Innovations in Biotech: A Deep Dive with MoMA Therapeutics
Episode
30 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Productivity, Remote Work, Investing
AI-Generated Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓DNA Polymerase Theta Inhibition: MoMA's lead asset, MOMA-313, targets DNA polymerase theta to block a resistance mechanism that undermines PARP inhibitors in homologous recombination-deficient tumors. The combination approach addresses breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. Dose escalation has run approximately 14 months, with an early clinical readout expected by Q2 of next year.
- ✓Werner Helicase as a Precision Target: MOMA-341 inhibits Werner helicase, which resolves secondary DNA structures caused by expanded TA repeats in MSI-high or DMMR tumors. Current standard of care uses immunotherapy but does not target the underlying driver. MoMA's monotherapy approach, now in clinic, could be combined with immunotherapy for a compounded effect on this patient population.
- ✓NOMADIC Platform Structure: The four-component discovery platform integrates target identification via covalent and fragment screens, cryo-EM structure-function analysis that locks fast-moving protein conformations, iterative computational modeling with limited AI, and translational biomarker work to define patient selection criteria. Combining all four components in-house, rather than using isolated components, is the stated differentiator.
- ✓Biotech Funding Landscape by Stage: Early-stage venture funding remains relatively stable, with seed and Series A rounds continuing through funds from firms such as Sanofi Ventures and Vivo. The stress point is late-stage private biotechs, which carry high cash burn and limited clinical validation simultaneously. Recent public takeouts of companies including Merus, Verona, and Blueprint signal capital beginning to recycle through the system.
- ✓ESMO Conference as Near-Term Catalyst: Data disclosures on both the DNA polymerase theta and Werner helicase programs are scheduled for the upcoming ESMO conference. Investors tracking MoMA should monitor these presentations as the earliest public signal of clinical activity before the full Q2 readouts. Conference data will likely influence the company's fundraising positioning heading into 2025.
What It Covers
MoMA Therapeutics VP of Corporate Development Neil Linebury outlines the company's NOMADIC platform for targeting dynamic proteins, explains two clinical-stage oncology programs focused on DNA repair pathways, and assesses the current biotech funding environment as moving from neutral toward cautious optimism.
Key Questions Answered
- •DNA Polymerase Theta Inhibition: MoMA's lead asset, MOMA-313, targets DNA polymerase theta to block a resistance mechanism that undermines PARP inhibitors in homologous recombination-deficient tumors. The combination approach addresses breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. Dose escalation has run approximately 14 months, with an early clinical readout expected by Q2 of next year.
- •Werner Helicase as a Precision Target: MOMA-341 inhibits Werner helicase, which resolves secondary DNA structures caused by expanded TA repeats in MSI-high or DMMR tumors. Current standard of care uses immunotherapy but does not target the underlying driver. MoMA's monotherapy approach, now in clinic, could be combined with immunotherapy for a compounded effect on this patient population.
- •NOMADIC Platform Structure: The four-component discovery platform integrates target identification via covalent and fragment screens, cryo-EM structure-function analysis that locks fast-moving protein conformations, iterative computational modeling with limited AI, and translational biomarker work to define patient selection criteria. Combining all four components in-house, rather than using isolated components, is the stated differentiator.
- •Biotech Funding Landscape by Stage: Early-stage venture funding remains relatively stable, with seed and Series A rounds continuing through funds from firms such as Sanofi Ventures and Vivo. The stress point is late-stage private biotechs, which carry high cash burn and limited clinical validation simultaneously. Recent public takeouts of companies including Merus, Verona, and Blueprint signal capital beginning to recycle through the system.
- •ESMO Conference as Near-Term Catalyst: Data disclosures on both the DNA polymerase theta and Werner helicase programs are scheduled for the upcoming ESMO conference. Investors tracking MoMA should monitor these presentations as the earliest public signal of clinical activity before the full Q2 readouts. Conference data will likely influence the company's fundraising positioning heading into 2025.
Notable Moment
Linebury described late-stage private biotechs as occupying the least favorable position in the funding landscape — highest cash burn combined with lowest clinical validation — yet cited AbbVie's early acquisition of Capstan, a target-unvalidated CAR-T platform, as evidence that conviction in platform innovation can override that risk calculus.
Episode Transcript
Hi. I'm John Galliano, senior director of BioPharm Catalyst. Hello. I'm Chef, known as Chef Station, a twenty year vet in trading biotech stocks. And this is Biotech Bulls and Breakthroughs. Biopharm Catalyst is not a registered investment advisory firm, and the views on this podcast are not intended to be financial advice. Guests on this podcast may hold the stocks discussed in personal or other investment accounts. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions. If you find the information on this podcast useful and would like more catalyst information, Biopharm Catalyst is your premier resource for catalyst data for over 1,000 publicly traded biotech companies. We track clinical trial based catalysts, everything from IND filings to drug data releases for phase one, two, and three trials to regulatory decisions. Our catalyst calendars are updated as soon as the press release comes out so you can be sure you have the most timely and accurate information to inform your biotech trading. All of our plans come with a seven day free trial, and we frequently run discounts on our platform. So check out www.biopharmcatalyst.com to get started today. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, depending on where you're, listening in from or viewing in from. Welcome back to another episode of biotech bulls and breakthroughs. I'm John Galliano, senior director of Biopharm Catalyst. And today, we have the, pleasure of being joined by Neil Linebury, v VP of corporate development for Moma Therapeutics. So I know a lot of times on on our podcast, we have, you know, biotech investor, chef, talk a lot about the markets. But I'm really excited, to actually have, Neil from, you know, an actual biotech company, to give a little bit of a different perspective on on the market, on some of the the innovative things that they're doing, just to get give folks a little bit of a a different, you know, a different viewpoint, and kind of a lens more onto the science side of the equation. And also, you know, to be able to identify some some opportunities, directly from from the source of of one of the biotech companies, companies, that we represent. So, Neil, thanks so much for being on, and and welcome. Pleasure, John. Thanks for having us. Absolutely. So I guess just to to start for, you know, for everyone on the call, and everyone viewing in, Could you just give us just, you know, quick background on yourself, kinda how you got to be, part of Moment Therapeutics and, and, you know, VP of corporate development and just a little bit of, of your background? Happy to. It's a bit nonlinear, so hopefully I'll make it clear. But, I was a trained immunologist in grad school. And towards the end of that, it became pretty clear that there were many ways that I could affect, drug discovery and bringing …
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