Wheeler Bio Consultant Day Recap

Wheeler Bio hosted 15 biopharma consultants and partners who seek to connect innovators developing life-changing therapeutics with the right development, CMC, and manufacturing solutions.  The event was filled with open, transparent dialogue about the biggest challenges in advancing antibody-based drugs to the clinic and beyond, and how we can work together through the scientific rigors of development, choppy funding waters, and the risks of scaling to deliver safe, effective treatments to the patients waiting for them.

Building a CDMO that lasts in a rich Oklahoma biopharma ecosystem

We heard from Patrick Lucy, President and CEO of Wheeler Bio, about the depth of biopharma experience in the leadership team and what it means to the stability of the organization to be built on a foundation of “patient capital” from investors who are interested in the long-term growth of U.S.-based manufacturing capacity for biologics.  He also highlighted Oklahoma’s robust biopharma infrastructure and support resources, spanning discovery through large-scale manufacturing, that many in the industry are not aware of.  Finally, Patrick walked through the end-to-end partnerships Wheeler Bio has built to support clients from early-stage R&D through commercial drug product manufacturing.  The group heard directly from one of those partners, Alloy Therapeutics, about its antibody discovery platforms and the benefits of seamless integration with Wheeler Bio.  

High-Touch Program Planning

The business development and program management teams, led by Sheli Streck, Chief Commercial Officer, walked consultants through the importance of robust program scoping and how ModularCMC® can accommodate the data-generation deadlines and financial milestone constraints that challenge early-stage innovators.  Wheeler’s “high-touch” culture was on full display, with the team highlighting timely, transparent communication for clients of all sizes and stages.  They presented a team that is open, proactive, and accessible to consultants and clients alike throughout a partnership.  

High-Science Execution

Not surprisingly, the most engaged, lively discussion came during presentations from the development scientists led by Rajesh Beri, Chief Development Officer.  The audience saw details of Wheeler’s process development platform and walked through the high-science approach to customizing analytics programs to meet the challenges of varied molecules and modalities.  The session ended with presentations on how Wheeler Bio is integrating AI/ML predictive modeling to expedite and support data-driven decisions at critical milestones such as clone selection.  

Next up was an overview of the cGMP manufacturing capabilities and the robust quality systems and team that support those batches.  The team, led by Jay Benson, Chief Operating Officer, walked through the equipment, facilities, and impressive audit history of Wheeler’s growing cGMP capacity.  Most excitingly, the partners got a glimpse into the future as Wheeler shared plans already underway to expand cGMP batch capacity significantly.  

Relationships that Matter

We kicked off the consultant day event by cheering on the Oklahoma City Thunder from a private suite, where we got to know the consultants who talk to the clients we serve every day.  We ended the event with tours of our facilities and a happy hour and casual dinner, where we continued sharing stories about the creative ways we can solve the most common problems blocking antibodies from reaching the market.  

Join us next time!

If you’re interested in participating in our consultant day event, let us know here, and we will add you to the next invite list!