Startup Scout 10 May 2019 This Biotech Destroys Cancer Proteins by Introducing Them to ‘Executioner’ Proteins Nestled in the biotech hub of Cambridge, UK, is Polyprox. Less than a year old, this company is developing a new class of protein-based drugs that could treat cancer by degrading key proteins in the cancer cell. Mission: Develop drugs that destroy proteins in cancer cells by recruiting executioner proteins, called ligases. Polyprox develops protein […] May 10, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 9 May 2019 Pfizer Pays up to €700M to Acquire Swiss Biotech Restoring Bone Growth in Achondroplasia Pharma giant Pfizer is acquiring the Swiss biotech Therachon, which is developing a protein drug to boost bone growth in the genetic condition achondroplasia. Pfizer will pay €303M ($340M) upfront, and up to €420M ($470M) dependent on Therachon reaching milestones in the development of its drug improving bone growth in achondroplasia. This genetic condition inhibits […] May 9, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 May 2019 Schizophrenia Treatments Could be Tested and Personalized Using Patients’ Blood Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a way to screen treatments for schizophrenia on single cells from a patient’s blood sample, which could speed up drug discovery and help to personalize treatments for people with the condition. Around 21 million people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia, and this is likely to get worse with […] May 8, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 May 2019 Molecules in Bee Jelly Could Protect Whole Nests Against Viruses for Generations A research team has discovered that honeybees pass molecules of RNA to each other by sharing it in edible jelly, which could lead to vaccines that can stop generations of bees from dying from viral infections. Honeybees don’t just give us honey. As the dominant pollinators of lots of food crops, around a third of […] May 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 6 May 2019 2019 Will Be a “Year of Realism” for Biotech Investments Biotech investors regularly jump on new crazes, including the microbiome and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. At BIO-Europe Spring 2019, Regina Hodits, Managing Partner at German VC firm Wellington Partners Life Sciences, spoke to us about the firm’s realistic approach to biotech investment. Biotechnology is an industry with high risks and high rewards. Before a medical biotech […] May 6, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 May 2019 Drug Mopping Up Bacterial Toxins Shows Potential to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance in Phase I An antibiotic-enhancing drug developed by the Swiss biotech Combioxin to tackle antibiotic resistance showed promising effects in a phase I trial. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem around the world, causing common infections such as pneumonia to become harder to treat. As standard antibiotics become less and less effective, we urgently need to find new […] May 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 3 May 2019 This Biotech Makes Self-Healing Concrete Using Bacteria Imagine walls and buildings that heal themselves just like your skin does. The Dutch biotech Green Basilisk is making this idea a reality by embedding special limestone-producing bacteria into concrete. Mission: To make concrete that can heal cracks and other kinds of damage using bacteria. This self-healing power cuts the maintenance the material requires, and […] May 3, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 May 2019 Drug for Autoimmune Liver Disease Yields Mixed Results in Hard-to-Treat Patients Developed by the French biotech Genkyotex, a first-in-class treatment for the liver disease primary biliary cholangitis failed to reduce a key disease biomarker in a phase II trial, but showed potential for reducing liver scarring. Primary biliary cholangitis is an autoimmune disease that damages the liver and can lead to liver scarring (fibrosis) or the […] May 2, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Apr 2019 Orchard’s Gene Therapy Shows Potential in Treating Patients with Beta Thalassemia Patients with the life-threatening blood disorder beta-thalassemia required fewer blood transfusions after receiving a gene therapy developed by the UK company Orchard Therapeutics, with four out of nine no longer depending on transfusions. Beta thalassemia is a genetic disorder that affects hemoglobin, a protein that blood cells use to carry oxygen. In the most severe […] April 30, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Apr 2019 Swiss Biotech Raises €11M to Develop Treatments for Liver Fibrosis Founded in March this year, Alentis Therapeutics has bagged a Series A round of €11.1M (CHF 12.5M) to develop antibody drugs treating liver fibrosis, which currently has no approved treatments. Liver fibrosis is the scarring of liver tissue, which can happen as a consequence of aging, chronic hepatitis or conditions such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). […] April 30, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Apr 2019 Nestlé and Pepsi Invest in French Plastic Recycling Biotechnology The food companies Nestlé Waters, Pepsi and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe have joined an industrial consortium to fund the development of Carbios’ enzyme technology for plastic recycling. A garbage truck’s worth of plastic waste enters the oceans every minute, contaminating the environment and damaging ecosystems around the world. This is leading to more pressure […] April 29, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Apr 2019 Viruses Evolve to Defeat CRISPR-Cas9 in Genetically-Modified Plants Researchers found that viral pathogens can quickly evolve to overcome transgenic cassava plants expressing the bacterial weapon CRISPR-Cas9, which could have major regulatory implications. Geminiviruses are pathogens that kill off crops such as beans, cotton and cassava plants. Past efforts to breed plants that are resistant to infection have not been successful. One potential method […] April 29, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email