News and Trends 31 Jan 2020 AI-Designed Drug Enters Phase I to Treat OCD A drug designed by the UK firm Exscientia using AI-powered software has entered into a phase I clinical trial for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, commonly known as OCD. The clinical development of the drug will be carried out by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Exscientia’s Japanese collaborator. The drug took just 12 months to get to […] January 31, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Jan 2020 UK Startup Snaps up Potential Universal Cancer Immunotherapy The cancer vaccine developer Ervaxx has licensed a preclinical-stage ‘universal’ cancer immunotherapy based on the recent discovery of a new strain of immune T-cells at Cardiff University, UK. Last week, a team led by researchers at Cardiff University published research about T-cells capable of hunting a wide range of cancers including leukemia and melanoma. Experiments […] January 27, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Jan 2020 Medical Gel Prepares to Enter Clinical Trials for Replacing Corneal Transplants An international collaboration involving researchers in Europe, Asia, and North America has begun preparations for testing in humans a therapeutic gel that could replace the need for corneal transplants for the treatment of blindness. Corneal transplants are the most common treatment for blindness caused by corneal injury. However, donor shortages and high costs make it […] January 20, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Jan 2020 Update: Horizon Discovery to Offer Partners Precise CRISPR Gene Editing Update (14/01/20): Horizon Discovery will offer partners access to a precise version of CRISPR gene editing technology it has licensed from researchers at Rutgers University in the US. After a year of research and development, the UK biotech has incorporated the base-editing technique into its drug discovery platform and will use it to develop better […] January 14, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Jan 2020 KaNDy’s Menopause Treatment Tackles Hot Flashes in Phase II A non-hormonal menopause treatment that targets the brain’s ‘thermostat’, developed by the UK company KaNDy Therapeutics, has significantly reduced hot flashes and improved quality of life in postmenopausal women in a phase IIb trial. The 199 women recruited into the study were experiencing a minimum of seven hot flashes per day. After 12 weeks of […] January 13, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Jan 2020 AstraZeneca Recruits RNA Biotech to Develop Metabolic Disease Therapies The UK biotech MiNA Therapeutics has launched a collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop small activating RNA drugs, which could treat metabolic diseases using targets unreachable by current medications. According to the agreement, the two partners will carry out preclinical research with the aim of generating candidate drugs based on small activating RNA, or saRNA — […] January 7, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Dec 2019 Freeline’s Rare Disease Gene Therapies Get €72M Series C Boost The UK gene therapy biotech Freeline Therapeutics is to receive an investment worth €72M (£61.1M) from the UK VC firm Syncona in a Series C round to fund the clinical development of gene therapies for the blood disorder hemophilia B, Fabry disease, and other rare conditions. Of the €72M commitment, Syncona has already wired €36M […] December 20, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 10 Dec 2019 After Phase III Failure, UK Firm Pushes Placebo to Treat Erectile Dysfunction The strong placebo effect seen in Futura Medical’s phase III trial in erectile dysfunction has not deterred the company, but has instead encouraged it to seek approval for its medical device delivering the placebo rather than the drug as originally intended. Based in Surrey, UK, Futura Medical is developing a medical device used […] December 10, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Dec 2019 Autolus Reveals Early Clinical Data of Next-Gen CAR-T Therapy London-based Autolus has shown its next-generation CAR T-cell therapy does not induce some of the severe side effects that have led to deaths in patients treated with CAR T-cell treatments currently on the market. Since their arrival on the market in 2017, CAR T-cell therapies have provided hope to patients with rare forms of blood […] December 9, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Nov 2019 Scientists Turn Crop Waste into Fragrances with Microbes A team of researchers in Brazil and the UK has developed a fermentation technique to turn plant waste, such as wheat straw, into a valuable chemical used in the fragrance industry. In a study published in the journal Green Chemistry, the scientists used engineered Escherichia coli bacteria to break down sugar cane and wheat straw, […] November 27, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 11 Nov 2019 Mereo BioPharma’s Brittle Bone Disease Drug Stumbles in Phase II The lead drug of the UK company Mereo BioPharma has achieved mixed results in a phase IIb trial in adults with the genetic condition osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. Mereo tested different doses of its antibody drug in 112 adults with osteogenesis imperfecta in a 12-month phase IIb trial. The drug failed […] November 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Nov 2019 UK Biotech Launched to Target ‘Dark Antigens’ with Cancer Vaccines The London-based startup Ervaxx has launched with a €15.8M Series A round to develop cancer vaccines and cell therapies that target ‘dark antigens’ — normally silent genes in the genome that are expressed in cancer cells. Ervaxx’s Series A round was funded by the transatlantic venture capital firm SV Health Investors, as well as an […] November 6, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email