News and Trends 11 Mar 2020 Phase III Fail for MedDay’s Multiple Sclerosis Treatment A drug developed by the French company MedDay Pharmaceuticals has failed to treat progressive forms of multiple sclerosis in a phase III trial. The 642 patients recruited into the trial received either a placebo or a high dose of pharmaceutical-grade Biotin, also known as vitamin B₇. The patients had various forms of the autoimmune condition […] March 11, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Mar 2020 Update: Carmat’s Artificial Heart Reaches Two Year Milestone Update (11/03/2020): In a record first, Carmat announced today that one patient in its artificial heart trial has had the device implanted for 2 years. “Passing a two-year period of individual functioning is very encouraging, and confirms the capacity of our device to provide long-term support, which is one of our two key objectives along […] March 11, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Mar 2020 LSP Raises €528M in Largest European Life Sciences Investment Fund Healthcare investor Life Sciences Partners has closed the largest ever European venture capital fund dedicated to new medicines and technologies after raising €528M. LSP 6, the company’s largest private equity fund to date, attracted significantly more than the original €396M target from a diverse investor group that included governments and the EU-supported European Investment Fund. […] March 10, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 6 Mar 2020 This Startup Is Developing a DIY Biomarker Diagnostics Kit The Swedish medical device startup Qlife is developing a diagnostic kit that patients can use at home to better control chronic diseases. Mission: To make convenient diagnostics for patients with a home-use kit that they can use to monitor blood biomarkers in chronic conditions such as arthritis. Chronic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes […] March 6, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Mar 2020 Drug Development Costs Lower Than Pharma Companies Claim A team of UK and Belgian scientists has reported that drug companies spend up to €1.3B less on drug development than previously suggested, which raises questions about high drug prices set by some biotech and pharma companies. The study, published in the journal JAMA, took publicly available data from pharma company financial reports with the […] March 5, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Mar 2020 Immunocore Raises €117M to Develop Immunotherapies for Cancer and Hepatitis B UK biotech Immunocore has raised €116.7M in Series B funding to develop drugs that harness the body’s immune cells to fight cancer, viral infections, and autoimmune diseases. This latest funding round for the company, which specializes in redirecting and activating T-cells, includes an international group of new investors led by the US private equity firm […] March 4, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Mar 2020 CN Bio Raises €8M to Boost Organ-on-a-Chip Rollout UK cell culture specialist CN Bio Innovations has secured €7.98M (£7M) from Chinese investors to bolster its US market and expand European activities. Investment in the bioengineering company was led by Chinese investor CITIC Securities Company and with further support from existing Hong Kong-based investor CN Innovations Holdings. CN Bio, which creates benchtop instruments to […] March 4, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Mar 2020 Alnylam Gets Second RNAi Drug Approval from EMA US biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has succeeded in getting its second RNAi drug — for treatment of rare, inherited liver diseases — approved by the European Medicines Authority just months after achieving US FDA approval for the same drug. Alnylam are well known for being pioneers in the RNA interference space. The company achieved the first […] March 3, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 3 Mar 2020 How Immunotherapy Could Stop and Prevent Type 1 Diabetes People with type 1 diabetes need lifelong treatments of daily insulin injections to manage their condition that still leave them at risk of long-term complications. Immunotherapy could one day become an insulin-free alternative to stop, prevent, and potentially cure this chronic disease. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the insulin-producing beta cells in […] March 3, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Mar 2020 Evonetix Raises €27M Series B to Progress DNA Synthesis Technology UK synthetic biology company Evonetix raised €27M in Series B funding to develop its fast DNA synthesis technology and produce a working prototype of the company’s desktop platform. New investor Foresite Capital, a US-based VC firm, led the round, although all the company’s earlier Series A investors, such as the tech-focused VC’s Draper Esprit and […] March 2, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Feb 2020 Lasers Used To Make Rapid Antibiotic Resistance Test Researchers from the University of Southampton in the UK have used laser technology to create a paper-based test that can identify bacteria in a urine sample and tell whether the species is showing antibiotic resistance. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most commonly diagnosed infections worldwide and are typically caused by bacteria such as Escherichia […] February 28, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 28 Feb 2020 This Startup Is Automating the Manufacture of Gene and Cell Therapies In London, the firm Ori Biotech is developing an automated way to manufacture gene and cell therapies, a bottleneck for many biotech companies. Mission: To develop a robotic system to automate the labor-intensive tasks involved in manufacturing cell and gene therapies, such as gene transduction and cell expansion. Gene and cell therapies are maturing as […] February 28, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email