Expert Advice 6 Apr 2020 How Investors Can Prepare for the Digitization of Biotech For a few decades, the worlds of biotech and digital technology have been on separate paths. Franck Lescure, Partner at the French VC firm Elaia Partners, explains how the two fields are now colliding and how investors need to catch up. At first glance, digital technology and biotech are widely different fields, each with their […] April 6, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Apr 2020 Update: FDA Imposes No Penalties for Novartis Data Manipulation Scandal Update (02/04/2020): The FDA has concluded an investigation into a data manipulation scandal surrounding the approval of Novartis’ gene therapy Zolgensma, and has decided against sanctions. The FDA launched an investigation into the manipulated data surrounding the gene therapy application last year, and recently reported that the investigated data violations didn’t meet the threshold for […] April 2, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Mar 2020 Update: AM-Pharma Increases Acute Kidney Injury Phase III Funds to €163M Update (31/03/2020): AM-Pharma has raised an extra €47M on top of an existing €116M equity round to fund an upcoming phase III trial of a treatment for acute kidney injury. The money will help the Dutch biotech to prepare for its upcoming phase III trial of a protein drug for acute kidney injury, which is […] March 31, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 30 Mar 2020 Could mRNA Vaccines Fulfill Their Potential Against Coronavirus? The first vaccine against coronavirus disease could one day be made of mRNA. How is mRNA showing promise against the pandemic, and what could it signify for the mRNA field? The global number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases has passed 600,000 and is threatening to bring healthcare systems worldwide to their knees. To control the […] March 30, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 27 Mar 2020 This Startup is Making a Cancer Vaccine out of Viruses Valo Therapeutics is operating both in the UK and Finland to develop a cancer vaccine based on a virus designed to kill tumors. Mission: To combine two different immunotherapy techniques — oncolytic viruses and cancer vaccines — into one treatment for solid tumors. Immunotherapy has transformed the cancer treatment landscape, offering therapies such as checkpoint […] March 27, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Mar 2020 Eli Lilly Sweetens AC Immune Alzheimer’s Treatment Deal by €38M A deal between Swiss biotech AC Immune and Eli Lilly to develop an oral Alzheimer’s disease drug has increased in worth by €38M with a new milestone payment. AC Immune and Eli Lilly modified a deal signed in late 2018 to co-develop a small molecule treatment to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, the […] March 24, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Mar 2020 ViiV Healthcare’s Monthly HIV Injection Gains First Approval in Canada A monthly two-drug injection developed by the GSK spinoff ViiV Healthcare has been approved for the treatment of HIV in Canada, which could replace the need for daily antiretroviral pills. The treatment — branded as Cabenuva and developed in collaboration with Janssen — was approved by Health Canada to suppress HIV in adults with stable […] March 23, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Mar 2020 Themis and Institut Pasteur Join Coronavirus Vaccine Hunt The Austrian biotech Themis — specializing in vaccines for infectious and insect-borne diseases — has jumped on the coronavirus vaccine bandwagon along with the Institut Pasteur and other international partners. The collaboration will be led by the Parisian Institut Pasteur, whose vaccine technology — in this case modifying a measles virus vector to carry coronavirus […] March 20, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Mar 2020 CureVac Receives €80M from EU to Fund Coronavirus Vaccine Amid US Dispute The German biotech CureVac — which is developing an mRNA vaccine against coronavirus — has been granted up to €80M by the European Commission, shortly after a dispute erupted over an alleged acquisition offer from the US. The money was awarded to help CureVac quickly scale up the production of its candidate Covid-19 vaccine. It […] March 17, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Mar 2020 Coronavirus Delays Sensorion’s Hearing Loss Phase II Trial The French company Sensorion has been forced to delay a phase II trial in people with hearing loss due to slow patient recruitment amid the current coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. The clinical trial is designed to test Sensorion’s lead candidate drug in people with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a rare disorder where the patient can […] March 16, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 13 Mar 2020 This Startup Hits Hidden Proteins to Make Cancer Immunotherapies With one foot in Belgium and another in the US, Orionis Biosciences combines US and European talent to develop cancer immunotherapies targeting difficult protein targets. Mission: To fight cancer with two technologies. The first is modifying immune proteins called cytokines to trigger the body to produce specific immune cells against a tumor. The second is […] March 13, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Mar 2020 Phase III Fail for MedDay’s Multiple Sclerosis Treatment A drug developed by the French company MedDay Pharmaceuticals has failed to treat progressive forms of multiple sclerosis in a phase III trial. The 642 patients recruited into the trial received either a placebo or a high dose of pharmaceutical-grade Biotin, also known as vitamin B₇. The patients had various forms of the autoimmune condition […] March 11, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email