Antibiotic-resistant superbugs cause a large number of deaths around the world each year, but effective new antibiotics are thin on the ground. Could bacteria-eating phage viruses be the answer to this problem? The COVID-19 pandemic has received blanket news coverage over the past couple of years, however, it still pales in comparison to the threat […]
As we prepare to enter a new decade, we look back on the major milestones and blunders within European biotech over the last 10 years. Over the last decade, we have seen many biotech breakthroughs to come from Europe, including first-in-class therapies for cancer, the first approved in vivo gene therapy, as well as notable […]
Taking advantage of the ability of viruses to manipulate life is opening new doors for the biotech industry. Once only seen as our enemies, viruses are fast becoming some of our most valuable allies. Viruses may not have the best public image, but to biotechnologists, there’s a lot to admire about them. These tiny molecular […]
Israeli cell therapy biotech Pluristem Therapeutics has secured up to €50M in non-dilutive funding from the European Investment Bank to progress its coronavirus-targeting cell therapy to phase III. The partners plan to sign the funding agreement at the end of April and Pluristem will initially receive €20M followed by two further installments totaling up to […]
The Austrian biotech company PhagoMed Biopharma is developing a viral protein that could one day treat the common condition bacterial vaginosis without disrupting the microbiome as traditional antibiotics do. The preclinical drug candidate is derived from a protein called an endolysin. Endolysins are made by bacteria-hunting viruses called bacteriophages and kill bacteria by rupturing the […]
The Israeli biotech BiomX has raised €28M ($32M) to advance its treatments for acne and inflammatory bowel disease to the clinical stage. Investor interest is continuing in treatments based on the microbiome, which have the potential to treat a variety of conditions such as chronic inflammatory diseases, and even some forms of cancer. BiomX’s approach […]
Immunocore and the US biotech giant Genentech are building on their existing partnership to boost the clinical development of Immunocore’s immunotherapy for treating solid tumors. In the agreement, Genentech, a member of the Roche group, will pay UK-based Immunocore €87.3M ($100M) in an upfront payment and further undisclosed milestone payments as the immunotherapy progresses towards […]
With the rise of antimicrobial resistance across the globe, and with a dire lack of new antibiotics in the pipeline, more attention is going towards developing innovative treatments and technologies that kill superbugs in completely new ways. Here, we take a closer look at some of the most promising of these technologies emerging from the […]
The human microbiome is emerging as a target for treating a wide range of diseases, but it’s still a young field and there are lots of unknowns. Philip discussed with the CEO of BiomX whether phages may be the key to targeting specific bacterial strains in the microbiome. In the last decade, scientists have found […]
Immatics will start a first clinical trial to test IMA101, a personalized cell therapy with the potential to treat multiple types of solid tumors. Based in Tübingen, Germany, Immatics has announced today the start of its first clinical trial testing its cell therapy technology aimed at providing personalized treatments for multiple types of solid tumors. The […]
One of the last remaining bastions for organic chemists in pharmaceuticals is in antibiotic development. It is now under fire from a partnership of academic and industrial microbiologists, who are developing bacteriophages into antibacterial therapies. A team of researchers headed by Dr. Janet Neal and Prof. Martha Clokie at the University of Leicester demonstrated the […]