News and Trends 9 Jul 2019 Update: Swiss Biotech’s Series E Expanded to €271M to Commercialize Antibody-Guided Cancer Chemotherapy Update (09/07/2019): The Switzerland-based ADC Therapeutics has completed the final closing of a €271M ($303M) Series E round to finance the development of a phase II antibody-drug conjugate treatment for blood cancer. With its big Series E complete, the company is in a good financial position to prepare for the commercialization of its lead candidate […] July 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Jul 2019 BioNTech Raises Whopping €290M to Fund Personalized mRNA Vaccines for Cancer In one of the biggest ever funding rounds in European biotech, the German company BioNTech has raised a Series B of €289.5M ($325M) to develop individualized cancer vaccines. BioNTech will use the money to fuel the clinical development of the company’s lead program — an individualized mRNA-based immunotherapy for treating melanoma, which completed a phase […] July 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jul 2019 Evotec Spinoff to Develop Cancer Drugs that Block DNA Repair Breakpoint Therapeutics, a spinoff from the German biotech Evotec, has raised €30M to develop drugs that block DNA repair mechanisms in drug-resistant cancers. Breakpoint Therapeutics aims to develop first-in-class drugs that kill cancer cells by sabotaging their DNA repair machinery. Having taken on a number of Evotec’s drug development programs, Breakpoint aims to have its […] July 8, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 5 Jul 2019 This Biotech Helps the Immune System to Infiltrate and Destroy Tumors The Nice-based biotech company Yukin Therapeutics is developing drugs that can work together with checkpoint inhibitors to help the immune system smash tumors such as melanoma. Mission: To develop a drug that can change the tumor microenvironment to allow the immune system to infiltrate and destroy the tumor more effectively. This could give a big […] July 5, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Jul 2019 Approval Status of Cancer Cell Therapy at Risk After Halting Phase III Trial Following an unfavorable interim analysis, Milan-based MolMed has suspended a phase III trial of its cell therapy Zalmoxis that could threaten the conditional marketing authorization the treatment received in 2016. The halted clinical trial was evaluating the effects of Zalmoxis on patients with high-risk leukemia that have received a bone marrow transplant. The cell therapy […] July 1, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Jun 2019 Scientists Grow Head and Neck Cancer Organoids to Personalize Chemotherapy A team of Dutch researchers has developed the first 3D organoids from patients’ head and neck cancer cells that can be kept alive for a long time, giving physicians a model to test which cancer treatments are the most effective for each patient. Head and neck cancer is an aggressive disease that often requires harsh […] June 19, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Jun 2019 EU Gives Lynparza Green Light as First-Line Ovarian Cancer Treatment The DNA damage repair drug olaparib (Lynparza), developed by AstraZeneca and Merck, has been approved by the EU as a first-line treatment preventing the return of ovarian cancer after initial chemotherapy. The drug has already been approved by the EU and the FDA as a maintenance treatment for relapsed ovarian cancer, and as a therapy […] June 19, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Jun 2019 Janssen and Genmab Team Up Again for Another Potential Cancer Blockbuster Janssen and the Danish biotech Genmab will collaborate to develop a new antibody that could outperform their blockbuster cancer drug Darzalex in certain types of blood cancer. Genmab will develop the antibody treatment until it completes clinical proof-of-concept studies in the blood cancers multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. At that point, Janssen will […] June 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 11 Jun 2019 Gamma Delta T Cells: A New Hope Against Cancer A new wave of therapies based on a unique type of immune cells, called gamma delta T cells, has the potential to treat cancer with stronger responses and fewer side effects. Immunotherapies based on T cells are becoming a huge trend in the treatment of cancer, especially CAR-T cells. These genetically-modified T cells have shown […] June 11, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Jun 2019 Highlights from European Biotech at ASCO 2019 European biotech companies gathered in Chicago, USA, to share the latest advances in cancer research at the biggest cancer conference of the year, ASCO 2019. This year’s conference has drawn fewer big blockbuster headlines than other years, but there was plenty to see nonetheless. There were results from many different clinical trials by big pharma […] June 5, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Jun 2019 Dutch Company Raises €28M to Push Cancer Cell Therapy to European Market The Dutch Kiadis Pharma has raised €27.6M in a private placement to fund the clinical development of immune cell therapies treating blood cancer. The money will fund phase III trials of Kiadis’ lead candidate cell therapy for blood cancer, aimed to get European approval by the end of 2019. In addition, the cash will boost […] June 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 May 2019 UK Immune Cell Therapy Biotech Founded with €40M Series A Quell Therapeutics, a London-based biotech developing immune cell therapies to target transplant rejection and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, launched today with €40M series A funding. UK life sciences trust Syncona is the lead investor, with a €38.8M stake in the company. Syncona will own a controlling 69% of the business, reflecting their large initial investment. […] May 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email