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
Interview 26 May 2021 Immuno-Oncology: From Science Fiction to the Mainstream In just a couple of decades, immuno-oncology has taken center stage in the biotechnology industry. We discuss the evolution of the field with experts who have been in it from the very beginning. While immuno-oncology is one of the hottest areas of medicine at the moment, that wasn’t the case 20 years ago. The idea […] May 26, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 May 2021 ADC Approval Buoys Spirits in Cancer Treatment Space The FDA recently approved an antibody-drug conjugate drug from ADC Therapeutics as a treatment for blood cancer. This has given a major confidence boost to other European companies in the field as the deal mill picks up speed. Last month, ADC Therapeutics in Switzerland broke into the mainstream when its lead candidate Zynlonta received FDA […] May 11, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Apr 2021 BMS’s Cancer Trial Showcases Potential for Checkpoint Inhibitors Bristol Myers Squibb’s recent phase III success provided the first late-stage confirmation for a novel immune checkpoint target in nearly a decade. This could herald the next generation of checkpoint inhibitors against cancer. Last month, the antibody drug relatlimab, developed by Bristol Myers Squibb, increased the progression-free survival of melanoma patients in phase III. These […] April 29, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Mark Zipkin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Apr 2021 Pandemic Boosts Diagnostics Field with High Revenues and Acquisitions The US medtech firm Hologic has bought the Finnish-French biotech Mobidiag for around €668M in the latest of a series of mergers, acquisitions, and stock market launches taking over the diagnostics market. Hologic’s move is the latest in a flurry of activity from the women’s health specialist, which has snapped up Diagenode in Belgium, Biotheranostics […] April 20, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Apr 2021 Achilles Therapeutics’ IPO Caps Investment Wave for Neoantigens The close of the UK firm Achilles Therapeutics’ €146.9M ($175.5M) initial public offering last month may have been a long-delayed starter pistol for investments into neoantigen-based therapies, a family of personalized cancer immunotherapies that target proteins unique to an individual’s tumor. Neoantigen-focused companies have closed smaller initial public offerings (IPOs) in the past. Two major […] April 15, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Mark Zipkin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 5 Apr 2021 Base Editing: The Next Frontier in Genome Editing Technology Jonathan Frampton, Corporate Development Partner at Horizon Discovery, a Perkin Elmer company, shares his insights into the promises of base editing technology. In less than a decade, the advent of CRISPR-Cas9 has made gene editing easier and faster than ever. But CRISPR, as well as earlier genome editing tools, have a series of technical limitations, […] April 5, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Mar 2021 Lava Therapeutics’ IPO Shakes Cancer Niche of Gamma Delta T Cells The Dutch biotech startup Lava Therapeutics launched onto the Nasdaq stock market last week with an €85.6M ($100.5M) IPO. This is a sign of mounting investor interest in cancer treatments based on immune cells known as gamma delta T cells. The proceeds of the IPO will be used to drive the development of the company’s […] March 31, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 15 Mar 2021 Developing a Vaccine that Protects Against Covid-19 Variants Despite the promise of several approved Covid-19 vaccines and the widespread rollout of vaccination programs around the world, recent mutations in the virus causing Covid-19 are raising concern. Can the current vaccines protect against different coronavirus variants? Paul Higham became CEO of the Finnish firm Valo Therapeutics in 2020. The company was founded in 2016 […] March 15, 2021 - 8 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Opinion 8 Mar 2021 Advice for my Younger Self: How to Be a VC in Life Sciences Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, looks back at where he was two decades ago and shares what he would tell his younger self about being a life sciences VC. I am not a scientist or a doctor. Twenty years ago, when I was starting my career in this business, someone like […] March 8, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Antoine Papiernik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email