In Conversation with the Co-Founder of Granza Bio — From Lab Partners to Biofounders: How a Chance Collaboration Built Granza Bio
By Prathiksha Nagajaran (Marketing and Comms at iGEM Startups)
Ashwin Jainarayanan is a biofounder with a deep-rooted passion for advancing medical science through synthetic biology and immuno-oncology. Ashwin's journey of founding Granza Bio began during his PhD at the University of Oxford, when a serendipitous email mix-up connected him with Ashwin Nandakumar, who was working on another project at a nearby department.
This fortuitous encounter led to a collaborative effort on groundbreaking innovations in immuno-oncology, together with Jainarayanan’s PhD supervisor, Professor Michael L. Dustin and as such Granza Bio was founded. Ashwin's expertise lies in leveraging cutting-edge biotechnology to develop novel therapeutics, with a keen focus on the intersection of the immune system and synthetic biology.
In addition to pursuing PHD and entrepreneurship, Ashwin has been deeply involved in the iGEM community for several years—participating in the competition, mentoring iGEM teams, and leading the Academic Steering Group.
In this interview, Ashwin shares his passion for translating immuno-therapeutics, discoveries into real-world applications and the motivations behind his entrepreneurial journey.
Could you tell us about yourself and your iGEM experience?
I first participated in iGEM when I was in the 4th year of my BS-MS Programme at IISER Mohali. The year-long journey from the first day to the Giant Jamboree was full of learning opportunities and inspiring scientific minds. It sealed my interest in synthetic biology research. Over the next few years, I participated again, mentored several iGEM teams, and joined the After iGEM academic steering group.
iGEM, to me, has always been a home of innovation and creative thought.
Its focus on sustainable development and translational research, makes it an excellent starting point for any young mind interested in making a difference through science.
What inspired you to work on this solution?
I find the human body to be a chaotic yet orderly, stochastic yet organised system of immense complexity and beauty. This has always captured my interest - especially, in the context of the immune system. I first learnt about the existence of extracellular vesicles in an undergrad cell biology lecture. These vesicles are capable of carrying a variety of biomolecules from one cell to another with extreme precision even when the roadways of the body are full of traffic. I found this fascinating and started thinking about how the power of these vesicles could be harnessed as therapeutics for infections, cancer, or even for treating genetic abnormalities. This led to my PhD where I delved into this question further and met like-minded students and professors at Oxford. We together developed techniques to study these vesicles released by immune cells better.
Image credits: Granza Bio
How do you envision the future of MedTech evolving with AI? While Granza Bio hasn’t yet integrated AI, are there any specific technologies you believe will be more pivotal for your company’s growth and innovation?
Although we haven’t publicized, much of the backend development and target screening at Granza Bio heavily relies on the integration of large datasets and generative AI models. We view AI as an invaluable tool that accelerates our development processes by identifying critical patterns, thereby driving more innovative discoveries and therapeutic advancements. The progress we're witnessing now is merely the inception of this journey, with AI poised to empower every scientist, regardless of computational expertise, to effortlessly analyze and interpret complex data.
What advice would you give to other biofounders seeking funding?
Beyond the feasibility of your idea, a critical aspect of seed-stage fundraising is your ability to effectively communicate and demonstrate a deep understanding of the commercial landscape—such as regulatory environments, manufacturing processes, and clinical development strategies, particularly in therapeutics. For any bio-founder, it's essential to articulate a clear and compelling narrative, especially for a technological discovery, that is accessible to non-experts. Equally important is showcasing your knowledge of the necessary steps to translate a scientific breakthrough into the clinics.
The birth of Granza Bio exemplifies how passion, combined with the right collaborative opportunities from co-founders, can lead to groundbreaking innovations in biotechnology and create real-world impact. Granza Bio's work has recently garnered significant attention, leading to their successful $7.14 million Seed funding round. This round was led by Felicis and Refactor, along with participation from Y Combinator and notable angel investors. The investment will be used to expand their research and development efforts, enhance their precision delivery platform, and accelerate the journey of promising therapeutics from the lab to the clinic.
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