News and Trends 23 Feb 2017 In the Age of Biological Therapeutics, Chemists move to ADCs Career options for chemists are shrinking in the shift towards biological drugs. But as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) take off, so do opportunities for chemists! Since I quit graduate school in chemistry research and dove into biotech journalism, I wasn’t sure when I would next enter a discussion about organic synthesis. This week, less than a year after […] February 23, 2017 - 4 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Feb 2017 Biosimilars set to take on Oncology after a new Market Authorization The European Commission has approved Truxima, the world’s first biosimilar monoclonal antibody (mAb) with an oncology indication. Based in South Korea, Celltrion Healthcare is setting foot in the European oncology market with the approval of Truxima, a biosimilar to Roche’s Mabthera (rituximab). The European Commission has approved the antibody for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis […] February 23, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Feb 2017 New Immunotherapy Candidate receives FDA Fast Track Designation Cell Medica’s Orphan Drug CMD-003 has received fast track designation by the FDA to advance immunotherapy of patients with Epstein Bar Virus (EBV)-associated malignancies. The FDA’s fast track designation has been designed to facilitate and accelerate the development of drugs which fill a major unmet medical need. It has now been granted to Cell Medica’s lead EBV immunotherapy […] February 21, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Feb 2017 Alphamer Technology gets Seed Fundraising to Fight Antibiotic Resistance Centauri Therapeutics has raised £1.2M in the second part of its seed round, which will be directed at bringing its first alphamer to the preclinical stage. Centauri Therapeutics, a young British biotech, is developing alphamer technology to fights infectious disease and cancer. Today, the company has announced the addition of £1.2M from existing and new investors […] February 20, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Infographics 13 Feb 2017 Infographic: What’s in Europe’s Immuno-oncology Pipeline? While some might accuse the field of being over-hyped, immuno-oncology continues to attract attention and investment for its potential to cure cancer. What new therapies are European biotech cooking up? Since the dawn of immuno-oncology broke with checkpoint inhibitors, innovative therapies like Keytruda and Rituxan from big pharma have taken the world by storm. European biotech’s pipeline is […] February 13, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Feb 2017 Cannabinoid Drug Prolongs the Life of Brain Tumor Patients in Phase II Trials GW Pharmaceuticals announced Phase II results for a cannabinoid drug combination with the potential to increase life expectancy in patients with an aggressive form of brain cancer. GW Pharmaceuticals, one of the coolest biotechs in Cambridge, is developing cannabinoid drugs. Its lead candidate, Epidiolex, could reach the market soon and help treat drug-resistant forms of […] February 7, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Feb 2017 British Synbio’s Llama Antibodies recruited for Cancer T-Cell Therapy Isogenica has licensed its synthetic llama antibody library to Maverick Therapeutics, which develops cancer T-cell therapies designed to reduce side effects. Isogenica is a synthetic biology company near Cambridge that develops libraries of therapeutic antibodies. The biotech has granted US-based Maverick Therapeutics licenses to its llamdA VHH antibody library for the discovery, development and commercialization of […] February 7, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2017 French Biotech’s Checkpoint Inhibitor Fails Phase II Leukemia Trial Innate Pharma’s checkpoint inhibitor candidate lirilumab missed its primary endpoint in a Phase II trial, which gave a hard blow to the company’s stock. When the stock market opened this morning, Innate Pharma‘s stock went down by almost 25%. The company had just announced the results of a Phase II trial that failed to prove its […] February 6, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Jan 2017 French Biotech partners with Merck to Fight Tumor Resistance Domain Therapeutics and Merck have partnered up to develop immuno-oncology drug candidates that can boost the performance of checkpoint inhibitors. Domain Therapeutics has entered a collaboration and licensing agreement with German Merck in immuno-oncology. The big pharma is offering over €240M in milestones and will support research activities in exchange for worldwide rights to new drug candidates targeting […] January 23, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 23 Jan 2017 “Senior Staff Snobbery separates Academia from the Biotech Industry” We caught up with Mark Lowdell, Director of Cellular Therapeutics and the RFH/UCL Cancer Biobank. As one of the few successful scientist-entrepreneurs, he has some ideas about bridging academia and industry in biomedicine. Mark Lowdell was introduced to me by his business partner, RJ Tesi. Tesi co-founded INmune Bio, a promising California-based startup, on Lowdell’s […] January 23, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Jan 2017 German Antibody for Cancer Diagnostics catches an Australian Eye Wilex is selling Telix Pharmaceuticals its radiolabeled antibody for cancer applications, Redectane, to focus on the development of ADCs instead. The Australian Telix Pharmaceuticals has closed a license agreement with Wilex, in Germany, for the worldwide rights to Redectane, an antibody with diagnostic applications in renal cancer. The antibody, Rencarex (girentuximab), which binds to the […] January 16, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Jan 2017 Merck partners with Big Data Unicorn to help Cancer Patients Merck will use Palantir’s big data software to improve drug development and patient services, starting with cancer treatments. Merck will step up its data analytics capabilities in partnership with Palantir. The US company, co-founded by PayPal billionaire Peter Thiel, provides data integration and analysis software that Merck plans to use to improve patient care and […] January 16, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email