NEWS

Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) middle school team, working in collaboration with CerFlux to advance human-relevant cancer research, won a national Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Promising STEM Innovation Award. Selected from thousands of submissions across all 50 U.S. states, the team was recognized for their innovative STEM project focused on improving how treatments are matched to tumors. The project integrated biochemistry, digital pathology, and AI to study how tumor structure influences treatment response, addressing a major driver of cancer treatment failure.

Birmingham Business Journal features CerFlux CEO-Scientist Dr. Karim Budhwani and Dr. Henna Budhwani in its “Power Couples” series, spotlighting their shared commitment to improving health outcomes and making a lasting, meaningful impact across geographies and generations. The profile weaves together their complementary strengths: Henna’s work as a professor and implementation scientist at Florida State University focused on advancing women’s health, alongside Karim’s leadership in translational cancer research and building CerFlux, a cancer-focused biotech company aimed at improving cancer treatment outcomes.

The panel will address a critical challenge in oncology drug development: despite over $90 billion invested annually in R&D, the industry continues to face a staggering 96% failure rate. Dr. Budhwani and fellow panelists - Drs. Menon, Mortko, Bortone, and Scully from Alnylam, Merck, J&J, and Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research - will explore how emerging technologies can transform the current "valley of death" into an efficient pathway for bringing promising cancer treatments to market.

BIO Alabama appoints Dr. Karim I. Budhwani, CEO-Scientist of CerFlux, as Chair, and Ms. Amendi Stephens, economic development leader with Alabama Power, as Vice Chair of its Board. Executive Committee members include Amy Sturdivant, Dr. Gregory Grossman, Jared Sharp, Steve Pelham, Dr. Kathy Nugent, and Dr. Nicholas Landau. This leadership transition comes at a pivotal time as Alabama’s life sciences sector continues to grow in economic impact and innovation.

The BBJ held its 41st annual Top 40 Under 40 event honoring emerging leaders who should be on your radar. Among those honored were Dr. Chelsea L. Crawford, Deputy Director of Research at CerFlux, Dr. Lily Gutnik, Surgical Oncologist at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Tiffany Whitlow, Chief Development Officer at Acclinate.

Congratulations to our own Dr. Chelsea Crawford and all the honorees!

CerFlux has been awarded a competitive research grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama (BCRFA) as part of the foundation’s latest statewide investment in breast cancer research. The project will use CerFlux BEST™ (Bioprinted ex vivo Slice Tissue) models to study how obesity alters the tumor microenvironment in triple-negative breast cancer and how those changes can affect therapeutic response. The work aligns with growing momentum for New Approach Methods (NAMs) that reduce reliance on animal testing while improving human relevance in preclinical research.

At BIO 2025, Dr. Karim Budhwani, CEO-scientist of CerFlux, moderated a panel of biopharma executives to discuss how companies can bridge “the valley of death” and move to a “molecule-to-medicine expressway” to improve drug discovery and development. It’s the “best panel at BIO four years in a row,” Budhwani quipped. “Do you know who our opening act was?” (Former U.S. President George W. Bush headlined the day). The panel discussed ways of optimizing $90 billion/year investment to reduce the 96% failure rate and help biopharma executives navigate the current turbulence and emerge stronger on the other side.

Developing breakthrough drugs is painstakingly slow. Questex’s summit on this theme kicked off by spotlighting how emerging technologies can improve the pipeline. Dr. Budhwani joined industry leaders from Johnson & Johnson and Bayer in the opening keynote, “Key Innovator Challenges in Bringing New Projects into the Clinic,” sharing strategies for incorporating new technologies while addressing risks and ethical implications to accelerate drug development.

The Birmingham AI Fellowship program named its first two fellows: Dr. Corinne Augelli-Szafran (Southern Research) and Dr. Karim I. Budhwani (CerFlux). This groundbreaking initiative aims to accelerate AI adoption in scientific disciplines. The fellows will undertake specialized projects using advanced AI technologies. This fellowship addresses the critical need for AI integration in deep tech fields like drug discovery and personalized oncology, furthering Birmingham AI's mission to expand AI accessibility across the community.

In discussing prominent health care trends with the BBJ, Dr. Karim Budhwani, CEO of CerFlux, emphasized that the next five years will be pivotal for AI in healthcare, bringing both challenges and opportunities. “AI is not a silver bullet that will magically drop health care costs or errors to zero, nor will it eliminate health equity challenges; costs and errors could go up while further exacerbating health equity. That said, there is much optimism in the sector about the future, with thoughtful AI implementations poised to drive better outcomes.”

At Fierce Biotech Week 2025, Dr. Karim Budhwani, CEO-Scientist of CerFlux, served as Chair of the Drug Development track and as an expert panelist on next-generation formulation and process innovation. In opening remarks, he framed the day around “Precision, Partnerships, and Purpose,” emphasizing the need to pair AI with human-relevant biological grounding. He cautioned that AI without biological truth risks becoming a "synthetic echo chamber" that is fast, elegant, and wrong. He outlined a new paradigm for "tunable" AI hallucinations - from strict regulatory precision to "AI Shroom" hypothesis generation - matched to the risk and innovation objective.

When our team speaks with biotech leaders from around the world, we’re not just representing CerFlux, we’re representing our city’s potential as a biotech destination. This goes beyond pipettes, microscopes and lab coats. The economic impact on the region could also be transformative. Innovation in biotech creates high-wage jobs, attracts investment capital and generates spinoff businesses. Birmingham has always been a city of innovation and reinvention – from steel to medicine. Biotechnology represents our next frontier – our promise for creating a healthier future while generating economic opportunities at home.

BIO Alabama Chair and CerFlux CEO-Scientist, Dr. Karim I. Budhwani, sat down with Harper Harwell of the Birmingham Business Journal to discuss how recent cuts in research funding are poised to impact biotech innovation in Alabama. In the interview, Dr. Budhwani outlines a 3-prong strategy to chart a course through this turbulence so that biotech in Alabama not only weathers these storms but comes out ahead and stronger on the other side.

In their latest PharmaFocus Asia ExpertTalk, Dr. Karim Budhwani and Dr. Matt Clark dissect the $100 billion 'valley of death' in cancer drug development. They explore how precision personalized medicine and AI can transform the staggering 96% clinical trial failure rate into a 'molecule-to-medicine expressway,' navigating between institutional inertia and overzealous hype. The conversation charts a collaborative path forward, where patient tumors guide drug development, creating a dynamic feedback loop from bench to bedside to finally #CrushCancer.

Christiaan Engstrom, CEO of Bullpen, joined Dr. Karim Budhwani, Chris Seibert, Bryan Stewart, and Mike Goodrich to host a relaxed but strategic discussion and networking event for Alabama’s biotech and life sciences community. “Birmingham can put itself on the map as a biotech and life sciences research hub” was the resounding message from the gathering, underscoring the city’s growing potential as a leader in research and innovation.