News and Trends 23 Sep 2019 FDA Greenlights First Oral Version of Novo Nordisk’s Type 2 Diabetes Drug The first oral drug for type 2 diabetes belonging to the class of GLP-1 agonists, developed by Novo Nordisk, has got the go-ahead from the FDA. The Danish company is known for its blockbuster injectable drug in the same class — liraglutide — that is now one of the most highly prescribed drugs in the […] September 23, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 19 Sep 2019 Dutch ‘Electronic Nose’ Predicts Cancer Immunotherapy Success A diagnostic device measuring chemicals in the breath, developed by the Dutch company Breathomix, was able to identify lung cancer patients that wouldn’t respond to cancer immunotherapy with unprecedented accuracy. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam tested the device on 143 lung cancer patients, who were going to receive immunotherapy in the form of the […] September 19, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Sep 2019 UK Cancer Biotech Raises €11M Series A to Break Up Brain Tumors The Cambridge-based company Divide and Conquer has raised €11.3M (£10M) to develop a treatment that breaks up glioblastoma tumors, exposing them to attack by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. With this Series A round, funded by the UK VC firm Medicxi, Divide and Conquer has exited stealth mode a year after its foundation. The company will use […] September 18, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Sep 2019 Themis Raises €40M for First Phase III Trial of a Chikungunya Vaccine Vienna-based Themis Biosciences has raised €40M in a Series D round to fund a phase III trial that could lead to the approval of the world’s first vaccine for chikungunya infection. The round, one of the largest seen in Austrian biotech so far, was co-led by two new investors, Farallon Capital and Hadean Ventures. […] September 18, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Sep 2019 UK Biotech to Fight Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria with €8M Grant The UK biotech Procarta Biosystems has received a grant worth up to €8.3M from the nonprofit US partnership CARB-X to develop drugs that kill antibiotic-resistant pathogens while sparing benign bacteria in the gut. The total funding includes €2M upfront and up to an extra €6.3M that Procarta will receive if it hits unspecified milestones. Procarta […] September 17, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Sep 2019 European Biotechs Showcase Multiple Sclerosis Treatments in Stockholm Genmab, GeNeuro and other companies presented their latest data on next-generation treatments for multiple sclerosis at a conference in Stockholm. The European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) gathered experts and companies working on multiple sclerosis in Sweden this year. Companies such as Genmab and GeNeuro revealed the progress of their treatments, […] September 17, 2019 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 16 Sep 2019 Sepsis Diagnosed in 5 Minutes Instead of 24 Hours with Swiss Biotech’s Test A test for sepsis developed by the Swiss diagnostics company Abionic was able to predict within just five minutes which intensive care patients are likely to develop sepsis in a clinical study. In the pivotal study, Abionic trialed the blood test in 300 intensive care patients with a high risk of sepsis. Abionic found that […] September 16, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Sep 2019 Icelandic Company to Sequence 225,000 Genomes from UK Patients The Icelandic genomics company deCODE genetics has joined the UK’s Wellcome Sanger Institute in sequencing 450,000 genomes as part of a massive €224M (£200M) project organized by the UK Biobank initiative. The UK Biobank’s €224M grant includes €56M (£50M) from the UK government, €56M from the UK’s Wellcome Trust charity, and €112M (£100M) from big […] September 13, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Sep 2019 IBM’s Watson for Genomics Launches in First European Hospital The Hôpitaux Universitaires Genève in Switzerland will be the first European university hospital to implement IBM’s artificial intelligence to help doctors select treatments for complex cancer cases. “Artificial intelligence could empower our clinicians to increase the speed of diagnosing their patients,” said Rodolphe Meyer, who is responsible for the IT department of […] September 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Sep 2019 Grünenthal to Pay up to €900M for Chronic Low Back Pain Cell Therapy The German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal has licensed a donor cell therapy for chronic low back pain from the Australian biotech Mesoblast in a deal that could be worth over €900M. Under the terms of the deal, Grünenthal will gain exclusive rights to commercialize Mesoblast’s cell therapy for chronic low back pain in Europe and Latin […] September 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Sep 2019 Italian Biotech Raises €13M to Test Stem Cell Therapy for Cancer The Italian biotech Genenta Science has raised €13.2M in a private round to fund two ongoing phase I/II trials of its stem cell therapy Temferon for blood and brain cancer. Genenta Science will use the money to fund two European phase I/II trials, which the company launched in March. One trial is testing the stem […] September 11, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Sep 2019 Blood Test Increases Early Lung Cancer Diagnosis in UK Trial A blood test for anti-cancer antibodies, developed by the UK diagnostics company Oncimmune, detected more early cases of lung cancer than standard clinical monitoring procedures in a trial with more than 12,000 patients. Oncimmune’s trial recruited 12,209 patients with a high risk of developing lung cancer through smoking and family history, and monitored them for […] September 10, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email