EP 113: Harnessing human genetics to discover co-evolved small molecule medicines with Dr. Jason Park, CEO of Empress Therapeutics

The Genetics Podcast

In this episode of The Genetics Podcast, we welcome Dr. Jason, founder and CEO of Empress Therapeutics, a Flagship Pioneering company. Join us as we discuss how human genetics can identify small molecules with therapeutic potential that are already created by our bodies, paving the way for faster discovery of new medicines.
Summary:

0:00 Intro

1:20 Understanding parts of the genome that create and modify small molecules

5:50 The central dogma of molecular biology

8:50 Jason’s background founding biotech companies

11:45 Flagship pioneering: combining scientific discovery and engineering innovations

13:10 The foundation of Empress Therapeutics: biological insight, data, and artificial intelligence

19:30 Learning from disease states and following the thread from DNA to small molecule

22:20 Differences in genetic chemistry across people and case studies

25:30 Potential biological limitations of the small molecule approach

28:00 Using human genetics and synthetic biology to create impactful medicines

32:00 What happens in ‘stealth mode’

36:00 The limiting reactant of scaling small molecule therapies to a wider platform

38:20 The role of the metagenome

40:00 Lessons learned from founding multiple companies

42:20 Origins of the name Empress Therapeutics

43:40 Closing remarks