Superbugs, startups, and the future of innovation

BIO urges legislation to counter superbugs

We “desperately need innovative drugs to defend against superbugs,” and that requires “policy changes that fix the broken market for antimicrobials,” writes Emily Wheeler, BIO’s VP of Infectious Disease Policy, in Medical Economics.

Why it matters: “Antibiotic resistance alone plays a role in over 165,000 U.S. deaths annually,” Wheeler writes. "Unless scientists develop new effective treatments, superbugs will contribute to 170 million deaths worldwide” by 2050.

The challenge: Antimicrobials must be used sparingly. “Low usage, though, means low sales for antimicrobial developers under the standard volume-based sales structure for medicines,” she explains.

The impact: Though several firms producing new antibiotics received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval over the last decade, “nearly every one of those firms has filed for bankruptcy, been acquired at fire sale prices, or shut down operations entirely.”

“Fortunately, there's a solution. Under the bipartisan PASTEUR Act, the federal government would adopt a subscription-style model, where it would enter into contracts with biotech companies that successfully develop novel antimicrobials in exchange for using their treatments. Federal health care programs could then use as much, or as little, of the drugs as they need,” Wheeler writes.

Read the article here.

BIO 2025 Start-Up Stadium winners aim at elusive targets

Small innovative biotechs zeroing in on elusive targets that cause disease were among the winners of the Start-Up Stadium competition at the BIO International Convention in Boston.

Why it matters: Start-Up Stadium contestants spoke directly to investors about their potentially game-changing innovations. The winners receive business development support.

Tezcat Biosciences, the winner in the emerging start-up category, targets the rat sarcoma (RAS) mutation. RAS is the most common kind of oncogene, a gene that causes cancer when mutated, but it’s difficult to treat because it lacks binding pockets for drugs.

‘Trojan horse’: Instead of trying to inhibit RAS directly, Tezcat’s technology targets the bulk nutrient-scavenging process these cancer cells rely on for survival. Tezcat delivers a therapeutic payload by “turning the cancer’s own feeding mechanism into a Trojan horse,” they explained to Bio.News.

Riboway Therapeutics, the seed-stage winner, used AI to understand how a developing RNA molecule is shaped by proteins that bind with it. Riboway “found countless opportunities to modulate RNA regulation in ways that change the fate of the RNA molecule itself.”

Drugging the undruggable: Riboway’s discovery allows them to treat targets previously considered undruggable. They are exploring its use against a rare neurodegenerative disorder and several other diseases, they told Bio.News.

What Else to Read

“If we want to bring down costs for our medicines, we want to incentivize more small molecule drug discovery,” said BIO Board member Julia Owens at an American Enterprise Institute panel on how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) deters investment. Owens, who also serves on the boards of several biotech firms, criticized the IRA’s “pill penalty,” which disincentivizes investment in small molecule drugs: “Investment in small molecules is dropping substantially because the return on investment doesn’t work for investors.” 

BIO and CSBA members call for renewal of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Iowa Biotechnology Association Executive Director Jessica Hyland writes in the Des Moines Register: “From cancer diagnostics to precision agriculture, SBIR-funded startups are pushing the frontiers of science—and fueling job growth along the way. The program itself is almost entirely uncontroversial, and commands widespread bipartisan support. Yet it's set to expire by Sept. 30—unless Congress renews it before then,” she explains. In Washington last week, the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) and BIO met with the U.S. Small Business Administration to discuss the need to reauthorize SBIR and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program before the Sept. 30 deadline. (See Beltway below).

BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley on biotech’s growth potential, the importance of resilience. As the keynote speaker at the 2025 Georgia Life Sciences Summit on Aug. 26, he discussed these topics in a fireside chat with Georgia Life Sciences CEO, Maria Thacker Goethe, and in a podcast interview. Next, he’ll join several panels at BioNTX’s iC3 Summit on Sept. 16 in Dallas. Read more here.

BioNTX has named BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley the 2025 recipient of the Dennis K. Stone Award. The highest recognition bestowed by BioNTX in North Texas, the award is presented annually to an individual whose career embodies scientific excellence, visionary leadership, and a profound commitment to advancing human health. Crowley will be formally honored during the 2025 iC³® Life Science & Healthcare Innovation Summit, taking place Sept. 16–17 in Dallas. Read more here.

Beltway Report

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questions about moves that critics say have reduced confidence in vaccines, controversial recommendations on vaccines, and the recent firing of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Susan Monarez, during a Sept. 4 Senate Finance Committee hearing. Senators from both parties expressed concerns about the direction of vaccine policy.

On a busy Sept. 9: The House Small Business Committee will hold a mark-up of H.R. 5100, a one-year extension of SBIR/STTR programs. The House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill. The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing entitled “How the Corruption of Science has Impacted Public Perception and Policies Regarding Vaccines.” The House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services has planned a hearing, “Better Meals, Fewer Pills: Making Our Children Healthy Again,” with testimony from HHS and Department of Agriculture officials.