More News! 9 May 2019 Pfizer Pays up to €700M to Acquire Swiss Biotech Restoring Bone Growth in Achondroplasia Pharma giant Pfizer is acquiring the Swiss biotech Therachon, which is developing a protein drug to boost bone growth in the genetic condition achondroplasia. Pfizer will pay €303M ($340M) upfront, and up to €420M ($470M) dependent on Therachon reaching milestones in the development of its drug improving bone growth in achondroplasia. This genetic condition inhibits […] May 9, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Apr 2019 Update: Two-Drug HIV Treatment Effective for up to Three Years Update (04/04/2019): ViiV Healthcare’s two-drug HIV treatment, Juluca, has successfully suppressed the HIV virus for up to three years in patients’ blood. In a clinical study, 513 HIV-infected people switched to daily pills of Juluca from their standard drug regimes, which included three or four different drugs. Juluca was effective at suppressing the virus for […] April 4, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 1 Oct 2018 Could These Innovative Flu Vaccines Prevent Deaths From Deadly Outbreaks? Despite more than a century of scientific endeavour, influenza remains one of the most deadly infectious diseases worldwide. Across Europe, many biotechs are working on novel solutions that could dramatically improve the protection rates offered by current vaccines. Some may even lead to the holy grail of influenza research – a universal flu vaccine. Each […] October 1, 2018 - 8 minutesmins - By David Cox Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Aug 2018 Pfizer Offers €374M for German mRNA Flu Vaccine BioNTech, based in Mainz, Germany, has entered into a partnership with Pfizer worth up to $425M (€374M) to develop an mRNA-based flu vaccine, which could be produced much more quickly than current flu vaccines. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is one of the building blocks living organisms use to create proteins from genes. BioNTech is developing prophylactic […] August 16, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 20 Jun 2018 “Have the guts to follow your instincts”: Top CEO Talks About His Time in Biotech Some careers take on an international scope and span the breadth of big players in the pharmaceutical industry and small biotech startups. David Ebsworth, Chairman at Verona Pharma, can count his professional journey among these and gave us the inside scoop on the successes and challenges he faced, his perspective on European biotech, and advice to […] June 20, 2018 - 9 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Feb 2018 AstraZeneca Collaborates With Swedish Biotech To Speed Up Drug Development AstraZeneca collaborates with Swedish firm Pelago Bioscience to develop assay that increases the speed and efficiency of drug development. Pelago, a Karolinska Institute spin-off, studies the interactions between a drug and its target to make the drug development process faster and more efficient. The Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) was developed by Pelago to examine the […] February 26, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Feb 2018 FDA Approves AstraZeneca’s Lung Cancer Treatment after Rejecting Merck and Pfizer’s The FDA approval will give AstraZeneca a competitive advantage in the lung cancer treatment market over Merck KGaA & Pfizer, who received rejections for a similar treatment. AstraZeneca received FDA approval for Imfinzi in non-small cell lung cancer one day after Merck KgA and Pfizer received a rejection for competitor drug Bavencio in the same indication. Imfinzi (durvalumab) […] February 21, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Nov 2017 Merck and Pfizer’s Checkpoint Inhibitor Fails to Treat Gastric Cancer Avelumab, marketed as Bavencio by Pfizer and Merck, has failed to show better efficacy than chemotherapy in a Phase III trial with gastric cancer patients. Merck (the German one) and Pfizer joined the checkpoint inhibitor club earlier this year with the approval of Bavencio (avelumab) in both the US and Europe. Looking to keep expanding the […] November 29, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Sep 2017 European Commission Approves Merck’s PD-L1 Inhibitor for Aggressive Skin Cancer Merck and Pfizer’s new immunotherapy, avelumab, has been approved by the European Commission to treat metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. The approval is based on data from a Phase II study, JAVELIN Merkel 200, where subjects responded well to treatment for a sustained period of time. Earlier this year, Avelumab was […] September 21, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Alex Dale Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jun 2017 Where to Find the Perfect Mix of International and German Biotechs? Berlin! Germany’s capital city Berlin is the perfect meeting place for international and German biotech companies. See here why the city has become a hotspot for life sciences research institutions and businesses! “Berlin! Berlin! We’re going to Berlin!” It might be a phrase usually sung by football fans, but maybe it’s time to have it chanted by other […] June 15, 2017 - 6 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 24 May 2017 What Happens when the Immune System Attacks Life-Saving Drugs? Immunogenicity has been largely disregarded despite its huge impact on the performance of biological drugs. What is it and how can we fight it? Immunogenicity can be a huge problem. Affecting especially protein-based drugs, this process consists in the development of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) against a molecule that, in most cases, is saving the life […] May 24, 2017 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Mar 2017 What’s Berlin’s Secret to Success in Biotech & Digital Health? Berlin is a creative crossroads not just for arts but also life science. A variety of players in academia, industry, and startups make the ecosystem blossom. To those who know Berlin as a creative hub, it might come as a surprise that life science is one of the city’s industrial pillars. The German capital region […] March 16, 2017 - 8 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email