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
Expert Advice 11 Dec 2019 What Makes a Successful Biotech? How does it feel to have co-developed the most successful drug in the world? This is something Jane Osbourn, now Chair of the Board at UK cell therapy biotech Mogrify, knows only too well. Early in her career, Osbourn was working as a postdoc in Cambridge and was persuaded to join a small, and at […] December 11, 2019 - 12 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Nov 2019 Mass Layoffs as Dutch Biotech Cancels Phase III Cell Therapy Trial The Dutch company Kiadis Pharma has discontinued the development of a cell therapy in blood cancer, laid off half of its workforce, and switched focus to other, less advanced cell therapy programs. The abandoned phase III trial was testing Kiadis Pharma’s lead cell therapy for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease, a complication of stem cell […] November 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Nov 2019 UK Biotech Launched to Target ‘Dark Antigens’ with Cancer Vaccines The London-based startup Ervaxx has launched with a €15.8M Series A round to develop cancer vaccines and cell therapies that target ‘dark antigens’ — normally silent genes in the genome that are expressed in cancer cells. Ervaxx’s Series A round was funded by the transatlantic venture capital firm SV Health Investors, as well as an […] November 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Nov 2019 EU Regulations Are Holding Back Gene and Cell Therapy Clinical Trials European regulations might be responsible for lower numbers of advanced therapy clinical trials running in the region when compared to the US and Asia. Europe has historically been a pioneer in advanced therapies, such as cell and gene therapy. Europe was the first region to approve a gene therapy, and it boasts the highest number […] November 5, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Oct 2019 Mogrify Raises €15M Series A to Chase the ‘Holy Grail’ of Cell Therapy Cambridge-based Mogrify has raised €14.5M to develop a technology that could allow scientists to transform any human cell into another cell type without the arduous process of turning them into a stem cell first. The Series A round was led by Ahren Innovation Capital, an investment firm founded by science entrepreneurs from the UK […] October 14, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 11 Oct 2019 This Biotech Is Developing a Stem Cell Therapy for Deafness Sheffield is one of the UK’s historic industrial bases. It also hosts the biotech Rinri Therapeutics, which is developing a stem cell therapy to treat deaf patients who are not eligible for cochlear implants. Mission: To develop a stem cell therapy for a rare form of deafness where the neuronal wiring underlying the auditory system […] October 11, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 27 Sep 2019 This Biotech Can Screen CAR T-Cells Using Only Light and Microfluidics Based in Cambridge, UK, Lightcast Discovery is developing microfluidics technology that automates cell screening experiments by using lasers. Mission: To automate cell screening experiments, such as those used when screening CAR T-cell immunotherapies. This would let companies test therapies in complex cell experiments, such as cell-to-cell interactions, which are difficult with traditional drug-screening tools. Cell […] September 27, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Sep 2019 Grünenthal to Pay up to €900M for Chronic Low Back Pain Cell Therapy The German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal has licensed a donor cell therapy for chronic low back pain from the Australian biotech Mesoblast in a deal that could be worth over €900M. Under the terms of the deal, Grünenthal will gain exclusive rights to commercialize Mesoblast’s cell therapy for chronic low back pain in Europe and Latin […] September 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Sep 2019 Italian Biotech Raises €13M to Test Stem Cell Therapy for Cancer The Italian biotech Genenta Science has raised €13.2M in a private round to fund two ongoing phase I/II trials of its stem cell therapy Temferon for blood and brain cancer. Genenta Science will use the money to fund two European phase I/II trials, which the company launched in March. One trial is testing the stem […] September 11, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Sep 2019 4BIO Capital Raises €45M Fund to Invest in Advanced Therapies The London-based life sciences investor 4BIO Capital has raised €45M in the first close of a fund to nurture companies developing advanced therapies such as gene and cell therapies. This is the first closing of 4BIO’s second fund, called 4BIO Ventures II, which is expected to total €136M ($150M) by late 2020. The fund will […] September 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Sep 2019 UK Biotech’s Personalized Immunotherapy gets €110M Series B Boost The UK company Achilles Therapeutics has raised €110M (£100M) to test its personalized cancer cell immunotherapies in humans for the first time. The large Series B round will fund two phase I/IIa clinical trials of Achilles’ preclinical immunotherapy which are expected to start this year: one in non-small cell lung cancer and the other in […] September 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email