News and Trends 7 May 2019 Belgian Biotech Raises €30M Series A to Unlock Undruggable Targets Confo Therapeutics has raised €30M in a Series A round that will take its unique technology to find drugs for historically undruggable targets to clinical trials. The fundraising was led by the VCs BioGeneration Ventures and Wellington Partners, and joined by several other private and public investors. With the money, Confo Therapeutics aims to […] May 7, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 May 2019 Molecules in Bee Jelly Could Protect Whole Nests Against Viruses for Generations A research team has discovered that honeybees pass molecules of RNA to each other by sharing it in edible jelly, which could lead to vaccines that can stop generations of bees from dying from viral infections. Honeybees don’t just give us honey. As the dominant pollinators of lots of food crops, around a third of […] May 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 6 May 2019 2019 Will Be a “Year of Realism” for Biotech Investments Biotech investors regularly jump on new crazes, including the microbiome and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. At BIO-Europe Spring 2019, Regina Hodits, Managing Partner at German VC firm Wellington Partners Life Sciences, spoke to us about the firm’s realistic approach to biotech investment. Biotechnology is an industry with high risks and high rewards. Before a medical biotech […] May 6, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 May 2019 Drug Mopping Up Bacterial Toxins Shows Potential to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance in Phase I An antibiotic-enhancing drug developed by the Swiss biotech Combioxin to tackle antibiotic resistance showed promising effects in a phase I trial. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem around the world, causing common infections such as pneumonia to become harder to treat. As standard antibiotics become less and less effective, we urgently need to find new […] May 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 3 May 2019 This Biotech Makes Self-Healing Concrete Using Bacteria Imagine walls and buildings that heal themselves just like your skin does. The Dutch biotech Green Basilisk is making this idea a reality by embedding special limestone-producing bacteria into concrete. Mission: To make concrete that can heal cracks and other kinds of damage using bacteria. This self-healing power cuts the maintenance the material requires, and […] May 3, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 May 2019 Drug for Autoimmune Liver Disease Yields Mixed Results in Hard-to-Treat Patients Developed by the French biotech Genkyotex, a first-in-class treatment for the liver disease primary biliary cholangitis failed to reduce a key disease biomarker in a phase II trial, but showed potential for reducing liver scarring. Primary biliary cholangitis is an autoimmune disease that damages the liver and can lead to liver scarring (fibrosis) or the […] May 2, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 May 2019 UK Genome Diagnostics Biotech Closes €27M Series B to Support NHS Cambridge-based Congenica has closed a €27M (£23.3M) series B fundraising round to support the use of its rare disease diagnostics platform by the newly formed NHS Genomic Medicine Service, as well as to allow the company to expand internationally. The genomics diagnostic company received a €15.5M (£13.3M) investment, led by the London-based fund management firm […] May 1, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 May 2019 Next-Generation CAR-T Therapy Shows Promise in Child’s Neuroblastoma Cell Medica’s next-generation CAR-T cell therapy has resulted in ‘extensive tumor regression’ in a child with high-risk neuroblastoma, one of the deadliest types of childhood cancer. Only available to cancer patients for the last couple of years, CAR-T cell therapy has had impressive results in treating patients for whom other available options do […] May 1, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 1 May 2019 What’s Driving the Boom in Early Stage Biotech Funding? The biotech industry is seeing a massive increase in the amount of funding available to early-stage research. At Bio Europe Spring, we spoke to Nerida Scott, VP of New Ventures and Transactions at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, to learn more about what’s behind it. In the last five years, the total invested in seed and […] May 1, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Apr 2019 Orchard’s Gene Therapy Shows Potential in Treating Patients with Beta Thalassemia Patients with the life-threatening blood disorder beta-thalassemia required fewer blood transfusions after receiving a gene therapy developed by the UK company Orchard Therapeutics, with four out of nine no longer depending on transfusions. Beta thalassemia is a genetic disorder that affects hemoglobin, a protein that blood cells use to carry oxygen. In the most severe […] April 30, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Apr 2019 Swiss Biotech Raises €11M to Develop Treatments for Liver Fibrosis Founded in March this year, Alentis Therapeutics has bagged a Series A round of €11.1M (CHF 12.5M) to develop antibody drugs treating liver fibrosis, which currently has no approved treatments. Liver fibrosis is the scarring of liver tissue, which can happen as a consequence of aging, chronic hepatitis or conditions such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). […] April 30, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Apr 2019 Cosmetics Giant Acquires German Biotech’s Spider Silk Cosmetics Arm The Swiss Givaudan, one of the largest cosmetics, flavors and fragrances companies in the world, has acquired the cosmetics business of AMSilk, a biotech company that uses genetic engineering to produce spider silk proteins in bacteria. Silk is a valuable material in the cosmetics industry, used to offer protection against pollution and keep cosmetic […] April 30, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email