Startup Scout 8 Feb 2019 This Biotech Uses Genomics to Breed Super Peas This week’s biotech, Equi-Nom, is based in Israel. With its genomics and computer modeling technology, the company helps plant producers to breed pulses that contain more protein without any genetic modification. Mission: To boost the protein content in pulses, such as peas, without editing their DNA. Instead, the company speeds up traditional breeding by […] February 8, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Feb 2019 Anti-CRISPR Proteins Could Improve Gene Editing Precision A research group in Denmark has found proteins in gut and soil microbes that can inhibit the action of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, a finding that could help to control the technology with more precision and less risk. Bacteria and viruses have fought an evolutionary arms race for millions of years. Bacteria evolved CRISPR systems to […] February 8, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2019 Combo of Immunotherapy and Diabetes Drug Could Beat Breast Cancer A Finnish research group has combined two cancer drugs with the diabetes drug metformin, making mice with breast cancer survive for longer than when given the treatments individually. The combination therapy included metformin, which can inhibit tumor growth; the cancer drug venetoclax, which causes cancer cells to commit suicide; and a checkpoint inhibitor antibody, which […] February 6, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Feb 2019 Swedish Biotech Receives EU Grant for High-Accuracy Kidney Cancer Test The Swedish biotech Elypta has received a Horizon 2020 grant of €2.4M to fund a clinical trial of a blood and urine test that provides an accurate diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. The clinical trial aims to validate Elypta’s technology as a monitoring tool in patients who have been treated for the kidney cancer renal […] February 4, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 1 Feb 2019 This Biotech Links the Gut Microbiome to Diseases Using Norwegian Poo In Norway’s capital city of Oslo, the biotech Bio-Me can rapidly screen for specific gut bacteria, gathering data from thousands of Norwegian stool samples to link the gut microbiome to diseases. Mission: To rapidly screen thousands of stool samples from a Norwegian population study and link the gut microbiome with disease. Client companies will then […] February 1, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Jan 2019 CRISPR Gene Editing Could Make Gluten Safe for Celiacs A Dutch research group is using the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to modify wheat gluten, letting people with celiac disease eat gluten without experiencing debilitating symptoms. In celiac disease, the immune system attacks gluten, causing damage to the intestine. This forces sufferers to stick to expensive gluten-free versions of foods such as bread, which […] January 31, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 31 Jan 2019 Novozymes Signs Deal to Develop Biodegradable Plastics The Danish enzyme manufacturer Novozymes has launched a joint development collaboration with the French biotech Carbios to commercialize biodegradable plastics. Under the agreement, Novozymes is to use its manufacturing muscle to scale up and produce Carbios’ plastic-degrading enzyme technology for Carbios’ subsidiary company Carbiolice. Carbiolice is to embed these enzymes into single-use plastics, such as […] January 31, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Jan 2019 Danish Biotech’s Drug for Rare Metabolic Disease Aces Clinical Trial A drug, developed by the Danish biotech Orphazyme for a rare metabolic disease, has shown promising results in a phase II/III trial, reducing the disease’s progression by 74%. The 50 patients recruited into the trial suffered from Niemann-Pick disease type C, a metabolic disease in which proteins crucial for storing fat molecules such as cholesterol […] January 30, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 29 Jan 2019 Antibiotic Nasal Gel for Surgical Infections Cruises Through Phase I An antibiotic nasal gel, developed by the UK company Destiny Pharma to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections, has shown no adverse effects in healthy volunteers in a phase I trial. Destiny’s antibiotic nasal gel is designed to prevent post-surgical infections of the bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus, which can come in the dangerous drug-resistant strain MRSA. “About […] January 29, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jan 2019 Swiss-Italian Biotech Bags Antibody Deals with Three Big Pharma The Swiss-Italian company Philogen has announced three different partnerships with Novartis, Celgene, and Janssen to develop new forms of immunotherapy and small molecule drugs. Philogen develops immunocytokines, which are antibodies that are fused with proteins that modify the immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. For example, this treatment can bind to tumors and activate […] January 25, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 25 Jan 2019 This Biotech Makes Cosmetics out of Seaweed Algaia is a French biotech based in Brittany, and for good reason. Here it harvests the blankets of Atlantic seaweed on the coast and extracts products for use in food, cosmetics and more. Mission: To maximize the number of useful products you can extract out of seaweed. Algaia uses seaweed as a source of useful […] January 25, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 24 Jan 2019 ExxonMobil Recruits Swiss Company to Make Biofuels The Swiss biofuels company Clariant is joining up with US companies ExxonMobil and the Renewable Energy Group to make biodiesel from agricultural waste. The new partnership hopes to combine technology from the Renewable Energy Group and Clariant to produce biodiesel — a biofuel that is a mix of ethanol and fat or cooking greases. Unlike […] January 24, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email