# Bioplatforms in 2025

## [Bioplatforms](https://www.nfx.com/post/great-bioplatforms-will-always-win), enablers et al.

![It's Been a Decade of AI in the Drug Discovery Race. What's Next?](https://www.biopharmatrend.com/static/img/ai_pipelines_elipse_fullsize.293e22ae71ff.webp align="left")

So, NFX’s point on biotechs is:

* having an candidate in trials is good, BUT
    
* having a <mark>pipeline is even better.</mark>
    

**Why?**

Pipeline is an asset that can produce candidates in your area of focus (say, Alzheimer’s antibodies) or a broader one (e.g. [Iktos, Atomwise, Exscientia etc.](https://www.labiotech.eu/best-biotech/ai-drug-discovery-companies/)), omg isn’t this chart too pretty:

![First molecules discovered by next-generation | EurekAlert!](https://earimediaprodweb.azurewebsites.net/Api/v1/Multimedia/d448ae77-7027-4953-a317-1b27feeb8a8d/Rendition/low-res/Content/Public align="left")

*TLDR: teach a man to fish, he’ll be sated for a day until his bait goes old. Develop an AI-powered bait optimization pipeline, and you’ll be able to have <mark>more impact, in a shorter timeframe</mark> → be juicier for the investors.*

![Карась дуреет от этого прикорма: что за мем и откуда он взялся](https://opis-cdn.tinkoffjournal.ru/mercury/explain-this-karas-dureet-02.jpg align="left")

---

## New leanbois on the block

[GLP- ligands](https://www.webmd.com/obesity/mounjaro-ozempic-wegovy-zepbound-difference) are on the rise. Or, to be more precise - anything that can beat the current obesity epidemic:

![Epidemiology of obesity - Wikipedia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Obesity_rate_%28WHO%2C_2022%29.png align="left")

New ones: [Ozempic rivals](https://www.uktech.news/medtech/london-based-ozempic-rival-launches-with-huge-333-5m-series-a-20250109), [VRB-101/103 by Verdiva Bio](https://verdivabio.com/#Pipeline) (recently got a [$400M+ Series A investment](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/verdiva-launches-410m-series-fund-weekly-dosed-weight-loss-trials-pipeline-growth))

Once-weekly **GLP-1** pill, and [DACRA (amylin + calcitonin receptor agonist)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_amylin_and_calcitonin_receptor_agonists). I’ve already covered [GLP-1 and weight regain](https://teleogenic.com/posts/231210-mentals/index.html), time for a short DACRA micro-edu block:

![Proposed physiological actions of amylin and calcitonin receptor... |  Download Scientific Diagram](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348334209/figure/fig1/AS:11431281256640140@1719559822407/Proposed-physiological-actions-of-amylin-and-calcitonin-receptor-activation-DACRA-dual.tif align="left")

* As per [diagram](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.617400/full), amylin has effects similar to glucagon in stomach emptying, satiation signaling (enhances the satiating effect of cholecystokinin (CCK))
    
* Amylin also [upregulates leptin sensitivity](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464620303650) and energy expenditure (i.e. you eat less and get satiated faster)
    
* Calcitonin is definitely connected to insulin activity, and calcium → kidneys, bones, liver; yet mostly ‘good’ effects are attributed to salmon calcitonin:
    
    * **stimulates energy expenditure** during food restriction
        
    * **inhibits gastric emptying** and gastrin release following a meal
        
    * **reduce food intake** and body weight in rat models of obesity and diabetes (chronic use)
        
    * displays superior binding affinity (compared to human) at amylin receptors with **no discrimination between amylin and calcitonin receptors**
        
* So, going full circle: *salmon calcitonin → dual agonist with potency at amylin and calcitonin receptors → led to development of DACRAs*.
    

P.S. A note about weight regaining - [grocery spending for GLP-1 users regains, too](https://agfundernews.com/glp-1-users-grocery-spending-drops-but-then-levels-out-after-12-months-circana-data), after a year! Yet, it seems to [indirectly increase supplements and healthy food sales](https://agfundernews.com/how-are-glp-1-drugs-impacting-spending-on-food-and-dietary-supplements):

![GLP-1 drugs' impact on grocery spending Numerator data](https://agfundernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GLP-1-drugs-impact-on-grocery-spending-Numerator-data.jpg align="left")

> It also found that GLP-1 weight loss users:
> 
> * Reduced relative household spending on spicy foods, fatty proteins, and beverages with added sugar, and **increased spending on vegetables, eggs, and nuts**
>     
> * **Spent more on gum, mints, and non-chocolate candy** to provide relief from the drugs’ side effects including bad breath and dry mouth
>     
> * **Increased spending on drinkware and water filtration** versus non-users, which could be driven by hydration recommendations
>     
> * **Spent more on gastrointestinal products** for relief from side effects of the medication
>     
> * **Spent less on sleep remedies, analgesics, home health care, and foot care** products
>     
> * **Spent less on frozen foods** and more in the produce and deli departments
>     
> * **Spent more on foods & beverages at drug stores**, perhaps because they are going there regularly to pick up meds
>     

So it looks like a net positive effect, right? Right?

**A lesson to repeat:** always account for <mark>second-order effects of an intervention</mark>. E.g. if you have a look at changed spending habits - remember that 1/8 of the US have tried these, and it can/will lead to a **massive shift in sales.** E.g. I’d reckon - say, fitness subscriptions will be on the rise (seems [to be the case](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/01/business/ozempic-wegovy-equinox-life-time-gyms/index.html), especially the ‘quality’ ones).

# News

## [SQLite facts as in "interesting"](https://avi.im/blag/2024/sqlite-facts/)

SQLite is rad:

* over <mark>one trillion SQLite</mark> databases in active use, despite being a team of three
    
* ![](https://avi.im/blag/images/2024/sqlite-fact-1.png align="left")
    
    The author, D. Richard Hipp, was writing software for a navy destroyer - and couldn’t let a server going offline to make the ship paralyzed; so he decided to write a local DB himself, during several months of hiring hiatus
    
* There are over **600 lines of test code for every line of code** in SQLite.
    
* In place of a legal notice, here is a [blessing:](https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/blob/624cb96/src/wal.c#L4,#L9)
    
    ![](https://avi.im/blag/images/2024/sqlite-fact-11.jpeg align="left")
    
* For small amounts of data, SQLite is <mark>up to 35% faster than host’s native filesystem</mark> 🤡
    
    ![](https://avi.im/blag/images/2024/sqlite-fact-7.png align="left")
    

## [A](https://github.com/sqlite/sqlite/blob/624cb96/src/wal.c#L4,#L9)[I Agents? Maybe dead internet much?](https://sherwood.news/tech/metas-fake-ai-users-are-here-and-theyre-giving-everybody-the-creeps/)

Fake life is getting a whole new spin:

![Photo of fake Instagram user @himamaliv](https://sherwoodnews.imgix.net/Screenshot%202025-01-03%20at%2011.02.06%E2%80%AFAM.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&cs=srgb&fit=max&w=3840 align="left")

TBH, I’m not prepared for that at all. The other use cases, e.g. an [autonomous agent DAO](https://thedaio.xyz/) - look a lot less creepy → they are interacting with the world, not creating deadweight content to be read by no one (except other agents).

Some of non-Meta ones are already popular: [Aitana Lopez](https://www.instagram.com/fit_aitana/) is at 340k+ followers.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1737298246569/0bb72290-48f2-417b-ae77-fca753f9d7b7.png align="center")

PS. O-kay, Meta’s been busy again - [deleting](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/03/meta-ai-powered-instagram-facebook-profiles) [the profiles](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/03/business/meta-ai-accounts-instagram-facebook/index.html).

![Fun!](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/grandpa-brian2.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill align="left")

---

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