Scaling Bio 008: Serif Biomedicines' Jake Rubens on Turning Modified DNA Into a New Class of Medicine
In this episode, Jake Rubens of Serif Biomedicines explains how the company is turning DNA into a new class of medicines by using chemically modified DNA and a protein co‑factor to overcome DNA’s historic immunogenicity and delivery challenges. He contrasts DNA therapeutics with mRNA and viral gene therapies, highlighting DNA’s potential for longer half‑life, redosability, and cell‑specific expression while remaining scalable. Rubens outlines the platform’s workflow—lipid nanoparticle delivery, nuclear entry, demodification, and transient epizomal expression—and shares early preclinical data showing safe, durable protein production in animal models. The discussion also touches on target selection criteria and future programs in liver disease and immune‑cell engineering.
Substack Live | Flagship Pioneering Announcement: Building on the Code of Life
Flagship Pioneering is hosting a Substack Live session on April 21 at 12:30 pm ET featuring origination partner Jake Rubens. The event will unveil a new initiative that leverages the "code of life" to advance synthetic‑biology‑based therapeutics. Rubens, an MIT‑trained synthetic biologist...
The Bioelectric Tech Stack
The episode frames biomanufacturing as a layer of the emerging electric tech stack, arguing that biology will become the chemical manufacturing layer that converts cheap electricity and feedstocks into high‑value molecules. It contrasts China’s systematic investment in the physical infrastructure—feedstock...