{"podcast":{"title":"Touching Base","slug":"touching-base-6714887","podcast_index_feed_id":6714887,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/65736d39d32e730012c98919","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/65736d39d32e730012c98919","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/cover/1702062363830-62d389f5db6a973569dc75512134cd32.jpeg","author":"Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN)","episode_count":55,"summary":"Touching Base is the dynamic podcast series from the editors of GEN ( Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News ). Each episode features a rotating cast of senior editors including John Sterling, Kevin Davies, Julianna LeMieux, Alex Philippidis, Uduak Thomas, Corinna Singleman and Fay Lin who delve into emerging stories, exchange ideas, and debate the latest trends in biotech. Additionally, they talk to some of the leading voices in the industry about what's now and next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T02:20:08.667530+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/touching-base-6714887"},"episode":{"title":"Historic Biotech IPO, Merck, Protillion’s AI Deal, Testing a Lassa–Rabies Vaccine","slug":"historic-biotech-ipo-merck-protillion-s-ai-deal-testing-a-lassa-rabies-vaccine","published_at":"2026-06-18T17:14:57+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/touching-base-6714887/historic-biotech-ipo-merck-protillion-s-ai-deal-testing-a-lassa-rabies-vaccine","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/touching-base-6714887","url":"https://shows.acast.com/touching-base/episodes/historic-biotech-ipo-merck-protillions-ai-deal-testing-a-las","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/65736d39d32e730012c98919/e/6a34279ff1612f1c695286eb/media.mp3","summary":"We are still talking about big pharma deals and biotech fundraising in this episode. The big news this week was Parabilis Medicines’s history-making IPO. We dive into the drug developer’s plans for the eye-popping $770.5 million that it raised. Next, we discuss the details of a collaboration between Merck and Protillion Biosciences to use artificial intelligence to discover multiple therapeutic candidates. Turning to some newly published research, we discuss the early results of a first-in-human clinical trial that is testing a dual vaccine against Lassa fever and rabies, a CRISPR system engineered to selectively trigger cancer cell death by chromatin shredding, and a novel mRNA delivery platform for delivering gene therapies starting with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.   Join GEN editors Corinna Singleman, PhD, Alex Philippidis, Uduak Thomas, and Fay Lin, PhD, for a discussion of the latest biotech and biopharma news.      Listed below are links to the GEN stories referenced in this episode of Touching Base :    StockWatch: Parabilis Medicines Makes Wall Street History with $770.5M IPO By Alex Philippidis, GEN Edge , June 14, 2026 Merck, Protillion Launch AI Drug Discovery Collaboration with Up-to-$510M in Milestone Payments By Alex Philippidis, GEN Edge , June 16, 2026 First-in-Human Trial Reports Promising Dual Lassa–Rabies Vaccine Data GEN , June 9, 2026 CRISPR Shreds Undruggable Cancer Cells with Precision By Fay Lin, PhD, GEN Edge , June 8, 2026 New mRNA Delivery Platform Restores Muscle Function in DMD Models GEN , June 11, 2026 Touching Base Podcast   Hosted by Corinna Singleman, PhD    Behind the Breakthroughs   Hosted by Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"We are still talking about big pharma deals and biotech fundraising in this episode. The big news this week was Parabilis Medicines’s history-making IPO.…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2082,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/touching-base-6714887/episodes/historic-biotech-ipo-merck-protillion-s-ai-deal-testing-a-lassa-rabies-vaccine/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/touching-base-6714887/historic-biotech-ipo-merck-protillion-s-ai-deal-testing-a-lassa-rabies-vaccine.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}