News and Trends 20 Apr 2017 Norway Brings Another Cancer Vaccine to the Clinic Targovax has recruited its first patient in a Phase Ib trial for its new cancer vaccine TG02 targeting mutations of the RAS gene. Mutations of the RAS gene disrupt normal cell division and are a key driver of cancer progression and treatment resistance. The Norwegian biotech Targovax is developing peptide-based anti-cancer vaccines targeting these mutations found […] April 20, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Apr 2017 New French Biotech Seed Fund Raises €65M in its First Closing Advent France Biotechnology has launched its first seed fund for Life Sciences with the support of Bpifrance and Advent Life Sciences. Advent France Biotechnology, founded in 2015, has exceeded its initial fundraising target at the first closing. Its Seed-Fund I now counts with €64.75M that will be invested predominantly in France. The funds will back entrepreneurs […] April 20, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 20 Apr 2017 Which EU Immuno-Oncology Company are you Cheering for? Immuno-oncology represents a huge breakthrough towards the search for a cancer cure. Biotechs all around Europe are developing innovative ways of helping our own immune system fight tumors, which one do you think is doing it best? The field of immuno-oncology is overcrowded, and there’s plenty of companies pushing to make their cutting-edge technology a […] April 20, 2017 - 1 minutemin - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Apr 2017 Researchers Unmask How a New Diet can help Cure Cancer Researchers from the University of Glasgow and the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute found that cancer cells are dependent on specific amino acids. In a new study published today in Nature, researchers found that removing two non-essential amino acids – serine and glycine – from the diet of mice slowed the development of lymphoma and intestinal […] April 19, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Apr 2017 Galapagos Shoots Past its IPO in a New Public Round of €315M After its record €277 IPO on Nasdaq in 2015, Galapagos announced the pricing of its new US public offering at a massive €315M ($338M). Galapagos is clinging to its position as one of the biggest biotechs in Europe. While the Belgian biotech is currently pushing its rheumatoid arthritis candidate filgotinib through Phase III, the new US public offering could give […] April 19, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Apr 2017 UPDATE: Novartis broadens CAR-T onslaught with FDA endorsement UPDATE (19/04/2017): CTL019 has been granted Breakthrough Designation by the FDA for relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Novartis and Kite have been in a tight race to bring the first CAR-T therapy to market: Novartis has staked out acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) while Kite has gone for DLBCL. With this “tacit endorsement,” Novartis is encroaching on […] April 19, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Apr 2017 UPDATE: Verona sets terms & dials back its IPO goal to a still-hefty €75M UPDATE: Verona set the terms for its US IPO yesterday and knocked $10M (€9.3M) off its target, now shooting for $75M (€70M). The public shares are expected to hit the NASDAQ exchange next week. Original Publication 04/04/2017 British Verona Pharma has filed for an IPO on Nasdaq to raise up to €81M ($86M). The funds should be […] April 19, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Apr 2017 Two Big Pharma Players Team up to Take Over the NASH Space Allergan has entered a clinical collaboration with Novartis to run a Phase IIb study combining its immunomodulator and Novartis’ FXR agonist for NASH. After Allergan snapped up Tobira’s cenicriviroc (CVC) last year in a €1.4B deal, the company is now taking the next step to advance its pipeline in the Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis (NASH) race. The pharma company is going […] April 18, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Apr 2017 Circassia Freezes its Allergy Portfolio after a Second Failed Clinical Trial Circassia Pharmaceuticals will stop investing in its allergy programs due to two failed clinical trials in which the placebo beat its allergy immunotherapy. Circassia Pharmaceuticals has released the results from a Phase IIb trial for a house dust mite allergy immunotherapy. Although the treatment greatly reduced allergy symptoms in the patients, so did the placebo, making […] April 18, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 18 Apr 2017 The Top 12 Biotech Leaders You Should Know in Basel After exploring Munich and the Golden Triangle, we head to another biotech hotspot full of people that should be on your list of who’s who. Basel is home to some really big biotech and pharma companies and it’s consequently a cornerstone of the excellence Switzerland has demonstrated in the industry (also seen in Zurich). As a key […] April 18, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Apr 2017 Patent Eligibility: How to Tell if your Life Science Invention is Patentable So you have an invention, but can you protect it with a patent? This primer will teach you about the criteria, from non-obviousness to inventiveness. How do we define “patent eligibility“? Broadly, the term means that an invention falls within a category of inventions for which the patent laws provide patent protection in general. Inventions […] April 18, 2017 - 5 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 17 Apr 2017 Meet One of the Most Successful German Biotech Leaders Ever Patrick Baeuerle is the German biotech leader I wanted to interview the most (besides Simon Moroney from MorphoSys, who came to our Meetup in Munich last week). Patrick has explored and succeeded in just about every area of life sciences, be it as a highly cited academic researcher, a professor at Freiburg University, head of drug […] April 17, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Philip Hemme Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email