News and Trends 23 Feb 2021 European Cancer Deals Increasingly Focus on Natural Killer Cells Natural killer cells are becoming a hot topic in the booming cancer cell therapy scene, with the field’s latest big deal being a €640M licensing agreement between the French biotech Cellectis and US company Cytovia. T-cell immunotherapies like CAR T-cell therapy have revolutionized cancer treatment in recent times. However, they have a significant disadvantage. The […] February 23, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Feb 2021 Cannabinoids in Focus after GW Pharmaceuticals Snapped up for €6B This month’s €6B acquisition of the UK heavyweight GW Pharmaceuticals by Jazz Pharmaceuticals has been hailed as a major validation of the medical cannabinoid industry. The deal is the largest to date in the medical cannabinoid field. Jazz’s offer valued GW’s shares nearly 50% higher than their previous day’s close. The acquisition is expected to […] February 18, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Feb 2021 Cancer Research UK Cuts Two Biotech Collaborations Amid Pandemic Squeeze The major research funder CRUK and two of the biotech companies it works with have decided to cut development ties as the financial impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic continues to bite. Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is a prolific research charity, running a multitude of collaborations with academics and biotech companies around the world. However, […] February 16, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Feb 2021 EMA Green Light Sends Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine Into Turbulent Market As AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine debuts in the EU market this month, supply bottlenecks, viral variants, and political squabbles demonstrate that the quest to develop and distribute Covid-19 vaccines is far from over. The list of approved Covid-19 vaccines in Europe is growing ever longer with the EMA approval of the […] February 9, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Feb 2021 HIV Drug Approvals Lift Hopes Amid Missed UN Targets The recent approvals of long-acting HIV injections promise to lighten the load of HIV sufferers around the world. However, a vital UN deadline for improving global HIV healthcare has slipped away. At the end of January, ViiV Healthcare’s Cabenuva became the first long-acting HIV treatment to be approved by the FDA. This decision, in addition […] February 4, 2021 - 6 minutesmins - By Anita Chakraverty Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jan 2021 Oxford’s Covid-19 Vaccine Blazes Trail for Oncolytic Virus Firms Since the debut of Imlygic in 2015, no other oncolytic virus cancer therapies have been approved by the FDA and EMA. However, we’re seeing the first signs that the Covid-19 pandemic may help the field get out of the rut. Earlier this month, the Oxford-based firm Theolytics raised €5.6M in a Series A round. This […] January 26, 2021 - 7 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Jan 2021 GSK Acne Deal Heralds Growing Interest in Skin Microbiome This week, the Paris-based Eligo Bioscience became one of a growing number of biotechs to land a big pharma deal focused on the skin microbiome, receiving up to €185M from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as they explore a CRISPR-based treatment for acne. Acne is a condition that troubles the majority of adolescents and often persists into adulthood. […] January 15, 2021 - 4 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 22 Dec 2020 EMA Greenlights BioNTech and Pfizer mRNA Vaccine for Covid-19 BioNTech and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, made from messenger RNA, has become the first of its kind to be approved by the EMA. The EMA has granted conditional approval to Comirnaty, a vaccine against Covid-19 developed by BioNTech and Pfizer. The approval comes weeks after the UK became the first country in the world to approve […] December 22, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 21 Dec 2020 Late-Stage Success Raises Hopes to Tackle Alzheimer’s via Inflammation Paris-based AB Science has scored a rare late-stage clinical triumph in the Alzheimer’s disease field with a drug that puts brakes on inflammation in the brain. Last week, AB Science reported successful results from a phase IIb/III clinical trial testing its drug masitinib in patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Although the company […] December 21, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Dec 2020 Covid-19 Leaves Lasting Impact on Hematology at ASH 2020 Conference Under the heavy shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, last week’s annual conference of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) displayed the achievements of many innovative treatments for blood conditions, including gene and cell therapies. A sweeping new wave of Covid-19 infections that is forcing new lockdowns across the northern hemisphere is already reshaping the biotech […] December 17, 2020 - 6 minutesmins - By Victor Kotsev Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Dec 2020 Will Europe Follow Singapore in Approving Cultured Meat? Singapore is the first country to grant approval to meat grown from animal cells, known as cultured meat. Will European countries follow suit? Eat Just is a San Francisco-based company that sells plant-based alternatives to eggs and other animal products. The firm made headlines last week when it got regulatory approval to market cultured chicken […] December 14, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Kostas Vavitsas Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 9 Dec 2020 The Manufacturing Challenge to Meet Covid-19 Vaccine Demands Companies developing vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics for Covid-19 are being forced to scale up manufacturing at high speed in order to meet the enormous demand. There has been an unprecedented amount of research carried out over the last year to develop vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. Before Canada gave the […] December 9, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email