Jonathan Smith, Author at Labiotech.eu

About

Reporter for Labiotech. I hail from the UK. I was born in Bristol, studied Neuroscience in the University of Bristol, and trained mice in Eisai, Hertfordshire, for one year. I then tickled locusts for my Ph.D. at the University of Leicester, before eventually ending up here!
Out of the office, I travel, play video games and board games, drink beer and play the piano.

Articles by Jonathan Smith

erytech sqz biosciences cell therapy off the shelf

News and Trends 25 Jun 2019

US and French Biotech Partnership to Develop Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapies

The French biotech Erytech will license its red blood cell drug encapsulation technology to the US cell therapy company SQZ Biotechnologies for up to €50M. The partners plan to develop off-the-shelf cell therapies combining Erytech’s red blood cell drug encapsulation with SQZ Biotechnologies’ technology, which engineers immune cells to attack or protect specific disease targets. […]

June 25, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

nash liver fibrosis genfit terns pharmaceuticals organ

News and Trends 25 Jun 2019

Genfit’s NASH Drug to Be Developed in China in Deal Worth up to €200M

The US-Chinese company Terns Pharmaceuticals will develop and commercialize Genfit’s phase III drug elafibranor for the chronic liver disease NASH in China. As part of the deal, Genfit will receive a €31M ($35M) upfront fee and up to €170M ($193M) in developmental milestone payments. The two companies will also collaborate on other development programs for […]

June 25, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

heart disease cardiovascular disease cholesterol zora biosciences

News and Trends 24 Jun 2019

Diagnostic Test Beats ‘Bad’ Cholesterol at Predicting Heart Attacks

A study run by the Finnish diagnostics biotech Zora Biosciences has found two biomarkers that are better at predicting heart attacks and deaths in patients with coronary heart disease than the current gold standard — measuring ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood. To assess the risk of death or heart attacks in people with coronary […]

June 24, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

fecal transplant maat pharma fda enterobiotix

News and Trends 21 Jun 2019

Will US Fecal Transplant Death Impact European Biotech?

The death of a US patient from complications after a fecal transplant last week could have a major impact on microbiome research in Europe. The microbiome is a field with big potential for treating disease by targeting imbalances in the patient’s gut flora, such as by giving patients the stool bacteria of a healthy person […]

June 21, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

atelerix cell therapy newcastle freeze encapsulation

News and Trends 21 Jun 2019

This Biotech Transports Cell Therapies Without Needing a Freezer

The biotech Atelerix, based in Newcastle, UK, can transport cell therapies between different locations with less cost and risk than current methods by encapsulating the cells in a specialized gel. Mission: To eliminate the need for costly cold storage in the cell transport process by preserving cells in a gel. This could save further costs […]

June 21, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 20 Jun 2019

Spider Silk Could Improve Organoids for Drug Development

The Stockholm-based organoids company BioLamina has teamed up with the recombinant spider silk Stockholm startup Spiber Technologies to develop organoids that are more accurate tissue models than those used currently. Organoids are gaining popularity as a drug testing tool due to their capacity for modeling human tissue in 3D, which is more representative than 2D […]

June 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 19 Jun 2019

Scientists Grow Head and Neck Cancer Organoids to Personalize Chemotherapy

A team of Dutch researchers has developed the first 3D organoids from patients’ head and neck cancer cells that can be kept alive for a long time, giving physicians a model to test which cancer treatments are the most effective for each patient. Head and neck cancer is an aggressive disease that often requires harsh […]

June 19, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

ovarian cancer astrazeneca merck lynparza dna repair

News and Trends 19 Jun 2019

EU Gives Lynparza Green Light as First-Line Ovarian Cancer Treatment

The DNA damage repair drug olaparib (Lynparza), developed by AstraZeneca and Merck, has been approved by the EU as a first-line treatment preventing the return of ovarian cancer after initial chemotherapy. The drug has already been approved by the EU and the FDA as a maintenance treatment for relapsed ovarian cancer, and as a therapy […]

June 19, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 18 Jun 2019

Belgian Biotech’s €35M Series B to Fund Potential Type 1 Diabetes Cure

The Belgian company Imcyse has raised €35M in a Series B round to develop a potential cure for chronic autoimmune conditions including type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Imcyse will use the money to fund phase II trials of a peptide-based treatment for type 1 diabetes. The funds will also help the company to launch […]

June 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 18 Jun 2019

Dutch Biotech Boosts Hepatitis B Vaccine Effectiveness

Phase II results from Dutch biotech CyTuVax show its enhanced hepatitis B vaccine reduces non-responders by 13%. Around 15% of people receiving vaccines for hepatitis B fail to produce antibodies that protect them against the infection. These non-responders are often given more injections of the vaccine in an attempt to trigger the immune system, but […]

June 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 17 Jun 2019

Swiss Anti-Aging Treatment Gives the Elderly Healthier Muscles

An anti-aging dietary supplement developed by the Swiss biotech Amazentis to combat age-related muscle weakening has improved the health of muscle cells in a first-in-human study. Mitochondria are parts of the cell that generate energy, and are important for muscle movement. As we age, damaged mitochondria begin to build up in muscle cells, possibly contributing […]

June 17, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 14 Jun 2019

First Gene Therapy for Beta Thalassemia Will Cost Over €1.5M

Zynteglo, a gene therapy developed by the US company bluebird bio for the treatment of beta-thalassemia, will cost European healthcare systems more than €1.5M per patient. Following the approval of the treatment earlier this month, bluebird bio has now released the pricing plan of Zynteglo. Healthcare systems in Europe will need to pay €315,000 upfront, […]

June 14, 2019 - 1 minutemin - By Jonathan Smith

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