News and Trends 12 Apr 2017 Swiss Pharma Clears €37M Funding to Develop a New Class of Antibiotics Swiss Polyphor has closed a €37M (CHF40M) private funding round to finance the development of its most advanced candidate tackling antibiotic resistances. Polyphor is a clinical stage pharma developing a specific class of so called ‘macrocyclic drugs‘, which are chemically defined by a ring structure. The company’s pipeline is covering a broad range of diseases such as […] April 12, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Apr 2017 The Biggest European Medtech Exit of 2017 Just Happened The medtech company Symetis, specialized in heart valve replacements, today announced its acquisition by Boston Scientific in a hefty €411M ($435M) deal. Symetis is a Swiss medtech company and one of the key players on the European transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) market. After launching a promising €55M IPO on Euronext Paris in March, the company has now […] April 10, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Apr 2017 Swiss-Danish Collaboration will use Synbio to Produce a B Vitamin Two startups in the fields of synthetic biology, Biosyntia and FGen, have struck a partnership to identify promising microbial strains. The objective is to find a strain that enables bioproduction of a B vitamin. The driving force of this new partnership between Biosyntia, Denmark, and ETH Zurich, and brands itself as a CRO for biologics […] April 10, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Mar 2017 Swiss Antibodies Recruited by the Developer of BMS’ Cancer Blockbuster Ono Pharmaceutical is offering the Swiss Numab €241M (CHF 258M) for the development of a multi-specific antibody for immuno-oncology applications. Numab, one of the hottest biotechs in Zurich, has developed a unique technology to generate stable antibody fragments (not an easy feat!) and use them as building blocks for multi-specific antibodies that can target up […] March 28, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Mar 2017 Novartis puts the Development of two Anti-Aging Drugs in American Hands PureTech will take on the development of two mTORC1 inhibitors from Novartis aimed at stopping the decline of the immune system associated with age. Novartis is building up the portfolio of PureTech, a Boston-based healthcare company listed on the London stock market. Originally an investment firm, it now has put together a drug pipeline from […] March 24, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 20 Mar 2017 UPDATE: Swiss Medtech cancels IPO and goes for Record €411M Exit UPDATE (10/04/2017): Symetis has decided to cancel its IPO following its acquisition by Boston Scientific in a €411M deal. The Swiss medtech company Symetis has launched a €55M IPO to accelerate the development of its next-generation heart valve replacement solutions. Symetis develops next-generation heart valve replacements for the treatment of cardiac valve conditions. With its […] March 20, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Mar 2017 Can Roche & MorphoSys beat the odds in new Alzheimer’s Phase III Trials? After recent late-stage disappointments from Eli Lilly and Merck, Roche and Morphosys are stepping up with two new Phase III trials in Alzheimer’s. Roche just announced plans to start two new Phase III studies in Alzheimer’s with its antibody candidate gantenerumab, initially developed by the German biotech giant MorphoSys. The trials are expected to begin later this year, but Roche […] March 14, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 7 Mar 2017 UPDATE: Reproductive Health Biotech starts Phase III after €90M IPO UPDATE (07/03/2017): ObsEva has announced the start of its Phase III trials for nolasiban, an oral oxytocin receptor antagonist. It is under evaluation for improvements in pregnancy and live birth rates following embryo transfer (ET). UPDATE (26/01/2017): ObsEva has disclosed plans to release 6.45M shares at $15 (€14) each, for a total of €90.3M. This large total reflects […] March 7, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Mar 2017 A New Transatlantic Partnership takes on Antibiotic Resistance The Swiss biotech BioVersys and the US company Aptuit have entered a new collaboration to target antibiotic resistances. BioVersys, based in Basel, is developing small molecules that interfere with bacterial resistance mechanisms. Its current research is focused on nosocomial infections (hospital infections) and tuberculosis. To advance the development of compounds against novel targets identified by BioVersys, the company has […] March 7, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Feb 2017 Hopes are up: A Second Phase III Trial for Alzheimer’s Disease The Swiss biotech AC Immune announced that its partner Genentech (Roche) will start a second phase III clinical trial for its Alzheimer’s therapy crenezumab. In 2006 AC Immune partnered up with Genentech to bring its amyloid beta (Aβ)-targeting antibody crenezumab into the clinic. Although the compound did not meet its co-primary enpoints in the large phase II ABBY trial, Genentech pushed […] February 28, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 24 Feb 2017 Interfacing the Brain & Machines: Another Step to a Cyborg Future Controlling robotic prostheses with one’s mind has been a hot topic in research, but making a prothesis ‘talk back’ has been a stumbling block. Researchers from Switzerland show progress in creating sensations from a bidirectional neuroprosthesis. Researchers from the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, are developing a new method to connect a prosthesis to neural activity […] February 24, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Feb 2017 Actelion’s key Drug linked to Deaths, prompting EMA Investigation Johnson & Johnson is certainly counting on its recent acquisition of the European biotech success Actelion to upgrade its top line. Now Actelion’s key product, Uptravi, may be facing some safety issues. One of Actelion’s new products, Uptravi, was launched last January against pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and – with a €150000 ($160,000) price tag – it makes up a […] February 15, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email