News and Trends 9 Jul 2019 BioNTech Raises Whopping €290M to Fund Personalized mRNA Vaccines for Cancer In one of the biggest ever funding rounds in European biotech, the German company BioNTech has raised a Series B of €289.5M ($325M) to develop individualized cancer vaccines. BioNTech will use the money to fuel the clinical development of the company’s lead program — an individualized mRNA-based immunotherapy for treating melanoma, which completed a phase […] July 9, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Jul 2019 Evotec Spinoff to Develop Cancer Drugs that Block DNA Repair Breakpoint Therapeutics, a spinoff from the German biotech Evotec, has raised €30M to develop drugs that block DNA repair mechanisms in drug-resistant cancers. Breakpoint Therapeutics aims to develop first-in-class drugs that kill cancer cells by sabotaging their DNA repair machinery. Having taken on a number of Evotec’s drug development programs, Breakpoint aims to have its […] July 8, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 7 Jul 2019 European Biotech: The Insider View How has CRISPR changed drug development? How do you negotiate a good partnership? What are some of the hard decisions to make in founding a biotech? These are some of the questions that industry experts answered at Labiotech’s first Insider Day. Held exclusively for members, Labiotech’s first Insider Day aimed to explore the different aspects […] July 7, 2019 - 10 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 5 Jul 2019 French Biotech’s Plant Extract Cuts Blood Glucose in Prediabetic People A plant extract developed by the French biotech Valbiotis is the first food supplement to reduce blood glucose levels in people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In a phase IIa trial, Valbiotis compared its food supplement with a placebo in 51 people with prediabetes. After six months, the supplement had reduced blood […] July 5, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Jul 2019 Dutch Antibodies for Autoimmune Diseases Boosted by €15M Series A The Dutch biotech Citryll has raised €15M to develop antibodies that could fight autoimmune and inflammatory diseases more effectively than current treatments by inhibiting the innate immune system. The Series A funds will be used to launch the clinical development of Citryll’s lead antibody, which is designed to treat the autoimmune condition lupus. The money […] July 4, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 3 Jul 2019 EU Approves Two-Drug Pill as First-Line Treatment for HIV The two-drug pill Dovato, developed by the UK company ViiV Healthcare, has been approved as a first-line treatment for HIV, potentially causing fewer long-term side effects than current three-drug antiretroviral regimens. HIV patients currently need to take three or more antiretroviral drugs per day to keep the infection at bay. As they get older, these […] July 3, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Jul 2019 Microbiome Food Supplement Improves Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight People A food supplement made from bacteria, developed by a Belgian research group, has improved symptoms of the metabolic syndrome including insulin resistance and high blood cholesterol levels in overweight volunteers at risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The metabolic syndrome is a collection of conditions including high blood cholesterol, insulin resistance and high […] July 2, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Jul 2019 Approval Status of Cancer Cell Therapy at Risk After Halting Phase III Trial Following an unfavorable interim analysis, Milan-based MolMed has suspended a phase III trial of its cell therapy Zalmoxis that could threaten the conditional marketing authorization the treatment received in 2016. The halted clinical trial was evaluating the effects of Zalmoxis on patients with high-risk leukemia that have received a bone marrow transplant. The cell therapy […] July 1, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 26 Jun 2019 Biotech Company in Mallorca Receives Spain’s Largest Biotech Fundraise Mallorcan biotech Sanifit has broken the record for the largest private fundraise in the Spanish biotech sector raising a total of €72.2M. The fundraising consists of a €55.2M Series D round plus €17M in convertible bonds. The money will be used by Sanifit to fund an upcoming phase III trial of its lead drug candidate […] June 26, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jun 2019 US and French Biotech Partnership to Develop Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapies The French biotech Erytech will license its red blood cell drug encapsulation technology to the US cell therapy company SQZ Biotechnologies for up to €50M. The partners plan to develop off-the-shelf cell therapies combining Erytech’s red blood cell drug encapsulation with SQZ Biotechnologies’ technology, which engineers immune cells to attack or protect specific disease targets. […] June 25, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jun 2019 Genfit’s NASH Drug to Be Developed in China in Deal Worth up to €200M The US-Chinese company Terns Pharmaceuticals will develop and commercialize Genfit’s phase III drug elafibranor for the chronic liver disease NASH in China. As part of the deal, Genfit will receive a €31M ($35M) upfront fee and up to €170M ($193M) in developmental milestone payments. The two companies will also collaborate on other development programs for […] June 25, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Jun 2019 Update: Fund for Late-Stage European Biotechs Closes Final Round With €120M Update (25/06/2019): The Luxembourg-based investor Vesalius Biocapital III has completed the final closing of a €120M fund to boost late-stage life science companies. Around 10-15 companies will receive investments from the fund, including specialists in drug development, med-tech, and diagnostics. Three companies have become beneficiaries so far, including the Finnish women’s health drug company Forendo […] June 25, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email