News and Trends 18 Feb 2020 OncoDNA Secures €19M to Progress Precision Cancer Treatment Technology Belgian biotech OncoDNA has raised €19M in Series B funding to further develop its cancer diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making software. The funding was led by Vesalius Biocapital, a Luxembourg-based VC investor, Swiss VC firm Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank, and Belgian VC company SFPI-FPIM. Early investors in the company such as CPH Bank also contributed […] February 18, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Feb 2020 UK Biotech Closes €50M Series A for GPCR Drug Discovery Oxford-based OMass Therapeutics has extended its Series A round by €33M to fund the spectrometry-assisted development of drugs targeting G protein-coupled receptors. OMass Therapeutics’s Series A initially raised €17M in late 2018. The new funds bring this up to €50M (£41.5M). Investors in the most recent fundraise included the UK VC firm Syncona — which […] February 17, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Feb 2020 Italian Investment Firm AurorA Science Launches to Support Early Stage Biotechs Italian technology transfer company AurorA-TT has joined forces with drug discovery companies Rottapharm Biotech and Italfarmaco to launch the biotech investment enterprise AurorA Science to support early stage biotechs. The partnership plans to invest €1–5M in each of one or two European start-ups this year. It is particularly focusing on promising biotechs in any area […] February 14, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 14 Feb 2020 Novadiscovery Carries out Clinical Trials using AI and Simulations Novadiscovery, based in Lyon, France, is developing AI-based simulation technology to predict clinical trial outcomes and cut their running costs. Mission: To predict the outcomes of clinical trials in silico using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and computational models of the biology underlying the disease. Clinical trials cost the healthcare industry billions of euros […] February 14, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Feb 2020 Novozymes Launches Super Robust Yeast to Maximize Biofuel Production The Danish industrial biotech company Novozymes has announced the launch of its latest non-GM yeast technology, Innova Fit, which it says reduces biofuel production bottlenecks caused by conventional and basic yeast. Biofuels, including ethanol, are a renewable energy source being used as a replacement for fossil fuels, with substantially reduced CO2 emissions, particularly in the transport […] February 14, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Feb 2020 French Partnership Deploys AI for Antibody Drug Discovery French companies OSE Immunotherapeutics and MAbSilico are teaming up to drive the discovery of new antibody drugs using artificial intelligence. The three-year partnership will use artificial intelligence, or AI, in six programs designed to accelerate the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that can target cancer and autoimmune diseases. AI can improve the efficiency of […] February 13, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Feb 2020 UK-Swiss Collaboration to Boost Biotech Profits with Automation A partnership between the UK lab automation company Arctoris and Swiss software firm Molecule aims to make it easier to share drug intellectual property in a time of declining returns in pharma. The pharmaceutical industry is struggling with the rising costs of developing new drugs. In fact, the return on investment for drug discovery is […] February 13, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Feb 2020 Charcoal-Based Treatment Can Protect Gut Microbiome from Antibiotics Ingestible pellets containing a charcoal-like treatment — designed by the French company Da Volterra — can stop the microbiome from being disrupted in hospitalized patients treated with antibiotics. The treatment also showed the potential to reduce the risk of Clostridium difficile gut infections in a phase II trial. When patients are given antibiotics for infections, […] February 12, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 12 Feb 2020 Boosting Cancer Research by Unlocking Genomic Data More genomic data is produced today than ever before as it’s fundamental to the development of new medicines. But although there is a lot of data out there, much of it is inaccessible. With a background in computer science and bioinformatics, Fiona Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of Repositive, decided to overcome this bottleneck and open […] February 12, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Feb 2020 French Biotech Raises €20M to Make Precision Molecular Diagnostics Stilla Technologies has raised a €20M Series C round to fund its mission to produce next-generation microchips that make molecular diagnostics more precise and user-friendly than currently available lab technology. Contributors to the round included Stilla’s existing investors, such as Illumina Ventures, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners. Stilla also added the Chinese company TUS-Holdings to […] February 11, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 11 Feb 2020 Why European Biotechs Should Look to China for Investment Traditionally European biotechs have looked to the US for additional investment, but changes in the law and significant economic success in the country in recent years means that new opportunities are opening up in China that are ripe for exploitation. China has a massive population and a correspondingly large patient group. Homegrown science is pretty […] February 11, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Feb 2020 First-in-Class Drug For Inherited Metabolic Diseases Funded with €25M The Dutch startup Azafaros has raised €25M in Series A funding to push its drug for inherited lysosomal storage disorders into phase I. The round was led by the Dutch VC firm Forbion. Other investors participating in the round included the Swiss firm BioMedPartners and the Dutch company BioGeneration Ventures, which was Azafaros’ founding investor […] February 10, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email