News and Trends 17 May 2022 US Giant Apollo Bags Billion-Euro Partnership with Sofinnova As biotech investment slows following a record-breaking year, the Paris-based Sofinnova Partners has landed a €1B collaboration deal with the US investment heavyweight Apollo to nurture life sciences companies. Cementing the trend for transatlantic deals between biotech investors, the US asset manager Apollo has entered into a billion-Euro partnership with the European venture capitalist (VC) […] May 17, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 May 2022 Melt&Marble Gains €5M to Brew Fat Alternatives Using Engineered Yeast Tapping into the increasingly sophisticated market for meat alternatives, the Swedish synthetic biology startup Melt&Marble has raised €5M in seed financing to fund the development of a fermented fat ingredient that mimics the complex properties of beef fat. Companies are racing to enhance the flavor, melt, and mouthfeel of meat alternative products such as plant-based […] May 6, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Apr 2022 WHO Beefs up Worldwide Genomic Surveillance to Prevent Pandemics The World Health Organization has released a 10-year plan to monitor the genetic make-up of pathogens across the globe. The strategy highlights how far genomics has come during the Covid-19 pandemic and how far there is to go. The past two years have seen unprecedented global collaboration as researchers raced to better understand the epidemiology, […] April 5, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Mar 2022 Precision Medicine Startups Increase Focus on Data Access and Privacy Low-cost genetic sequencing is becoming increasingly accessible and profitable for companies, but data protection and ownership remains a key issue for many individuals. Sano Genetics is one of many firms driving precision medicine by creating a more mutually beneficial relationship between patients and pharma companies. The falling costs of DNA sequencing are leading to serious […] March 31, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Mar 2022 Biotechs Carve out Niches in Cystic Fibrosis Treatment Space Cystic fibrosis has proved resistant to treatments that provide long-lasting respite from the sticky mucus that affects the lungs and other organs. Emerging biotechs such as Kither Biotech as well as the old guard including Vertex are finding new ways to tackle the inherited disease. Cystic fibrosis is best known for causing thick mucus in […] March 22, 2022 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Dec 2021 Argenx’s Potential Blockbuster Gets FDA Nod for Autoimmune Disease US regulators have approved the first-in-class drug efgartigimod for the treatment of the rare muscle disease generalized myasthenia gravis, opening up its developer argenx to billion-dollar revenues. Efgartigimod, to be marketed as Vyvgart, is an antibody fragment drug for use in adults with generalized myasthenia gravis. The FDA’s decision represents the first successful drug approval […] December 21, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Dec 2021 ATP Blazes US Venture Capital Trail into European Biotech Startups The US venture capital firm Apple Tree Partners (ATP) is making its first transatlantic foray by launching the UK immuno-oncology company Adrendra Therapeutics. This happens as US investors increasingly search for value-for-money opportunities in early-stage European biotech startups. Last week, the life science-focused investor ATP contributed €47M (£40M) to the Series A launch of immunotherapy […] December 14, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Dec 2021 Targeted Drugs for Rare Autoimmune Disease Hit Regulatory Milestones New, more targeted treatments are on the horizon for the rare autoimmune disease ANCA-associated vasculitis, with a nod towards European approval for a first-in-class drug and positive phase II results from a rival treatment. In November, the Swiss firm Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma (VFMCRP) received a thumbs-up from the EMA for avacopan, a […] December 1, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Nov 2021 Sustainability in Focus as Two VCs Build Industrial Biotech Funds As this month’s COP26 United Nations climate summit highlighted the climate change emergency, venture capital fundraises from Sofinnova and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund have led the push for industrial biotechnology to further shift the global economy away from fossil fuels. Yesterday, the venture capital (VC) firm Sofinnova Partners raised €150M for an early-stage environmental […] November 18, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Nov 2021 Big Pharma Strikes Megadeals In Targeted Protein Degradation With many targeted protein degraders hitting the clinic, lucrative collaborations and acquisitions are being signed between biotech startups and big pharma in this upcoming area. Novartis, Pfizer, and Bayer have all negotiated billion Euro deals this year with smaller biotechs including Dunad Therapeutics, Arvinas, and Vividion Therapeutics. The big pharma companies aim to gain a […] November 12, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Nov 2021 Skilled Labor Shortages Impact Cell And Gene Therapy Manufacturing Despite vast amounts of funding entering the cell and gene therapy field, the manufacture of these therapies is held back by skill shortages. Increasing training programs and automation could form the solution. The cell and gene therapy fields enjoyed their best-ever funding yield in the first half of 2021, with €12.2B ($14.1B) netted globally. However, […] November 4, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Oct 2021 Gene-Edited T Cell Therapy Players Battle Safety Doubts Confidence in gene-edited T cell therapies from donor cells has faltered as Allogene Therapeutics paused all clinical development following the detection of an unexpected genetic change in a clinical trial. Industry experts see these events as a reality check for the nascent field. Off-the-shelf treatments that use genetically engineered T cells to treat diseases suffered […] October 22, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email