News and Trends 12 Mar 2020 Gedea Biotech’s Bacterial Vaginosis Tablet Proves As Good as Antibiotics An antibiotic-free vaginal tablet developed by the Swedish company Gedea Biotech has cured 82% of women of the common vaginal infection bacterial vaginosis in a 24-patient clinical trial. Bacterial vaginosis occurs when the normal vaginal microflora — characterized by a high proportion of bacteria from the genus Lactobacillus — become unbalanced with an overgrowth of […] March 12, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Mar 2020 Phase III Fail for MedDay’s Multiple Sclerosis Treatment A drug developed by the French company MedDay Pharmaceuticals has failed to treat progressive forms of multiple sclerosis in a phase III trial. The 642 patients recruited into the trial received either a placebo or a high dose of pharmaceutical-grade Biotin, also known as vitamin B₇. The patients had various forms of the autoimmune condition […] March 11, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Mar 2020 Update: Carmat’s Artificial Heart Reaches Two Year Milestone Update (11/03/2020): In a record first, Carmat announced today that one patient in its artificial heart trial has had the device implanted for 2 years. “Passing a two-year period of individual functioning is very encouraging, and confirms the capacity of our device to provide long-term support, which is one of our two key objectives along […] March 11, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Mar 2020 LSP Raises €528M in Largest European Life Sciences Investment Fund Healthcare investor Life Sciences Partners has closed the largest ever European venture capital fund dedicated to new medicines and technologies after raising €528M. LSP 6, the company’s largest private equity fund to date, attracted significantly more than the original €396M target from a diverse investor group that included governments and the EU-supported European Investment Fund. […] March 10, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Mar 2020 Drug Development Costs Lower Than Pharma Companies Claim A team of UK and Belgian scientists has reported that drug companies spend up to €1.3B less on drug development than previously suggested, which raises questions about high drug prices set by some biotech and pharma companies. The study, published in the journal JAMA, took publicly available data from pharma company financial reports with the […] March 5, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Mar 2020 Immunocore Raises €117M to Develop Immunotherapies for Cancer and Hepatitis B UK biotech Immunocore has raised €116.7M in Series B funding to develop drugs that harness the body’s immune cells to fight cancer, viral infections, and autoimmune diseases. This latest funding round for the company, which specializes in redirecting and activating T-cells, includes an international group of new investors led by the US private equity firm […] March 4, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Mar 2020 CN Bio Raises €8M to Boost Organ-on-a-Chip Rollout UK cell culture specialist CN Bio Innovations has secured €7.98M (£7M) from Chinese investors to bolster its US market and expand European activities. Investment in the bioengineering company was led by Chinese investor CITIC Securities Company and with further support from existing Hong Kong-based investor CN Innovations Holdings. CN Bio, which creates benchtop instruments to […] March 4, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Mar 2020 Alnylam Gets Second RNAi Drug Approval from EMA US biotech Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has succeeded in getting its second RNAi drug — for treatment of rare, inherited liver diseases — approved by the European Medicines Authority just months after achieving US FDA approval for the same drug. Alnylam are well known for being pioneers in the RNA interference space. The company achieved the first […] March 3, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Mar 2020 Evonetix Raises €27M Series B to Progress DNA Synthesis Technology UK synthetic biology company Evonetix raised €27M in Series B funding to develop its fast DNA synthesis technology and produce a working prototype of the company’s desktop platform. New investor Foresite Capital, a US-based VC firm, led the round, although all the company’s earlier Series A investors, such as the tech-focused VC’s Draper Esprit and […] March 2, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Feb 2020 Lasers Used To Make Rapid Antibiotic Resistance Test Researchers from the University of Southampton in the UK have used laser technology to create a paper-based test that can identify bacteria in a urine sample and tell whether the species is showing antibiotic resistance. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most commonly diagnosed infections worldwide and are typically caused by bacteria such as Escherichia […] February 28, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Feb 2020 Scientists Recycle Agricultural Waste into Laundry Enzymes Scientists from the UK and India have recycled the byproducts of mustard oil production to develop an enzyme that can be used in commercial laundry detergents. Lipases are the second-largest commercially produced enzymes, with an estimated market value of more than €16B. They are used in various industries to produce fine chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and […] February 27, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Feb 2020 Scientists Connect Brain Cells to Machines Over the Internet An international group of researchers has set up a brain-machine interface between cultured nerve cells and electronic chips linked over the internet, which could lead to the development of AI implants for treating neurological disorders. As described in a study published in Nature Scientific Reports, the team set up a system where cultured rat nerve […] February 27, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email