News and Trends 6 Dec 2022 Entact Bio launches with $81M to develop precision medicines Entact Bio has raised $81 million in series A financing to advance its proprietary Encompass platform for developing enhancement-targeting chimeric (ENTAC) molecules. The round was co-led by Qiming Venture Partners USA and venBio Partners, with participation by new investors Abingworth, Brandon Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, Logos Capital, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), and WEHI (Walter […] December 6, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2022 Avalon BioVentures to invest in early-stage biotech L.P., a venture capital firm dedicated to early-stage biomedical innovation, has closed its first venture fund, ABV1, with $135 million in funding from new and existing institutional investors. Avalon BioVentures emerged from Avalon Ventures’ shared life-science/high-tech investing funds as a life-science only fund and will continue to leverage Avalon’s team and company accelerator to create, […] December 6, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2022 Pictor receives $5M in funding for Covid antibody test and human and animal portfolios Pictor, a global leader in immunodiagnostics, has announced a $5 million funding round to help accelerate pipeline product development projects. The company will also use the funding for market development activities within Australia and New Zealand, the U.S. and Europe for its human health and animal health portfolios. This follows a June funding round raising […] December 6, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Liza Laws Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2022 Positive results from BioAge muscle atrophy trial BioAge Labs, Inc. has announced positive phase 1b clinical data for BGE-105, a highly selective, potent, orally available small-molecule agonist of the apelin receptor APJ. BGE-105 treatment resulted in statistically significant prevention of muscle atrophy relative to placebo in healthy volunteers aged 65 or older after 10 days of strict bed rest. Muscle atrophy—loss of […] December 6, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Dec 2022 New company Liminatus Pharma Inc to develop three cancer treatments Clinical-stage biopharma company Liminatus Pharma LLC and Iris Acquisition Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of acquiring or merging with one or more businesses, announced they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be renamed Liminatus Pharma, Inc.. The […] December 5, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Dec 2022 MaxCyte and Curamys sign cell and gene therapies agreement MaxCyte, Inc. and Curamys have announced the signing of a strategic platform license. MaxCyte is a cell-engineering focused company providing enabling platform technologies to advance the discovery, development and commercialization of next-generation cell-based therapeutics and to support cell-based research. Curamys is a South Korean biotechnology company developing cell and gene therapy using cell fusion technology […] December 5, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 5 Dec 2022 Interview: why the recently approved fecal microbiome product is causing a rumble The news last week of the FDA approving Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ first fecal microbiome product, Rebyota, caused quite a stir in the field. The news was described as a huge step, a giant leap forward and simply fantastic. Paul Feurstadt is the director of non-inflammatory bowel disease research at the Medical Research Center of Connecticut. He also […] December 5, 2022 - 5 minutesmins - By Liza Laws Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Dec 2022 Full-Life Technologies acquiring Focus-X Therapeutics Full-Life Technologies, a global radiotherapeutics company, is acquiring New Jersey-based Focus-X Therapeutics, a company developing targeted radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer based on peptide engineering technology. The acquisition expands Full-Life’s pipeline, including two compounds nearing clinical trials, provides a second innovative peptide focused discovery platform, and leverages its radiotechnology manufacturing and logistics platforms to advance compounds […] December 2, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Dec 2022 FDA’s approval of first fecal microbiota product, Rebyota, hailed an ‘enormous step forward’ for the field The first fecal microbiota product, Rebyota, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today has been hailed ‘fantastic news’ by those in the microbiome field. Ferring Pharmaceutical’s product is approved to stop Clostridiodes difficile infection (CDI) in people over 18 and to be given after they have completed an antibiotic treatment for the […] December 1, 2022 - 6 minutesmins - By Liza Laws Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 1 Dec 2022 Five apps powering the future of at-home HIV tests The smartphone revolution is providing a promising tool to combat the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. We’ve listed five HIV test apps in development that could help people carry out at-home HIV tests and prevent the spread of the infection. The COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years has demonstrated how vital rapid diagnostic tests […] December 1, 2022 - 8 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Nov 2022 Gene therapy approval “game changer” in hemophilia B treatment The approval of CSL’s gene therapy Hemgenix has ushered in a new era for hemophilia B treatment. With the addition of other approvals like Rocktavian and Upstaza, 2022 could be a turning point for the broader gene therapy field. Earlier this week, etranacogene dezaparvovec (Hemgenix) made history as the first gene therapy approved by the […] November 24, 2022 - 7 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Nov 2022 Tevogen Bio to investigate T cell therapy in long Covid Tevogen Bio is set to study the potential therapeutic use of its investigational Covid-19 T cell therapy, TVGN-489, in long Covid. The finding that none of the patients in the TVGN 489 proof-of-concept (POC) trial, treated for their initial Covid infection, developed long Covid to date is leading Tevogen to explore the potential of TVGN […] November 23, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email