News and Trends 13 Feb 2020 UK-Swiss Collaboration to Boost Biotech Profits with Automation A partnership between the UK lab automation company Arctoris and Swiss software firm Molecule aims to make it easier to share drug intellectual property in a time of declining returns in pharma. The pharmaceutical industry is struggling with the rising costs of developing new drugs. In fact, the return on investment for drug discovery is […] February 13, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 12 Feb 2020 Charcoal-Based Treatment Can Protect Gut Microbiome from Antibiotics Ingestible pellets containing a charcoal-like treatment — designed by the French company Da Volterra — can stop the microbiome from being disrupted in hospitalized patients treated with antibiotics. The treatment also showed the potential to reduce the risk of Clostridium difficile gut infections in a phase II trial. When patients are given antibiotics for infections, […] February 12, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Feb 2020 French Biotech Raises €20M to Make Precision Molecular Diagnostics Stilla Technologies has raised a €20M Series C round to fund its mission to produce next-generation microchips that make molecular diagnostics more precise and user-friendly than currently available lab technology. Contributors to the round included Stilla’s existing investors, such as Illumina Ventures, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners. Stilla also added the Chinese company TUS-Holdings to […] February 11, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Feb 2020 First-in-Class Drug For Inherited Metabolic Diseases Funded with €25M The Dutch startup Azafaros has raised €25M in Series A funding to push its drug for inherited lysosomal storage disorders into phase I. The round was led by the Dutch VC firm Forbion. Other investors participating in the round included the Swiss firm BioMedPartners and the Dutch company BioGeneration Ventures, which was Azafaros’ founding investor […] February 10, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Feb 2020 Meiogenix, Bayer Team Up to Boost Genetic Diversity in Crop Breeding Bayer and the French biotech company Meiogenix will work together to advance the development of Meiogenix’s plant breeding and genome editing technologies with the hope of improving food crops for farmers. For many years, the only way to improve characteristics such as yield and nutritional value of crops was through selective breeding, which can be […] February 10, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Feb 2020 EU Project Set up to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease with Lasers A project has launched with a €3.6M grant to treat neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease by making brain cells controllable with red light. There are currently no treatments approved that can slow the progression of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. Treatments approved to alleviate the symptoms only help a small […] February 7, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2020 Lunaphore Raises €21.5M to Develop Automated Cancer Research Tools Swiss company Lunaphore Technologies has raised €21.5M (CHF 23M) in Series C funding to expand the automation of cancer research and tissue diagnostics in Europe and the US. The oversubscribed funding round was completed in mid-January and was led by Japan-based PHC Holdings Corporation, with further contributions from existing investors including Redalpine Venture Partners, OCCIDENT […] February 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2020 Camena Bioscience Hits DNA Synthesis Milestone Camena Bioscience has achieved a significant DNA synthesis milestone by reproducing the DNA sequence of a whole plasmid, which could be used in synthetic biology applications such as protein production and bacterial engineering. DNA synthesis is a field that, until recently, had not been a focus for companies developing innovative technologies, with greater importance being […] February 6, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2020 Valbiotis Teams up with Nestlé to Reduce Type 2 Diabetes Risk In a deal worth up to €67M, industry giant Nestlé Health Science will have the global rights to commercialize Valbiotis’ food supplement for lowering the rate of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk of developing the condition. Under the terms of the deal, the French biotech will receive an upfront payment of €4.7M […] February 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Feb 2020 MaaT Pharma’s Microbiome Cancer Treatment Given €18M Boost French company MaaT Pharma has raised €18M in Series B financing that will support phase Ib and II trials of its biotherapeutic drug, which aims to restore the microbiome and improve outcomes in patients with various types of blood cancer and solid tumors. The financing round included French microbiome-focused investor Symbiosis, as well as support […] February 5, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Feb 2020 Swiss Biotech Raises €16M to Treat Autism Spectrum Disorder Stalicla has bagged €16.3M in a Series A round to test drugs repurposed using AI for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder in phase I. The round consists of a recent €7M (CHF 7.7M) closing and an initial first tranche of €9.3M (CHF 10M) raised last year. The investors in the latest closing were not […] February 4, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Feb 2020 CureVac Bids to Develop First mRNA Coronavirus Vaccine RNA vaccine developer CureVac will receive a grant of up to €8.3M from a global partnership to develop an mRNA vaccine against the new coronavirus strain from China. The agreement follows on from an existing collaboration launched in 2019, when the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, granted CureVac €30M to develop facilities that […] February 3, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email