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
Interview 3 Mar 2021 The Promises of CRISPR Genome Editing in Biomedicine Tony Ho, Head of Research and Development at CRISPR Therapeutics, offers his insights into the advantages of CRISPR gene editing over other technologies and what the future holds for the genome editing field. For decades, gene editing required engineering DNA-cutting enzymes, such as zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), for every specific […] March 3, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Sponsored by Merck 2 Mar 2021 How is Bioprocessing 4.0 Revolutionizing Biomanufacturing? The digital transformation of biopharmaceutical process development is known as Bioprocessing 4.0. Using the internet of things, digital biomanufacturing creates a network of data sources, materials, equipment, and industry representatives. This creates a competitive advantage, increases productivity, and boosts the value of biomanufacturing. We have spoken to Merrilee Whitney, Head of the BioContinuum™ platform at Merck* […] March 2, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 1 Mar 2021 How Are European Biotechs Tackling the Cardiovascular Disease Problem? Cardiovascular diseases may not regularly grab the headlines, but they’re the leading cause of mortality globally, making up over 30% of all deaths worldwide. While there are many established treatments on the market, there’s still a need for more effective treatments – can biotech companies provide the answer? We all know that frequent exercise, a […] March 1, 2021 - 9 minutesmins - By Farhan Mitha Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Feb 2021 Legal Fights Accompany Big Fundraises in Liquid Biopsy Scene A recent patent fight between the liquid biopsy companies Natera and Inivata is only the latest of many spats over DNA sequencing technology that could potentially revolutionize the detection and treatment of cancer. Earlier this month, the UK-US biotech Inivata raised €29M in the second closing of a Series C round. The company will use […] February 25, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Feb 2021 European Cancer Deals Increasingly Focus on Natural Killer Cells Natural killer cells are becoming a hot topic in the booming cancer cell therapy scene, with the field’s latest big deal being a €640M licensing agreement between the French biotech Cellectis and US company Cytovia. T-cell immunotherapies like CAR T-cell therapy have revolutionized cancer treatment in recent times. However, they have a significant disadvantage. The […] February 23, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 22 Feb 2021 How Automation Can Augment Drug Discovery Research Robotics and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the way we discover drugs. Martin-Immanuel Bittner, CEO and co-founder of Arctoris, discusses the benefits and challenges of introducing automation in drug discovery efforts. The Oxford-based startup Arctoris was established in 2016 with the objective of offering remote access to automated drug discovery. At a time when researchers […] February 22, 2021 - 8 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Feb 2021 Cannabinoids in Focus after GW Pharmaceuticals Snapped up for €6B This month’s €6B acquisition of the UK heavyweight GW Pharmaceuticals by Jazz Pharmaceuticals has been hailed as a major validation of the medical cannabinoid industry. The deal is the largest to date in the medical cannabinoid field. Jazz’s offer valued GW’s shares nearly 50% higher than their previous day’s close. The acquisition is expected to […] February 18, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email