Unlocking Cancer Priming Therapies
A lab tour and conversation with Transon Nguyen of Eigen Therapeutics
“Stage your automation. Only automate what you really need to, and wait until you really need it.”
I love this insight from Transon Nguyen, CEO of Eigen Therapeutics, a Bay Area biotech startup leveraging lab automation and AI to accelerate the development of cancer priming therapies.
One thing that struck me about Transon’s lab is how it was designed to be easily reconfigured to adapt to new research needs. Accomplished in part through putting wheels on carts, and creating islands for manual-work, walk-up instruments, and full automation.
In my lab tour and conversation with Transon (and guest co-host Jimmy Sastra of Monomer Bio!), we explored:
How Eigen Therapeutics designed their lab for speed and flexibility
Eigen’s custom-built LIMS and automated workflow
Why priming is crucial for antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and radioligand cancer therapies
Why empathy is so critical to their company culture
The value of emerging AI foundation models
Watch or Listen Now
If you’re curious about how cutting-edge biotech startups are really using AI and lab automation, and what it takes to design for speed, check out the full episode:
Also available on:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/42Uvv5J
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/40sQCu9
Additional Show Notes
Episode Links:
Eigen Therapeutics https://www.eigentx.com/
Transon Nguyen's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/transonn/
Monomer Bio https://www.monomerbio.com/
Jimmy Sastra's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-sastra-phd-11a0521/
Radioligand Therapy https://www.novartis.com/research-and-development/technology-platforms/radioligand-therapy
Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody%E2%80%93drug_conjugate
Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_information_management_system
Episode Chapters:
00:36 - Introducing My Guest Co-Host - Jimmy Sastra of Monomer Bio
11:24 - Introducing Transon Nguyen, CEO of Eigen Therapeutics
12:54 - Transon's Path Into Biomedical Engineering
15:45 - Science In Industry vs Academia - Importance of Culture
18:27 - Co-Founding Eigen Tx - A Confluence of Factors
24:27 - How to Find New Ideas
25:15 - Cost of ADCs and Radioligand Therapies
27:00 - Testing The Effectiveness of Priming Therapies
31:23 - How Patients Take Priming Therapies
33:19 - Importance of Empathy In Multidisciplinary Teams
37:54 - Lab Tour - Intro, Flexible Design
39:33 - Different "Homes" / Areas of The Lab
43:32 - Custom Built LIMS
48:54 - Robot Test Suite Demo
51:41 - A Look At Custom-Built LIMS
55:56 - Favorite Instruments
57:44 - Business of BioTech - Making The Numbers Work
59:09 - Don't Over-Automate
1:01:13 - Keeping The Lab Clean
1:03:01 - Moving Beyond Just Solving Problems
1:05:05 - Reframing Personal Identity and Seeing the Whole System
1:08:31 - Relevance of AI Foundation Models, Virtual Cells to Eigen's Mission
1:12:50 - Contact Transon to Learn More About Priming Therapies