News and Trends 29 May 2019 €60M Investment to Boost Oxford Biomedica’s Gene and Cell Therapies The Danish investor Novo Holdings is handing Oxford Biomedica up to €60.6M (£53.5M) to develop gene and cell therapies treating cancer and genetic blindness. The investment will bag Novo Holdings a stake of up to 10.1% in the UK biotech. Oxford Biomedica will use the money to repay a loan totalling €49M ($55M) from the […] May 29, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 28 May 2019 Nanomedicine Company Launches in France to Improve Drug Safety The French nanomedicine biotech Nanobiotix is spinning out a subsidiary company developing nanoparticles that can enhance a drug’s effectiveness and decrease side effects. Called Curadigm, the spinout will be developing nanotechnology with the potential to make low drug doses more effective at treating different conditions, which could make treatments cheaper and with fewer side effects […] May 28, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 28 May 2019 Getting Ahead of the Pack in the CAR-T Field Celyad is one of many companies in the immuno-oncology field seeking to take the lead in the development of a new generation of CAR-T cell therapy that outperforms its predecessors Yescarta and Kymriah in both efficacy and safety. Filippo Petti, CEO of Celyad, shares the company’s strategy to get ahead in such a crowded field. […] May 28, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 May 2019 Viral Vaccines Could Be Weapons Against Alzheimer’s Disease Scientists in Sweden have found that some viruses can increase the buildup of protein ‘plaques’ linked to Alzheimer’s disease, a discovery that could lead to new vaccines treating the condition. According to Kariem Ezzat, one of the lead researchers based in Stockholm University, the group is looking for industrial collaborators to develop vaccines against viruses […] May 28, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 24 May 2019 French Pharma Acquires Israeli Microalgae Biotech The French pharmaceutical manufacturer Solabia has acquired the Israeli biotech Algatech, which grows microalgae to produce bio-sourced food additives. The financial details of the acquisition were undisclosed. The incoming financial backing from Solabia will fuel the expansion of Algatech’s manufacturing muscle and research programs, which are based in the deserts of Israel. The acquisition represents […] May 24, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 24 May 2019 This Biotech Uses Gene Editing to Count Chickens Before They Hatch In the city of Jerusalem, eggXYt is developing gene edited chickens whose male chicks fluoresce inside the egg. This could prevent the suffering of billions of male chicks in the egg-production industry, which are currently culled after hatching. Mission: To develop a gene edited breed of chickens whose sex can be determined before hatching using […] May 24, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 23 May 2019 Irish Life Sciences VC Raises €118M Fund with European Focus Fountain Healthcare Partners has raised €118M in its third fund dedicated to investing in life sciences, with the majority of the funds destined to go to European companies. Of the total raised, €45M was contributed by the European Investment Fund, which invested in both of Fountain’s previous funds. Other investors are Coolidge Limited, the Ireland […] May 23, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 23 May 2019 Why Clinical Trial Design Can Make or Break Your Company Andreas Wallnöfer spent over 20 years working on drug development at Roche before moving to BioMedPartners to apply his expertise to biotech investment. At our recent Labiotech Refresh event in Zurich, he explained why good clinical trial design can be key to a biotech’s success. Wallnöfer was one of the pioneers of ‘proof of concept’ […] May 23, 2019 - 7 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Inside Labiotech 23 May 2019 See you Labiotech, it has been an awesome ride 🚀 It’s with a lot of emotion that I’m announcing this news today. I will step down as CEO of Labiotech, while my co-founder Joachim will lead the company forward. At the end of June, I will step down, and then remain a shareholder and on the board of the company to keep supporting the team […] May 23, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Philip Hemme Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 May 2019 Microbiome Companies Unite to Push for EU Regulation Reform European microbiome biotechs have launched a collaboration to streamline the EU’s regulatory pathways for microbiome-based treatments, which have the potential to treat inflammatory disease and bacterial infection. The companies will propose EU regulatory changes that make it easier to commercialize treatments based on targeting a patient’s microbiome bacteria. Microbiome-based treatments form a young field in […] May 22, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 21 May 2019 The Top 20 Women in Leading Biotech Roles in Europe The biotech industry has often been criticized for its lack of gender diversity. While there is still a long way to go to achieve ideal levels of equality, there are more and more women filling leading roles in companies across Europe. Here are 20 women making an impact in the European biotech industry. Diversity comes […] May 21, 2019 - 12 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 May 2019 UK Immune Cell Therapy Biotech Founded with €40M Series A Quell Therapeutics, a London-based biotech developing immune cell therapies to target transplant rejection and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, launched today with €40M series A funding. UK life sciences trust Syncona is the lead investor, with a €38.8M stake in the company. Syncona will own a controlling 69% of the business, reflecting their large initial investment. […] May 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email