News and Trends 3 Mar 2017 An HIV Vaccine Eliminates the Virus in a Patient for 7 Months An HIV vaccine developed at the University of Oxford has kept 5 out of 15 patients completely free of HIV. One of the patients has already been clear for 7 months. AIDS affects over 36.7 million people. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the most common treatment, which kills those cells in which the virus is active. However, HIV can remain inactive and […] March 3, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 2 Mar 2017 There’s a New Record in Biotech Fundraising: Should We Believe the Hype? Illumina’s cancer diagnostics baby, GRAIL, has raked in a jaw-dropping $1B in Series B. Should Europe get on America’s level? A new genome sequencing company spun out of Illumina, GRAIL, has raised over $900M in a Series B fundraising round. That’s far and away the largest round ever; further, that’s more than most companies hope to be worth, […] March 2, 2017 - 5 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Mar 2017 Swedish Oncology Biotech makes a Large IPO for its Peptides The Swedish company Oncopeptides raised €68M with its IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm, which will allow the company to push their compound into phase III trials. Oncopeptides was founded in 2000 and is focused on the development of its lead compound Ygalo. After the company started a Phase II trial in patients with late stage relapsed and refractory multiple […] March 1, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 1 Mar 2017 Scaling Up your Drug? Follow these 3 Steps to Succeed As a biotech scales up from the lab to industry, data management is a key part of the process. Even if you manage to prove your concept, applying it to patients will increase the number of variables in the business process calculations exponentially. How do you keep track of them all? In the development of […] March 1, 2017 - 5 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Feb 2017 Hopes are up: A Second Phase III Trial for Alzheimer’s Disease The Swiss biotech AC Immune announced that its partner Genentech (Roche) will start a second phase III clinical trial for its Alzheimer’s therapy crenezumab. In 2006 AC Immune partnered up with Genentech to bring its amyloid beta (Aβ)-targeting antibody crenezumab into the clinic. Although the compound did not meet its co-primary enpoints in the large phase II ABBY trial, Genentech pushed […] February 28, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Feb 2017 New Antibodies to Target the Respiratory Syncytial Virus The two companies Arsanis and Adimab, both specialized in the development of monoclonal antibodies, have partnered up against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Their license agreement is backed by the Gates Foundation. The clinical-stage biotech Arsanis is developing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for the treatment of serious infectious diseases. The company announced that they have gained the exclusive worldwide […] February 28, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 28 Feb 2017 It’s Global Rare Disease Day! What Cures is Biotech Cooking Up? We’ve compiled a list of some of the latest advances of biotech in the field of rare disease to contribute to Rare Disease Day 2017. The European Organization for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS) is once again coordinating Rare Disease Day, which takes place on the last day of February every year. The aim is to raise awareness of […] February 28, 2017 - 5 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Feb 2017 Art Made with Human DNA Explores the Future of Genetics in Birmingham Gene Craft: Art in the Biogenetic Age opened this week at Birmingham Open Media (BOM) in the UK. Aiming to explore the social, economic and emotional implications of the most recent breakthroughs in genetics, the exhibition features two living art pieces created with human DNA by bioartists Laurie Ramsell and Gina Czarnecki. After the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) […] February 25, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 24 Feb 2017 What are the Current Challenges in the Booming Field of ADCs? ADCs are overcoming the challenges of first generations and returning with a vengeance. I attended the World ADC Conference to hear about current efforts. ADCs represent an exciting new field that has seen renewed interest in the past few months, as funding has poured into NBE Therapeutics and ADC Therapeutics. Theses drugs are overcoming the challenges that held the first two generations back […] February 24, 2017 - 5 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Feb 2017 In the Age of Biological Therapeutics, Chemists move to ADCs Career options for chemists are shrinking in the shift towards biological drugs. But as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) take off, so do opportunities for chemists! Since I quit graduate school in chemistry research and dove into biotech journalism, I wasn’t sure when I would next enter a discussion about organic synthesis. This week, less than a year after […] February 23, 2017 - 4 minutesmins - By Evelyn Warner Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Feb 2017 Biosimilars set to take on Oncology after a new Market Authorization The European Commission has approved Truxima, the world’s first biosimilar monoclonal antibody (mAb) with an oncology indication. Based in South Korea, Celltrion Healthcare is setting foot in the European oncology market with the approval of Truxima, a biosimilar to Roche’s Mabthera (rituximab). The European Commission has approved the antibody for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis […] February 23, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Melanie De Almeida Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 23 Feb 2017 NGS Metagenomics Test could Curb Antibiotic-Resistant Infections PathoQuest has shown its metagenomics sequencing technology can identify more pathogens in immunocompromised patients than the standard procedures, keeping antibiotic-resistant infections at bay. PathoQuest, a spin-off from the Institut Pasteur in Paris, develops next-generation sequencing (NGS) metagenomics tests. The company just announced the publication of results from a clinical trial comparing its iDTECT Blood technology […] February 23, 2017 - 2 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email