Turning Worms Into Medicine: Dr. Andrea Choe on Innovation, Impact, and Tech Transfer

AUTM on the Air

Could worms be the missing piece to treating allergies and autoimmune diseases? That’s the exciting idea that’s driving today’s guest, Dr. Andrea Choe, a scientist, doctor and biotech founder on a mission to change the way we think about human health.

Dr. Andrea Choe is the CEO and co-founder of Holoclara, a biotech company that’s changing how we treat allergies and autoimmune disorders. While working on her PhD at Caltech, Andrea discovered a unique pheromone language shared by roundworms which led to insights in evolutionary biology and immunology. Today her research is the foundation of Holoclara’s mission to help millions suffering from allergies and autoimmune disorders.

Today we’ll talk about how regions of the world where people live alongside worms have much lower rates of these conditions — and how Holoclara is working to tap into that evolutionary relationship in the form of safe, orally administered treatments. We’ll discuss the challenges of translating lab science into real world medicine, the regulatory hurdles of building a new class of drugs and why Andrea believes innovation should feel unconventional. And throughout it all she’s driven by one clear North Star: helping patients and families get relief.

In This Episode:

[01:52] Andrea shares how she made the roundworm discovery. Her thesis was on understanding the evolution of molecular

communication between worms. She ended up discovering the shared unique pheromone language.

[03:20] There were no allergies or autoimmune diseases before the 1900s.

[04:29] Holoclara reflects the idea of completeness. This is Andrea's driving philosophy in life.

[05:17] She believes that having a multidisciplinary approach to anything is always the best.

[06:23] We learn about some of the many challenges that Andrea and her company has gone through.

[09:43] They're trying to bring forward an entirely new class of medicine.

[13:06] We learn about Andrea's experience with tech transfer and collaboration between Caltech and industry.

[14:35] Approaching the regulatory path and listening to FDA guidance.

[17:14] We learn about the team at Holoclara from R&D to clinical development.

[18:25] The unconventional use of worms and innovation.

[20:33] The treatment possibilities are far reaching.

[21:06] Andrea shares how she's always motivated. She's really interested in figuring out how to change lives and get rid of chronic debilitating diseases.

Resources:

Holoclara

Andrea Choe - Holoclara

Andrea Choe - LinkedIn