News and Trends 16 Feb 2018 French Biotech Gets a CRISPR Patent for CAR-T Research Update (16/02/2018): On top of the European patent it got last July, Cellectis now also has two US patents to use CRISPR technology to make CAR-T cells. Cellectis has said it will offer licenses to companies that want to use CRISPR gene editing in T cells. Not just for inserting CAR antigens, but also other editions […] February 16, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 6 Feb 2018 CRISPR/Cas9: Could the Gene Editing Technology be the Future of Drug Discovery? The emergence of CRISPR/Cas9 technologies has enabled almost unlimited gene editing opportunities. Not only could it be used as a therapeutic tool, the genome editing tool could kickstart a revolution in drug discovery. To date, much of the attention on CRISPR/Cas9, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, has revolved around its potential as […] February 6, 2018 - 9 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 31 Jan 2018 Why Does Europe Lag Behind the US and China in the Gene Editing Race? America and China lead the development of new gene editing technologies, producing GMOs and bringing CRISPR-based therapies into the clinic. Could this render European biotechs in this area obsolete? Gene editing technologies have revolutionized genetics and mark a new generation in biomedical and agricultural sciences. There are endless applications for the technology, including gene therapies for […] January 31, 2018 - 6 minutesmins - By Ekaterina Perets Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Jan 2018 European Court Supports the Softening of CRISPR Gene Editing Rules The tough regulations that apply to genetically modified organisms may no longer affect plants and animals created using CRISPR gene editing technology. The European Court of Justice has ruled that crops and drugs developed using precise gene-editing techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 may not need to be regulated as strictly as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So far, […] January 22, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Jan 2018 The European Patent Office Revokes the Broad Institute‘s CRISPR Patents The Broad Institute has been dealt a big blow in its battle for CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property, with the European Patent Office revoking one of its patents. CRISPR/Cas9 has been hailed as the ‘scientific discovery of the century’ due to its capacity to modify the genome for the treatment of genetic diseases. The Broad Institute, set up by MIT […] January 19, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Dec 2017 Giving Molecular Combing the Golden Coat It Deserves The novel spin given to some traditional and established technologies can be astounding. They might have been around for decades, applied in the same way over and over again, and yet, at some point, somebody comes along, observes it in a new light and gives it a brand new polish. One such technology is called […] December 19, 2017 - 5 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Dec 2017 CRISPR Therapeutics Plans First CRISPR/Cas9 Clinical Trial in Europe for 2018 CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are taking action to start a first clinical trial with CRISPR/Cas9 in Europe in 2018. The blood disorder β-thalassemia could soon be the first human disease to be treated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology in Europe. CRISPR Therapeutics and its partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals have announced the first candidate from their collaboration that will go […] December 13, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 28 Nov 2017 Reviewing Gene Therapy: How Close is Biotech to Genetic Cures? Over 10,000 human diseases are caused by exactly one faulty gene. Gene therapy promises to fix each of them. Here’s a review of biotech’s progress. Biotech is arguably built on genetic medicine. When Genentech‘s insulin produced by genetically engineered bacteria kicked off biotech fever in the 1980s, the concept of directly repairing defective human DNA wasn’t […] November 28, 2017 - 8 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Nov 2017 Welsh Scientists Use CRISPR to Engineer Cancer-Killing T cells Scientists at Cardiff University have used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to produce highly specific killer T cell receptors. Researchers at Cardiff University have replaced the regular receptors found on T cells with their own, which are geared up to better tracking down and killing cancer cells. The research reported in Blood explained how the group removed receptors that interact with immune cells […] November 22, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Oct 2017 New and Improved CRISPR: More Precise Genome Editing Now Possible US Scientists have developed a new form of CRISPR, base editing, which can repair tiny genome segments, smaller than a single gene. Here at Labiotech, we focus on European biotech, but this was too big to miss: Researchers based at MIT and Harvard have described a new way of editing DNA and RNA — base […] October 26, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Sep 2017 French Biotech Gets $20M to Treat the Microbiome with CRISPR Nanobots Eligo Bioscience has announced its first fundraising round, amassing $20M (€18.5M) that will be put towards bringing it CRISPR nanobots to a first clinical trial in humans. The French startup Eligo Bioscience has grown rapidly since its foundation in 2014. The company has announced today its Series A round, which, led by Khosla Ventures and […] September 26, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
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