News and Trends 11 Sep 2019 IBM’s Watson for Genomics Launches in First European Hospital The Hôpitaux Universitaires Genève in Switzerland will be the first European university hospital to implement IBM’s artificial intelligence to help doctors select treatments for complex cancer cases. “Artificial intelligence could empower our clinicians to increase the speed of diagnosing their patients,” said Rodolphe Meyer, who is responsible for the IT department of […] September 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Aug 2019 Swiss Scientists Upgrade CRISPR to Edit Many Genes at Once A research group at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, has made it possible to edit hundreds of genes at once with CRISPR gene editing. CRISPR gene editing has revolutionized the biotech industry by providing an easy and quick way to genetically modify organisms. So far, however, CRISPR techniques have only managed to edit a maximum of seven […] August 15, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Aug 2019 ADC Therapeutics and SOPHiA Genetics Team Up to Personalize Cancer Treatment Two companies based in Lausanne, Switzerland — ADC Therapeutics and the genomics company SOPHiA Genetics — have signed a deal to identify patients most likely to respond to a blood cancer drug. ADC Therapeutics will send SOPHiA Genetics blood samples collected from an ongoing phase II trial. The trial is testing a treatment for patients […] August 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Jul 2019 Wellington Partners Raises €210M to Invest in European Life Sciences VC firm Wellington Partners has raised its fifth fund dedicated to investing in life science companies, with a major focus on those located in German-speaking countries. Wellington Partners has well surpassed its initial target of €150M for its fifth life sciences fund. With a total €210M raised, this new fund is more than double the […] July 31, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 22 Jul 2019 Turning Shelved Drugs into a New Promise for Immuno-Oncology After working for 12 years at Merck, Catherine Pickering decided to take a risk and create iOnctura, a spin-out company exploring a new application in immuno-oncology for a drug candidate that had been shelved. In the last decade, there has been a massive boom in the development of cancer therapies that use and enhance the […] July 22, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 18 Jul 2019 Swiss Pneumonia Antibiotic Abandoned in Phase III The Swiss biotech Polyphor has discontinued two phase III trials of its antibiotic for treating pneumonia after halting both trials due to safety concerns in May. The two phase III trials were testing Polyphor’s intravenous antibiotic murepavadin in hospitalized patients with pneumonia. In May, Polyphor halted the two trials due to an unexpectedly high incidence […] July 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Jul 2019 Boehringer Ingelheim Acquires Cancer Vaccine Biotech in €325M Deal The German giant Boehringer Ingelheim has acquired the Swiss company AMAL Therapeutics and its cancer vaccine technology in a deal worth up to €325M. The deal includes €225M in upfront and developmental milestone payments, as well as up to €100M in undisclosed commercial milestone payments. AMAL’s vaccine development pipeline includes five preclinical programs. The lead […] July 16, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Jun 2019 Swiss Anti-Aging Treatment Gives the Elderly Healthier Muscles An anti-aging dietary supplement developed by the Swiss biotech Amazentis to combat age-related muscle weakening has improved the health of muscle cells in a first-in-human study. Mitochondria are parts of the cell that generate energy, and are important for muscle movement. As we age, damaged mitochondria begin to build up in muscle cells, possibly contributing […] June 17, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 30 May 2019 Taking Inspiration from Plants to Prevent Mold from Ruining Crops Olga Dubey founded the Swiss startup Agrosustain with the intention to bring forth a natural alternative to chemical pesticides against mold. She shares how it all started and her company’s plans to end the massive amounts of food waste that mold is responsible for. “Mold is everywhere, so it’s something that is very hard to […] May 30, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 16 May 2019 Taking a Drug to Market “Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint” Based in Zurich, Molecular Partners is developing a new class of drugs that can address the complexity of cancer. At Labiotech Refresh in Zurich, CEO Patrick Amstutz shared what he’s learned on the journey to take the company where it is today. After completing a PhD at ETH Zurich, Amstutz founded Molecular Partners with a […] May 16, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 May 2019 ‘Guided Missile’ Cancer Immunotherapy Boosted by €62M Funding The Swiss-Italian biotech company Philogen has raised a private round of €62M to fund the phase III development of cancer immunotherapies that deliver immune cell-stimulating molecules directly to the tumor site. The money will push Philogen’s two lead cancer programs, currently in phase III, to the market. The funds will also help to expand the […] May 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 May 2019 Swiss Biotech Halts Pneumonia Antibiotic Trial After Patient Safety Scare Polyphor has temporarily halted two phase III trials of an antibiotic treating pneumonia, after an unexpectedly high number of patients reported kidney problems in one of the trials. The phase III trial was testing the antibiotic murepavadin in 150 enrolled patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia, and who required mechanical breathing. The patients in the treatment group […] May 10, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email