Best in Biotech 30 Jun 2021 Scotland’s Top 10 Biotech Companies to Watch Out For Scotland has a thriving life sciences ecosystem with strengths in oncology, genetic engineering, and industrial biotech. Let’s pick up the bagpipes as we tour the top 10 biotech companies in Scotland. Scotland is the UK’s second-most populous country, boasting picturesque scenery, a rich history, and a strong focus on sustainability. There is a diverse range […] June 30, 2021 - 11 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Apr 2021 Pandemic Boosts Diagnostics Field with High Revenues and Acquisitions The US medtech firm Hologic has bought the Finnish-French biotech Mobidiag for around €668M in the latest of a series of mergers, acquisitions, and stock market launches taking over the diagnostics market. Hologic’s move is the latest in a flurry of activity from the women’s health specialist, which has snapped up Diagenode in Belgium, Biotheranostics […] April 20, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Mar 2021 Europe Falls Behind in Efforts to Track Covid-19 Variants As barely a third of European countries meet targets to track concerning Covid-19 variants, diagnostics and genomics companies are scrambling to help them tackle this challenge. New strains of the Covid-19 coronavirus are sweeping Europe as vaccine distribution efforts roll on. These variants often gain traction when mutations let them become more virulent or spread […] March 18, 2021 - 5 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty 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
Interview 1 Feb 2021 Democratized DNA Synthesis: A Game-Changer Against Covid-19 DNA synthesis is one of the pillars of Covid-19 research that has suffered supply disruptions during lockdowns. Thomas Ybert, CEO of DNA Script, discusses the French company’s plans to protect research from future disruptions by giving every lab the ability to synthesize its own DNA molecules. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted more than ever the […] February 1, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Oct 2020 Spatial Transcriptomics Landscape Shifts With Two Major Acquisitions The Swedish firm Cartana and US-based ReadCoor have recently been snapped up by the US giant 10x Genomics to get hold of their spatial transcriptomics technology. What impact will these acquisitions have on the burgeoning field going forward? Last week, 10x Genomics took over ReadCoor for a smooth €298M ($350M). This followed the acquisition of […] October 14, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Aug 2020 Is Hepatitis D Healthcare Being Overlooked? Despite the recent EU approval of the first hepatitis D treatment, low public awareness remains an obstacle to tackling this aggressive infection. Earlier this month, the peptide drug Hepcludex became the first drug greenlit for hepatitis D treatment in Europe. This was a conditional market authorization granted to the German company MYR Pharmaceuticals based on […] August 20, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Aug 2020 Oxford Nanopore’s Portable Covid-19 Test Launched in UK UK biotech Oxford Nanopore has launched a portable test that can detect both Covid-19 and seasonal flu viruses in saliva or swabs in a little over an hour. The quick output of Oxford Nanopore’s test, called LamPORE, is expected to be a huge improvement on existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, considered the gold standard […] August 5, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 27 Jul 2020 Biosensors: Monitoring Our Health Anywhere, Anytime Biosensors are rapidly becoming part of our everyday life. As technology advances, we may soon be able to monitor many aspects of our health at home, in real time, and without needles. Traditionally used in medical practice to monitor patient status, biosensors have recently started to be broadly marketed for wellness and fitness applications. These […] July 27, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Timothé Cynober Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 17 Jun 2020 How is European Biotech Rising to the Covid-19 Testing Challenge? Diagnostics have been thrown into the spotlight in the Covid-19 pandemic because of their instrumental role in preventing further infections. However, developing a test for Covid-19 isn’t an easy task. What exactly is needed to make a good Covid-19 test, and how are European biotech companies working to fill this need? While the development of […] June 17, 2020 - 10 minutesmins - By Mark Livingstone Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jun 2020 UK Startup Launches with €10M to Detect Epigenetic Signs of Cancer in Blood A seed round of €10.1M will fund the launch of the University of Oxford spinout Base Genomics, which aims to improve cancer detection by measuring epigenetic changes to tumor DNA circulating in the blood. The company’s oversubscribed seed funding round was led by Oxford Sciences Innovation, a local early-stage investment firm linked to the University […] June 8, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By David Kirk Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 1 May 2020 Belgian Company Harnesses Lab-on-a-Chip Technology to Diagnose Disease The Belgian startup miDiagnostics is developing technology to diagnose diseases quickly, accurately, and at the point-of-care using a silicon lab-on-a-chip and nanoscale-precision microfluidics. Having good diagnostics in place can save lives. This principle is especially true in times of crisis, such as the current coronavirus pandemic. However, producing good diagnostics isn’t a simple task. In […] May 1, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email