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Research & Academia
Insights from research projects, lab life, and the bridge between academia and industry.


Breakthrough in mRNA Manufacturing Platforms: Can Pfizer’s USTAT Replace Plasmid DNA?
Executive Summary Pfizer has introduced a new platform called USTAT (Unified Sequential Template Amplification and Transcription). The platform uses Rolling Circle Amplification (RCA) to establish an mRNA manufacturing process that does not rely on traditional plasmid DNA. The time from DNA template generation to mRNA production can potentially be reduced to approximately two days. RNA quality approaches that of conventional plasmid DNA-based manufacturing, although challenge

Jason Lu
5 days ago6 min read


Type 1 Diabetes Cell Therapy: How Close Are We to a Functional Cure?
Introduction: For the First Time, Treatment Is About More Than Controlling Blood Sugar For more than a century, the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) has been relatively straightforward. If the body cannot produce insulin, we replace insulin. This approach has saved millions of lives since the discovery of insulin in 1921. However, if we look deeper, one important fact becomes apparent: We have never truly addressed the underlying disease. The problem is not simply a lack of

Jason Lu
Jun 155 min read


mRNA Therapeutics 2.0: Beyond COVID Vaccines — The Next Decade of RNA Medicine
Introduction: Many People Think mRNA Has Already Succeeded — But It’s Just Getting Started Ask most people what mRNA is, and you’ll probably hear answers like: COVID-19 vaccines Moderna Pfizer The breakthrough technology of the pandemic And they wouldn’t be wrong. COVID-19 vaccines represent one of the most successful commercial applications of mRNA technology in history. However, if you ask scientists working in RNA therapeutics, gene therapy, or drug delivery, you may hear

Jason Lu
Jun 75 min read


PEG-free LNP: Can pDLS Replace PEG in Next-Generation mRNA Delivery?
Introduction: The Next Bottleneck in mRNA Therapeutics May Not Be RNA—It May Be the LNP Since the successful launch of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, mRNA technology has rapidly expanded beyond infectious diseases into areas such as cancer immunotherapy, gene editing, protein replacement therapy, and regenerative medicine. Many scientists believe the next decade will be the golden age of RNA therapeutics. However, anyone who has worked in mRNA drug development quickly realizes a fun

Jason Lu
May 316 min read


How Amino Acids Enhance LNP mRNA Delivery: A New Direction for mRNA Therapeutics
Introduction How Amino Acids Enhance LNP mRNA Delivery: A New Direction for mRNA Therapeutics Over the past few years, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have become the cornerstone of modern mRNA therapeutics. From COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to cancer immunotherapy, rare disease treatment, and gene editing, LNPs are now one of the most important delivery platforms for nucleic acid medicines. But anyone who has worked in drug delivery knows a frustrating reality: An LNP system that perfo

Jason Lu
May 96 min read


Teplizumab for Type 1 Diabetes: The First Time We Begin to Change Disease Progression
Introduction: Treatment Is No Longer Just About Controlling Blood Glucose For decades, the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) has been relatively straightforward. If the body cannot produce insulin, we replace it. This approach works. It allows patients to manage the disease and maintain quality of life. But if you look one layer deeper, a fundamental limitation becomes clear: We have never truly changed the disease itself. The problem is not just a lack of insulin.It is that

Jason Lu
May 24 min read


How Does the Immune System Start Attacking Beta Cells? From Intuition to the Type 1 Diabetes Autoimmune Mechanism
Introduction: This Is Not a Sudden Disease Most people think of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) as something that suddenly appears —one day you’re diagnosed, and from that point on, you depend on insulin. But from a biological perspective, T1D is not an abrupt event.It is a long, gradual process that can unfold over years, even decades. At the center of this process is the progressive breakdown of the Type 1 Diabetes autoimmune mechanism. The real question is not about blood glucose.It

Jason Lu
Apr 264 min read


Type 1 Diabetes: When the Immune System Starts Misidentifying Itself
Introduction: The Problem Was Never Just Blood Glucose If you’ve ever worked closely with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), one realization comes quickly: “Dysregulated blood glucose” is just the final outcome. The real issue lies deeper — a systemic failure: The immune system begins to attack the body itself. This is why, despite over a century of insulin therapy, we’ve been able to manage T1D —but never truly solve it. 1. What is Type 1 Diabetes? (Type 1 Diabetes Overview) At its core

Jason Lu
Apr 254 min read


B Cell Protein Factory: How HSPC Gene Editing Could Turn B Cells into Long-Term Therapeutic Protein Factories
Executive Summary B cell protein factory represents a new paradigm for biologics delivery Through HSPC gene editing , B cells can be engineered to continuously secrete antibodies or therapeutic proteins The system is boostable, long-term, and capable of multi-protein output This signals a shift in cell therapy—from “killing cells” to “producing proteins” Companies like Be Biopharma and Immusoft are already moving in this direction Introduction: Are We Redefining Biologics?

Jason Lu
Apr 194 min read


Digital Twin in Biotech: The Next Operating System from Bioprocess Optimization to Clinical Trials
Introduction: Are We Finally Beginning to “Understand” Biological Systems? In the past, the biotech industry rarely truly understood the systems it worked with. What we mostly did was: Run experiments Observe outcomes Adjust accordingly This approach works—but at its core, it is still trial-and-error driven science . The emergence of Digital Twin in Biotech represents a fundamental shift: We are starting to understand systems before running experiments. This is not just ab

Jason Lu
Apr 184 min read


Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC) Ultimate Guide: From Molecular Design to Clinical Development, Manufacturing, and Market Strategy
Executive Summary Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) have become one of the most important innovations in oncology and the broader biotech industry in recent years. Over the past decade, antibody drug conjugates have evolved from early-stage research tools into an integrated system spanning science, clinical development, manufacturing, and market strategy. Understanding ADCs solely from the perspective of molecular design or clinical efficacy is no longer sufficient. Antibody d

Jason Lu
Apr 123 min read


A New Perspective on mRNA Folding: Rethinking RNA Delivery Through Structure and Thermodynamics
Introduction: Are We Missing the Most Important Piece? Over the past few years, mRNA therapeutics has rapidly expanded—from vaccines to cancer immunotherapy, gene editing, and protein replacement. But if you’ve actually worked in this space, you’ve probably had this intuition: Often, it’s not that your design isn’t good enough—it’s that delivery just doesn’t work. So we optimize: Codon usage Nucleoside modifications Cap and poly(A) tail LNP formulations All of these matter. B

Jason Lu
Apr 114 min read


ADC Series (X) ADC Market & Strategy:How Antibody–Drug Conjugates Are Reshaping Biotech Competition
Executive Summary Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) have rapidly evolved from an innovative therapeutic modality into one of the most strategically important areas in the biotech industry. In recent years, the ADC market has undergone significant changes: A surge in licensing deals and M&A activity Increasing investment from large pharmaceutical companies in ADC pipelines Growing focus among biotech startups on ADC platform technologies These trends indicate that: The ADC mark

Jason Lu
Apr 53 min read


ADC Series (IX) ADC Manufacturing & CMC:How Antibody–Drug Conjugates Are Produced at Scale
Executive Summary Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) hold tremendous promise in both scientific innovation and clinical applications, but they also present significant challenges in manufacturing. Compared to traditional biologics or small-molecule drugs, ADC production involves: biologics (antibodies) highly potent small molecules (payloads) complex conjugation chemistry As a result, ADC manufacturing and CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls) often become critical bottl

Jason Lu
Mar 293 min read


In vivo CAR-T therapy: Clinical data, EsoBiotec platform, and the future of cell therapy
Introduction: The Next Step of CAR-T Is Not “Better” — It’s “Simpler” Over the past decade, CAR-T therapy has proven that we can treat cancer with engineered immune cells. But the real bottleneck is never efficiency, but rather: Too high cost The manufacturing process is too slow Patients can't wait The essence of traditional CAR-T is actually "personalized cell manufacturing". Now, a more fundamental question has arisen: What if CAR-T didn't need to be manufactured at all? T

Jason Lu
Mar 285 min read


ADC Series (VIII)ADC Clinical Development Strategy:How Antibody–Drug Conjugates Achieve Clinical Success
Executive Summary- ADC clinical development Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) have achieved major advances at the scientific and engineering levels, yet clinical success remains highly variable. Many ADCs: show strong performance in preclinical models demonstrate early responses in Phase I trials ultimately fail in Phase II or Phase III studies This indicates that the challenge is not solely molecular design, but rather: ADC clinical development strategy Successful ADC programs

Jason Lu
Mar 224 min read


In Vivo CAR-T Autoimmune Therapy: A New Frontier
In Vivo CAR-T Autoimmune Therapy: Reprogramming the Immune System In Situ Introduction CAR-T therapy has already transformed hematologic oncology. Yet its expansion into autoimmune disease has been limited by cost, manufacturing complexity, and scalability challenges. A new paradigm is emerging: in vivo CAR-T autoimmune therapy . Instead of extracting T cells, engineering them ex vivo, and reinfusing them weeks later, in vivo approaches program immune cells directly inside th

Jason Lu
Mar 215 min read


ADC Series (VII) Next-Generation ADC Platforms : How Antibody–Drug Conjugates Are Being Redesigned
Executive Summary Over the past decade, antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) have become one of the most important therapeutic platforms in oncology drug development. Several ADCs have achieved major clinical success, particularly in breast cancer, hematologic malignancies, and emerging solid tumor indications. However, early generations of ADCs were still constrained by important limitations, including: reliance on a single payload mechanism dependence on a single tumor antigen

Jason Lu
Mar 154 min read


mRNA-LNP Stability: The Engineering Challenge Behind RNA Therapeutics
Introduction Following the success of COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA technology has rapidly emerged as one of the most important platforms in modern biotechnology . By enabling human cells to temporarily produce therapeutic proteins, mRNA therapeutics are being explored across a wide range of medical applications, including: Vaccines Cancer immunotherapy Protein replacement therapies Gene editing (CRISPR delivery) However, mRNA molecules are inherently fragile. Without protection,

Jason Lu
Mar 145 min read


ADC Series (VI) ADC Combination Therapy : Why Antibody–Drug Conjugates Often Need Strategic Partnerships
Executive Summary Over the past decade, antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as one of the most promising platforms in oncology drug development. However, even clinically successful ADCs rarely maintain long-term tumor control when used as single agents. The reason is not simply insufficient drug potency. Tumors possess remarkable adaptive capacity and can gradually evade ADC-mediated cytotoxicity through mechanisms such as antigen downregulation, altered internaliza

Jason Lu
Mar 74 min read
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