News and Trends 16 Jul 2019 Boehringer Ingelheim Acquires Cancer Vaccine Biotech in €325M Deal The German giant Boehringer Ingelheim has acquired the Swiss company AMAL Therapeutics and its cancer vaccine technology in a deal worth up to €325M. The deal includes €225M in upfront and developmental milestone payments, as well as up to €100M in undisclosed commercial milestone payments. AMAL’s vaccine development pipeline includes five preclinical programs. The lead […] July 16, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Opinion 16 Jul 2019 The Business of Biotech: What to Do When the S*#t Hits the Fan From CEO-itis to FDA-itis, the path of a biotech company is never dull. Whether the oft-repeated saying, “may you live in interesting times,” is a blessing or a curse depends entirely on your perspective. As a life science venture capital investor with close to 25 years of experience, I have encountered many unexpected and interesting […] July 16, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Antoine Papiernik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jul 2019 Dutch-US Scientists Use Bacteria to Produce Graphene for Electronics An international group of researchers has made graphene more affordably and with a lower environmental impact than current chemical methods by using bacteria. Graphene is a very strong and conductive material that could revolutionize electronics and engineering. However, producing graphene in large quantities requires lots of energy and involves toxic chemicals, such as hydrazine, which […] July 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jul 2019 Gilead Pays Billions for Access to Galapagos’ Pipeline Gilead has launched a 10-year collaboration with the Belgo-Dutch biotech Galapagos, paying at least €4.5B ($5.1B) for commercial rights to Galapagos’s whole pipeline, including a phase III drug for pulmonary fibrosis. As part of the deal, Gilead will pay Galapagos €3.5B ($3.95B) upfront, with a further €1B ($1.1B) in equity investment. In return, Gilead gets […] July 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 12 Jul 2019 This Biotech Uses ‘Omics’ to Develop Treatments for Drug-Resistant Cancer Next time you travel to Barcelona, Spain, check out Aromics, a biotech that is using genomics and proteomics to develop treatments for cancers such as malignant mesothelioma, which can be caused by asbestos. Mission: To use omics technology to treat drug-resistant cancers, as well as to identify cancer biomarkers that could improve monitoring in clinical […] July 12, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 11 Jul 2019 Bayer Launches Israeli Company to Develop Viruses Against Crop Disease Bayer is backing the launch of the Israeli biotech Ecophage, which will develop environmentally friendly crop disease treatments based on bacteria-hunting viruses called bacteriophages. Bacteria can cause a range of diseases in crops, including blight and root rot. These infections are often hard to control because they happen faster than fungal infections. The treatments used […] July 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 11 Jul 2019 French Company Raises €29M to Sell Supplements and Cosmetics from Microalgae The French biotech Microphyt has raised €28.5M ($32M) to commercialize nutritional and cosmetic products harvested from microalgae. Over the next 18 months, Microphyt will use the money to ramp up its workforce and industrial capacity in preparation for pushing its microalgal food ingredients and cosmetics to market. The company is developing technology to overcome a […] July 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Jul 2019 French Startup’s Universal Flu Vaccine Development Boosted by €8M Series A The French biotech Osivax has advanced in the race to develop a universal flu vaccine, raising €8M to achieve clinical proof-of-concept. Osivax will use most of the funding to progress its lead candidate vaccine towards market approval. Targeting all strains of influenza A viruses, the vaccine is currently in a phase I trial, with results […] July 10, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Jul 2019 Anti-Aging Gene Therapy Treats Cardiovascular Disease in Mice A research group in Italy has reduced cardiovascular disease in mice by expressing an anti-aging gene often seen in centenarians. This could one day lead to a gene therapy treating the same condition in humans. Centenarians have long lives thanks to a mix of their environment, lifestyle, and their genes. In the past, researchers at […] July 10, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 10 Jul 2019 The Top 10 Biotechs You’ll Find in Lyon Lyon is one of the hotspots for biotech in Europe. Here are 10 of the most successful biotech companies in this beautiful French city. The second largest city in France (after Paris), Lyon boasts a thriving biotech ecosystem. In addition to the young startups and large biotech companies in the city, Lyon is also the […] July 10, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Jul 2019 Update: Swiss Biotech’s Series E Expanded to €271M to Commercialize Antibody-Guided Cancer Chemotherapy Update (09/07/2019): The Switzerland-based ADC Therapeutics has completed the final closing of a €271M ($303M) Series E round to finance the development of a phase II antibody-drug conjugate treatment for blood cancer. With its big Series E complete, the company is in a good financial position to prepare for the commercialization of its lead candidate […] July 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Jul 2019 BioNTech Raises Whopping €290M to Fund Personalized mRNA Vaccines for Cancer In one of the biggest ever funding rounds in European biotech, the German company BioNTech has raised a Series B of €289.5M ($325M) to develop individualized cancer vaccines. BioNTech will use the money to fuel the clinical development of the company’s lead program — an individualized mRNA-based immunotherapy for treating melanoma, which completed a phase […] July 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email