In Depth 23 Jun 2021 How Blockchain Companies Are Helping Us Protect Our Genomic Data Using genomic data and the blockchain network, it is now possible to send anonymous genetic information around the world in the blink of an eye. Meet the companies that want to help us protect and control our own genetic data. As the cost of sequencing an individual genome falls and more people have access to […] June 23, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Jun 2021 The Top European Biotech Investment Rounds in May Last month saw huge biotech investment rounds dedicated to Covid-19 vaccines in Europe, including IPOs by Valneva and Vaccitech. However, a €227M (£195M) private round by the DNA sequencing giant Oxford Nanopore Technologies made the biggest splash. Last month was a difficult one for a number of public biotech companies. Biotech stock indices proved volatile […] June 10, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith 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
In Depth 27 Jan 2021 Single-Cell Sequencing: Paving the Way for Precision Medicine Next-generation sequencing techniques to determine an individual’s unique genetic code gave rise to personalized treatments. Single-cell sequencing is the next step towards making precision medicine more accurate. Each cell in our body is unique. Even genetically identical cells can behave differently in response to a certain treatment. With next-generation sequencing, scientists can study how the […] January 27, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Timothé Cynober Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 8 Jun 2020 Regulations on Genetic Data Could Threaten Genomics Innovation As genetic research relies more and more on digital technology, international regulations are straining to catch up and some fear they threaten to stifle innovation. Is it possible to develop a regulatory framework for genetic data that is fair for everyone? In just a couple decades, the digital revolution has taken over all sorts of […] June 8, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 1 Jun 2020 How Personal Genomics Companies Are Changing Drug Development In recent years, companies offering direct-to-consumer genomics tests have started switching the business model and venturing into drug development. Amidst criticism on data protection and lack of transparency, personal genomics companies are leveraging their unique position to generate genomics data to strike lucrative deals with pharma companies. Thanks to cheaper data acquisition and convenient analysis, […] June 1, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Timothé Cynober Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 May 2020 €7M Series A To Democratize Genomics with AI-Driven Cloud Software The UK-based bioinformatics firm Lifebit Biotech has closed a €7M Series A funding round, which will help the startup to accelerate the global market expansion of its AI-driven, cloud-based genomics analysis software. The round was led by the Parisian VC firm Idinvest Partners and also included returning investors Pentech Ventures, Beacon Capital, and Connect Ventures. […] May 8, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Feb 2020 French Startup Raises €6M to Develop Cheap Single-Cell Sequencing Kits Scipio bioscience has raised €6M in a Series A round to launch cost-effective single-cell RNA sequencing kits, which could have big potential in profiling cells for research and clinical diagnostics. The round was led by M Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Merck. Other investors in the round included Seventure Partners’ seed fund Quadrivum […] February 26, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Feb 2020 Update: Janssen and Maze Jump on Board Finnish Genomics Project Update (25/02/2020): Janssen and the US company Maze Therapeutics are the latest pharma companies to sign up as partners in the public-private genomics collaboration FinnGen. FinnGen’s pharma partners now total 11, including Sanofi and GSK, which joined early last year. Published 23/01/2019: Sanofi and GSK have joined up with a project collecting genomic and health […] February 25, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 12 Feb 2020 Boosting Cancer Research by Unlocking Genomic Data More genomic data is produced today than ever before as it’s fundamental to the development of new medicines. But although there is a lot of data out there, much of it is inaccessible. With a background in computer science and bioinformatics, Fiona Nielsen, co-founder and CEO of Repositive, decided to overcome this bottleneck and open […] February 12, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Oct 2019 European Project Launches to Tailor Autoimmune Disease Treatments Public and private organizations across Europe will pool their resources in an €80M project to discover biomarkers that can predict which patients will respond best to treatments for autoimmune diseases. The project is called Taxonomy, Treatments, Targets and Remission, or 3TR for short, and is funded by the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative for the next […] October 31, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Sep 2019 Icelandic Company to Sequence 225,000 Genomes from UK Patients The Icelandic genomics company deCODE genetics has joined the UK’s Wellcome Sanger Institute in sequencing 450,000 genomes as part of a massive €224M (£200M) project organized by the UK Biobank initiative. The UK Biobank’s €224M grant includes €56M (£50M) from the UK government, €56M from the UK’s Wellcome Trust charity, and €112M (£100M) from big […] September 13, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email