More News! 29 Oct 2018 Plasma Replacement Therapy Promising in Alzheimer’s Patients A blood plasma replacement therapy from Spanish company Grifols reduced cognitive decline by 61% in patients with moderate Alzheimer’s disease compared with placebo. The researchers monitored the cognitive symptoms of 496 patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the Phase IIb/III trial. Over 14 months, the therapy had no effect in patients with mild Alzheimer’s, but the […] October 29, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Oct 2018 BASF Will Use CRISPR to Gene-Edit Crops and Microbes The German chemical giant BASF has obtained a non-exclusive license from the US Broad Institute for the use of CRISPR-Cpf1 gene-editing technology in agricultural and microbiological applications. CRISPR-Cas9 is a fast and easy technique for editing the genome that has gained worldwide fame. It has the potential for use in many applications such as in […] October 26, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Oct 2018 Danish Biotech Closes €79M Series C to Develop Inhaled Lung Disease Drug The Danish company Galecto Biotech can breathe a contented sigh. Its Series C funding round has raised €79M to finance a Phase II/III trial of its inhaled drug for a deadly lung disease. The amount raised is 30% higher than the company’s initial €60M goal, Galecto’s CEO, Hans Schambye, told me. “Being able to raise […] October 26, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 26 Oct 2018 This Biotech Develops Biodegradable Antimicrobial Paint For Your Yacht It is time to sail to Portugal for our Lisbon-based biotech of the week, BioMimetx. The company is developing biodegradable antimicrobial paint additives to help marine industries keep their surfaces clean of microbe buildup. Mission: Are you an environmentally conscious yacht owner who wants a clean boat bottom? If so, you are in luck, as […] October 26, 2018 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Oct 2018 Parkinson’s Disease Gene Therapy Clinical Trial Launched in UK A gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease developed by Swiss biotech Axovant has been used on the first patient in a Phase I/II trial at University College London. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, caused by a lack of the neurochemical dopamine in regions of the brain handling motor functions causing debilitating symptoms such as rigidity […] October 25, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Oct 2018 Microbiome Biotech Enterome Signs Deal With Takeda Worth up to €600M The French biotech Enterome and Takeda are teaming up to fight Crohn’s disease, with a deal worth up to €600M. The two companies will collaborate in the development and commercialization of Enterome’s lead microbiome-targeting treatment currently in Phase I trials. Under the terms of the deal, Takeda will pay Enterome €44M upfront, and up to […] October 23, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Oct 2018 Innate’s Cancer Immunotherapy Combo Beats Standard Treatment Twofold A combination cancer immunotherapy from French biotech Innate Pharma was twice as effective at treating recurrent squamous cell carcinoma as standard therapy in a Phase II trial. Squamous cell carcinoma is a head and neck cancer that forms lesions in the mucous membranes of body cavities such as the mouth, nose and throat. “Patients are […] October 22, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 19 Oct 2018 This Biotech Spins Silk That Can Repair Nerves We fly to Lomazzo, Italy, this week to visit Silk Biomaterials. As the name implies, the company is testing different medical applications of silk, such as in nerve repair. Mission: Founded in 2014, Silk Biomaterials uses silk as a scaffold material for medical applications such as vascular grafts and peripheral nerve repair. In many tissue […] October 19, 2018 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 18 Oct 2018 Phase III Triumph for Topical Hormonal Acne Treatment The Italian biotech Cassiopea reports good news for acne sufferers. Its hormonal anti-acne treatment Winlevi significantly helped to reduce acne in two Phase III trials. Winlevi, when applied to the skin, cleared the acne in more than twice as many participants with moderate or severe acne as placebo. The treatment also showed good safety results […] October 18, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Oct 2018 Belgian Firm Will Develop Antibiotic Alternatives for Industrial Biotech Using CRISPR Syngulon will be developing antibacterial peptides using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology thanks to an agreement with ERS Genomics, which licenses out CRISPR intellectual property in the EU. CRISPR technology is a hot topic in the biotech industry because it makes gene editing faster and easier than other techniques. This could make it very useful in […] October 17, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 16 Oct 2018 Drug Combination for Rare Genetic Nerve Disorder Nails Phase III A treatment developed by French biotech Pharnext has become the first clinically proven therapy for a rare genetic disorder that affects the nervous system. In a Phase III trial, the treatment reduced the level of disability of patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a condition that affects peripheral nerves. This disease causes problems with walking, running and […] October 16, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Oct 2018 Cancer Immunotherapy Biotech Raises €34M on Nasdaq Stockholm The Swedish biotech Immunicum has issued shares worth up to almost €34M on Nasdaq Stockholm, in an effort to accelerate the development of its cancer immunotherapy. Immunicum plans to use most of the funding to run a Phase Ib/II clinical trial that will test its lead cell therapy candidate in combination with checkpoint inhibitors to […] October 16, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email