company . “I feel really fortunate that we have an excellent team. Being able to tap into the experience of others is probably easier to do here than elsewhere,” Deborah says.
So what’s next for Lindy Biosciences? Moving forward with its current collaborations. “We have a large pipeline of collaborations with five of the top ten (in big pharma),” Neil says. The Lindy team is currently working with manufacturing partners with GMP materials needed for clinical trials, and awaits for the first of many licensing deals.
