Refeyn has established a new Scientific Advisory Board, chaired by Justin Benesch, Professor of Biophysical Chemistry, Oxford University and co-founder of Refeyn. To recognize and help realize the full potential of mass photometry’s unique bioanalytical workflow capabilities, the new board includes external scientific experts in pharmaceutical and biologics discovery, process development and manufacture.
The transformative capabilities and applications of mass photometry are evident in the rapid adoption of this novel light-based bioanalytical technology. Launched just six years ago, mass photometry has now been cited in more than 500 scientific papers and is used in hundreds of labs around the world. The new Scientific Advisory Board will convene regularly to explore and evaluate the transformative potential of mass photometry in critical customer workflows. This panel of experts will provide strategic guidance on the most impactful applications of this cutting-edge technology, ensuring that Refeyn solutions continue to meet and exceed the evolving needs of customers.
Alongside Refeyn’s academic founders from Oxford University, Professors Justin Benesch and Philipp Kukura, the external members to the Scientific Advisory Board bring a significant breadth of understanding in key mass photometry applications:
Louise Duffy, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and Chief Quality Officer, Abzena, a CDMO focusing on antibody-drug conjugates and complex-to-manufacture biologics
Daniel Galbraith, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Solvias, a CRO/CDMO with a focus on cell & gene therapy products and biologics
Volker Germaschewski, Ph. D., Senior Director Therapeutic Platforms, LifeArc, with a background in antibody-based formats of biologics, various vaccine technologies and nucleic acid-based therapeutics
Del Trezise, Ph.D., a life science tools and applications consultant, and Technology Scout at Sartorius AG
“The potential for mass photometry in life science is enormous. As it measures mass at the single molecule level in a matter of minutes while maintaining a native environment, it can provide unique insights into the composition and function of even complex samples and molecular mechanisms,” said Professor Benesch, Oxford University. “The Scientific Advisory Board is helping to define some of the questions we can answer using this revolutionary technique, and to understand those that are of particular importance in meeting biotech industry needs.”
“The Scientific Advisory Board is supporting us by focusing in on the key applications where the integration of mass photometry as a highly efficient bioanalytical tool can make a fundamental difference in life science workflows,” added Gerry Mackay, Refeyn’s CEO. “There is potential not only in biologics research and discovery, but also within the bioprocessing space. The board is also assisting us in evaluating longer-term prospects for innovation and the further development of mass photometry and other ground-breaking technologies.”
Also supporting Refeyn in its aim to put molecular mass measurement capabilities within easy reach for scientists is a wider community of domain experts and Key Opinion Leaders. This broader pool of scientific advisors provides valuable input in many areas where Refeyn’s unique products are making a difference, including: Biomolecular analytics such as antibody characterization, protein-protein interactions and membrane protein analytics, as well as vector analytics.
Refeyn’s Scientific Advisory Board
Justin Benesch is Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at the University of Oxford, where his research group focusses on developing and applying quantitative mass measurement approaches for structural biology and biophysics. Justin is a co-founder of Refeyn, and assists in scientific strategy by convening and chairing the SAB.
Louise Duffy is the Chief Technical Officer and Chief Quality Officer for Abzena, a CDMO/CRO with a focus on ADCs and complex-to-manufacture biologics. Louise has >30 years’ experience in the pharma and biotech industries (including J&J/Janssen and GSK), with a strong background in analytics, novel technologies across therapeutic modalities, and regulatory aspects.
Daniel (Danny) Galbraith is the Chief Scientific Officer of Solvias, an analytical testing (in-process and in-manufacturing) company with major focus on cell and gene therapy products and biologics. He has a background in virology and, previous to Solvias, worked for Merck Life Sciences leading product characterization and technology teams.
Volker Germaschewski has a molecular biology and protein science background, with most of his work being in antibody-based formats of biologics, but also has worked in vaccine technologies, as well as nucleic acid-based therapeutics. Having worked in both big pharma and biotechs, he is currently Senior Director of Therapeutic Platforms at LifeArc.
Philipp Kukura is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, where his research group focusses on the further development of novel optical approaches for detecting biomolecules based on mass photometry detection. Philipp is the principal academic founder of Refeyn and sits on its board of directors.
Del Trezise is vice chair of the SAB and brings a breadth of expertise across tools for the life sciences in his roles as technology scout for Sartorius, and Non Executive Director at Semarion, Axol Bioscience and ELRIG. Starting in pharma drug discovery, he has been developing workflows for cell and protein bioanalytics for >30 years. He co-founded and led the scientific team of Essen Bioscience (Incucyte), who were subsequently acquired by Sartorius.