Medical & Biological Laboratories Co. Ltd.

Scientists have discovered that even among the sulfur-cycling microbes that are responsible for the 'rotten egg gas' smell in salt marsh air, diversity extends all the way to genomes and even to individual nucleotides. At the surface, salt marshes and their windswept grasses can look deceptively simple. But those marshes are teeming with biodiversity, from the insects and migrating birds in the air all the way down to the microbes that live in the soil. Scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have discovered that even among the sulfur-cycling microbes that are responsible for the "rotten egg gas" smell in salt marsh air, diversity extends all the way to genomes and even to individual nucleotides. To study the relationship between saltmarsh cordgrasses and the sulfur-cycling microbes that live in the sediments around their roots, MBL scientists analyzed DNA sequenced datasets of microbes collected from salt marsh sites in Massachusetts and Alabama. This in-depth analysis of sulfur-cycling microbial diversity in salt marshes -- from their entire genomes down to single nucleotides -- was published October 26 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. In salt marshes, the sulfur cycle is closely linked with the carbon cycle, and healthy salt marshes store a very large amount of carbon in peat and associated soil minerals. "We've known for decades how incredibly diverse microbial communities are out there in salt marshes," said MBL Senior Scientist Zoe Cardon. "Thanks to this in-depth sequencing and analysis tools, we can now take a sample of salt marsh sediment and not only do the sequencing necessary to identify what microbes are there, but also construct in computers a representation of their individual genomes." These representations are called metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs), and they can be analyzed via computer without the need to culture the individual microbes in a petri dish. That's important, since very few of the planet's microbes have been cultured. In this study alone, 29 of the 38 isolated MAGs were from bacteria that had never been cultivated. "We studied microbial communities in two ways: looking at differences at the single-nucleotide DNA sequence level -- at the literal A-T-C-G scale -- and comparing them at the pan-genome level. It was fascinating to develop this metagenomic pipeline to analyze this data," said Sherlynette Pérez Castro, co-lead author of the paper. Pérez Castro was a postdoctoral researcher in the Cardon Lab at the MBL and has since moved on to a position at the University of Georgia. Cardon described it as looking for a needle in a haystack full of needles. "But because of this relatively deep sequencing and these amazing analytical approaches, you can see things on a different level -- instead of being a pile of needles, now you can see a red needle or a blue needle," she said. There are two different main types of sulfur-cycling bacteria -- sulfate reducers, which help decompose organic matter but release a sulfide that is toxic to the plants, and sulfur oxidizers, which remove that toxic sulfide so support the productivity of the marsh plants. The microbes work together to support the health of these plants and this ecosystem. "For all organisms, there is a specificity in the way the microorganisms and the host interact. We want to understand how the plants and the sulfur-cycling bacteria work together," said Elena L. Peredo, co-lead author of the paper. Peredo is an adjunct scientist in the MBL Ecosystems Center and an assistant professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. For Peredo, one of the most exciting things was how closely related some of the microbes were to each other. "Two of the bacteria were almost identical until you got down to looking at specific metabolic pathways. Usually, in nature, when you have two organisms that are that closely related, one will outcompete the other," she said. Much the same way lions and tigers aren't found in the same ecosystem -- there aren't adequate resources to support them both. "The microbes have different combinations of genes indicating slightly different variations on the themes of sulfate reduction and sulfur oxidation, and some of that variation may underlie why so many different kinds of sulfur-cycling microbes can all make a living in salt marsh sediment," said Cardon. A Diverse Team Effort The work began as a pandemic project conducted by scientists in the MBL's Ecosystem Center and Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation had funded the group to study the symbiosis between the cordgrass and the sulfur-cycling microbes for the summer of 2020, but the pandemic shut down field work. So MBL's personnel teamed up with scientists who already had very large DNA sequencing datasets from microbes in Massachusetts and Alabama salt marsh sediments, and the project was launched. The initial data download and preliminary exploration were performed with the help of five summer students from multiple universities supported by two summer undergraduate research programs -- the Metcalf Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURF), and the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP). "What started as a pandemic-era project that could be done while scientists worked from home, evolved into an exciting exploration of diverse sulfur-cycling microbes in salt marsh," said Cardon. And in doing so, the group developed a whole new way to integrate metagenomic analyses from diverse scientific perspectives. The MBL team working on the project was almost as diverse as the microbes themselves. "A real strength of the MBL is that it's a place where all different kinds of [scientists] can work together," said Cardon. "On this paper we had people interested in the drivers of evolution, people interested in ecological function, people interested in plants -- people coming at all of this from different perspectives but with that common interest."

SAN DIEGO--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- Crown Bioscience , a global contract research organization (CRO) and JSR Life Sciences company, today announced the opening of a new site in Singapore to expand the company’s capacity to support both global and local biotech and pharma companies engaged in preclinical and translational oncology drug discovery and development. The new facility will initially offer a broad portfolio of high-demand cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) and syngeneic models, alongside supporting analytical biomarker capabilities including flow cytometry and pathology services. The Company is also collaborating with the established biomedical community in Singapore to bring not only the foundational capabilities of Crown Bioscience’s preclinical services to Singapore but also novel technologies and services. To support the growth goals for the Singapore site, and with a particular focus on the burgeoning local biotech industry, Crown Bioscience is pleased to announce it has entered into a distribution agreement with Biosys Corporation Pte Ltd., a specialized commercial partner with unique contacts within the Singaporean life sciences ecosystem. Commenting on the opening of the new laboratory, Keefe Chng, PhD, executive director, and general manager of the Singapore facility, commented; “We are extremely excited to join the local biomedical community. Our core capabilities and experience will help the booming local biotech industry advance their preclinical and translational studies, while at the same time enable Crown Bioscience to bring unique high-end technologies to our global partners.” Mr Ivan Fu, Director of Biosys Corporation, added: “We believe that Crown Bioscience’s new facility in Singapore will inject a new standard for quality and innovation in the local preclinical market. As a distributor of Crown Bioscience in Singapore, our aim is to accelerate our customers research to improve the future of cancer treatment.” The investment in Singapore reflects a broader strategy to increase Crown Bioscience’s ability to support APAC-based clients with a local presence. In 2022 the Company announced a joint venture launch with sister company MBL in Japan, alongside facility expansions and upgrades to the Company’s Chinese presence. These investments coincide with the fast-growing biotechnology sector across the region, while recognizing the importance of local understanding and language in support of the company’s client base. To mark the official site opening, a ribbon cutting event was held in February with executives from Crown Bioscience and Biosys Corporation in attendance. ### About Crown Bioscience Crown Bioscience, a JSR Life Sciences company, is a global CRO that provides preclinical and translational platforms to help our customers advance their R&D in oncology, immuno-oncology, and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Crown Bioscience is the exclusive preclinical CRO to offer tumor organoid services with the well-established Hubrecht Organoid Technology. We have developed the largest commercially available PDX collection. We focus on helping our customers develop novel therapies to maximize the chances that patients receive the right treatment at the right time. Founded in 2006, Crown Bioscience has 12 facilities across the United States, Europe, and Asia. For more information or to get in touch, please visit www.crownbio.com .

The agreement assigns rights to four biosimilar programs across a broad range of indications to Blau for commercialization. SUNNYVALE, Calif. & SÃO PAULO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--JSR Life Sciences, LLC (JSR) and Blau Farmaceutica (Blau) (public company in Brazil B3 – BLAU3) today announced that Similis Bio (“Similis”), its recently launched business unit focused on biosimilar development, has signed its first development and license agreement with Blau Farmacêutica (“Blau”). The agreement, Blau’s most recent move into the biosimilars market, is a multi-product and multi-year deal to develop products and licenses IP for four biosimilar assets targeting indications in oncology, inflammation, and blood disorders. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: “We launched Similis Bio as we saw the need to mitigate risk and accelerate timelines for biosimilar developers,” said John Gabrielson, Senior Vice President at JSR Life Sciences and Head of Similis Bio. “We are thrilled to partner with Blau as they work to launch their biosimilar business initially in North and South America. We look forward to leveraging our expertise and experience to support programs that can provide additional treatment options for some of the most debilitating diseases patients face.” Similis Bio will provide full processes and associated IP for tech transfer to Blau, including cell lines, analytical data and methodologies, and upstream/downstream processes. Blau will utilize the licensed IP for GMP manufacturing and clinical development and seek regulatory approval. Blau has exclusive worldwide rights and intent to sell in America by itself and partner with local organizations in other regions. The agreement is structured with upfront payments and long-term royalties upon commercial approval for sale. Blau and Similis expect the total value of the contract to exceed USD 100 million. The Companies are not disclosing additional financial terms. These four biosimilars have an addressable market in the world of more than USD 42 billion and, in Brazil, of close to USD 1 billion, according to IQVIA, ensuring a robust pipeline for the Company in the long term. The launch of these drugs will be a milestone in the history of Blau and Brazil, which will have a local producer developing and producing APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) and biosimilar medicines in line with the national policy of independence in the production of APIs. “This initiative will give the world population greater access to advanced medicines, raising the standard of care. Blau continues to invest at a strong pace in the development of new APIs and new highly complex drugs, in addition to expanding its production capacity, geographic presence, and relevance in the health industry,” said Roberto Morais, Executive Director in Charge of M&A and Strategic Alliances. “We are developing products for the next decade, and we will further add new products to our partnership. This strategic and disruptive agreement reinforces Blau's position in becoming a reference in the production of biosimilars in Latin America.” About Similis Bio JSR launched Similis Bio to mitigate the innate barriers to market entry for biosimilars and promote more productive development programs. Similis provides biosimilar drug developers with technology to accelerate development timelines and lower costs. By offering complete analytical and process development packages, Similis supplies companies with data to determine an appropriate biosimilar target and accelerate early program development. Data packages include reference product data, analytical procedures, process expertise, and CMC templates from a centralized model designed to give partners access to higher quality biosimilars at a lower cost than other development models. About Blau FARMACÊUTICA Blau (BLAU3) is a leading Pharmaceutical Industry in Brazil in the institutional segment and a pioneer in biotechnology, with a portfolio of private brands of highly complex medicines focused on relevant segments in the industry, such as immunology, hematology, oncology, nephrology, specialties, antibiotics, acting in several therapeutic classes. Blau has a continental presence, currently in 7 Latin American countries and the United States, and has a state of the art pharmaceutical industrial complex, consisting of five industrial plants, with cutting-edge technology, dedicated to the production of biological, oncological, antibiotics, injectable anesthetics and biotechnology. For more information visit blau.com About JSR Life Sciences, LLC A business unit of JSR Corporation, JSR Life Science LLC is changing human health as a strategic partner and pathfinder for the life sciences industry. Rooted in a history of materials innovation, JSR LS provides specialized products, materials, and services to biopharmaceutical companies and academic researchers. Together with its world-class affiliates, JSR LS offers best-in-class integrated services that de-risk molecule selection, accelerate biologic development timelines, increase clinical success rates, and develop novel in vitro diagnostics. JSR LS’s global network of affiliates includes Crown Bioscience, KBI Biopharma, Inc., Selexis SA, and MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES CO., LTD. The company operates R&D and applications labs, manufacturing facilities, and sales offices worldwide. For more information, visit JSRLifeSciences.com