News and Trends 27 Apr 2022 Cancer Research UK Deploys €700M to Foster Oncology Startups In a show of strength after an income squeeze during the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity Cancer Research UK has dedicated €711M (£600M) to setting up a new innovation arm and seed fund designed to speed up the commercialization of oncology innovation. For decades, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has played a pivotal role in nurturing advances […] April 27, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Apr 2022 Immunocore Approvals Open Door for TCR Cancer Drugs The EU has followed the FDA in granting market approval to Kimmtrak, the first-ever bispecific drug based on a cancer-hunting protein called a T-cell receptor (TCR). These regulatory wins by the UK firm Immunocore pave the way for other treatments deploying TCRs. TCRs have become a hot topic in immuno-oncology. Many companies are developing cancer […] April 6, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Mar 2022 Precision Medicine Startups Increase Focus on Data Access and Privacy Low-cost genetic sequencing is becoming increasingly accessible and profitable for companies, but data protection and ownership remains a key issue for many individuals. Sano Genetics is one of many firms driving precision medicine by creating a more mutually beneficial relationship between patients and pharma companies. The falling costs of DNA sequencing are leading to serious […] March 31, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Mar 2022 €80M Series B Establishes European Champion in Radiopharmaceuticals Big European venture capital firms Jeito, Forbion, and Inkef Capital have teamed up to propel the local radiopharmaceutical scene by investing €80M in the Belgian firm Precirix. Europe has a long history of expertise in the development of radiopharmaceutical drugs. One of the pioneers in the field was Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) in France. AAA […] March 17, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jan 2022 Norwegian Biotech Put on the Map with €18M Oncology Round The immuno-oncology startup Cytovation has raised €17.7M (NOK 180M) in one of Norway’s biggest Series A rounds in life sciences. Historically, Norway’s biotech scene has not seen the kind of venture capital funding characteristic of health and biotech in the UK and US. However, Norwegian biotech is growing and has seen more successes than many […] January 26, 2022 - 3 minutesmins - By Dan Samorodnitsky Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Oct 2021 Gene-Edited T Cell Therapy Players Battle Safety Doubts Confidence in gene-edited T cell therapies from donor cells has faltered as Allogene Therapeutics paused all clinical development following the detection of an unexpected genetic change in a clinical trial. Industry experts see these events as a reality check for the nascent field. Off-the-shelf treatments that use genetically engineered T cells to treat diseases suffered […] October 22, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 11 Oct 2021 A Cure for Cancer? How CAR-T Cell Therapy is Revolutionizing Oncology CAR-T therapy has been hailed as a cure for cancer, but what really is this ‘miraculous technology’ and what can we actually expect from it? The field of immuno-oncology is booming with billions of euros in investment. The ability to rewire our own immune system to fight cancer has certainly created huge expectations. After the […] October 11, 2021 - 10 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Aug 2021 Artios’ €129M Series C Pushes Limits of DNA Repair in Cancer The UK firm Artios Pharma raised a huge Series C round last week in one of many efforts to develop cancer drugs that target the DNA repair systems of our cells. Artios Pharma bagged €129M (£110M) last week in a venture capital round led by the US-based firms Omega Funds and TCG X. The proceeds […] August 6, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Jul 2021 Microbiome Medicines Could Power Up CAR-T Cell Therapies The microbiome could pave new cancer immunotherapy inroads for European biotechs, bolstered by preclinical findings that gut bacteria metabolites may help CAR-T cell therapies penetrate and kill solid tumors. A recent study conducted by researchers at Philipps-University Marburg, University Hospital Würzburg, and the Leeds-based company 4D Pharma showed that metabolites produced by the gut bacteria […] July 28, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Mark Zipkin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jul 2021 The Top European Biotech Funding Rounds in June While oncology and psychedelics dominated European biotech’s biggest funding rounds last month, startup seed financing focused more on gene therapy and drug discovery. Last month saw some momentous events for Europe’s biotech heavyweights. GSK paid an impressive €524M ($625M) upfront to co-develop an immuno-oncology candidate with iTeos Therapeutics in Belgium. Meanwhile, the German antibody drug […] July 8, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Jun 2021 GSK Raises Eyebrows in Checkpoint Inhibitor Megadeal with iTeos Analysts are abuzz over GSK’s co-development deal with immuno-oncology specialist iTeos Therapeutics earlier this month, wondering if it overpaid for the Belgian company’s next-generation checkpoint inhibitor. GSK’s oncology deal with iTeos earlier this month centered on an antibody drug that blocks an immune checkpoint called TIGIT. The candidate is currently in phase I testing for […] June 30, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Best in Biotech 30 Jun 2021 Scotland’s Top 10 Biotech Companies to Watch Out For Scotland has a thriving life sciences ecosystem with strengths in oncology, genetic engineering, and industrial biotech. Let’s pick up the bagpipes as we tour the top 10 biotech companies in Scotland. Scotland is the UK’s second-most populous country, boasting picturesque scenery, a rich history, and a strong focus on sustainability. There is a diverse range […] June 30, 2021 - 11 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email