Switzerland Archives

pneumonia lungs polyphor antibiotic resistance

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

achondroplasia pfizer therachon acquisition

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

Best in Biotech 8 May 2019

Top 10 Biotechs in Lausanne

The Swiss city of Lausanne is perhaps best known as a hub of international sport, but what many outsiders may not realize is that it’s also one of Switzerland’s biggest biotech hubs. Many of the biotechs in the city are connected to the University of Lausanne (UNIL), as well as the renowned Swiss Federal Institute […]

May 8, 2019 - 7 minutesmins - By David Cox

combioxin antibiotic resistance pneumonia

News and Trends 3 May 2019

Drug Mopping Up Bacterial Toxins Shows Potential to Tackle Antibiotic Resistance in Phase I

An antibiotic-enhancing drug developed by the Swiss biotech Combioxin to tackle antibiotic resistance showed promising effects in a phase I trial. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem around the world, causing common infections such as pneumonia to become harder to treat. As standard antibiotics become less and less effective, we urgently need to find new […]

May 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

liver fibrosis alentis switzerland cirrhosis cancer

News and Trends 30 Apr 2019

Swiss Biotech Raises €11M to Develop Treatments for Liver Fibrosis

Founded in March this year, Alentis Therapeutics has bagged a Series A round of €11.1M (CHF 12.5M) to develop antibody drugs treating liver fibrosis, which currently has no approved treatments. Liver fibrosis is the scarring of liver tissue, which can happen as a consequence of aging, chronic hepatitis or conditions such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). […]

April 30, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

crispr cas9 cassava crop virus resistance

News and Trends 29 Apr 2019

Viruses Evolve to Defeat CRISPR-Cas9 in Genetically-Modified Plants

Researchers found that viral pathogens can quickly evolve to overcome transgenic cassava plants expressing the bacterial weapon CRISPR-Cas9, which could have major regulatory implications. Geminiviruses are pathogens that kill off crops such as beans, cotton and cassava plants. Past efforts to breed plants that are resistant to infection have not been successful. One potential method […]

April 29, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

Lonza Chr Hansen Microbiome Manufacturing

News and Trends 3 Apr 2019

Joint Venture First to Offer Seamless Manufacturing of Microbiome Therapies

Lonza, a Swiss pharma supplier, and Chr. Hansen, a Danish supplier of bacterial products, are teaming up to enter the promising microbiome space. Together, the two companies will invest €90M in the creation of the first company that will offer a full supply chain to produce treatments made of live bacteria. Their 50/50 joint venture […]

April 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

synbio genome artificial C eth2.0 bacteria 1

More News! 2 Apr 2019

Swiss Scientists Make Synthetic Bacterial Genome Using Computers

Synthetic biology researchers at ETH Zurich are the first to construct a simplified artificial bacterial genome with the help of computer algorithms, which could lead to better-engineered microorganisms for the production of therapeutics and other chemicals. Back in 2008, US researchers led by the famous biologist John Craig Venter made headlines for synthesizing the genome […]

April 2, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

polyneuron anti mag peripheral neuropathy autoimmune disease nerve

News and Trends 28 Mar 2019

Swiss Biotech Raises €20M to Develop Decoy Drugs in Autoimmune Disease

The biotech Polyneuron has raised a Series A round of €20.1M (CHF 22.5M) to start human testing with a treatment for a rare autoimmune disease. Based in Basel, Polyneuron is developing drugs to treat anti-MAG peripheral neuropathy. This debilitating disease is caused by the immune system producing autoantibodies that attack nerve support cells, which stops […]

March 28, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

More News! 4 Mar 2019

Swiss Biotech Raises €8.8M to Progress Regenerative Stroke Treatment

The Swiss company NovaGo has raised €8.8M (CHF 10M) in Series A funding to develop one of the first therapies to help the nervous system regenerate after a stroke. Novago develops antibodies that inhibit Nogo-A, a key molecule that stops nerve cells from growing new connections in the adult brain and spinal cord. This lets […]

March 4, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

Interview 27 Feb 2019

How to Make Cancer Drug Resistance Futile

For many solid tumors, treatments undergo a cycle: the drugs initially work well, the tumor shrinks, but then becomes resistant again. Stefanie Flückiger-Mangual, CEO of the Swiss biotech Tolremo, believes that this cycle can be stopped. Solid tumors often act like a recurring villain in a TV series. Whatever drug you throw at them, however […]

February 27, 2019 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

CRISPR Cas9 antimicrobial peptide antibiotic resistance

News and Trends 26 Feb 2019

Swiss Scientists Find ‘Silver Bullet’ Against Bacterial Infections

Using the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, researchers in Lausanne have uncovered antimicrobial molecules in the fruit fly that can selectively kill certain bacteria. This could lead to new therapeutics combatting antimicrobial resistance, and even preventing infections before they start. The research shows the antimicrobial molecules, or peptides, have the potential to treat infections of pathogens […]

February 26, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

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