Episode #540 - Curing Cancer, One Person at a Time: The Power of Personalised Vaccines - with Prasun Chakraborty

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, we're diving into the groundbreaking world of personalised cancer treatments with Prasun Chakraborty, founder of Genevation – a biotech startup on a mission to revolutionise how we treat and potentially prevent cancer.

Unlike the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to oncology, Genevation is using advanced AI and genetic sequencing to create custom mRNA cancer vaccines for individual patients – in just 14 days. Prasun shares the inspiring story behind the business, the massive challenges of scaling deep-tech biotech, and his clear vision of a future where cancer is not just treatable, but preventable.

The conversation unfolds in three parts:

1. Genevation’s Business Model & Scaleup Journey
   From solo founder in 2022 to a lean but mighty team with key strategic partnerships, Prasun explains how Genevation is disrupting the cancer treatment space with a personalised, tech-first model that sidesteps the traditional limitations of clinical research.
2. Scaling Challenges in Biotech & Beyond
   Prasun reflects on the key hurdles facing deep-tech startups – especially the funding gap created by investors' lack of scientific understanding and the fixation on short-term ROI. He shares candid insights into how Genevation is navigating these barriers and what it will take to unlock their next phase of growth.
3. Quickfire Insights
   We round off with some powerful reflections from Prasun on leadership, mindset, and why it’s essential to stay focused on the mission, even when the money and metrics don’t align.

Key Highlights:

• Genevation’s AI algorithm cuts vaccine candidate selection time from 4 hours to 5 minutes.
• Preclinical data shows a single dose prevented tumour growth for 13 days in lung cancer models.
• The company is raising $5M to fund its IND application and unlock further investment.
• Strategic partners like Google, NVIDIA, AWS, and Illumina are backing Genevation with substantial resources.

There’s a lot in here – from AI innovation to biotech regulation, from strategic partnerships to the raw reality of raising millions in funding just to prove your concept.

“Every cancer is unique – and it’s time our treatments reflect that.”

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For now, continue listening for the full discussion with Prasun.

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Prasun can be found here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/prasun-chakraborty-5090851b6/