Helen Albert, Author at Labiotech.eu

About

Freelance science and health journalist with lots of experience writing about all aspects of life sciences and biotech. Recovering geneticist and evolutionary biologist. I am half German and half British and spend most of my time in Berlin while not hiding out in the Norfolk countryside in the UK. When not writing or editing, I like to spend my time taking photos, knitting, reading fiction, eating and making good food and travelling (when global conditions allow!).

Articles by Helen Albert

biontech cancer vaccine mrna immunotherapy

Interview 13 May 2019

Putting DNA Repair on the Map

Niall Martin is on a mission to put DNA repair on the map. He has already gone pretty far along the way to doing this, as the leader of the team that developed the blockbuster cancer drug Lynparza. He is now seeking to repeat this early success at Artios, where he is CEO. Martin talked […]

May 13, 2019 - 8 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

Expert Advice 8 May 2019

Why It’s Important to “Think Big” When Raising Money for Your Company

There are not many people who can say they led one of Europe’s largest biotechs and launched the first approved gene therapy in Europe. Joern Aldag, now CEO at Austrian biotech Hookipa Pharma, has done both. Aldag got into biotech because he wanted to use his entrepreneurial skills to advance medicine. After 9 years of […]

May 8, 2019 - 9 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

News and Trends 1 May 2019

UK Genome Diagnostics Biotech Closes €27M Series B to Support NHS

Cambridge-based Congenica has closed a €27M (£23.3M) series B fundraising round to support the use of its rare disease diagnostics platform by the newly formed NHS Genomic Medicine Service, as well as to allow the company to expand internationally. The genomics diagnostic company received a €15.5M (£13.3M) investment, led by the London-based fund management firm […]

May 1, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

Interview 25 Apr 2019

European Biotechnology in 2019 and Beyond: What’s Hot and What’s Not?

We spend a lot of time focusing on specific developments in biotechnology, but sometimes it’s good to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. With this in mind, I asked three experts at our recent Refresh event in Vienna to share what is hot in European biotech right now and what trends […]

April 25, 2019 - 11 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

Interview 1 Apr 2019

Chasing the Holy Grail of Cell Therapy

Biotech entrepreneur Darrin Disley, ex-CEO and co-founder of the successful Cambridge gene editing biotech Horizon Discovery, has a new quest — creating the perfect cell therapy. He spoke to me about his position as CEO of new biotech Mogrify and why he thinks now is a good time to get into cell therapy. Following the […]

April 1, 2019 - 7 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

News and Trends 21 Mar 2019

UK Government’s Bid on Healthcare Genomics Already Benefiting Biotechs

The positive stance of the UK Government towards incorporation of genomics into healthcare has created unparalleled chances for the country’s biotech companies, which are already taking advantage of the business opportunities. Following the completion of the 100,000 Genomes Project at the end of 2018, the fledgling NHS Genomic Medicine Service launched. This service aims to […]

March 21, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

News and Trends 11 Mar 2019

Danish Biotech to Develop CRISPR-Based Microbiome Treatments

SNIPR Biome has raised €43M in Series A funds to develop treatments that precisely target ‘bad’ bacteria using CRISPR gene editing, while keeping the rest of the patient’s microbiome intact. Founded with €2.6M seed investment from the Lundbeck Foundation in 2017, SNIPR Biome was the first exploratory investment for the Danish organisation’s Emerge fund, which […]

March 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

More News! 27 Feb 2019

Carbios Creates First 100% Recycled Plastic Bottles With Enzymes

French biotech Carbios has managed to create plastic bottles from 100% recycled plastic using its specialized enzyme technology. The company’s recycling process focuses on plastic made from polyethylene terephthalate or PET, one of the most commonly used plastics. Importantly, it can be also be used to create customized bottles, a requirement for many brands. Carbios […]

February 27, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

News and Trends 26 Feb 2019

Immuno-oncology Biotech Raises €31M to Progress T-Cell Boosting Therapy

The Swiss biotech Anaveon closed a very respectable €31M (CHF35M) Series A fundraising round to help progress its T-cell boosting, cancer-fighting treatment to the clinic. The company’s candidate therapy mimics the action of a protein called interleukin 2, which is naturally found in the body. Interleukin 2 stimulates the immune system to produce more infection-fighting […]

February 26, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

Andreas Schmidt Heidelberg Refresh Meetup header2

Interview 21 Feb 2019

Why an International, Diverse Outlook is Key for Modern Biotechs

In a world that is becoming ever more connected, it is important to embrace globalization and diversity in order to get ahead. This is increasingly more important in biotech companies, according to Andreas Schmidt, CEO of Proteona, who I spoke to at our recent Labiotech Refresh event in Heidelberg. Schmidt is an expert on the […]

February 21, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

Ryan Cawood Oxford Genetics interview header2

Interview 10 Jan 2019

How to Scale up in Biotech

Scaling up is a problem a lot of biotechs find difficult, both in terms of developing from a small startup to a larger company and also in terms of manufacturing techniques and products. Ryan Cawood, CEO of Oxford Genetics is someone who has tackled both these issues during the last seven years. At our last […]

January 10, 2019 - 9 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

News and Trends 4 Jan 2019

Innovative Eye Disease Therapies Move Closer to the Clinic

Oculis has increased its series B fundraising round to CHF35M (€31M) to continue development of its pipeline of topical eye treatments for diseases such as diabetic macular edema. The company specializes in creating special nanoparticle formulations of drugs for treatment of various eye diseases to allow them to be applied directly to the eye as […]

January 4, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

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The twelve hottest biotech companies in the Boston area

Biotech bankruptcies: what to expect in 2024 following a record year?

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Therapeutic areas

RNA editing set to take off: could it outperform gene editing?

Future of cancer treatment: what will therapy look like in 2034?

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