Biocat Live (2)

Day One

Wednesday, December 11

8:00 am Registration & Morning Refreshments

8:50 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

Identifying Applications for Discovery & Engineering to Prioritize With Efficiency

9:00 am Fireside Chat: Weighing Up Benefits-Costs for Investment in Prediction Tools to Understand Potential vs Risk

Synopsis

• Evaluating prediction tool benefits to understand accelerated discovery effects

• Pin-pointing prediction tool limitations to understand overreliance risks and lack of flexibility issues

• Identifying how to mitigate associated prediction tool risks to decipher whether or not to invest

9:30 am Case Study: Optimizing Enzyme Engineering for a Cascade Reaction to Facilitate API Production

Synopsis

• Understanding how to develop enzymes accounting for substrate load and flexibility for a successful biocatalysis process

• Overcoming enzyme development challenges to obtain desired engineering outcomes

• Leveraging elements of ML to accelerate enzyme engineering

10:00 am Robust Biocatalyst Manufacturing Platform Backed by Nearly 50 Years of Experience – From Route Design to Ton-Scale Production

Synopsis

Extensive Experience and Original Enzymes: Kaneka has extensive experience in industrial enzymatic reaction processes using a wide range of original enzymes

Cost-Effective Processes: Kaneka has expertise with whole-cell biocatalysts reaction, which is one of the most cost-effective processes

Case Study of Seamless Support: Kaneka has the capacity to provide route design, enzyme screening, enzyme engineering, scale-up study and ton-scale production seamlessly

Visualizing Upstream & Downstream Processes With a New Lens to Optimize End-to-End Process Efficiencies

10:30 am Tapping into Cascade Reactions for APIs to Minimize Waste & Support Green Chemistry

  • Kaitlyn Gray Senior Principal Scientist - Process Chemistry, Leading process optimization for APIs, Pfizer

Synopsis

• Undertaking precision selection during engineering to promote enzyme compatibility with operating conditions

• Optimizing enzyme concentrations and reaction conditions to minimize the inhibition challenge

• Enabling coupled enzyme reactions to enable co-factor regeneration and streamline the cascade reaction

11:00 am Speed Networking & Morning Refreshments

Synopsis

Join our speed networking session to meet everyone in the room during a morning

refreshment period

11:45 am Futureproofing Early-Stage Scale up to Secure Optimal Synthesis Routes for Maximal End-Product Yields

Synopsis

• Making small-scale assessments to enable selectivity on a molecular scale

• Conducting small-scale synthesis planning to move forward with the most optimal biocatalysis routes

• Discovering routes for small and large scale and factoring in reproducibility and consistency

12:15 pm Optimizing Enzyme Activity, Selectivity, & Stability Through One-Shot Computational Design

  • Ravit Netzer Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Scala Biodesign

Synopsis

• Scala offers one-shot enzyme design software

• Scala’s software optimizes enzyme activity, selectivity, and stability

• Scala’s technologies have been validated by over 50 research labs and top pharma companies

12:25 pm Case-Study: Uncovering Novo Nordisk’s Approach to Revolutionizing Oligonucleotide Production Via Biocatalysis & Observing Reactogenicity – Pharma Applications

Synopsis

• Implementing process efficiency for complex modalities and considering new developments for oligonucleotides to support biocatalysis optimization

• Synthesising shorter fragments during engineering to contribute towards sustainability and productivity of biocatalysis

• Hybridizing the oligonucleotide biocatalysis approach to maintain and maximize efficiency and yield

12:55 pm Networking Lunch

Narrowing Down Enzyme Variations Using Advanced Throughput Tools to Select for Flexibility

2:00 pm Identifying Non-Traditional Enzyme Engineering Capabilities to Improve Substrate Flexibility

Synopsis

• Exploring the technicalities of enzyme design for unconventional reactions to produce small molecules

• Pin-pointing optimal design principles during engineering to streamline early-stage success

• Understanding early conceptual framing to introduce non-conventional biocatalysis design

2:30 pm Enabling Biocatalysis Through Next-Generation DNA Synthesis

  • Esteban Toro Vice President of Research & Development, Twist Bioscience

Synopsis

• Finding a good starting enzyme backbone has the potential to simplify and accelerate the workflow for biocatalysis optimization

• However, the cost of DNA synthesis can significantly limit the sequence space for enzyme backbones that can serve as a starting point in enzyme engineering

• Here, we present novel synthesis methods and screening products that have the potential to increase the breadth of “WT” starting points by up to 1000X

2:40 pm Roundtable Discussion: Identifying How to Streamline the Enzyme Discovery Process

Synopsis

  • What is the largest barrier for enzyme discovery?
  • What design principles should be prioritized in enzyme discovery vs. optimized later in enzyme engineering?
  • Are we at a point with AI/ML technology to predict a subset of sequences with an enzyme class with a high probability of success for the target transformation?

3:15 pm Afternoon Break & Poster Session

Synopsis

Take part in this opportunity to present your recent work in the field, hear feedback and gain inspiration from industry pioneers in the room

Identifying Novel & Sophisticated Engineering Efforts With Industrial Promise for Small & Large Molecule Development

4:00 pm Case Study: Utilizing Computation in Engineering With Mutexa to Navigate the Large Design Landscape & Inform Engineering

  • Yang Zhongyue Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University

Synopsis

• Leveraging automated workflows to allow computation-aided enzyme engineering to minimize time pressures and boost efficiency

• Exploring effective engineering efforts to allow enzymes to flourish at lower temperatures to decrease cost and environmental pressures

• Identifying emerging opportunities for engineering with computation to future-proof biocatalysis-informed drug development

4:30 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks & End of Conference Day One