Earlier this week, I had the chance to speak at Mission Bay Capital (MBC) BioLabs’ Founders at Work series, and I left even more energized about the future we’re building at Siren! 

For those unfamiliar, MBC BioLabs is one of the most influential launchpads in biotech. They’ve helped launch over 350 companies, including cutting-edge therapies for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Their residents have initiated 176 clinical trials, brought 70+ products to market, and raised more than $20 billion in funding. It’s not an exaggeration to say that some of the most important breakthroughs in modern medicine began at MBC.

Being invited to speak there wasn’t just an honor, it was a moment to reflect on how Siren is stepping into that legacy. I shared how we’re developing SRN-101, our lead gene therapy for aggressive brain cancer, and how this platform could one day treat many kinds of cancer.

Here’s what I covered:

🧬 Our founding story

How a next-gen AAV platform in my UCSF lab led to the launch of Siren and why we chose brain cancer, one of the deadliest and most overlooked diseases, as our starting point.

📁 Siren’s pre-IND meeting with the FDA 

We talked through what it’s like to pioneer a new class of cancer therapies during a time of historic change at the FDA (a new Director, a 25% workforce reduction – and still, we push forward!).

🧠 The case for SRN-101 

We’re developing a new kind of cancer treatment that doesn’t just target one disease. SRN-101 is designed to work across many types of cancer, starting with brain cancer – one of the hardest to treat. 

🔥 What makes our approach different 

Instead of just attacking tumors from the outside, our therapy helps the immune system recognize and fight cancer from the inside. We use a safe virus to deliver cancer-fighting signals exactly where they’re needed – right inside the tumor.

💸 Why we’re raising from the crowd

I spoke candidly about our community round, why we opened it, and the power of retail investors.

At Siren, we’re leading a powerful movement to change the future of cancer care as we know it – and that movement includes all of you. This is what it means to build in public. To let people in. To give everyone a chance to own a piece of what’s coming next.

If you’ve already invested, thank you. If you’re still considering investing, now’s a great time to join us before we open the round to the wider public. 

Invest now: wefunder.com/sirenbiotechnology

We’re building something bold and we’d love to have you on this journey.

With gratitude,

Dr. Nicole K. Paulk, PhD

CEO, Founder, and President