News and Trends 23 Mar 2022 Ilya Pharma Paves Way for Bacterial Gene Therapy with €8.5M Funding Cell and gene therapies are taking off in a big way in Europe. As the buzz grows, the Swedish firm Ilya Pharma has raised €8.5M to lay down the foundations of bacterial gene therapies for enterocolitis and diabetic ulcers. Investor interest in cell and gene therapy is ramping up fast around the world, with a […] March 23, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Nov 2021 Investors Flock to Startups Reprogramming Cell Therapies Painstaking and expensive procedures are required to produce human cells for use in research and cell therapies. Investors are seeking stakes in cell reprogramming startups that can free up the bottleneck, such as Mogrify, bit.bio, and Asgard Therapeutics. The concept of cell reprogramming — converting one type of cell into another — has been hot […] November 22, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 10 May 2021 The Rollercoaster of Repurposing an Arthritis Drug for Covid-19 The Covid-19 pandemic created an opportunity for many biotech companies to repurpose their existing programs into vaccines and treatments for the novel coronavirus. Cyxone’s CEO Tara Heitner and COO Malin Berthold discuss how they approached this shift at their company. Cyxone was founded in 2015 to develop drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Based […] May 10, 2021 - 8 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Mar 2020 Gedea Biotech’s Bacterial Vaginosis Tablet Proves As Good as Antibiotics An antibiotic-free vaginal tablet developed by the Swedish company Gedea Biotech has cured 82% of women of the common vaginal infection bacterial vaginosis in a 24-patient clinical trial. Bacterial vaginosis occurs when the normal vaginal microflora — characterized by a high proportion of bacteria from the genus Lactobacillus — become unbalanced with an overgrowth of […] March 12, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 6 Mar 2020 This Startup Is Developing a DIY Biomarker Diagnostics Kit The Swedish medical device startup Qlife is developing a diagnostic kit that patients can use at home to better control chronic diseases. Mission: To make convenient diagnostics for patients with a home-use kit that they can use to monitor blood biomarkers in chronic conditions such as arthritis. Chronic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes […] March 6, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 7 Feb 2020 Sigrid Therapeutics Prevents Type 2 Diabetes Using Silica Powder in the Gut In Stockholm, Sweden, Sigrid Therapeutics is developing an ingestible silica powder that can treat type 2 diabetes and obesity without being absorbed in the gut. Mission: To produce the first prophylactic silica-based treatment for type 2 diabetes that does not enter the bloodstream. Some people have higher blood sugar levels than normal, but not high […] February 7, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Jan 2020 €6M Seed Round to Develop First Urine Test for Kidney Cancer The Swedish biotech Elypta has raised a seed round worth €6.1M to fund a clinical trial of a urine test for signs of recurrent kidney cancer, which could improve patient follow-up after surgery. The seed round was led by the Swedish VC firm Industrifonden. Other investors in the round included the VC impact fund of […] January 24, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 21 Jan 2020 How Biotech Startups Can Have a Stronger Position When Scaling Up Scaling up the manufacturing process can be a daunting task for any biotech startup. Evelina Vågesjö, CEO of Swedish gene therapy biotech Ilya Pharma, and Jesper Hedberg, Director of the Testa Center facility, explained how testing at innovation facilities such as incubators and biotech accelerators can help avoid big pitfalls in the scaling process later […] January 21, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 17 Jan 2020 This Biotech Is Developing a Pill to Rival Antibiotics in Vaginal Infections Gedea Biotech is nestled in the historic city of Lund, Sweden. The company is developing a pill that could tackle recurrent bacterial vaginosis infections without harming the vaginal microbiome like current antibiotics do. Mission: To develop a pill that can clear bacterial vaginosis by restoring normal acidity levels in the vagina, which helps good bacteria […] January 17, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Nov 2019 Update: Swedish Medical Device Fails to Treat Spinal Cord Injury Update (21/11/2019): The Swedish biotech BioArctic has terminated the clinical development of a biodegradable implant that is designed to treat spinal cord injury by encouraging the regrowth of nerve cells. The decision was made when an interim analysis in BioArctic’s phase I/II trial concluded that the treatment was ineffective. BioArctic will instead focus on developing […] November 21, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Alexander Burik Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 4 Oct 2019 This Biotech Genetically Engineers Trees to Produce Biofuels The Swedish company SweTree Technologies is developing genetically engineered trees as environmentally friendly alternative sources of fuel. Mission: To improve the yield and robustness of tree crops such as spruce and eucalyptus using selective breeding and genetic engineering. This would help to boost the production of products such as biofuels and wood from each tree. […] October 4, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 6 Sep 2019 This Biotech Regenerates Bone Tissue to Treat Tooth Loss In the university town of Umeå, Sweden, the biotech company Omnio is developing treatments for tooth loss in conditions such as periodontitis. Mission: To promote wound healing by enhancing the action of plasminogen, a protein in the blood that is important in the healing process. Enhancing the action of this molecule could allow the company […] September 6, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email