In Depth 30 Dec 2020 A Look Back at the Past Decade of European Biotech As we prepare to enter a new decade, we look back on the major milestones and blunders within European biotech over the last 10 years. Over the last decade, we have seen many biotech breakthroughs to come from Europe, including first-in-class therapies for cancer, the first approved in vivo gene therapy, as well as notable […] December 30, 2020 - 15 minutesmins - By Karen O’Hanlon Cohrt Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 28 Dec 2020 A Year to Remember: The Biggest European Biotech News in 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic caused huge disruption for European biotech in 2020, but the industry pulled through. Let’s look back at some of the top moments in the last 12 months. After the many drug approvals, startup foundations, and venture capital highs we saw in 2019, it looked like 2020 was going to be a comfortable […] December 28, 2020 - 12 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 23 Dec 2020 Humble Beginnings: The Origin Story of Modern Biotechnology The history of modern biotechnology began around four decades ago with the invention of genetic engineering. Genentech, one of the fundamental companies in this field, set many trends for modern biotech companies today. Biotechnology doesn’t necessarily involve labs. In fact, humans have been using forms of biotechnology for millennia, for example, using fermentation to brew […] December 23, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Dec 2020 EMA Greenlights BioNTech and Pfizer mRNA Vaccine for Covid-19 BioNTech and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, made from messenger RNA, has become the first of its kind to be approved by the EMA. The EMA has granted conditional approval to Comirnaty, a vaccine against Covid-19 developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. The approval comes weeks after the UK became the first country in the world to approve […] December 22, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Dec 2020 Late-Stage Success Raises Hopes to Tackle Alzheimer’s via Inflammation Paris-based AB Science has scored a rare late-stage clinical triumph in the Alzheimer’s disease field with a drug that puts brakes on inflammation in the brain. Last week, AB Science reported successful results from a phase IIb/III clinical trial testing its drug masitinib in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Although the company […] December 21, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 21 Dec 2020 Enemy or Valuable Ally? How Biotech Uses Viruses for Good Taking advantage of the ability of viruses to manipulate life is opening new doors for the biotech industry. Once only seen as our enemies, viruses are fast becoming some of our most valuable allies. Viruses may not have the best public image, but to biotechnologists, there’s a lot to admire about them. These tiny molecular […] December 21, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Farhan Mitha Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Dec 2020 Covid-19 Leaves Lasting Impact on Hematology at ASH 2020 Conference Under the heavy shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, last week’s annual conference of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) displayed the achievements of many innovative treatments for blood conditions, including gene and cell therapies. A sweeping new wave of Covid-19 infections that is forcing new lockdowns across the northern hemisphere is already reshaping the biotech […] December 17, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Dec 2020 Will Europe Follow Singapore in Approving Cultured Meat? Singapore is the first country to grant approval to meat grown from animal cells, known as cultured meat. Will European countries follow suit? Eat Just is a San Francisco-based company that sells plant-based alternatives to eggs and other animal products. The firm made headlines last week when it got regulatory approval to market cultured chicken […] December 14, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 14 Dec 2020 How to Hire and Retain Talent in the Biotech Industry Hiring is a big challenge for biotech companies; life sciences recruitment experts share their strategies for attracting and retaining talent in the biotech industry. The big obstacle for life sciences recruiters is that companies in this industry generally require highly qualified candidates with very specific skills. “As every company is very specialized in what they […] December 14, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Dec 2020 The Manufacturing Challenge to Meet Covid-19 Vaccine Demands Companies developing vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics for Covid-19 are being forced to scale up manufacturing at high speed in order to meet the enormous demand. There has been an unprecedented amount of research carried out over the last year to develop vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Before Canada gave the […] December 9, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Dec 2020 Swiss Startup Tackles Tourette’s Syndrome Despite Recent Failures In spite of recent failures of clinical trials from others in the field, Swiss company Noema Pharma is gearing up to develop better treatments for the neurological condition Tourette’s syndrome. Noema Pharma will use a recent €49M Series A round to bankroll the phase I development of a candidate for Tourette’s syndrome along with the […] December 7, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 7 Dec 2020 Are We Still Friends? What Brexit Means for UK Synthetic Biology Synthetic biology is one of the big strengths of UK science, but can the country uphold its vantage point after Brexit, without the support of the EU? (Disclaimer: At the time of writing, no deal has been made between the UK and the EU following Brexit. This intrepid writer is an Irish citizen who made […] December 7, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By David Kirk Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email