News and Trends 16 Jun 2022 Spirea raises £2.4M to develop antibody drug conjugates in cancer Funding of £2.4 million ($2.9 million) has been secured by UK-based company, Spirea Limited, to advance a new generation of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics. The company will use the funds to initiate its pipeline of ADCs in the treatment of solid tumors where they say there is a high unmet need. Targeted therapies, especially […] June 16, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Liza Laws Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Jun 2022 Molecular farming company Moolec Science joins with LightJump to list on Nasdaq Moolec Science Ltd., a science-based food ingredient company, and LightJump Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, have agreed to a business combination that would result in Moolec Science SA, a newly-created affiliate of Moolec incorporated in Luxembourg, becoming a publicly listed company. Moolec and U.S.-based LightJump will ultimately become wholly-owned subsidiaries of […] June 16, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Jun 2022 Clean and green: Unilever and Geno launch $120m palm oil alternatives venture Unilever and U.S. biotech company Genomatica (Geno) are working on a plan to scale and commercialize alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients. The companies said due to growing demand for sustainably-sourced palm oil, they aim to deliver new responsibly-sourced palm oil alternatives to the market. With $120m jointly invested in the newly-formed […] June 16, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2022 TILT Biotherapeutics raises $10M to push ahead on cancer immunotherapies TILT Biotherapeutics (TILT), a clinical-stage Finnish biotech company developing cancer immunotherapies, has completed the first close of its financing round, raising $10.7 million. It was led by Lifeline Ventures and joined by Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd). The funding will be used to advance phase I/II programs in Europe and the U.S., using TILT-123 plus […] June 15, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2022 Sling Therapeutics emerges with $35M to tackle thyroid eye disease Michigan-based biopharma company Sling Therapeutics, Inc. has launched, with $35 million in series A financing led by TPG’s The Rise Fund. The company is focused on late-stage development of an oral small molecule for the treatment of thyroid eye disease (TED). The funds support a phase 2b clinical trial evaluating its investigational drug, linsitinib. “We […] June 15, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2022 Eurocine Vaccines expands portfolio to develop HSV-2 vaccine Swedish company Vaccines AB (Eurocine Vaccines) has entered into a research and collaboration agreement with Redbiotec AG. The agreement gives Eurocine Vaccines the exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize vaccine candidates against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2), based on technologies developed by Swiss biotech company Redbiotec. The agreement covers both an mRNA […] June 15, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2022 Biotech companies to benefit from Third Rock Ventures $1.1B fund U.S. company Third Rock Ventures has closed Third Rock Ventures Fund VI, raising $1.1 billion. Fund VI will continue Third Rock’s core strategy to discover, launch and build new companies focused on improving the lives of patients. “An important differentiator for Third Rock is the strength and maturity of our ideation ecosystem,” said Reid Huber, […] June 15, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2022 NZ biotech company develops Johne’s Disease assay New Zealand biotech company Pictor Limited has been developing an accurate, affordable multiplexed diagnostic test for Johne’s Disease. Also known as Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) – Johne’s disease costs the New Zealand dairy industry upwards of NZ$80 million (US$50 million) a year in lost production. A global issue, Johne’s disease is a contagious, chronic, […] June 15, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2022 Biotech Acquisition Company and Blade Therapeutics merger collapses A proposed merger between Biotech Acquisition Company (BAC) and Blade Therapeutics, Inc. has been terminated with immediate effect. BAC said it intends to continue to pursue a business combination with another appropriate target. Michael Shleifer, chairman and CEO of BAC, and co-founder and managing partner of SPRIM Global Investments said, “We wish Blade continued success […] June 15, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Jun 2022 New EY report outlines challenges for biotech Although the biotech industry performed strongly during the COVID-19 pandemic, it now faces challenges to valuations and access to capital. This is according to the 32nd edition of the Beyond Borders report produced by Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). The report, which EY said is a ‘moment-in-time’ snapshot of the industry, says despite the […] June 13, 2022 - 5 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Jun 2022 GSK positive on RSV vaccine for older adults GSK plc has announced positive headline results from its AReSVi 006 phase III trial. AReSVi 006 is a phase III trial investigating GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate for adults aged 60 years and above. GSK said no unexpected safety concerns were observed. Dr Hal Barron, chief scientific officer and president, R&D, GSK, said, […] June 13, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 13 Jun 2022 DNA synthesis: tackling the main bottleneck in biology research A wave of new technologies to synthesize DNA faster, more cheaply and more accurately could have a far-reaching impact across all areas of biology research. More than ten years ago, Sylvain Gariel was working for the French oil company TotalEnergies, engineering microorganisms to produce biofuels. It was tedious work. “You had to introduce hundreds of […] June 13, 2022 - 10 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email