What we do
About SugarCone Biotech
About
SugarCone Biotech is a consulting firm that is uniquely focused on the diverse ways in which the immune system intersects with disease.
These intersections can be positive, as when a vaccine defeats a viral infection, or an anti-tumor response controls and eliminates cancerous cells. The immune system when dysregulated can also be dangerous, causing acute and chronic inflammation, triggering serious autoimmune diseases, and damaging tissues throughout the body. Our role at SugarCone Biotech is to remain fiercely up-to-date on the core discovery science of immunity, the translational and clinical sciences that are impacted by novel therapies, the treatment landscapes of diverse indications and the competition across diverse disease areas. The services our team of experts provide cover all these areas and range from preclinical experiment design, to specific disease evaluation, to competitive intelligence, to opportunity assessment and scouting all the way to commercial assessment, war-gaming, M&A advising, and support for financing campaigns, from Series A to S1 filing. Finally, SugarCone’s Founder and Principal can be available for AdBoard, Scientific Advisory Board and Boards of Director appointments.
About Our Founder
Paul D. Rennert
Founder & Principal
Paul is a noted research scientist and biotechnology executive with extensive strategic and leadership experience. His industry expertise spans bench to IND to clinical trials for biologics, small molecules and cellular therapeutics.
Paul’s recent accomplishments include the launch of successful new biotech companies. In 2012 he engaged with MPM Capital to launch CoStim Pharmaceuticals, one of the first private immuno-oncology companies (bought by Novartis), In 2013 he partnered with X-Chem Inc to create X-Rx Discovery, a privately held drug discovery company focused on oncology, inflammation, and fibrosis that successfully out-licensed programs in oncology and fibrosis.
In 2016 Paul co-founded Aleta Biotherapeutics, a novel CAR T cell company that has since moved rapidly from bench to clinical development. Paul recently secured non-dilutive funding from Cancer Research UK to advance Aleta’s lead program through Phase 1 and 2a clinical trials, with trials set to begin in 2023 for patients at risk of relapse from CAR T cell therapy.
Paul’s ability to work so broadly across the industry grew from his outstanding early career at Repligen and Biogen and is highlighted by multiple successful drug-development campaigns, over 50 patents filed and granted, and approximately 100 peer-reviewed publications including publications in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Annual Reviews, Immunity, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and PNAS USA. In 2015 he co-authored and edited the book “Novel Therapeutic Approaches to the Treatment of Cancer”, for Springer Nature. Paul continues to lecture and write extensively. His seminal observations on drug development, immuno-oncology and cell therapy can be found on the SugarCone Biotech blog, on slideshare.net/PaulDRennert and via his highly influential social media commentary @PDRennert on Twitter, and on YouTube.