Startup Scout 18 Jan 2019 This Biotech Turns Rejected Organs Into Drug Testing Models Engitix, a spinout from University College London, makes accurate disease models from human tissue that include the extracellular matrix from outside of the cells, an often overlooked but essential factor in the way cells behave inside our bodies. Mission: To make disease models in the lab that include the extracellular matrix, making them more […] January 18, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Jan 2019 Scientists Create Prosthetic Ears Using 3D Bioprinting Swiss researchers are developing cellulose-based materials for 3D bioprinting, which could lead to implants such as prosthetic ears. 3D-printed implants have big potential in the field of regenerative medicine. Although still at an early stage, this technology is enabling the development of customized prosthetics, such as skin and joint cartilage. One big focus in […] January 17, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 16 Jan 2019 The Coming of Age of Biotechnology Since its beginnings in the 1970s, the biotech industry has grown massively and made huge advances. At our recent Labiotech Refresh in London, Tim Haines, Managing Partner at the life science VC Abingworth, shared his views on how biotechnology has finally come of age. Haines knows the biotech industry well. After leading and helping sell […] January 16, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jan 2019 Sanofi Obtains License for French Company’s Antibody Engineering Platform Sanofi has signed a licensing deal with French biotech Biomunex, whose antibody technology has the potential to develop new immunotherapy treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. Sanofi will give Biomunex an upfront payment, along with further installments upon achieving key development milestones. The amounts have not been disclosed. Biomunex is able to make a wide variety […] January 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jan 2019 Huntington’s Could Be Diagnosed in Five Minutes With This Lab-on-a-Chip Using a lab-on-a-chip device, Swiss scientists have found a way to diagnose the neurodegenerative condition Huntington’s disease from DNA in the blood in just five minutes, rather than the five hours currently required. When carrying out the diagnosis of Huntington’s patients, the patient’s DNA is typically extracted from white blood cells. Regions of the […] January 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 14 Jan 2019 Inhaled Lung Disease Treatment Encounters Mixed Results in Phase II Trial An inhaled drug from British company Verona Pharma has failed to significantly improve lung function in patients with the lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, though it did produce some benefits. The 79 patients in the phase II trial suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition where inflammation in the lungs restricts the airways […] January 14, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 14 Jan 2019 Life in Bioplastic, it’s More Fantastic Plastic is the staple material of modern life, and a sustainable future will need bioplastics. What is biotech doing to make this happen? “What do you include in bioplastics? Because bioplastics is a very large word,” commented Emmanuel Maille, formerly Director of Strategy and Development at French chemical company Carbios, which focuses on developing biobased […] January 14, 2019 - 10 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Jan 2019 Update: French Biotech Considers Takeover After Failed Leukemia Drug Trial Update (14/01/2019): An anonymous French company on Euronext has made an offer to take over Hybrigenics Pharma. This takeover bid could be good news for Hybrigenics, which has been planning to dissolve the company after the failed Phase II trial of its only candidate, a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. The financial details of the offer […] January 14, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 11 Jan 2019 This Company Automates Cancer Research from Bench to Bar Charts In the academic city of Oxford, UK, the company Arctoris is working to make life easier for cancer lab researchers, letting them ‘order’ experiments online using its robotic facilities and data analysis tools. Mission: To cut down researchers’ workloads by automating cellular, molecular, and data analysis techniques in cancer research. As any molecular biologist will […] January 11, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Jan 2019 This Retinal Implant Lets Visually-Impaired Patients See Patterns An electronic chip from French company Pixium Vision, inserted behind the retina to treat age-related macular degeneration, has shown excellent results in a small clinical trial. The five patients in the feasibility study suffered from dry age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of visual impairment in people over 65 in Europe. In this incurable […] January 10, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 10 Jan 2019 How to Scale up in Biotech Scaling up is a problem a lot of biotechs find difficult, both in terms of developing from a small startup to a larger company and also in terms of manufacturing techniques and products. Ryan Cawood, CEO of Oxford Genetics is someone who has tackled both these issues during the last seven years. At our last […] January 10, 2019 - 9 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jan 2019 Topical Gene Therapy Shows Early Promise for Inherited Skin Disease A gene therapy applied to the skin, developed by UK company Amryt Pharma, showed positive preclinical results for the treatment of a rare genetic skin disease. The disease, called recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), is one of a group of diseases in which sufferers have mutations in proteins vital to the integrity of the […] January 8, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email