In Depth 29 Sep 2023 Illumina: DNA giant in troubled waters A botched acquisition deal and unrest among company investors amid plummeting stocks have plagued Illumina, which was once part of the biotech big leagues that dominated the field of gene sequencing. Now, in fear of losing its ground to other players in the space, it has received a European Commission order to divest Grail, and […] September 29, 2023 - 8 minutesmins - By Roohi Mariam Peter Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 28 Sep 2023 Obesity drug success sparks biotech buying spree The last few months have seen the obesity drug market soar, after new weight loss and diabetes drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic took the world by storm with their incredible efficacy at inducing weight loss. These new drugs belong to a class of medications called GLP-1 analogs (or incretin-based therapies), which work by […] September 28, 2023 - 7 minutesmins - By Willow Shah-Neville Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 25 Sep 2023 Base editing hits the clinic in the U.S. Over the past couple of years, base editing, a recent offshoot of the heralded CRISPR/Cas 9 technology, has been doing its rounds in the biotech space. Now, base editing has finally set foot into clinical trials for the first time in the U.S.. American precision medicine company Beam Therapeutics treated its first patient with its […] September 25, 2023 - 7 minutesmins - By Roohi Mariam Peter Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 14 Sep 2023 Righting wrongs: genetic justice for Henrietta Lacks For what would have been Henrietta Lacks’ 103rd birthday last month, her family, who settled a lawsuit with Thermo Fisher – a multinational biotech company that had used her cells without seeking consent for several years – regarded the win as a “fitting day” for justice. While the settlement took place behind closed doors, where Henrietta […] September 14, 2023 - 7 minutesmins - By Roohi Mariam Peter Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 11 Sep 2023 Evolving biotech funding trends: VCs lead new series B deals, but early-stage deals require insider support With biotech funding trends always evolving, HSBC Innovation Banking’s inaugural Venture Healthcare Report lays out the trends seen in the first half (1H) of 2023, where valuations underwent a necessary reset, and venture capitalists emerged from their cautious stance, eventually embarking on a fresh wave of investments. However, an overall decline in investment was still […] September 11, 2023 - 5 minutesmins - By Willow Shah-Neville Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 8 Sep 2023 The rise of lab-grown dairy: a sustainable solution for the future Recently, there has been a lot of talk surrounding cultivated meat, especially after Upside Foods and Good Meat received final U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval to sell lab-grown meat for the first time in the U.S.. And, although perhaps less talked about, cultivated – or lab-grown – dairy could also be set to take […] September 8, 2023 - 8 minutesmins - By Willow Shah-Neville Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 4 Sep 2023 The biggest private biotech investments in August 2023 The companies Genesis Therapeutics, ADARx Pharmaceuticals, and Abcuro bagged the biggest biotech investments in August 2023. Around the world, companies focused on immunology, genetic disorders, and metabolic disorders attracted the biggest funding rounds. Overall, quite a lot of biotech fundraising took place in August 2023. As always, there were some big rounds within the U.S. […] September 4, 2023 - 3 minutesmins - By Willow Shah-Neville Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 31 Aug 2023 3D-printed tumors: startup hopes to drive cancer drug discovery 3D printing is capturing attention in the field of medicine of late. With the first 3D-printed drug being approved for the treatment of seizures, eight years ago, it was a consequential moment in healthcare, following which biotechs raced to step up personalized treatment. Now, with Chinese healthcare company Triastek turning heads after announcing promising clinical […] August 31, 2023 - 7 minutesmins - By Roohi Mariam Peter Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 22 Aug 2023 Lab-grown babies on the horizon: how IVG could transform human reproduction Lately, there seems to have been a lot of talk about the possibility of ‘lab-grown babies’. Proper research into this area kicked off around a decade ago, and is still largely experimental in humans. But the technique used to potentially develop lab-grown babies could hold the power to provide a novel treatment option for human […] August 22, 2023 - 8 minutesmins - By Willow Shah-Neville Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 15 Aug 2023 Can stem cell treatment repair damaged knees? Scientists’ fascination with amphibians like axolotls and newts, animals that are capable of scarlessly regrowing their limbs, sparked the idea of possibly replicating this in humans. Since 1958, when French oncologist Georges Mathe performed the first-ever stem cell transplantation – to save six nuclear researchers who were accidentally exposed to radiation – the technology has […] August 15, 2023 - 7 minutesmins - By Roohi Mariam Peter Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 10 Aug 2023 Is Latin America becoming an investment hotspot for biotech and deep tech? Latin America has traditionally lagged behind in areas such as biotech and deep tech, but recently, it seems as though some countries in the region are starting to benefit from increasing investment in these areas. The reason Latin America has been slow to develop its biotech scene is largely due to the fact that government […] August 10, 2023 - 6 minutesmins - By Willow Shah-Neville Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 9 Aug 2023 Meet the startup working to help treat a rare pediatric cancer Nearly 50% of the children diagnosed with neuroblastoma are considered high-risk, where the tumor has spread, making surgery no longer a viable treatment option. Owing to this stark statistic, the disease is quite difficult to treat. But there might be light at the end of the tunnel. U.K.-based Renaissance Pharma’s drug candidate, which has shown […] August 9, 2023 - 7 minutesmins - By Roohi Mariam Peter Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email