News and Trends 21 Feb 2019 Qiagen Gets Access to Largest Genetic Database on Antibiotic Resistance Under a new licensing deal, Qiagen will gain access to a big genetics database from Vienna-based Ares Genetics, which could help tackle the global health crisis of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a major health concern that is growing fast. One reason for this is that people are often prescribed the wrong antibiotic for […] February 21, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Feb 2019 Inflammatory Disease Treatment Backed by €20M Series A The Swiss company Calypso Biotech has raised a sizeable €20M to fund its immunotherapy for an allergy-related inflammatory disease. The Series A round will help to develop Calypso’s antibody treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis, a condition where patients have an inflamed esophagus and difficulty swallowing. This condition is often linked with allergies to food, such as […] February 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Feb 2019 Skin Microbiome Biotechs Get Funding Boost Two major skin microbiome companies have received investments this week: the Belgian company S-Biomedic, which is developing a probiotic acne treatment, and the UK biotech SkinBioTherapeutics, which is targeting eczema. A lot of attention goes to the gut microbiome when talking about probiotic disease treatments, but skin bacteria may also have potential, as these […] February 19, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Feb 2019 Tuberculosis Treatment Kills Bacteria with Their Own Suicide Toxin A European academic research collaboration has found a new potential weapon against antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis: its own toxins. Many types of bacteria, such as the pathogen responsible for the deadly lung disease tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, use toxins to stay alive. For example, these toxins can be useful when the bacteria are starved or infected by viruses, […] February 18, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 18 Feb 2019 Enormous Series A to Help Bring Epilepsy Drug to Market One of the biggest Series A rounds in European biotech, €159M ($180M), has been raised by the Swiss company Arvelle Therapeutics to help commercialize its epilepsy drug. Formed just this month, Arvelle plans to submit an application for EMA approval for the small molecule drug cenobamate, which it has licensed from the South Korean company […] February 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Feb 2019 Genetic Testing Improves Success of Kidney Transplants Genetic variations in cell surface proteins are able to predict kidney transplant success, shows Austrian research, serving as a potential screening tool for improving future transplants. Many kidney transplants fail over time because the patient’s immune system rejects the organ. This rejection happens because the immune system recognizes that particular proteins on the cell surface, such […] February 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 15 Feb 2019 This Lab-on-a-Chip Can Screen Millions of Bacteria in Parallel Our French biotech of the week, Biomillenia, is developing a lab-on-a-chip that can screen millions of strains of bacteria in a fraction of the time it takes for traditional methods. This technology can identify previously unculturable strains for use in agriculture, animal health, or microbiome-based therapies. Mission: To use lab-on-a-chip technology to culture and screen […] February 15, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 14 Feb 2019 London’s Biotech Ecosystem Boosted with €900M Expansion The British Library has greenlit the construction of a new research hub on its property in North London, increasing the business potential for the biotech ecosystem in the southeast of England. The new site, costing up to €900M (£800M), will expand premises held by the British Library, which is next to King’s Cross and the […] February 14, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Feb 2019 Hair Loss Biotech Ventures into Diabetes Market The Swedish biotech Follicum has added drugs for type 2 diabetes into its pipeline, which focuses on treatments for hair loss. The market for type 2 diabetes treatments is huge, and competitive. While many approved treatments help to control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes, fluctuating blood sugar levels can damage vital insulin-producing beta cells. Many diabetics […] February 14, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Feb 2019 First Plant in the Works to Turn Dairy Byproducts Into Plastics The company Glanbia Ireland is planning to construct the first industrial biorefinery that transforms dairy waste products into lactic acid, a building block for biodegradable plastics. Supported by the EU project AgriChemWhey, Glanbia Ireland plans to scale up biorefinery technology that ferments dairy waste, like whey permeate, into lactic acid, using a group of bacteria […] February 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 12 Feb 2019 First Industrial Plant to Turn Waste into Chemicals Will Open in France The French company Afyren has received up to €60M to commercialize a technology that uses bacteria to produce industrial chemicals from recycled plant waste instead of fossil fuels. Afyren takes sugars from the waste byproducts of agriculture, food, and other industries, and ferments the sugars into industrial chemicals using bacteria. With this new funding, the […] February 12, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Feb 2019 Series A to Fund Therapy That Exposes Cancer to Immune System The UK biotech Grey Wolf Therapeutics has raised €11.4M (£10M) to fuel the development of a cancer therapy that flushes tumor cells out of hiding from the immune system. Many approved cancer immunotherapies, such as CAR-T cell therapy and checkpoint inhibitors, have made a big difference for many people with cancer. However, a common problem with […] February 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email