Tell us more about Alma Bio.
Alma Bio is a Weizmann Institute spin-off, developing a totally new concept for treatment of autoimmune diseases. We liken the immune system to the operating system of the body that protects and defends, but most importantly – maintains the body’s wellness 24/7. If something goes wrong, it corrects at the right place and right amount.
Like any operating system, it must be in balance and in control all the time, otherwise, the body does not function properly. Autoimmune diseases develop when the immune system errs, and control is lost. Our treatment helps the immune system to restore balance.
Alma’s scientific founder discovered the regulatory molecules that keep the immune system under strict control. Employing these regulatory molecules as a therapy, we provide the immune system with a ‘corrective signal’ just like the reset-signal of a computer. This is a totally different approach.
Autoimmune diseases are currently treated by blocking a particular element of the immune system that is overreacting. In contrast, we believe that the immune system knows exactly what to do. If it errs, we help it correct its mistake. Same as when a child falls in the playground – all that’s required is to reach out, help him stand up, and off he goes. Help him help himself.
Alma is one year from the clinic with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) as our lead indication. We believe that once we bring back the balance and resolve gut inflammation in IBD patients, we can apply our approach to other diseases, because many diseases start in the gut.
Why are you based in Lyon?
I am a strong believer in the establishment of biotech startups in a nurturing environment with a clear industry “pull”. Lyon’s excellence in immunology and microbiome research, sounded like the ideal location for Alma Bio.
BTW, I noted you are living in Basel – Lyon is quite similar to Basel, both have rivers which provided access to the silk roads to China. People in the dye business started what eventually developed into chemical companies; ultimately, both cities became homes to global biopharma companies.
That’s a fascinating piece of history, thank you for sharing. Why did you decide to found Alma Bio, Binah?
Being involved in the field for so long, particularly in the creation and nurturing of biotech companies in Israel, Europe, and the US, after a while – you develop a ‘nose’ for this, looking at projects and thinking, “that’s truly interesting”.
Several years ago, while in Israel, I helped Alma’s scientific founder establish an incubator company focusing on monitoring the immune system. A few years later, he showed me another patent he considered commercialising and inquired whether it was worthwhile. I responded with a big ‘yes’, as it looked unlike anything I had ever seen.
Professionally, it felt as if I was a babysitter taking care of other people’s kids, and now, I wanted to nurture my own baby – Alma Bio.
That was a very strong decision that took hold inside me, and that’s how we started.
Can you share some challenges you faced to date?
Firstly, the difficulty of introducing a disruptive approach. The concept of the immune system correcting itself and knowing what to do because it’s been there for zillions of years, was not a ‘textbook” approach. The understanding that autoimmune diseases develop when the system misses a cue or makes a mistake, and hence – one should help it rather than suppress it, was not “textbook” either.
The notion of treating autoimmune diseases by restoring immune balance is slowly gaining momentum. Basel-based Roche was among the first to increase awareness to the concept of balance.
My second challenge was that I had studied and worked in Israel and the US, not in France… arriving from Israel, with a tradition of biopharma startups founded or managed by women – Lyon seemed quite different, with many male entrepreneurs who knew one another from before.
It was not easy to be an outsider at the “cluster-culture level”; A company with a small team working via outsource – common practice in Israel, was also unusual. I’m enormously grateful to the biocommunity for receiving me with open arms, it took hard work and perseverance to build and maintain their trust.
How do you handle that?
I have always believed in convincing by achievements; Once you demonstrate achievements, it’s good to brainstorm with others; Boundaries tend to fall when we relate to each other as professionals and as human beings. It is all about people.
Do you think that is because you are a woman or it is because you come from abroad?
I think it is a combination of coming from abroad, but also – I have not seen many bioladies in senior positions. Admittedly, Bioaster’s CSO is a highly impressive biopharma professional. Lyon Biopole’s successful CEO is another such example. Yet, most companies I met are male dominated. I believe women are truly missing out on these opportunities – this gap will certainly be filled over time.
Why is this the case in Europe rather than in Israel?
I believe one should differentiate between two types of companies. The mid-size biotech and pharmaceutical companies have quite a few women in management positions, GSK is managed by an extraordinarily successful woman. But I’m talking more about the very early-stage startups.
Creating a startup is both challenging and demanding professionally; I am uncertain if young women are truly encouraged to select entrepreneurship as a focus of interest. It seems it has much to do with education. Also, women aren’t generally motivated by the “killer instinct”. Rather, by the need to make things happen.
We think differently from men. Our nature is to nurture, tend and push things forward. This is something that women have been doing in their personal lives, as mothers.
What are some lessons learned that you can share?
Never give up if you believe in something. Creating a startup is like running a marathon. Today it’s bad, tomorrow it may be better. You must overcome the hurdles and look at the whole story, top-down.
Believe in yourself. Entrepreneurship is not a job; it is a mission. It is all about conviction, which is not easy.
What is your view on failure?
Just get up and continue the next day.
Can you share some highlights in your journey so far?
Way back, when I was working for a VC in Israel, a senior partner asked me to visit a company in the outskirts of Tel Aviv, whose team had developed a navigation technology for toys.
Wondering how I was supposed to help a toy company, I paid them a visit. I was welcomed by an electronic engineer and an imaging guy who described their contraption. They then asked if one should apply it for brain navigation or for heart navigation.
I told them that my father was a Tuberculosis expert, and here was the deal: They would hang a plaque in memory of my father, honouring Israel’s first pulmonologist, and in return – I would help them establish the field of ‘interventional pulmonology’.
Similar to interventional cardiology, these guys created a totally new field which allowed image-guided navigation and intervention in the lungs, enabling treatment of lung cancer and other diseases, and taking biopsies. Previously done by inserting a needle from the outside into the lung, their machine made it possible to carry out the procedure using a very thin optical fiber, under CT, X-ray, or other imaging modalities.
Some months ago, while watching Grey’s Anatomy, all of a sudden, one of the doctors instructed to take a patient down to interventional bronchoscopy. I had never seen the end-product in use as it had been many years since the ‘toy guys’ developed the prototype, and the company was eventually taken over. Seeing ‘Dr. McDreamy’ using this machine on TV was absolutely fascinating, it felt as if I was seeing my kid graduate college, what a strange and gratifying sensation!
I think that was my greatest achievement.
Your creation was on Grey’s Anatomy!
My vision was on Grey’s Anatomy, that is correct. I did not create it, but it was my idea, my contribution, exactly.
It is all about the innovation, it is about how you can take something and create enormous value by thinking outside the box. And it is equally important to note that people believed in that idea. They could have said ‘no’ to my suggestions, but they said ‘yes’. That is the important thing – a team that believes in an idea and works together to make it happen.
What are your hopes for Alma Bio?
We are in a very crucial point in time for Alma. The objective of our current work is to strengthen the prospects of a VC investment toward a partnership deal with a biopharma company seeking ‘new and creative’ solutions to unmet clinical needs. Most importantly – a partner that can guide us with wisdom and experience and take us to the next level. That is my hope for Alma.
