News and Trends 26 Jan 2017 Europe’s Largest Biotech Actelion Seals the Deal with J&J for €28B Actelion will be acquired by J&J for a whopping €27.9B, and its early R&D pipeline will be spun out into a new Switzerland-based outfit. The wait is over folks: Actelion, the largest biotech in Europe and one of the only 9 to make it to the billion-euro club in 2016, has just announced its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson for a […] January 26, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jan 2017 Novartis Relies on Biotech to keep up its Solid Financial Performance Novartis has announced excellent results for 2016. Could its strong focus on biotech be the key to the big pharma’s success? Novartis just released its 2016 financial report, boasting €45.2B ($48.5B) in net sales and its therapeutic antibody for psoriasis, Cosentyx (secukinumab), becoming a blockbuster. The Swiss pharma is suffering competition from generics, but it expects […] January 25, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jan 2017 Update: From Lupus to a Vaccine for Diabetes Type I? Dates Announced Update (25/01/2016): NeoVacs has announced plans to obtain preclinical proof of concept in 2017 for its type 1 diabetes program and to initiate clinical development in the first half of 2018 with the recommendation of its Scientific Advisory Board. Published on 13/10/2016 Neovacs has announced a research collaboration that could lead to the development of […] January 25, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jan 2017 Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes will arrive in India to fight Dengue Oxitec is preparing to start trials testing its solution to reduce the population of disease-transmitting insects in India with its own genetically modified mosquitoes. Oxitec, a spin-out from Oxford University, engineers mosquitoes to reduce their populations in areas where they spread infectious diseases. After success in Brazil and the Cayman Islands, the company is now heading […] January 25, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jan 2017 Cryopreservation: Can you Cheat Death by Freezing Yourself? Some people have already decided to take a leap of faith by cryogenically freezing themselves, often in the attempt to beat a yet incurable disease. Is science ready for it? And are we? Cryopreservation is a fairly common practice in sci-fi cinema. Several film directors – from Stanley Kubrick in his masterpiece “2001: A Space […] January 25, 2017 - 4 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Jan 2017 Spanish Researchers Create a Human Skin 3D Printer Scientists in Spain have created a 3D printer that uses bioink to recreate authentic human skin for drug testing and regenerative medicine applications. Researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3) and collaborators, including the Spanish bioengineering firm BioDan, have presented a prototype of a 3D printer that can create completely functional human skin. An industrial model could […] January 24, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Jan 2017 Smart Nebulizers for Children with Asthma are Underway Vectura has received FDA approval to start testing a smart device to improve asthma therapies in children. Vectura, based in the UK, develops inhaled delivery technology for diseases that affect air tracts, such as cystic fibrosis, or influenza. The company has now received an investigational new drug (IND) approval from the FDA to study a […] January 24, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Jan 2017 French Biotech partners with Merck to Fight Tumor Resistance Domain Therapeutics and Merck have partnered up to develop immuno-oncology drug candidates that can boost the performance of checkpoint inhibitors. Domain Therapeutics has entered a collaboration and licensing agreement with German Merck in immuno-oncology. The big pharma is offering over €240M in milestones and will support research activities in exchange for worldwide rights to new drug candidates targeting […] January 23, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Jan 2017 New Fundraising Boosts Ultra-Rapid STD Detection Atlas Genetics has raised €32.6M in Series D. The funds will help the company bring ultra-rapid diagnostic tests for STDs to the market. Atlas Genetics, a spin-off from the University of Bath, has closed an impressive €32.6M ($35M) Series D round of fundraising. The funds will support clinical trials, manufacturing and the commercial launch of the company’s second ultra-rapid […] January 23, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Jan 2017 A Placebo beats the Largest European Biotech in Phase III Actelion’s lead drug Opsumit has missed its primary endpoint in Phase III. What are the consequences for the biggest independent biotech in Europe? Actelion is a leader in treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, results from a Phase III trial evaluating Opsumit (macitentan) in patients with PAH due to Eisenmenger Syndrome have revealed that the drug […] January 23, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 23 Jan 2017 “Senior Staff Snobbery separates Academia from the Biotech Industry” We caught up with Mark Lowdell, Director of Cellular Therapeutics and the RFH/UCL Cancer Biobank. As one of the few successful scientist-entrepreneurs, he has some ideas about bridging academia and industry in biomedicine. Mark Lowdell was introduced to me by his business partner, RJ Tesi. Tesi co-founded INmune Bio, a promising California-based startup, on Lowdell’s […] January 23, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 21 Jan 2017 Giant Chickens and Bioluminiscent Squids Invade Berlin Andreas Greiner explores the world of living beings we never pay attention to, inviting visitors to reflect on the anthropocentric culture from Western countries. When you enter Andreas Greiner‘s exhibition at the Berlinische Galerie, a giant skeleton of what looks like a dinosaur looms 7 meters tall. A closer inspection reveals that the giant ‘Monument […] January 21, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email