Mara Biosystems is an early-stage ASD precision medicine diagnostic and therapeutic company. The technology is based on the decade long work of Dr. Judy Van de Water, of the UC Davis Mind Institute who discovered that the cause of a subset of autism was that 15-25% % of mothers with ASD children, had maternal antibodies directed against eight infant brain proteins. These maternal antibodies can cross the placental barrier at about day 100 and damage the child's brain in utero.

Our test detects these antibodies in mothers. The initial use will be in families that have a child who has missed developmental milestones, has a positive M- Chat etc., even before definitive symptoms develop. The test can provide actionable information If the mother has MARA (Maternal Autism Related Autoantibodies) as the child is likely to be autistic and can enter earliest interventional therapy for the best outcomes.

We have performed retrospective and prospective studies with over 1000 samples analyzed. Future indications include mothers with a prior ASD child, contemplating having another child., if MARA positive can provide risk. The company will not be testing pregnant women at this time but has a potential therapeutic to eliminate such antibodies that will be discussed.

James Woody, MD, PhD, is currently the CEO of MaraBioSystems Inc, with over 25 years of pharmaceutical research & management experience. He also serves as CEO of 180LS, an anti-TNF repurposing company. In addition to his duties as a consultant to Latterell Venture Partners, Jim was Chairman of Viracta Therapeutics, a company focusing on unique therapies for virally induced cancers. He was founding CEO of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, a cancer therapeutic antibody company. He was the board member for both Forte Bio and Protein Simple and President and General Manager of Roche Bioscience where he was responsible for a wide range of bioscience R&D. Previously, Jim served as Chief Scientific Officer and Senior VP of R&D for Centocor, where he was responsible for the discovery and early clinical development of antibody and peptide-based therapeutic products. While at Centocor, Jim, along with colleagues, developed Remicade, the first of the TNF inhibitor biologics, that have benefited patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease and Psoriasis.

Prior to Centocor, Jim served as a Navy Medical Officer, and was Head of the Navy Transplant Research Program. With his colleagues and with both Navy and Congressional support, founded the National Marrow Donor Program, which has fostered over 100,000 transplants to date for patients in need of matched transplant donors. As Commanding Officer and Director, US Naval Medical Research and Development Command, he was responsible for a wide range of medical research and development activities including the surveillance, detection and therapy for all Biologic Warfare Agents and Infectious Diseases in the first Gulf War and was awarded the Marine Corps/US Navy Legion of Merit for his service.

Jim holds an MD from Loma Linda University, trained in Pediatric Immunology at Duke University and Children’s Hospital, Boston and a PhD in Immunology from the University of London. He was Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Jim has authored or co-authored over 140 publications.

🎥 This talk was part of Synchrony 2021 Online Symposium - 'From Bench to Biopharma', organised by the The BRAIN Foundation in partnership with UC Davis MIND Institute and CalTech.

🎥 For more Synchrony 2021 talks and highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDtO9h17tcWd9fk9k9NGO5hzQoRl4a2yw


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Synchrony https://synchronysymposium.com/ is the first and only international symposium on translational research in #autism, that brings together academia, #biotech, pharmaceutical companies and #venture partners from around the world with the mission to improve health and quality of life of people with #autismspectrumdisorder.

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The BRAIN Foundation https://brainfoundation.org/ is a 501c(3) non-profit. The founders of BRAIN envision a world where every child and adult on the autism spectrum is healthy, participates fully in education and employment, and has a better quality of life. It aims to catalyze research that results in evidence-based interventions for the disabilities associated with autism, and also results in better medical standard of care.

To accomplish this, it funds impactful research through #philanthropy and our network of partners in the venture, corporate, and grassroots community.