News and Trends 10 Jan 2020 Eyevensys’ Gene Therapy for Blindness Boosted with €27M Series B The French company Eyevensys has raised €27M to fund the launch of a phase II trial for its lead candidate, a non-viral gene therapy for an eye condition called uveitis that can lead to blindness. The Series B round was led by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund. New investors to Eyevensys in this round included […] January 10, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 10 Jan 2020 This Biotech Makes Easily Implantable Artificial Cornea Transplants CorNeat Vision, based in Israel, is developing an easily-implantable and affordable artificial cornea that could one day replace donor corneas in people needing transplants and therefore address the shortage of donor tissue. Mission: To develop a cornea made from plastic that is easier to supply and implant than donor corneas. The implant is also designed […] January 10, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Jan 2020 Emergex Vaccines Secures €10M to Advance Synthetic Vaccine Development The UK biotech Emergex Vaccines has raised over €9.9M in a Series A funding round, which will allow it to progress the development of vaccines against diseases such as dengue, influenza, and Ebola to phase I clinical trials. Emergex specializes in the development of ‘set-point’ vaccines, which company CEO and co-founder Thomas Rademacher describes as […] January 9, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Jan 2020 French Biotech Raises €19M to Hit Phase I with Cancer Immunotherapy Alderaan Biotechnology has raised an €18.5M Series A round to push its lead cancer immunotherapy drug to phase I. The UK VC firm Medicxi and the returning French VC investor Advent France Biotechnology contributed to the round. Alderaan, whose name was inspired by a fictional planet in the Star Wars movies, will use part of […] January 9, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jan 2020 Therachon Founders Spin Out New Rare Disease Biotech With €31M Investment The founders of Swiss biotech Therachon have launched a new company called VectivBio, also based in Basel, with €31M funding to develop drugs for rare diseases. The spin-out comes after Therachon was acquired by Pfizer last year in a deal worth up to €700M. Therachon’s CEO, CBO, CFO and CMO will all move to the […] January 8, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jan 2020 NorthSea Therapeutics Raises €36M to Complete NASH Phase II Trial The Dutch biotech NorthSea Therapeutics has raised a €36M ($40M) Series B round to fund the end of a phase IIb trial of its lead fatty acid drug to treat the liver condition NASH, as well as advancing two other drugs to clinical trials. There were two newcomers to the round: the US investor venBio […] January 8, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Jan 2020 Update: Chinese Pharma Enlists Synaffix’s ADC Technology for Second Drug Update (07/01/2020): Shanghai Miracogen has expanded its pre-existing license agreement with the Dutch biotech Synaffix. Under the terms of the new agreement, the Chinese pharma will use Synaffix’s antibody-drug conjugate technology to develop a second drug for the treatment of cancer. No financial details were disclosed. Published 10/04/2019: Shanghai Miracogen will pay up to €111M […] January 7, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Jan 2020 AstraZeneca Recruits RNA Biotech to Develop Metabolic Disease Therapies The UK biotech MiNA Therapeutics has launched a collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop small activating RNA drugs, which could treat metabolic diseases using targets unreachable by current medications. According to the agreement, the two partners will carry out preclinical research with the aim of generating candidate drugs based on small activating RNA, or saRNA — […] January 7, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 7 Jan 2020 A Different Culture Shaping Synthetic Biology in Europe Synthetic biology research is strong in Europe, but the region has much to learn from the US when it comes to commercial translation, attracting investment and liaising with regulators. Europe’s synthetic biology scene is on the cusp of maturity. European teams dominated many areas in the overgraduate category at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) […] January 7, 2020 - 8 minutesmins - By David Kirk Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Jan 2020 BioNTech’s RNA-Boosted CAR T-Cell Therapy Shrinks Tumors in Mice A CAR T-cell therapy amplified by RNA technology, developed by BioNTech, has shown preclinical potential for tackling solid tumors, which are hard to treat with current CAR T-cell therapies. In a study published in Science, the CAR T-cell and RNA combination therapy suppressed tumors in mice implanted with human ovarian cancer for longer than regular […] January 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Jan 2020 €5M Investment to Fund French Biotech’s Resistance-Busting Antibiotic Mutabilis has received a €5M investment from the Danish VC Novo Holdings’ REPAIR Impact Fund to fuel the development of a new class of antibiotics that could kill drug-resistant strains of gram-negative bacteria. The French company will use the money to advance one of its preclinical drugs, a wide-spectrum intravenous antibiotic, to clinical trials. The […] January 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Jan 2020 Update: CARB-X Grants Antabio Additional €4M to Develop Cystic Fibrosis Antibiotic Update (03/01/2020): The global non-profit partnership CARB-X has awarded Antabio €4M ($4.4M) as a second grant installment funding development of a novel antibiotic for use against Pseudomonas infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. This is the second installment of a grant worth up to €7.6M awarded to Antabio in 2017. The French biotech was awarded […] January 3, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email