News and Trends 2 Nov 2021 The Top European Biotech Investment Rounds in October DNA manufacturing was a hot topic in biotech investments in October, with immuno-oncology and insect protein also drawing big investor excitement. After the huge biotech investment rounds that took place in September, October was a quieter month for private European and Israeli life sciences firms. Collectively, they raised €555.6M in 37 deals. This was less […] November 2, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 1 Nov 2021 “The Board of Directors Should Let the CEO Run the Company” The relationship between the board and the CEO can be essential to the success of a life sciences company. Drawing from his experience at both sides, Alan Levy shares his advice on how to make that relationship work. Once known as the person who introduced portable defibrillators on the market in the 1990s, Alan Levy […] November 1, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Oct 2021 DNA Manufacturing Startups Net Venture Capital Windfalls Touchlight Genetics and DNA Script have closed major venture financing rounds in the last month as investor excitement mounts over the next generations of DNA manufacturing. DNA Script made a big splash in Paris this week as it raked in €142M in Series C funding. The company will ramp up the commercialization of its benchtop […] October 28, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Opinion 27 Oct 2021 The Lab of the Future: Automation Takes Over in a Post-Pandemic World Life sciences research often involves costly and complex procedures that take time away from experiment planning. Lab automation could speed up the process across a range of areas, including drug development, diagnostics, and synthetic biology. Speed has always been a critical but somewhat elusive goal in life sciences research. While technological advances have led to […] October 27, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Oct 2021 Valneva’s Inactivated Covid-19 Vaccine Aces Phase III Trial Last week, the French vaccine maker Valneva announced promising phase III trial results of its inactivated Covid-19 vaccine: a well-established technology that could confer broader immunity to the virus than shots currently on the market. Valneva’s vaccine candidate consists of a killed or ‘inactivated’ version of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19. The vaccine was […] October 26, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Sponsored by OXGENE 26 Oct 2021 Plasmids: How to Solve a Bottleneck in Scalable Gene Therapy Manufacturing? As gene therapies become increasingly successful, companies are in a competitive race to deliver manufacturing technologies that can streamline large-scale production at reduced costs and faster turnaround times. However, plasmids, the building blocks of viral vectors, remain a bottleneck in gene therapy manufacturing. Two companies have united to provide exciting alternatives. With over 2,400 gene […] October 26, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Letícia Manosso Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 25 Oct 2021 Biotech Startups Face a Growing Wave of Cyberattacks The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year triggered a wave of cyberattacks in the life sciences industry, and the problem is likely to get worse. Biotech startups need to improve their cybersecurity, but where should they start? In January 2020, it was time to open the champagne for Andrew Sewell, Professor of Infection and […] October 25, 2021 - 11 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Oct 2021 Gene-Edited T Cell Therapy Players Battle Safety Doubts Confidence in gene-edited T cell therapies from donor cells has faltered as Allogene Therapeutics paused all clinical development following the detection of an unexpected genetic change in a clinical trial. Industry experts see these events as a reality check for the nascent field. Off-the-shelf treatments that use genetically engineered T cells to treat diseases suffered […] October 22, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 20 Oct 2021 Arming Biological Nanobots to Deliver Drugs Inside Our Bodies Nanobots are tiny biological machines that can deliver drugs to the target destination to make them more efficacious and reduce side effects, which are the biggest challenges of drug delivery. Traditional drug treatments, for example cancer chemotherapy, can come with toxic compounds that indiscriminately damage healthy tissues. Nanobots could circumvent this issue by protecting the […] October 20, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Carlos de Rojas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Oct 2021 Biotech VCs Face Funding Bulge Amid Struggling Stock Markets Despite volatile biotech stocks limiting options for exit, Sofinnova Partners’ latest €472M fund highlights ballooning European venture capital and its growing focus on early-stage biotech investments. Biotech fundraising broke records in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe. This year seems set to continue biotech’s winning streak in private fundraising. One example is a […] October 19, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Oct 2021 Third-Generation DNA Sequencing Shines with Oxford Nanopore’s IPO Oxford Nanopore Technologies, until recently one of very few unicorns in the European biotech industry, had a stellar IPO on the London Stock Exchange late last month. This is ushering in a whole new generation of DNA sequencing, genetics research, and diagnostics. During the first day of the IPO, which bagged the firm over €400M […] October 15, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 13 Oct 2021 Thinking About Risk Early on Is Key for Cell Therapy Success For cell therapy to become mainstream, important issues such as management of risk and quality control need to be addressed, argues Duncan Borthwick, Global Marketing Manager at cell therapy manufacturing firm Solentim. Research and development of cell therapies, along with other advanced medicines like gene therapies, has increased exponentially over the last few years. According […] October 13, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email