News and Trends 30 Jun 2020 Kymab Wins UK Supreme Court Antibody Battle Against Regeneron The UK Supreme Court has supported an appeal by British biotech Kymab to revoke antibody drug patents held by US giant Regeneron, a decision that could make it harder for big patent holders to clamp down on small innovators in the biotech industry. Kymab and Regeneron have been battling it out in the UK since […] June 30, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Jun 2020 Enterome Secures €46M to Take Microbiome Therapies to Clinical Trials French microbiome biotech Enterome has raised €46.3M in Series E funding to progress its cancer and inflammatory bowel disease therapies to phase I trials in a few weeks. Two new investors to Enterome — SymBiosis, a US-based investor, and the Japanese big pharma Takeda — took part in the fundraise in addition to existing investors […] June 29, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Jun 2020 Update: Hyloris Raises €62M IPO to Create More Drug Delivery Options Update (29/06/2020): Hyloris Pharmaceuticals’ Euronext IPO — one of only a handful of biotech and pharma IPOs on European soil in the last 18 months — has hit the midpoint of its expected pricing range with a value of €61.8M. The shares were priced at €10.75 each, which was comfortably between the minimum target of […] June 29, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jun 2020 UK Loosens Controls on GW’s Cannabinoid Epilepsy Drug A cannabinoid medication marketed by GW Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of severe forms of epilepsy will be more easily available to patients in the UK after the drug was moved to the least strict classification by the country’s Home Office. The medication — branded as Epidyolex in the EU and Epidiolex in the US — […] June 26, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jun 2020 CSL Behring Nabs UniQure’s Hemophilia Gene Therapy for up to €1.8B Big pharma CSL Behring will pay the Dutch gene therapy developer uniQure an upfront of €400M for the global rights to a phase III-stage gene therapy for the blood disorder hemophilia B. Under the terms of the agreement, uniQure will complete an ongoing phase III trial of the gene therapy, with topline results expected […] June 26, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jun 2020 Novozymes Launches Eco-Friendly Umami Flavoring Made with Enzymes As consumers demand more and better plant-based alternatives to meat, the Danish biotech company Novozymes has released an environmentally friendly way of producing umami flavorings using enzymes rather than chemical methods. Umami is the savory taste often associated with cooked meat. This flavor is triggered by an amino acid called glutamic acid, which is often […] June 25, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Jun 2020 Dutch VC Raises €105M to Nurture European Biotech Startups Biogeneration Ventures (BGV) has raised €105M for its fourth early-stage biotech fund, which aims to team up with academic institutions across Europe to create medical biotech companies. The fund, called BGV-IV, exceeded the amount the firm expected to raise. It attracted investors in previous funds back to the table such as the US big pharma […] June 24, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Jun 2020 Epidarex Capital Targets UK Biotech with €112M Venture Fund The transatlantic life science VC Epidarex Capital has closed its third fund at a value of €112.7M, which will be used to build new biotech companies from emerging hubs across the UK. The ‘Epidarex Capital III UK LP’ fund is based on a €55.2M (£50M) commitment from the British Business Bank. The remainder comes from […] June 22, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Jun 2020 Swedish Biotech’s Psoriasis Drug Beats Placebo in Phase II A new class of drug developed by the Swedish biotech company Affibody has proved better at treating symptoms of psoriasis than a placebo in a phase II trial, leading the company to develop the candidate for other conditions such as uveitis and psoriatic arthritis. The phase II study enlisted 108 patients with psoriasis, a chronic […] June 22, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By David Wilson Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 22 Jun 2020 The Age of Agrochemicals is Ending: It’s Time for Agricultural Biotechnology As Europe moves to reduce its reliance on agrochemicals in the farming system over the next 10 years and beyond, a crucial question emerges: what replaces them? Agricultural biotechnology could provide the answer. The use of agrochemicals — pesticides, fertilizers, and plant growth enhancers — has been crucial to humanity over the last century. They’ve […] June 22, 2020 - 9 minutesmins - By Farhan Mitha Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Jun 2020 Cancer Drug Inspired by Sea Animal Gets FDA Green Light The Spanish company PharmaMar’s stock price has shot up by 30% as its cancer drug lurbinectedin was given accelerated approval for the second-line treatment of metastatic small cell lung cancer in the US this week. Lurbinectedin will be marketed under the brand name Zepzelca and will be made commercially available in the US in early […] June 19, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Manuela Callari Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Jun 2020 Belgian mRNA Vaccine for Covid-19 Receives €34M Series B Boost Belgian biotech eTheRNA has secured €34M in Series B funding to progress to the clinic its Covid-19 vaccine candidate and cancer immunotherapies made from messenger RNA. The company’s five existing investors contributed to the round, including Dutch VC firm LSP, and the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, based in Germany. Four new investors also contributed — […] June 18, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email