News and Trends 17 Apr 2020 French Biotech Licenses Microbiome Therapeutic to Treat Mood Disorders The microbiome company LNC Therapeutics has entered into a licensing agreement to use a specific strain of gut bacteria for the treatment of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. The agreement was made with the National Research Council (CSIC) in Spain, and gives LNC Therapeutics exclusive research, manufacturing, and commercialization rights of the microbiome-based […] April 17, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Apr 2020 Is New Enzyme Technology Key to Solving Society’s Plastic Problem? A new type of enzyme developed by the French company Carbios can break down more than 90% of the plastic PET, commonly used to make plastic bottles, and the byproducts can then be recycled into new PET. But how far does this go towards solving our plastic waste problem? PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, comprises around […] April 17, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 17 Apr 2020 Amphista Therapeutics Is Silencing Disease Proteins to Treat Cancer Amphista Therapeutics, based in Glasgow, Scotland, is the latest company to develop drugs called PROTACs, which are designed to make the cell degrade harmful proteins to treat cancer. Small molecule drugs have shown incredible potential for the treatment of cancer by blocking harmful proteins in the cell. However, many promising protein targets for cancer treatments […] April 17, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Apr 2020 Irish Biotech Raises €18M to Develop Non-Viral Cell Therapy Technology The Irish company Avectas has closed a Series C round to develop cell therapies that don’t need viral vectors — a common bottleneck in cell therapy manufacturing. The fundraise of approximately €18M brings Avectas’ total equity funding to around €37M. The round was led by the company’s current shareholders, which include the serial life sciences […] April 16, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Apr 2020 Healx Deploys AI Drug Discovery Technology Against Rare Nerve Disease The AI-driven drug repurposing company Healx has teamed up with the global Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) to develop new treatments for the genetic disease neurofibromatosis type 1, right after the FDA approved the first-ever drug for the condition. In the collaboration, the UK biotech will use its AI-driven pharmacology expertise to speed a candidate drug […] April 15, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 15 Apr 2020 Investing in the Microbiome in the Age of Covid-19 and Beyond For Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO and Managing Partner at Seventure Partners, 2020 was going to be an important year for microbiome research. However, the global coronavirus pandemic arrived, presenting one of the greatest unforeseen challenges in human history. I spoke to her about the microbiome field’s progress and the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic going […] April 15, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 13 Apr 2020 Need Funding to Fight Coronavirus? These Initiatives Have You Covered As coronavirus disease continues to take its devastating toll across the globe, there is a clear need for new strategies to curb it. Thankfully, initiatives are springing up around the world that can support European startups in the search for new methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Coronavirus disease, also known as Covid-19, is wreaking […] April 13, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Apr 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic Bites into European Cancer Research The UK funder Cancer Research UK and Swedish oncology biotech Alligator Bioscience have independently announced cuts to payroll and research costs due to the coronavirus disease pandemic. Cancer Research UK is cutting research funding by €50M after calculating it will lose a quarter or more of its annual fundraising income — or €137m — through […] April 10, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Apr 2020 Two European Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments Show Promise in Phase II An epigenetics drug developed by the Spanish biopharmaceutical company Oryzon has reduced aggressive behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and improved the experience of their caregivers in a phase IIa trial. At the same time, an Alzheimer’s vaccine developed by the Austrian biotech Axon Neuroscience has lowered a key blood biomarker of neurodegeneration by almost […] April 9, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By David Kirk Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 9 Apr 2020 How Video Content Can Be Your Best Ally for Your Life Science Brand Audiovisual information can open doors for your life science company. It can visualize what you are doing; it can illustrate your solution; it can grab the attention of key persons in your field, or of those interested in your service. And, above all, audiovisual information can create solid bonds with people worldwide. Your life science […] April 9, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Carlos de Rojas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Apr 2020 Evotec Makes Move into Gene Therapy with Takeda Deal German biotech giant Evotec has moved into gene therapy and partnered with Takeda to develop new therapies in oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience, and gastroenterology. The two companies did not reveal financial details of the collaboration, but did say that it will be a multi-year alliance that adds to Evotec’s existing deal with the big pharma […] April 8, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Apr 2020 UK Biotech’s Arthritis Drug Enters Study in Coronavirus Patients The UK company Izana Bioscience is freely providing its phase III-ready anti-inflammatory antibody namilumab in a compassionate use program for the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease in Italy. In severe cases of coronavirus disease, also known as Covid-19, patients experience hyperinflammation. One of the drivers of inflammation is thought to be a protein called […] April 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By David Kirk Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email