News and Trends 7 Dec 2018 Orchard’s Gene Therapy for Rare Immune Disease Works for Over a Year A single dose of a gene therapy developed by Orchard Therapeutics can restore immune function for at least a year in patients with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD). The gene therapy was trialed in patients between the ages of 2 and 27 with the rare disease, which is caused by a rare genetic mutation that […] December 7, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Dec 2018 Update: Liver Gene Therapy 8 Times Stronger Than Usual Update (06/12/2018): uniQure has incorporated Synpromics’ strong liver promoter into a preclinical gene therapy candidate for treating hemophilia A. Published on 08/10/2018 Synpromics and uniQure have unveiled new technology for precise genetic control that could make gene therapy safer and more precise. The team has developed a gene therapy system that is highly selective for […] December 6, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Nov 2018 Update: UK Biotech Scores £5M Series A to Boost Next-Generation Cancer Antibodies Update (30/11/2018): IGEM Therapeutics has increased the total raised in Series A to £5M (€5.6M) with the participation of two new investors, Alsa Holdings and UCL Technology Fund. The funding will go towards the development of a new generation of antibody drugs for cancer. Published on 20/06/2017 IGEM Therapeutics has raised £2M (€2.3M) in Series A […] November 30, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 30 Nov 2018 This Biotech Speeds Up Blood Infection Diagnosis In the city of Cardiff, UK, Momentum Bioscience aims to trim down the unnecessary use of antimicrobial drugs in hospitals. To do this, it is developing molecular diagnostics that, within hours, tell doctors when or when not to use antibiotics in patients with a suspected blood infection. Mission: When diagnosing blood infections, physicians often need […] November 30, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 29 Nov 2018 Long-Lasting Placenta Organoids Could Improve Pregnancy Research Researchers have made 3D placenta organoids from human cells that can last for over a year, improving over the current models to study disease in pregnancy and develop drugs. Researchers at the University of Cambridge grew the organoids from stem cells extracted from donated placenta tissue at 6-9 weeks of pregnancy. The organoids replicated the […] November 29, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Nov 2018 Smart Asthma Inhaler Fails Phase III It is bad news for asthma sufferers, as a UK biotech has abandoned the development of its smart inhaler after finding that it was no better than placebo in a Phase III trial. Over 52 weeks of treatment, the company Vectura tested whether the inhaler reduced the worsening of asthma symptoms, such as wheezing and […] November 26, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 20 Nov 2018 Genentech and Immunocore Expand Partnership to Develop Cancer Immunotherapy Immunocore and the US biotech giant Genentech are building on their existing partnership to boost the clinical development of Immunocore’s immunotherapy for treating solid tumors. In the agreement, Genentech, a member of the Roche group, will pay UK-based Immunocore €87.3M ($100M) in an upfront payment and further undisclosed milestone payments as the immunotherapy progresses towards […] November 20, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 12 Nov 2018 This UK Biotech Wants to Make Antibodies Easy to Swallow Say goodbye to painful antibody injections. The UK biotech Intract Pharma has received a €1.6M grant to advance oral immunotherapy based on approved antibodies, causing less discomfort for patients. The grant, awarded by public agency Innovate UK, will help Intract develop oral versions of existing antibody therapies. This could make the treatments easier for patients […] November 12, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Nov 2018 Epigenetics Test Can Distinguish Between Huntington’s Disease Stages A study run by Oxford BioDynamics suggests that we could predict Huntington’s more easily by analyzing epigenetic changes in the patient’s DNA. Epigenetics describes the way that the expression of our genes is regulated, often influenced by environmental exposure, without changing the genetic code. Ways of modifying gene expression include attaching chemical groups to DNA […] November 8, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Nov 2018 Gene Therapy Company’s IPO Shoots it to Billion-Euro Biotech List Orchard Therapeutics, a British company developing gene therapy for rare genetic diseases, has launched its Nasdaq IPO and is now reportedly worth $1.25B (€1B). This IPO propels Orchard to the handful of European biotechs worth €1B or more. The new money might help with the marketing and manufacture of Strimvelis, an EMA-approved gene therapy for […] November 1, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Oct 2018 Forget Daily Pills: HIV Could Be Treated With Monthly Injections A monthly antiviral injection may be as good as daily HIV drugs for suppressing infections, reports the British biotech ViiV Healthcare. This could make the treatment of HIV easier for patients and improve compliance. In the first five months of a Phase IIb trial, the company gave 274 HIV-infected adults three daily oral antiretrovirals. After […] October 31, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
More News! 30 Oct 2018 British Diagnostics Firm Develops More Accurate Fetal Health Screen A lab kit from British diagnostics company Angle could make non-invasive fetal health screens more accurate by analyzing whole fetal cells in the mother’s blood. To screen your unborn baby for genetic conditions, the most accurate current option is invasive techniques such as amniocentesis. These techniques take samples directly from the womb that contain fetal […] October 30, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email