News and Trends 14 Dec 2016 What do the CAR-T Patient Deaths Mean for the Future of the Field? Juno’s JCAR015 study came to a halt for the second time this year after two more patient deaths. But despite the bad news, hopes for CAR-T therapies remain high. Juno Therapeutics again came under scrutiny last month following deaths in its JCAR015 trial. Two patients died from neurotoxicity-triggered cerebral edema, the same condition that killed […] December 14, 2016 - 7 minutesmins - By Diana Kwon Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Dec 2016 Lifting the Chemo Fog: Virtual Reality has Medical Applications! Cancer can make life unbearable for some patients, but sometimes the treatment only adds to the pain. Could virtual reality treatments improve their lives? The vast majority of modern cancer therapies are focused on halting the progression and the spread of the disease to save the patient’s life. These treatments are usually aggressive, and approximately […] December 9, 2016 - 3 minutesmins - By Ekaterina Perets Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Dec 2016 The Munich Biotech Mafia expand to the US with a New TCR Startup TCR2 Therapeutics was backed by the Munich biotech mafia, a group of wealthy veteran biotech leaders that seem to be taking over the promising immuno-oncology field. TCR2 Therapeutics has kicked off with a €41.2M ($44.5M) Series A round led by MPM Capital in the US and F2 Ventures in London. The new company, based in Boston, […] December 8, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Dec 2016 Investors bid on Nordic Nanovector’s Hottest Cancer Antibodies Nordic Nanovector has bagged €55M to push its pipeline forward through the clinic. Investors seem to be attracted by its ARC and ADC programs, using some of the hottest antibody technologies to treat cancer. Nordic Nanovector develops antibody-radionuclide conjugates (ARCs) to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and recently entered the trending antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) field to fight against leukemia. These […] December 7, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2016 Sanofi Jumps into the Biosimilars Market aiming for Asia Sanofi is joining the biosimilars trend to challenge Roche’s best-selling biological with a partnership that aims to take over the Chinese cancer market. Sanofi is going after the €6.8B ($7.3B) that Roche’s Rituxan/MabThera (rituximab), the second top-selling biological, made last year in revenues. The French pharma has signed a deal worth up to €219M ($236M) […] December 6, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2016 How is European Immuno-Oncology fighting Blood Cancer? From leukemia to multiple myeloma, biotech is working hard to cure blood cancer. This year’s edition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting features immuno-oncology therapies developed by the best European biotechs, with Novartis taking the lead in the CAR-T field. The 58th ASH annual meeting is wrapping up today, after the best companies […] December 6, 2016 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Dec 2016 Another Pharma sloughs off Small Molecules to focus on Biologics BI has taken an axe to its small molecule discovery program in order to focus on immuno-oncology in the latest farewell to old-school chemical drugs. Over 90% of the drugs on the market today are small molecules, but the bell has been tolling for these therapies for some time now as biopharma is increasingly focused […] December 5, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Dec 2016 Video: Chatting with Immunocore about the Potential of Immuno-oncology At Refresh in Paris, I had the opportunity to ask Eva-Lotta Allan,CBO of one of Europe’s hottest companies, Immunocore, some pointed questions. Immunocore is famous as one of the biggest biotech successes in Europe: the company raised the largest round ever on the continent (€300M!), built a solid technological platform and recruited top talents to manage […] December 5, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Dec 2016 Better than ADCs? AstraZeneca bids for Bicyclic Peptides AstraZeneca has signed a deal with Bicycle Therapeutics that could exceed €1B. The foundation is bicyclic peptides, which combine the best of antibodies and small molecules. Could Bicycle Drug Conjugates (BDCs) outperform ADCs? Bicycle Therapeutics is a company in Cambridge founded by one of the top biotech leaders in the UK’s golden triangle. Its unique technology […] December 2, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Dec 2016 Spain joins the Antibody-Drug Conjugate Bandwagon to fight Cancer PharmaMar announced positive preclinical results for an ADC candidate, showing that the traditional chemistry-based pharma companies are shifting towards the new generation of biologicals. PharmaMar is an oncology pharma in Madrid mining a vast source for drug discovery: marine organisms. The company is now pivoting to a more innovative technology with the announcement of positive […] December 1, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Dec 2016 7 European Institutions in the Largest Cancer Bioinformatics Collaboration Europe’s best companies using bioinformatics to tackle cancer will take part in a huge collaboration aimed at developing personalized cancer vaccines. Three biotech companies and four research institutions from Europe are taking part in the Tumor Neoantigen Selection Alliance (TESLA). This is one of the biggest oncology collaborations ever, consisting of 30 organizations and led by […] December 1, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Nov 2016 FDA and EMA review the First Therapy for a Deadly Skin Cancer Merck and Pfizer have been granted priority review by the FDA for the first treatment dealing with one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer. The FDA has accepted Merck and Pfizer‘s market application for avelumab in metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) with priority review. Just a month ago, the EMA also accepted their application. If […] November 30, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email