News and Trends 7 Jan 2020 AstraZeneca Recruits RNA Biotech to Develop Metabolic Disease Therapies The UK biotech MiNA Therapeutics has launched a collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop small activating RNA drugs, which could treat metabolic diseases using targets unreachable by current medications. According to the agreement, the two partners will carry out preclinical research with the aim of generating candidate drugs based on small activating RNA, or saRNA — […] January 7, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Jan 2020 BioNTech’s RNA-Boosted CAR T-Cell Therapy Shrinks Tumors in Mice A CAR T-cell therapy amplified by RNA technology, developed by BioNTech, has shown preclinical potential for tackling solid tumors, which are hard to treat with current CAR T-cell therapies. In a study published in Science, the CAR T-cell and RNA combination therapy suppressed tumors in mice implanted with human ovarian cancer for longer than regular […] January 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Jan 2020 €5M Investment to Fund French Biotech’s Resistance-Busting Antibiotic Mutabilis has received a €5M investment from the Danish VC Novo Holdings’ REPAIR Impact Fund to fuel the development of a new class of antibiotics that could kill drug-resistant strains of gram-negative bacteria. The French company will use the money to advance one of its preclinical drugs, a wide-spectrum intravenous antibiotic, to clinical trials. The […] January 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 30 Dec 2019 European Biotech’s Top News in 2019 With the year coming to a close, it’s time to review the most important biotech news events that took place in the European biotech industry in 2019. It has been a solid year for the European biotech industry. In 2019, venture capital funding in Europe continued to be high after a very good year in […] December 30, 2019 - 10 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 CureVac and Genmab Team up to Make Antibody Cancer Drugs out of RNA The German biotech CureVac has signed a deal potentially worth over €1B with Danish antibody developer Genmab to develop messenger RNA drugs that carry the instructions for therapeutic antibodies to be produced inside cancer patients. “We believe that the collaboration with Genmab represents the first antibody deal in the field of mRNA,” stated Daniel Menichella, […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 Update: First Ever Ebola Vaccine Gets US and EU Approval Update (20/12/2019): After getting conditional approval in Europe in November, Merck has received FDA approval for its Ebola vaccine, the first to be approved in both regions. Published on 13/11/2019 The big pharma company Merck has won a conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission for the Ebola vaccine Ervebo, the first to be approved. […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 Freeline’s Rare Disease Gene Therapies Get €72M Series C Boost The UK gene therapy biotech Freeline Therapeutics is to receive an investment worth €72M (£61.1M) from the UK VC firm Syncona in a Series C round to fund the clinical development of gene therapies for the blood disorder hemophilia B, Fabry disease, and other rare conditions. Of the €72M commitment, Syncona has already wired €36M […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 18 Dec 2019 Truffle Capital Raises €250M Fund to Launch Life Science Startups The French VC firm Truffle Capital has closed a fund worth €250M with a mission to nurture companies specializing in medical devices and robotics. The fund, named BioMedTech, will be used to create around 12 companies, with a focus on French startups. The majority of the fund, around 60%, came from French investors and the […] December 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Dec 2019 Update: Cell Therapy Biotech Raises €47M to Fund NASH Clinical Trial Update (17/12/2019): Promethera has increased the total raised in its Series D round to €47.2M with the addition of new investors, including Innovation Growth Ventures and Pegasus Tech Ventures among others. The round will fund two ongoing clinical trials and the start of at least two new trials outside Europe. Published on 07/05/2019 The Belgian […] December 17, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Dec 2019 Amarin’s Triglyceride-Lowering Drug Gets Second FDA Nod to Tackle Cardiovascular Disease A treatment developed by the Irish company Amarin has become the first FDA-approved drug to lower the risk of strokes and heart attacks when combined with statins in patients with high levels of circulating fat molecules called triglycerides. To be eligible for Vascepa, patients must also either have established cardiovascular disease, or type 2 diabetes […] December 16, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 16 Dec 2019 10 Holiday Gifts for the Biotechnologist in Your Life Socks and sweaters are great gifts for Christmas, but sometimes, a bit of biotech love goes a long way. Here’s a list of cool holiday gifts to get for your biotech friends and family. Whether it’s a fancy genetics shoulder bag, a cuddly immune cell, or glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, you have this holiday sorted. DNA-shaped […] December 16, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Dec 2019 Transgene’s Cancer Vaccine Abandoned after Phase II Fail French biotech Transgene has ceased the development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine that failed to shrink tumors in patients with lung cancer in a phase II trial. In the phase II trial, Transgene tested its therapeutic cancer vaccine in combination with chemotherapy and the checkpoint inhibitor drug nivolumab, marketed as Opdivo. The treatment failed to […] December 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email