News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 CureVac and Genmab Team up to Make Antibody Cancer Drugs out of RNA The German biotech CureVac has signed a deal potentially worth over €1B with Danish antibody developer Genmab to develop messenger RNA drugs that carry the instructions for therapeutic antibodies to be produced inside cancer patients. “We believe that the collaboration with Genmab represents the first antibody deal in the field of mRNA,” stated Daniel Menichella, […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 Update: First Ever Ebola Vaccine Gets US and EU Approval Update (20/12/2019): After getting conditional approval in Europe in November, Merck has received FDA approval for its Ebola vaccine, the first to be approved in both regions. Published on 13/11/2019 The big pharma company Merck has won a conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission for the Ebola vaccine Ervebo, the first to be approved. […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 Freeline’s Rare Disease Gene Therapies Get €72M Series C Boost The UK gene therapy biotech Freeline Therapeutics is to receive an investment worth €72M (£61.1M) from the UK VC firm Syncona in a Series C round to fund the clinical development of gene therapies for the blood disorder hemophilia B, Fabry disease, and other rare conditions. Of the €72M commitment, Syncona has already wired €36M […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 18 Dec 2019 How BioNTech Navigates the Biotech Fundraising Maze BioNTech is on a mission to individualize cancer therapy by developing a range of different innovative therapies, a task that can be a rollercoaster ride, according to its Chief Business and Commercial Officer Sean Marett. It’s been an interesting year for the German biotech. In July the company raised one of the biggest ever European […] December 18, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 18 Dec 2019 French Biotech Raises €20M to Treat Cannabis Addiction Without Side Effects Bordeaux-based Aelis Farma will use €20M in fresh funding to develop a new treatment for cannabis addiction and cannabis-induced psychosis, as well as a therapy for cognitive deficits in Down’s syndrome. The funding consists of €11M from a financing round coming mostly from regional investors, in addition to €9M raised through research grants. The […] December 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Dec 2019 Cellestia Secures €18M to Develop First-in-Class Cancer Drug Basel-based Cellestia Biotech has closed a €18M Series B financing round to help progress its first-in-class, targeted cancer drug to the clinic. The Swiss company is focusing on treating cancers that have a mutation in the Notch pathway, a group of proteins that helps cells communicate with each other. Many cancers have mutations in these […] December 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 18 Dec 2019 Truffle Capital Raises €250M Fund to Launch Life Science Startups The French VC firm Truffle Capital has closed a fund worth €250M with a mission to nurture companies specializing in medical devices and robotics. The fund, named BioMedTech, will be used to create around 12 companies, with a focus on French startups. The majority of the fund, around 60%, came from French investors and the […] December 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Dec 2019 Update: Cell Therapy Biotech Raises €47M to Fund NASH Clinical Trial Update (17/12/2019): Promethera has increased the total raised in its Series D round to €47.2M with the addition of new investors, including Innovation Growth Ventures and Pegasus Tech Ventures among others. The round will fund two ongoing clinical trials and the start of at least two new trials outside Europe. Published on 07/05/2019 The Belgian […] December 17, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Dec 2019 Amarin’s Triglyceride-Lowering Drug Gets Second FDA Nod to Tackle Cardiovascular Disease A treatment developed by the Irish company Amarin has become the first FDA-approved drug to lower the risk of strokes and heart attacks when combined with statins in patients with high levels of circulating fat molecules called triglycerides. To be eligible for Vascepa, patients must also either have established cardiovascular disease, or type 2 diabetes […] December 16, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 16 Dec 2019 10 Holiday Gifts for the Biotechnologist in Your Life Socks and sweaters are great gifts for Christmas, but sometimes, a bit of biotech love goes a long way. Here’s a list of cool holiday gifts to get for your biotech friends and family. Whether it’s a fancy genetics shoulder bag, a cuddly immune cell, or glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, you have this holiday sorted. DNA-shaped […] December 16, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Dec 2019 Transgene’s Cancer Vaccine Abandoned after Phase II Fail French biotech Transgene has ceased the development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine that failed to shrink tumors in patients with lung cancer in a phase II trial. In the phase II trial, Transgene tested its therapeutic cancer vaccine in combination with chemotherapy and the checkpoint inhibitor drug nivolumab, marketed as Opdivo. The treatment failed to […] December 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Dec 2019 Iterum Therapeutics Reels from Antibiotic Phase III Fail An antibiotic candidate developed by the Irish company Iterum Therapeutics has failed to meet the main goal of a phase III trial, a blow for efforts to meet the challenge of global antibiotic resistance. Iterum Therapeutics’ drug sulopenem was tested in a phase III trial that recruited 674 patients suffering from complicated intra-abdominal infections. These […] December 12, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email