News and Trends 21 Mar 2019 UK Government’s Bid on Healthcare Genomics Already Benefiting Biotechs The positive stance of the UK Government towards incorporation of genomics into healthcare has created unparalleled chances for the country’s biotech companies, which are already taking advantage of the business opportunities. Following the completion of the 100,000 Genomes Project at the end of 2018, the fledgling NHS Genomic Medicine Service launched. This service aims to […] March 21, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Mar 2019 Czech Cell Therapy Increases Survival in Ovarian Cancer by 62% The Czech biotech company Sotio has shown in a phase II trial that its cellular immunotherapy can decrease the risk of a patient dying from ovarian cancer by 62%. The cell therapy was tested in people with the most severe stages of recurrent ovarian cancer, in combination with second-line chemotherapy when cancer returned after […] March 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Mar 2019 Shares Drop 40% as Allergy Therapeutics Announces Failed Phase III Trial Allergy Therapeutics has revealed that its immunotherapy for birch pollen allergy did not result in a significant symptom improvement when compared to a placebo. As a direct result of the announcement, the shares of Allergy Therapeutics on the London Stock Exchange dropped over 40% within two hours. The phase III trial enrolled 582 people across […] March 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Feb 2019 UK Biotech Gets Huge Grant to Launch Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Cancer Therapy to Clinic The UK biotech Cell Medica has received a €7.6M ($8.7M) grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to advance an off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapy that can work not only in blood cancer but also in solid tumors. The funding will help the company to develop a special type of CAR-T cell therapy […] February 27, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Feb 2019 Immuno-oncology Biotech Raises €31M to Progress T-Cell Boosting Therapy The Swiss biotech Anaveon closed a very respectable €31M (CHF35M) Series A fundraising round to help progress its T-cell boosting, cancer-fighting treatment to the clinic. The company’s candidate therapy mimics the action of a protein called interleukin 2, which is naturally found in the body. Interleukin 2 stimulates the immune system to produce more infection-fighting […] February 26, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Feb 2019 Inflammatory Disease Treatment Backed by €20M Series A The Swiss company Calypso Biotech has raised a sizeable €20M to fund its immunotherapy for an allergy-related inflammatory disease. The Series A round will help to develop Calypso’s antibody treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis, a condition where patients have an inflamed esophagus and difficulty swallowing. This condition is often linked with allergies to food, such as […] February 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Feb 2019 Series A to Fund Therapy That Exposes Cancer to Immune System The UK biotech Grey Wolf Therapeutics has raised €11.4M (£10M) to fuel the development of a cancer therapy that flushes tumor cells out of hiding from the immune system. Many approved cancer immunotherapies, such as CAR-T cell therapy and checkpoint inhibitors, have made a big difference for many people with cancer. However, a common problem with […] February 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Jan 2019 Update: US District Court Rules Against MorphoSys’ Cancer Immunotherapy Patents Update (01/02/2019): MorphoSys has agreed to end its long-running legal battle with Genmab and Janssen, after the US District Court of Delaware declared three of its cancer immunotherapy patents invalid. MorphoSys began the dispute over Darzalex (daratumumab), Genmab and Janssen’s approved antibody therapy for the blood cancer multiple myeloma. MorphoSys alleged that Darzalex infringed on three of […] January 28, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Dani Bancroft Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jan 2019 Swiss-Italian Biotech Bags Antibody Deals with Three Big Pharma The Swiss-Italian company Philogen has announced three different partnerships with Novartis, Celgene, and Janssen to develop new forms of immunotherapy and small molecule drugs. Philogen develops immunocytokines, which are antibodies that are fused with proteins that modify the immune system to fight diseases such as cancer. For example, this treatment can bind to tumors and activate […] January 25, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jan 2019 Sanofi Obtains License for French Company’s Antibody Engineering Platform Sanofi has signed a licensing deal with French biotech Biomunex, whose antibody technology has the potential to develop new immunotherapy treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. Sanofi will give Biomunex an upfront payment, along with further installments upon achieving key development milestones. The amounts have not been disclosed. Biomunex is able to make a wide variety […] January 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Jan 2019 Sanofi Invests €80M in mRNA Cancer Vaccine Company Sanofi is to make an €80M equity investment in the German biotech BioNTech, and the two have agreed to co-develop a cancer vaccine based on injecting messenger RNA into solid tumors. This agreement is an extension of Sanofi and BioNTech’s collaboration, which began in 2015. The two companies will continue to co-develop and co-commercialize a candidate […] January 7, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2018 Personalized Immunotherapy for Brain Cancer Succeeds in Clinical Trials A European trial has proved the feasibility and efficacy of treating cancer with a personalized immunotherapy tailored to each patient. The phase I/II trial, run across six European centers, tested a combination of two personalized vaccines in patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The first vaccine was designed to immunize the patients […] December 20, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email