JLABS @ Shanghai is one of 13 life science incubators around the world designed by Johnson & Johnson Innovation with the aim to help life science entrepreneurs accelerate breakthrough healthcare innovation. JLABS @ Shanghai is the first and only JLABS incubator in the region, providing a community where like-minded start-ups can grow with the support of a network of multidisciplinary experts at Johnson & Johnson. It currently houses 40 companies that aim to innovate in consumer health, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
JLABS @ 上海是强生创新全球 13 家生命科学孵化器之一,也是强生创新为帮助生命科学领域的初创企业加速开发突破性医疗创新而设计。这是亚太首家,也是唯一一家 JLABS 孵化器。在强生多学科专家关系网络的支持下,我们为志趣相投的初创企业提供成长的空间。目前, JLABS @ 上海已吸引了 40 家来自消费者健康、医疗器材和制药领域的初创公司入驻。
To hear about the benefits of being part of the JLABS community, we sat down with leaders of two of JLABS @ Shanghai’s first resident companies, Damien Keogh, CEO of Maiden Therapeutics, and Lufei Zhang, Co-founder of HYKM BioPharm.
为深入了解加入 JLABS 的好处,我们与首批入驻 JLABS @ 上海的两家企业领导人进行了对话。他们分别是 Maiden Therapeutics 的首席执行官 Damien Keogh 和华药康明生物药业( HYKM BioPharm )的联合创始人张璐绯。
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Damien Keogh, CEO of Maiden Therapeutics |
Lufei Zhang, Co-founder of HYKM BioPharm |
贵公司创业的灵感从何而来?您们希望实现什么目标?
What is the inspiration behind your company and what do you hope to achieve?
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Our technology, the Human Microbiome MedicinesTM discovery platform, uses the human milk microbiome as a source for discovery. This microbiome has been associated with disease risk reduction across several categories. To date, Asian microbiomes have been vastly underrepresented in microbiome studies [i] , so to bridge this gap, we are using milk from Asian mothers as our primary source. We have been focusing our early resources on a cancer target and now Maiden is poised to expand its target pipeline and scale the technology. The patient’s unmet medical needs really are at the heart of our drug discovery process. |
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We are an early-stage biotech company with a focus on oncolytic virus-based therapies for cancer treatment. It is an emerging form of immunotherapy that has the potential to become standard of care in oncology. Patients who do not respond well to immunotherapy tend to have ‘immunologically cold tumors’, and oncolytic viruses help turn those cold (non-responsive) tumors into hot (responsive) ones, improving the outcomes of the overall treatment. [ii] What we hope to achieve is to provide affordable and easy to use first-in-class virotherapies to cancer patients around the world, making patients’ lives bright and better again. |
How is JLABS @ Shanghai helping you achieve your goals?
JLABS @ 上海如何帮助您实现目标?
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At Maiden Therapeutics, we are lucky to already be operating in Asia Pacific and to have JLABS @ Shanghai as our launchpad to China. We acknowledge that China is a huge market with many opportunities and challenges. We believe connections, networks, and understanding the local culture are critical to success in China. Fundraising and developing strong science are the meat-and-bones of my role as a CEO, and through the mentoring from and connections at JLABS, my team and I have been able to focus on our science and accelerate the delivery of new potential solutions. |
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We are very lucky to be part of the JLABS community. Being selected as a JLABS resident company has raised our profile among potential investors, which is key to advancing our work. Access to top experts in our field is another important component of being a resident company. We have already connected with Johnson & Johnson oncology experts and are looking forward to broadening our network even further through many of the events and training sessions organized by the JLABS team. Sessions on legal, recruitment, and government subsidy policy are especially helpful to us at this stage. JLABS @ Shanghai has an excellent operations team that responds quickly to our daily needs and allows our team to be more focused on moving projects forward. |
What is the best thing about being a resident at JLABS @ Shanghai?
在您看来,成为 JLABS @ 上海一员的最大好处是什么?
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It’s all about the JLABS team! Ever since the Grand Opening of JLABS @ Shanghai, the team here has been an encouraging supporter. Sometimes, we ask very naïve questions about the local ecosystem in China, but the team is always understanding and helpful. Everyone is friendly, professional and accessible, which makes operating here smooth and effective. We can focus our energy on the tasks directly related to building our company. |
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There are indeed many great things about being a resident at JLABS @ Shanghai and honestly, I feel very pampered working here. The degree of consideration that went into the hardware, the underlying operation system and the support reflects how well JLABS understands the pain points of biotech start-ups, and this truly feels like a place where we can take off. |
What advice do you have for aspiring JLABS @ Shanghai resident companies?
对于那些希望入驻 [email protected] 上海的企业,您有什么建议?
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Apply to become a resident! It’s a perfect place to build your company and interact with other entrepreneurs. |
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Don’t hesitate to ask for any kind of help. The JLABS @ Shanghai team is responsive, helpful and resourceful. Also, get to know your fellow residents. You never know what might await around the corner. |
[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6015586/
[ii] Sivanandam, V., LaRocca, C., Chen, N., Fong, Y., & Warner, S. (2019). Oncolytic Viruses and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition: The Best of Both Worlds. Molecular Therapy - Oncolytics, 13, 93-106. doi: 10.1016/j.omto.2019.04.003