News and Trends 13 Nov 2019 Mass Layoffs as Dutch Biotech Cancels Phase III Cell Therapy Trial The Dutch company Kiadis Pharma has discontinued the development of a cell therapy in blood cancer, laid off half of its workforce, and switched focus to other, less advanced cell therapy programs. The abandoned phase III trial was testing Kiadis Pharma’s lead cell therapy for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease, a complication of stem cell […] November 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Nov 2019 First Results Out for Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Therapy in Solid Tumors The Belgian company Celyad has released the first interim clinical efficacy data for an off-the-shelf CAR T-cell immunotherapy in solid tumors. The interim results come from an ongoing phase I trial in patients with colorectal cancer. Of the 12 patients given Celyad’s CAR T-cell immunotherapy so far, six have seen their tumors shrink. The therapy […] November 12, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Inside Labiotech 12 Nov 2019 Here’s Labiotech.eu’s Master Plan for the Future! 🚀 A few months ago, we introduced Labiotech Insider, our membership program, to our readers. Thanks to your feedback and support, we’re now convinced this model is the way forward for our media. Today marks a new step in our development, with the launch of new features, a new commitment from our investors, and big ambition […] November 12, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Joachim Eeckhout Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Nov 2019 Argenx Raises Whopping €502M in Global Offering The Dutch biotech argenx, which develops antibody drugs to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer, has raised an eye-watering €502M ($557M) in a global offering on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and Euronext Brussels. Argenx’s global offering was launched last week. It consists of a private placement in Europe as well as a public offering in the […] November 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 11 Nov 2019 Mereo BioPharma’s Brittle Bone Disease Drug Stumbles in Phase II The lead drug of the UK company Mereo BioPharma has achieved mixed results in a phase IIb trial in adults with the genetic condition osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. Mereo tested different doses of its antibody drug in 112 adults with osteogenesis imperfecta in a 12-month phase IIb trial. The drug failed […] November 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Nov 2019 EU Project Receives €15M to Bring mRNA Therapy to a Wider Audience An EU research project has launched with the aim of bringing mRNA treatments to a wider range of patients and diseases. The EXPERT – Expanding Platforms for Efficacious mRNA Therapeutics – project is a collaboration among academics and industry experts from 11 countries who will work on a novel delivery system for messenger (m)RNA therapeutics […] November 8, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 7 Nov 2019 Avantium Builds 10-Ton Demonstration Plant to Produce Bioplastics The Dutch bioplastics company Avantium has opened a demonstration plant capable of producing 10 tons per year of mono-ethylene glycol (MEG), a compound used to make plastics, using plants as the starting material. Construction of Avantium’s plant began at Chemie Park Delfzijl, the Netherlands, last year. The plant will extract carbohydrates from agricultural waste and […] November 7, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Nov 2019 €51M Nasdaq IPO Will Fund Centogene’s Rare Disease Diagnostics The German company Centogene has raised €50.6M ($56M) in an IPO on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange to fund the development of diagnostics technology that could improve the treatment of rare diseases. The fundraise fell under Centogene’s target value of €54M ($60M). A part of the proceeds will fuel the development of biomarkers that Centogene will […] November 7, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Nov 2019 UK Biotech Launched to Target ‘Dark Antigens’ with Cancer Vaccines The London-based startup Ervaxx has launched with a €15.8M Series A round to develop cancer vaccines and cell therapies that target ‘dark antigens’ — normally silent genes in the genome that are expressed in cancer cells. Ervaxx’s Series A round was funded by the transatlantic venture capital firm SV Health Investors, as well as an […] November 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Nov 2019 UK Scientists Speed up Brain Cancer Diagnosis with AI A technique combining a blood test with artificial intelligence (AI), developed by the UK company ClinSpec Diagnostics, could help to prioritize which patients need to be scanned for brain cancer. A team led by researchers at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh, UK, trialed the technology on blood samples from 400 people […] November 5, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Nov 2019 EU Regulations Are Holding Back Gene and Cell Therapy Clinical Trials European regulations might be responsible for lower numbers of advanced therapy clinical trials running in the region when compared to the US and Asia. Europe has historically been a pioneer in advanced therapies, such as cell and gene therapy. Europe was the first region to approve a gene therapy, and it boasts the highest number […] November 5, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 5 Nov 2019 How Sweden’s Intellectual Property Law Boosts Biotech Innovation Founding one biotech company and making a success of it is difficult enough, but Mathias Uhlén has founded 20. Not only is he a successful entrepreneur, he is also a professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and has accumulated more than €135M in research funding during his career. After doing a PhD […] November 5, 2019 - 10 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email