News and Trends 15 Jan 2020 Adaptimmune to Take Off-The-Shelf CAR-T to Phase I with Astellas The UK biotech Adaptimmune Therapeutics has inked a deal worth up to €806M with Japanese Astellas Pharma to complete phase I trials of candidate off-the-shelf T-cell therapies for cancer including CAR T-cell and TCR therapies. According to the deal, Adaptimmune will collaborate with Universal Cells, a subsidiary of Astellas. The partners will aim to identify […] January 15, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Jan 2020 French Biotech Raises €19M to Hit Phase I with Cancer Immunotherapy Alderaan Biotechnology has raised an €18.5M Series A round to push its lead cancer immunotherapy drug to phase I. The UK VC firm Medicxi and the returning French VC investor Advent France Biotechnology contributed to the round. Alderaan, whose name was inspired by a fictional planet in the Star Wars movies, will use part of […] January 9, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Jan 2020 Update: Chinese Pharma Enlists Synaffix’s ADC Technology for Second Drug Update (07/01/2020): Shanghai Miracogen has expanded its pre-existing license agreement with the Dutch biotech Synaffix. Under the terms of the new agreement, the Chinese pharma will use Synaffix’s antibody-drug conjugate technology to develop a second drug for the treatment of cancer. No financial details were disclosed. Published 10/04/2019: Shanghai Miracogen will pay up to €111M […] January 7, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 18 Dec 2019 How BioNTech Navigates the Biotech Fundraising Maze BioNTech is on a mission to individualize cancer therapy by developing a range of different innovative therapies, a task that can be a rollercoaster ride, according to its Chief Business and Commercial Officer Sean Marett. It’s been an interesting year for the German biotech. In July the company raised one of the biggest ever European […] December 18, 2019 - 6 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Dec 2019 Cellestia Secures €18M to Develop First-in-Class Cancer Drug Basel-based Cellestia Biotech has closed a €18M Series B financing round to help progress its first-in-class, targeted cancer drug to the clinic. The Swiss company is focusing on treating cancers that have a mutation in the Notch pathway, a group of proteins that helps cells communicate with each other. Many cancers have mutations in these […] December 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Dec 2019 €14M Series A to Fund Cancer Immunotherapy Boosting Checkpoint Inhibitors The Swiss biotech ImmunOs Therapeutics has raised a Series A round of €13.7M (CHF 15M) that will fund the first human trials of its cancer immunotherapy that could improve the response of cancer patients to checkpoint inhibitors. The round was co-led by the Swiss life sciences venture capital firm BioMedPartners and by Pfizer Ventures. The […] December 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 11 Dec 2019 Collaboration Between Founders and Investors Primes Biotech Startups for Success How can entrepreneurs work with investors to maximize the chances of their company succeeding? Venture capital partner Nanna Lüneborg and biotech entrepreneur Mai-Britt Zocca spoke at Labiotech Refresh in Copenhagen about their experiences in founding IO Biotech, a Danish biotech startup that develops cancer immunotherapies. Zocca and Lüneborg were both involved in setting up IO […] December 11, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Dec 2019 Autolus Reveals Early Clinical Data of Next-Gen CAR-T Therapy London-based Autolus has shown its next-generation CAR T-cell therapy does not induce some of the severe side effects that have led to deaths in patients treated with CAR T-cell treatments currently on the market. Since their arrival on the market in 2017, CAR T-cell therapies have provided hope to patients with rare forms of blood […] December 9, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2019 Update: Cancer Immunotherapy Biotech Files for Insolvency Update (06/12/2019): Following the phase III failure of its immunotherapy drug for colorectal cancer in the summer, the German company Mologen has filed for insolvency. Published 06/08/2019 A DNA immunotherapy drug developed by the German company Mologen has failed to improve the survival of patients with colorectal cancer in a phase III trial. The phase […] December 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Dec 2019 €48M Series B Fuels Immunotherapies for Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases ImCheck Therapeutics has raised a Series B round worth €48M to fund the development of first-in-class immunotherapies that treat cancer and autoimmune diseases by targeting a rare type of immune cells called a gamma delta T-cell. ImCheck Therapeutics’ Series B round was led by Pfizer Ventures — the venture capital arm of the big pharma […] December 4, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Nov 2019 €37.4M Invested in Azeria Therapeutics’ Cancer Treatment Program UK-based Azeria Therapeutics has raised a Series B investment round of €37.4M to fund development of novel breast cancer drugs targeting proteins called pioneer factors. The series B financing includes a €34.5M commitment from leading UK healthcare VC firm Syncona. The remainder was provided by the CRT Pioneer Fund — a specialist UK fund dedicated […] November 21, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Nov 2019 US-French Deal to Tailor Ultrasound Therapy to Brain Cancer Patients The French company CarThera has teamed up with the US firm Kiyatec to study the effects on individual patients of an ultrasound therapy to deliver brain cancer drugs to the brain. Under the agreement, Kiyatec will test the effects of chemotherapy on cells taken from CarThera’s ongoing phase I/II trial in patients with brain cancer. […] November 19, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email