News and Trends 18 Aug 2020 Women’s Health Gains Traction as Bayer Pays €736M for UK Firm Bayer’s recent €736M ($875M) acquisition of KaNDy Therapeutics could herald growing investor interest in women’s health – a historically neglected field in the biotech and pharma industry. Through this deal, Bayer has snapped up KaNDy Therapeutics’ first-in-class drug for treating hot flashes and night sweats, which often occur during the menopause. In a phase IIb […] August 18, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Aug 2020 CureVac Continues Covid-19 Vaccine Funding Frenzy with €180M IPO The share price of CureVac has skyrocketed almost fivefold after the Covid-19 vaccine developer priced a Nasdaq IPO at €180M ($213M). The excitement around messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against Covid-19 could also benefit other players in mRNA therapeutics. CureVac’s IPO was priced at €14 ($16) per share, giving the German company a valuation of around […] August 17, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Aug 2020 Record Funding for Gene and Cell Therapy Accompanies Turbulent Times European companies developing advanced therapies such as gene and cell therapies secured at least €2.2B ($2.6B) in the first half of 2020. While this is encouraging in the face of Covid-19, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for all startups in the field, with many struggling to stay afloat during crippling national lockdowns. The funding received […] August 14, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Aug 2020 Why are Some European Biotechs Going Public Without an IPO? European biotech companies are flocking to the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2020, but not all are going the traditional Initial Public Offering (IPO) route. What does this mean for the dominance of the biotech IPO in Europe? In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, biotech IPOs have continued unabated. In fact, a report from Bioworld found […] August 13, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 12 Aug 2020 Life at its Limits: The Biotech Industry Embraces Extremophiles Sometimes in biotech, when your standard E. coli just won’t cut it, something more exotic is needed. Could extremophiles be the answer? Given enough time, and the right mutations, life can adapt to thrive in even the most inhospitable environments. From volcanic hot springs to hyper-saline soils, microbes have made their homes pretty much everywhere. […] August 12, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Farhan Mitha Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Aug 2020 How European Startups Have Advanced Cancer T-Cell Therapy in 2020 With the help of a huge €66M Series A round last week, the German startup T-knife is developing cancer T-cell immunotherapies with the help of genetically modified mice. However, this is just one of several cancer T-cell therapy startups making advances this year, with other innovations including off-the-shelf treatments and a potential universal cancer therapy. […] August 11, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 10 Aug 2020 Keep an Open Mind for a Successful Career in Biotech It can pay to take your time and keep your options open when choosing a life sciences career. Henrijette Richter, Managing Partner at French VC Sofinnova Partners, knows this from her experience of becoming a successful biotech investor. Richter started out as a scientist working in the industry and completed a PhD with the Danish […] August 10, 2020 - 13 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Aug 2020 €112M Fund Launched to Commercialize UCL’s Gene Therapy Research The leading UK institution University College London and the firm AlbionVC have made the first closing of a €112M (£100M) fund with the aim of investing in UCL research and spinouts with a focus on gene and cell therapy. This is the second so-called UCL Technology Fund and could double the size of the first, […] August 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Antara Mazumdar Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Aug 2020 DBV Technologies’ Peanut Allergy Patch Suffers FDA Setback A request for market approval of a skin patch developed by French biotech DBV Technologies to treat peanut allergy has been turned down by the FDA, which has requested more data and design changes. The response from the FDA is a blow for the company which had been working towards getting the patch onto the […] August 6, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Aug 2020 Oxford Nanopore’s Portable Covid-19 Test Launched in UK UK biotech Oxford Nanopore has launched a portable test that can detect both Covid-19 and seasonal flu viruses in saliva or swabs in a little over an hour. The quick output of Oxford Nanopore’s test, called LamPORE, is expected to be a huge improvement on existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, considered the gold standard […] August 5, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 3 Aug 2020 Meet 10 European Biotech Initiatives Increasing Wildlife Biodiversity In the fight against shrinking biodiversity, biotechnology could be a lifesaver. These European biotech initiatives are making a difference for wildlife biodiversity worldwide. Human activity is having a massive impact on wildlife biodiversity. According to a global study, 75% of terrestrial ecosystems and 66% of marine ecosystems are severely altered. This threatens the extinction of […] August 3, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Reports 30 Jul 2020 Current and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches for Autoimmune Diseases Over 4% of the world’s population suffers from one or more of over 80 autoimmune diseases identified to date. A large variety of treatment approaches has already been developed to curb the detrimental effects of autoimmune diseases, and the market continues to flourish. In fact, it is estimated to reach a staggering value of €7.06B […] July 30, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email