News and Trends 30 Apr 2019 Swiss Biotech Raises €11M to Develop Treatments for Liver Fibrosis Founded in March this year, Alentis Therapeutics has bagged a Series A round of €11.1M (CHF 12.5M) to develop antibody drugs treating liver fibrosis, which currently has no approved treatments. Liver fibrosis is the scarring of liver tissue, which can happen as a consequence of aging, chronic hepatitis or conditions such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). […] April 30, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 19 Apr 2019 This Biotech Fertilizes Crops with Little Microbe Capsules We’re zooming over to France this week. The biotech Kapsera makes capsules of microbes that present a cheaper and more sustainable alternative to traditional fertilizers and insecticides. Mission: To develop biodegradable capsules containing microbes. These treatments could control pests and fertilize crops in a more sustainable way than chemical treatments. Agriculture is facing tough challenges […] April 19, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Apr 2019 French First-in-Class Diabetes Drug Nails Phase III Trial An oral first-in-class drug targeting the mitochondria, developed by the French biotech Poxel, has shown big potential for treating type 2 diabetes in a phase III trial in Japan. Poxel’s lead candidate drug imeglimin has taken a step closer to entering the huge market for diabetes type 2 treatments. In a phase III trial in […] April 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Apr 2019 AACR 2019: European Biotech Progresses in Fighting Cancer The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) met up in Atlanta, USA, to showcase the newest advances in cancer treatment from around the world. Sit back as we give you a quick rundown of the most interesting presentations from European organizations working to improve the treatment of cancer. Clinical trials In the conference last […] April 8, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Mar 2019 Genfit Gets Ready to Launch Drug for Untreated Liver Disease Raising €120M After some big failures from its top competitors earlier this year, French company Genfit has done an IPO to prepare the launch of its drug for NASH, a chronic liver disease for which there is currently no treatment. Today, Genfit has started trading on Nasdaq. Together with issuing new shares in its existing Euronext Paris […] March 27, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 20 Mar 2019 Unlocking the Potential of Fast DNA Synthesis While the price and speed of reading DNA have dropped massively, writing DNA fast and affordably still remains a challenge. Philip talked to Sylvain Gariel, COO of the French company DNA Script, who strives to reinvent DNA synthesis. DNA has become a basic necessity in any biology lab. Thanks to new technologies we can now […] March 20, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Mar 2019 HIV Drug Shows Promise for Treating Ulcerative Colitis Patients A small molecule drug, developed by the company Abivax for treating HIV, has also shown promise for patients with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis, reducing the disease severity consistently for over six months. Abivax tested the drug on patients with moderate-to-severe cases of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel condition that causes rectal bleeding and […] March 8, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Feb 2019 French Company to Open Biggest Insect Farm in the World A Series C round of €110M ($125M) — the largest ever for agriculture technology outside of the USA — will fund the construction of the world’s largest automated insect farm by the French company Ynsect. Ynsect is a company that uses insects to provide protein-rich feed for fish farming, pet food, and even the fertilizer industry. […] February 22, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Feb 2019 First All-Inclusive Biotech Lab Facility Will Launch in Paris The young UK company RUNLABS plans to open the first facility where biotech companies can hire a package of lab space, lab services, offices, and even technicians. A common time sink in setting up a biotech company is the sheer amount of administration involved, such as hiring staff, getting insurance, and facilities maintenance. The company […] February 21, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Feb 2019 Tuberculosis Treatment Kills Bacteria with Their Own Suicide Toxin A European academic research collaboration has found a new potential weapon against antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis: its own toxins. Many types of bacteria, such as the pathogen responsible for the deadly lung disease tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, use toxins to stay alive. For example, these toxins can be useful when the bacteria are starved or infected by viruses, […] February 18, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 15 Feb 2019 This Lab-on-a-Chip Can Screen Millions of Bacteria in Parallel Our French biotech of the week, Biomillenia, is developing a lab-on-a-chip that can screen millions of strains of bacteria in a fraction of the time it takes for traditional methods. This technology can identify previously unculturable strains for use in agriculture, animal health, or microbiome-based therapies. Mission: To use lab-on-a-chip technology to culture and screen […] February 15, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 12 Feb 2019 First Industrial Plant to Turn Waste into Chemicals Will Open in France The French company Afyren has received up to €60M to commercialize a technology that uses bacteria to produce industrial chemicals from recycled plant waste instead of fossil fuels. Afyren takes sugars from the waste byproducts of agriculture, food, and other industries, and ferments the sugars into industrial chemicals using bacteria. With this new funding, the […] February 12, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email