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
News and Trends 27 Feb 2020 Scientists Recycle Agricultural Waste into Laundry Enzymes Scientists from the UK and India have recycled the byproducts of mustard oil production to develop an enzyme that can be used in commercial laundry detergents. Lipases are the second-largest commercially produced enzymes, with an estimated market value of more than €16B. They are used in various industries to produce fine chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and […] February 27, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Feb 2020 Scientists Connect Brain Cells to Machines Over the Internet An international group of researchers has set up a brain-machine interface between cultured nerve cells and electronic chips linked over the internet, which could lead to the development of AI implants for treating neurological disorders. As described in a study published in Nature Scientific Reports, the team set up a system where cultured rat nerve […] February 27, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Feb 2020 Bicycle Therapeutics Partners Genentech in Deal Worth €1.6B UK biotech Bicycle Therapeutics will collaborate with Genentech, now part of the Roche Group, to develop novel cancer immunotherapies and take them to market. Genentech will pay €28M upfront to Bicycle, but if discovery, regulatory and commercial milestones are met then the deal could be worth up to €1.6B for the Cambridge-based company. Bicycle’s technology […] February 26, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Feb 2020 French Startup Raises €6M to Develop Cheap Single-Cell Sequencing Kits Scipio bioscience has raised €6M in a Series A round to launch cost-effective single-cell RNA sequencing kits, which could have big potential in profiling cells for research and clinical diagnostics. The round was led by M Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Merck. Other investors in the round included Seventure Partners’ seed fund Quadrivum […] February 26, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Feb 2020 European Researchers to Make Light Bulbs using Bacteria A team of scientists from Austria, Spain, and Italy is working to make LED light bulbs out of proteins produced by bacteria. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are widely seen as a key tool for making lighting eco-friendly because they are more energy-efficient than traditional bulbs. However, the coatings of these devices — designed to absorb […] February 25, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 25 Feb 2020 Biotechnology Is Changing How We Make Clothes The fashion industry is seeing the beginnings of a biotechnological revolution: using biology to make clothing to make textiles better and more sustainable. Biotechnology already plays an important role in the textile industry. Enzymes are used routinely to wash and bleach textiles, to give jeans a denim look or to prevent wool from shrinking. A […] February 25, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Feb 2020 Update: Janssen and Maze Jump on Board Finnish Genomics Project Update (25/02/2020): Janssen and the US company Maze Therapeutics are the latest pharma companies to sign up as partners in the public-private genomics collaboration FinnGen. FinnGen’s pharma partners now total 11, including Sanofi and GSK, which joined early last year. Published 23/01/2019: Sanofi and GSK have joined up with a project collecting genomic and health […] February 25, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Feb 2020 Adrenomed’s Antibody Drug Scores Hit in Phase II Septic Shock Trial German biotech Adrenomed reports that its first-in-class antibody drug adrecizumab was well-tolerated by septic shock patients and met its primary goal in a phase II trial. The company says it will release more detailed trial data in a peer-reviewed paper later in the year, but states that patients given adrecizumab, as opposed to placebo, had […] February 24, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email