News and Trends 19 Feb 2019 Skin Microbiome Biotechs Get Funding Boost Two major skin microbiome companies have received investments this week: the Belgian company S-Biomedic, which is developing a probiotic acne treatment, and the UK biotech SkinBioTherapeutics, which is targeting eczema. A lot of attention goes to the gut microbiome when talking about probiotic disease treatments, but skin bacteria may also have potential, as these […] February 19, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 18 Feb 2019 Tuberculosis Treatment Kills Bacteria with Their Own Suicide Toxin A European academic research collaboration has found a new potential weapon against antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis: its own toxins. Many types of bacteria, such as the pathogen responsible for the deadly lung disease tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, use toxins to stay alive. For example, these toxins can be useful when the bacteria are starved or infected by viruses, […] February 18, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 15 Feb 2019 Genetic Testing Improves Success of Kidney Transplants Genetic variations in cell surface proteins are able to predict kidney transplant success, shows Austrian research, serving as a potential screening tool for improving future transplants. Many kidney transplants fail over time because the patient’s immune system rejects the organ. This rejection happens because the immune system recognizes that particular proteins on the cell surface, such […] February 15, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Feb 2019 Hair Loss Biotech Ventures into Diabetes Market The Swedish biotech Follicum has added drugs for type 2 diabetes into its pipeline, which focuses on treatments for hair loss. The market for type 2 diabetes treatments is huge, and competitive. While many approved treatments help to control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes, fluctuating blood sugar levels can damage vital insulin-producing beta cells. Many diabetics […] February 14, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 13 Feb 2019 First Plant in the Works to Turn Dairy Byproducts Into Plastics The company Glanbia Ireland is planning to construct the first industrial biorefinery that transforms dairy waste products into lactic acid, a building block for biodegradable plastics. Supported by the EU project AgriChemWhey, Glanbia Ireland plans to scale up biorefinery technology that ferments dairy waste, like whey permeate, into lactic acid, using a group of bacteria […] February 13, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 11 Feb 2019 Series A to Fund Therapy That Exposes Cancer to Immune System The UK biotech Grey Wolf Therapeutics has raised €11.4M (£10M) to fuel the development of a cancer therapy that flushes tumor cells out of hiding from the immune system. Many approved cancer immunotherapies, such as CAR-T cell therapy and checkpoint inhibitors, have made a big difference for many people with cancer. However, a common problem with […] February 11, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 8 Feb 2019 Anti-CRISPR Proteins Could Improve Gene Editing Precision A research group in Denmark has found proteins in gut and soil microbes that can inhibit the action of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, a finding that could help to control the technology with more precision and less risk. Bacteria and viruses have fought an evolutionary arms race for millions of years. Bacteria evolved CRISPR systems to […] February 8, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2019 Combo of Immunotherapy and Diabetes Drug Could Beat Breast Cancer A Finnish research group has combined two cancer drugs with the diabetes drug metformin, making mice with breast cancer survive for longer than when given the treatments individually. The combination therapy included metformin, which can inhibit tumor growth; the cancer drug venetoclax, which causes cancer cells to commit suicide; and a checkpoint inhibitor antibody, which […] February 6, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 6 Feb 2019 Engineered Chicken Eggs: The Future of Cheap Drug Production? Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have produced high-quality human proteins in chicken eggs, a method that could be significantly cheaper than the current standard. The researchers engineered the DNA of chickens to make them produce human proteins in the egg white, from where they can be easily purified. In a study published on the […] February 6, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 4 Feb 2019 Swedish Biotech Receives EU Grant for High-Accuracy Kidney Cancer Test The Swedish biotech Elypta has received a Horizon 2020 grant of €2.4M to fund a clinical trial of a blood and urine test that provides an accurate diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. The clinical trial aims to validate Elypta’s technology as a monitoring tool in patients who have been treated for the kidney cancer renal […] February 4, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 31 Jan 2019 CRISPR Gene Editing Could Make Gluten Safe for Celiacs A Dutch research group is using the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to modify wheat gluten, letting people with celiac disease eat gluten without experiencing debilitating symptoms. In celiac disease, the immune system attacks gluten, causing damage to the intestine. This forces sufferers to stick to expensive gluten-free versions of foods such as bread, which […] January 31, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 30 Jan 2019 Danish Biotech’s Drug for Rare Metabolic Disease Aces Clinical Trial A drug, developed by the Danish biotech Orphazyme for a rare metabolic disease, has shown promising results in a phase II/III trial, reducing the disease’s progression by 74%. The 50 patients recruited into the trial suffered from Niemann-Pick disease type C, a metabolic disease in which proteins crucial for storing fat molecules such as cholesterol […] January 30, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email