E998: The Next Unicorns: Benchling CEO & Co-founder Sajith Wickramasekara is increasing efficiency for scientists with a cloud-based platform, gives insights on recent life-science innovations, ethics of gene therapy & defining the line between quackery & brilliance – E10 of 10-ep miniseries

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode centers on Benchling, a software platform for biotech research, and the broader shift from chemistry to biology in medicine, food, and materials. Founder Sajith Wickramasekara explains how life sciences still rely on paper, email, and Excel, and why better software can accelerate breakthroughs like gene therapy, immunotherapy, lab-grown meat, and new biomaterials while raising ethical questions around CRISPR and embryo editing.

Main Topics: Benchling’s mission and product (Priority: 5/5): Sajith explains that Benchling builds unified software to help biotech researchers design experiments, document work, track materials, and collaborate more efficiently than with paper, email, and spreadsheets. Why biotech needed modern software (Priority: 5/5): The conversation contrasts the collaborative, continuously improving world of software with the fragmented and slow workflows of life sciences, arguing that research complexity has outgrown legacy tools. The shift from chemistry to biology in medicine (Priority: 5/5): The guest describes the industry moving from small-molecule drugs to biologics, gene therapies, and cell-based treatments that use living systems to solve harder diseases. CRISPR, embryo editing, and ethics (Priority: 5/5): Jason and Sajith debate the moral and regulatory boundaries of gene editing, referencing the first reported genetically edited babies and the likelihood that therapeutic gene editing will advance faster than embryo editing. Genetically modified food and lab-grown meat (Priority: 4/5): They discuss GMO crops, plant-based and cultured meat, and the possibility that biology-driven food innovation can improve nutrition, supply, and sustainability. Materials science and biologically produced materials (Priority: 3/5): Examples like spider silk from yeast and mushroom leather show how biology is being used to create new materials with properties that traditional manufacturing struggles to match. Biotech economics, funding, and regulation (Priority: 4/5): The discussion covers the high cost of drug development, the role of the FDA, government support for basic research, and the tension between innovation, pricing, and public trust.

Key Arguments: Biotechnology research is still too dependent on paper notebooks, email, and Excel, so specialized software can materially speed discovery and improve collaboration. Software companies iterate and improve tools constantly; life science teams need the same kind of productivity gains to match the rising complexity of research. The most important medical shift is from chemistry-based small molecules to biology-based large molecules, gene therapies, and cell therapies. Immunotherapy is now a real, promising treatment class, especially for certain cancers, because it leverages the patient’s own immune system. CRISPR embryo editing is ethically premature, but gene therapy for existing patients is already delivering measurable benefits for rare diseases. Genetically modified foods are not inherently bad; humans have been selecting and modifying crops for thousands of years, and modern techniques can improve nutrition, yields, and sustainability. The government should continue funding basic research, while companies handle the long, expensive process of turning discoveries into approved therapies. Science can look like quackery before it becomes accepted; immunotherapy was once fringe but is now mainstream. Biology-enabled materials and food innovations could become major platforms for future products beyond medicine.

Data Points: Benchling founding year: 2012 - Sajith says the company was started in 2012. Funding raised: $61 million - The founder says Benchling has raised $61 million across several rounds. Series C timing: July - He notes the company completed its Series C in July. Team size: about 150 employees - Sajith says Benchling has grown to around 150 team members. Academic product pricing: free - Benchling is free for academic institutes and PhD students. Commercial pricing floor: $1,000 per scientist per year - He says enterprise pricing starts around this level. Large-company contract size: seven figures per year - He notes big pharma customers can pay Benchling seven figures annually. Drug development cost: $3–4 billion per drug - Sajith cites the cost including failures to bring one drug to market. New hire cadence on LinkedIn: every 8 seconds - A LinkedIn ad read cites this statistic. LinkedIn users: over 600 million - The ad read says over 600 million people visit LinkedIn. AWS credits from Embroker: $5,000 - The sponsor offer includes AWS credits for new customers. Discount code: 10% off with TWIST10 - Embroker offer mentioned during the ad read. First approved human cell therapy: 2 years ago - Sajith says the first approved medicine in humans for these cell therapies was two years prior. Genetically edited babies reported: 2 - The conversation references the Lulu and Nana case as the first two reported genetically edited babies. Timeline for broader gene-edited baby acceptance: under 20 years - Sajith predicts the exact scenario could happen in under 20 years, though not imminently. Alzheimer’s outlook: under 20 years - He says slowing or managing progression may be possible within 20 years. Immune-related gene therapy outlook: under 20 years - He places several gene-therapy applications on a sub-20-year timeline.

Pivotal Quotes: "We make software that makes biotechnology research faster and more collaborative." — Sajith Wickramasekara: Core explanation of Benchling’s business. "So, the big shift that's happening is from chemistry to biology." — Sajith Wickramasekara: Summarizing the broader transformation in medicine and biotech. "For certain types of diseases, we're able to deliver medicines that can correct a genetic defect." — Sajith Wickramasekara: Discussing gene therapy and its near-term medical promise.

Implications: Biotech is becoming more software-driven, faster, and more personalized. Expect major growth in gene therapy, immunotherapy, engineered food, and biologically made materials, alongside sharper debates over ethics, regulation, and who gets to decide how far human biology should be edited.