News and Trends 10 May 2019 Swiss Biotech Halts Pneumonia Antibiotic Trial After Patient Safety Scare Polyphor has temporarily halted two phase III trials of an antibiotic treating pneumonia, after an unexpectedly high number of patients reported kidney problems in one of the trials. The phase III trial was testing the antibiotic murepavadin in 150 enrolled patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia, and who required mechanical breathing. The patients in the treatment group […] May 10, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 10 May 2019 This Biotech Destroys Cancer Proteins by Introducing Them to ‘Executioner’ Proteins Nestled in the biotech hub of Cambridge, UK, is Polyprox. Less than a year old, this company is developing a new class of protein-based drugs that could treat cancer by degrading key proteins in the cancer cell. Mission: Develop drugs that destroy proteins in cancer cells by recruiting executioner proteins, called ligases. Polyprox develops protein […] May 10, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 9 May 2019 A 20-Year Journey to Nail Down an Undruggable Cancer Target The ultimate goal of cancer research is to bring to the market a drug that improves the treatment of patients lacking options. Laura Soucek, CEO of the startup Peptomyc, shares the story of her journey to take a cancer treatment against an until now undruggable target to the clinic. It all started when Soucek was […] May 9, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 9 May 2019 Pfizer Pays up to €700M to Acquire Swiss Biotech Restoring Bone Growth in Achondroplasia Pharma giant Pfizer is acquiring the Swiss biotech Therachon, which is developing a protein drug to boost bone growth in the genetic condition achondroplasia. Pfizer will pay €303M ($340M) upfront, and up to €420M ($470M) dependent on Therachon reaching milestones in the development of its drug improving bone growth in achondroplasia. This genetic condition inhibits […] May 9, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 May 2019 Schizophrenia Treatments Could be Tested and Personalized Using Patients’ Blood Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a way to screen treatments for schizophrenia on single cells from a patient’s blood sample, which could speed up drug discovery and help to personalize treatments for people with the condition. Around 21 million people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia, and this is likely to get worse with […] May 8, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Expert Advice 8 May 2019 Why It’s Important to “Think Big” When Raising Money for Your Company There are not many people who can say they led one of Europe’s largest biotechs and launched the first approved gene therapy in Europe. Joern Aldag, now CEO at Austrian biotech Hookipa Pharma, has done both. Aldag got into biotech because he wanted to use his entrepreneurial skills to advance medicine. After 9 years of […] May 8, 2019 - 9 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 8 May 2019 Top 10 Biotechs in Lausanne The Swiss city of Lausanne is perhaps best known as a hub of international sport, but what many outsiders may not realize is that it’s also one of Switzerland’s biggest biotech hubs. Many of the biotechs in the city are connected to the University of Lausanne (UNIL), as well as the renowned Swiss Federal Institute […] May 8, 2019 - 7 minutesmins - By David Cox Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
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