News and Trends 3 Aug 2017 Designer Babies in Europe: German Merck Set to Receive CRISPR Patent Merck KGaA has received a Notice of Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office that its CRISPR patent will cover genomic integration. Everyone in biotech is gunning for a piece of the CRISPR pie, and German Merck will likely become the next company to acquire IP, adding to the pile it began building in 2012. […] August 3, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Aug 2017 Scottish Biotech gets €4M from Horizon 2020 for Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapy TC Biopharm has just received the largest award of its kind to develop allogeneic gamma-delta T cell therapies for various cancers. Based in Glasgow, TC Biopharm was just selected to receive €4M from Horizon 2020 for its “off-the-shelf” gamma-delta T cell program. This grant brings the company’s fundraising total to €25M, and it’s the largest any UK […] August 2, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Aug 2017 French Biotech May Save Toddlers from Life-Threatening Peanut Allergy The first French biotech to NASDAQ, DBV, is expanding the patient group for its promising peanut allergy treatment to include toddlers. DBV Technologies’ Phase IIb results of its peanut allergy therapy, Viaskin Peanut, were one of 2016’s biggest clinical success stories when it successfully desensitized children to obviate life-threatening allergies. A trial in children between the ages […] August 2, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Aug 2017 Potential Herpes Cure from Germany Fast-Tracked for Patients with Weak Immune Systems AiCuris’ Pritelivir has now secured FDA endorsement in the form of a Fast Track Designation in immuno-compromised patients. Based in Wuppertal, Germany, and spun out from Bayer, AiCuris is focused on curing infectious diseases. Its lead candidate for herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and -2), pritelivir, has been watched closely for its promise […] August 1, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Editorial Team Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Jul 2017 Things are Looking Up for UK Synbio Clusters, says Report A survey of synbio startups in the last 16 years shows that the UK ecosystem is growing rapidly and approaching critical mass, says SynbiCITE. Dedicated to championing industrial uptake of synthetic biology, SynbiCITE is a knowledge center based at Imperial College London. Some of its initiatives have included opening a gene foundry last year to providing grants to […] July 28, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Jul 2017 Swiss Researchers Unveil Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance Mechanism Scientists from the University of Zurich have identified an epigenetic control switch responsible for turning melanoma unresponsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors. A study published this week in Cell Reports describes a mechanism that might be responsible for the development of resistance to cancer immunotherapy. The culprit turned out to be Ezh2, a protein that controls genetic […] July 27, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Jul 2017 AstraZeneca Misses Endpoint in Big Checkpoint Inhibitor Combo Trial AstraZeneca has announced its Phase III trial with durvalumab and tremelimumab has failed to achieve better results than standard chemotherapy in lung cancer. AstraZeneca’s MYSTIC study was evaluating a combination of checkpoint inhibitors as a first-line treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The therapy couldn’t improve progression-free survival when compared with the standard of care […] July 27, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jul 2017 German Biotech Publishes First-in-Human Data on Rabies mRNA Vaccine CureVac has published proof-of-concept data for an mRNA rabies vaccine that could open the door for a new generation of better and cheaper vaccines. CureVac, based in Tübingen, Germany, is a pioneer in the development of therapeutic mRNA technology. The company has published today in The Lancet proof-of-concept data from a Phase I trial testing CV7201, […] July 26, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jul 2017 Dutch Biotech Reports Positive Phase II Data on Rare Inflammatory Disease Pharming has published Phase II data in The Lancet supporting its lead candidate as a treatment for the rare genetic disease hereditary angioedema. Pharming, one of the top biotechs in Leiden, specializes in recombinant protein technology. Its lead compound, ruconest, is a recombinant human C1 inhibitor protein. The results of a 32-patient Phase II study published […] July 26, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jul 2017 Update: Potential Breakthrough Treatment for Deadly Lung Disease Starts Phase IIb Update (26/07/2017): Verona Pharma has dosed the first patients in the PhaseIIb with RPL554 in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results are expected in the second half of 2018. Published on 27/06/2017 Verona Pharma has secured regulatory approval in five European countries to run a Phase IIb trial with its dual PDE3/4 inhibitor in […] July 26, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 25 Jul 2017 Trouble in Paradise: How Biotech is Fighting Tropical Diseases Tropical diseases are often neglected until an outbreak causes worldwide panic. Here’s how European biotech is preparing for the next one. “What we really need is a very fast and cheap way to develop vaccines,” biotech godfather Greg Winter told me earlier this year. Such precautionary measures may well be on our minds as Europe […] July 25, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 24 Jul 2017 Bayer and Evotec Extend their Endometriosis Partnership Bayer and Evotec have decided to extend their partnership for the development of endometriosis drugs now that their second candidate has made it to Phase I. Bayer and Evotec have announced today that a second compound derived from their endometriosis partnership has made it to clinical trials. The team has decided to extend the partnership […] July 24, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email