Biotechnology Sector

Credit: Western Carolina University Western Carolina University researchers find a disproportionate number of inmates with violent offenses suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and alcohol use disorder, and published their findings in the Journal of Criminal Psychology. Alexa Barrett, clinical psychology master’s student at WCU, and Al Kopak, associate professor of criminology and criminal

Credit: Ho Vu A PhD student and ‘beer scientist’ has inadvertently discovered a way to conduct extremely small-scale brewing experiments, potentially leading to better beer. It came about when University of Queensland PhD candidate Edward Kerr hit a hurdle when he completed a beer brewing experiment for a paper. “I was looking at barley protein

Credit: Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo Tokyo, Japan — In the marchland of Japan’s Oze National Park, keeping track of the deer population has been a difficult and time-consuming task for the park rangers. Now their lives could get much easier, thanks to a novel technique for tracking deer movements using unmanned

The high schoolers turned scientists published their findings this week, thanks to a research mentorship program at the Center for Astrophysics; Harvard and Smithsonian Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Cambridge, Massachusetts – They may be the youngest astronomers to make a discovery yet. This week, 16-year-old Kartik Pinglé and 18-year-old Jasmine Wright have co-authored a peer-reviewed paper in

Credit: AlphaMed Press Durham, NC – Senquan Liu, Ph.D., is STEM CELLS‘s Young Investigator of 2020 for his work on human stem-cell derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). This award fosters advancements in the field of stem cell research by honoring a young researcher who is the principal author of an article published in STEM CELLS that

University of Colorado Denver researcher finds nighttime brightness linked to 13% increase in preterm birth likelihood Credit: UNSPLASH.COM In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers discovered that light pollution leads to more than just wasted energy and washed-out starlight–it can increase the likelihood of a preterm birth by almost 13%. Laura Argys, professor of economics at the

Credit: Tanimura et al. J Reprod Immunol. 2021. A cross-institutional research group has revealed for the first time in the world that infants with symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection who were treated with a combination of immunoglobulin fetal therapy and neonatal therapy with antiviral drugs were less likely to experience the severe aftereffects associated with

Gendered division of labor shaped human spatial behavior, Stanford study suggests Credit: Brian Wood Navigating, exploring and thinking about space are part of daily life, whether it’s carving a path through a crowd, hiking a backcountry trail or maneuvering into a parking spot. For most of human history, the driving force for day-to-day wayfinding and

Credit: Photo courtesy the Beckman Institute Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology were part of a collaborative effort to investigate a new strategy to manage sodium levels in patients with kidney failure who were undergoing hemodialysis treatment. “Thirst and chronic volume overload are some of the most perplexing and clinically significant

New West Health-Gallup survey finds new president faces a frustrated public reeling from pandemic, economic disruption and high healthcare costs Credit: West Health-Gallup Healthcare Survey WASHINGTON, D.C. and SAN DIEGO, CA — In his inaugural address, President Joe Biden vowed that “help is on the way” to a nation grappling with a pandemic that has

Scientists demonstrate in a species of beetle that males adopt different survival tactics depending on the size of their mandibles, which they use as weapons Credit: 2020 Biology Letters, 2019 Okayama University Across many animal species there is great evolutionary pressure on males, who often engage in combat for the rights to copulation. This phenomenon,

Introducing a layer of zirconium atoms between sheets of aluminum oxide and tungsten carbide creates exceptionally strong composite materials Credit: Katsuyuki Matsunaga Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are incredibly strong materials used in jet engines, gas turbines, and cutting tools for nickel superalloys. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) is hard and chemically inert, and tungsten carbide (WC) is

Lilly lands clinical-phase pain drug via deal with Asahi Kasei ntaylor Thu, 01/28/2021 - 09:08

Medigene shares sag as it axes TCR-T blood cancer drug, with COVID-19 partly to blame badams Thu, 01/28/2021 - 08:38

A research team at INRS has discovered two early plasma markers to detect Alzheimer’s disease five years before its onset. Credit: INRS A Quebec research team has discovered two early plasma markers to detect Alzheimer’s disease five years before its onset. The results of this recent study led by the doctoral student Mohamed Raâfet Ben

TALEN gene editing tool more efficient than CRISPR-Cas9 in compact DNA: study aliu Thu, 01/28/2021 - 07:43

It is the oldest terrestrial fossil ever found. Credit: Credit: Andrew Czaja of University of Cincinnati. When you think of fungi, what comes to mind may be a crucial ingredient in a recipe or their amazing ability to break down dead organic matter into vital nutrients. But new research by Shuhai Xiao, a professor of

Merck bags solid tumor CAR-NKs from Artiva to push into cell therapy ntaylor Thu, 01/28/2021 - 02:29

ORILISSA (elagolix sodium) Abbvie inc Patent: 7,462,625 Expiration: Jan 25, 2021 See More … For more information on how DrugPatentWatch can help with your pharmaceutical business intelligence needs, contact admin@DrugPatentWatch.com… The post Drug Pate... The post Drug Patent Expirations for the Week of January 24, 2021 appeared first on Biotechblog.

This chart shows the drugs with the most supplementary protection certificates (SPCs). SPCs are used in European Union and select others to encourage pharmaceutical innovation by compensating for the long… The post Which drugs have the most supplementa... The post Which drugs have the most supplementary protection certificates? appeared first on Biotechblog.

Eli Lilly teams up with pharma rival GSK and partner Vir for COVID-19 antibody test badams Wed, 01/27/2021 - 08:48

Vir stock soars on blinded, 8-subject hepatitis B analysis ntaylor Wed, 01/27/2021 - 08:13

Cancer drug derived from sea squirts outperforms remdesivir in COVID-19 preclinical models aliu Wed, 01/27/2021 - 07:53

Agios readies FDA filing as anemia drug clears another phase 3 ntaylor Wed, 01/27/2021 - 06:55

Next-generation sequencing techniques to determine an individual’s unique genetic code gave rise to personalized treatments. Single-cell sequencing is the next step towards making precision medicine more accurate.  Each cell in our body is unique. Even genetically identical cells can behave differently in response to a certain treatment. With next-generation sequencing, scientists can study how the average cell within a group behaves. However, this can lead to erroneous conclusions.  “It is like population surveys, which tell us the average American family has 1.2 children. That’s useless. That’s not helpful. Not a single family has 1.2 children,” stated Christoph Lengauer, CEO of Celsius Therapeutics, a company that develops precision therapies using machine learning.  “Single-cell sequencing, by contrast, can indicate which family has six children, and which has just one and a dog,” Lengauer said. “It’s orders of magnitude more granular.”  In recent years, there has been a shift in the technology available to perform single-cell sequencing. The global company Fluidigm used to hold the bulk of the market, The post Single-Cell Sequencing: Paving the Way for Precision Medicine appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Care Access Research teams up with AstraZeneca for COVID-19 antibody virtual trial work badams Wed, 01/27/2021 - 04:16

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for ROCKLATAN Rocklatan is a drug marketed by Aerie Pharms Inc and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are ten… The post New patent for Aerie Pharms drug ROCKLATAN appeared first on DrugPatent... The post New patent for Aerie Pharms drug ROCKLATAN appeared first on Biotechblog.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for ZUBSOLV Zubsolv is a drug marketed by Orexo Us Inc and is included in one NDA. There are five patents protecting this drug and four… The post New patent for Orexo Us drug ZUBSOLV appeared first on DrugPatentWatch - Ma... The post New patent for Orexo Us drug ZUBSOLV appeared first on Biotechblog.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for SYMTUZA Symtuza is a drug marketed by Janssen Prods and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are eleven patents… The post New patent for Janssen Prods drug SYMTUZA appeared first on DrugPat... The post New patent for Janssen Prods drug SYMTUZA appeared first on Biotechblog.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for BRIDION Bridion is a drug marketed by Organon Sub Merck and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are three… The post New patent expiration for Organon Sub drug BRIDION appeared first on Dru... The post New patent expiration for Organon Sub drug BRIDION appeared first on Biotechblog.

Johnson & Johnson's closely watched single-shot COVID-19 vaccine readout 'next week' as CFO sees 'robust data' badams Tue, 01/26/2021 - 08:26

Immunocore IPO filing reveals kickback scheme, Immatics row and phishing attacks ntaylor Tue, 01/26/2021 - 08:23

Since the debut of Imlygic in 2015, no other oncolytic virus cancer therapies have been approved by the FDA and EMA. However, we’re seeing the first signs that the Covid-19 pandemic may help the field get out of the rut. Earlier this month, the Oxford-based firm Theolytics raised €5.6M in a Series A round. This is the first round in several months for a European startup focusing on oncolytic viruses — viruses modified to kill tumor cells and spare healthy cells. The company was spun out of the University of Oxford in 2019 with the aim of engineering adenoviruses to fight cancer. Adenoviruses are commonly used as vectors for a wide range of therapies. One of the most famous examples is the Oxford vaccine for Covid-19, which was approved by the UK earlier this month and could get the EMA’s OK by the end of January. The approval has blazed a trail to the market that companies working on other applications of adenoviruses can follow.  “I think the recent approval [of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine] is a really nice boost for adenovirus-based products in terms of validation, The post Oxford’s Covid-19 Vaccine Blazes Trail for Oncolytic Virus Firms appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Iterum nabs speedy FDA antibiotic review, but follows in the footsteps of bankrupt biotechs ntaylor Tue, 01/26/2021 - 07:45

Medical imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound have emerged as promising biomarkers in clinical trials. This brand new infographic, created in collaboration with Medpace, explores the different types of imaging techniques, their advantages, limitations, and how they can be successfully implemented in clinical trials.  The use of medical imaging techniques as biomarkers in clinical trials for cancer therapies and other indications is becoming increasingly popular and is also recognized as an important application by the regulatory authorities. Imaging techniques bring several advantages to the challenging process of drug development. These include non-invasiveness and the potential for early outcome detection, as well as shorter study timelines and overall cost reduction.  However, while the number of studies requiring the use of medical imaging techniques is increasing, the correct implementation of the technology and interpretation of imaging results remain challenging.  For example, only a limited number of sites are equipped with advanced imaging technology and training resulting in variability, which ultimately limits the accurate acquisition and interpretation of data among facilities. The post Infographic: The Key Role of Imaging in Clinical Trials appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for RHOPRESSA Rhopressa is a drug marketed by Aerie Pharms Inc and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are nine… The post New patent for Aerie Pharms drug RHOPRESSA appeared first on DrugPaten... The post New patent for Aerie Pharms drug RHOPRESSA appeared first on Biotechblog.

This chart shows the pharmaceutical companies with the most patents in Australia. Patents must be filed in each country (or, in some cases regional patent office) where patent protection is… The post Which pharmaceutical companies have the most drug pa... The post Which pharmaceutical companies have the most drug patents in Australia? appeared first on Biotechblog.

Gut bacteria point to novel strategies for combating asthma, COVID-19 arlene.weintraub Mon, 01/25/2021 - 08:26

Merck cans both its COVID-19 vaccines due to weak clinical data  ntaylor Mon, 01/25/2021 - 08:13

TScan adds another $100M to the pot as it plots new TCR cancer trials badams Mon, 01/25/2021 - 07:30

Roche eyes FDA filing after bispecific matches Eylea again ntaylor Mon, 01/25/2021 - 05:36

Meet the most successful biotech companies in Belgium, a small country that makes a huge contribution to the European biotech industry.  With over 140 operating biotech companies and a solid network of renowned universities and research institutes, the Belgium biotech industry is a flourishing ecosystem. Despite its small size, Belgium represents nearly a quarter of the European biotech market value, racing ahead of countries like Denmark, Germany, and Spain. The country’s strong track record is acknowledged globally, with several Belgian biotechs having been acquired by larger companies in recent years. Two prominent examples are Sanofi’s acquisition of Ablynx for €3.9B and TiGenix’s takeover by Japanese pharma giant Takeda for €520M.  With Belgium spearheading European biotech, we have consulted biotech industry experts in the country to compile a list of successful biotech companies in Belgium, with a focus on their innovations and achievements. The companies are listed in alphabetical order. AgomAb Therapeutics  Location: GhentFounded: 2017 AgomAb develops antibody treatments for fibrosis using technology licensed from the Dutch biotech ArgenX. The post Top Biotech Companies Riding High in Belgium appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for ORILISSA Orilissa is a drug marketed by Abbvie Inc and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are eight patents… The post New patent expiration for Abbvie Inc drug ORILISSA appeared first on ... The post New patent expiration for Abbvie Inc drug ORILISSA appeared first on Biotechblog.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for ORIAHNN+%28COPACKAGED%29 Oriahnn (copackaged) is a drug marketed by Abbvie Inc and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are five… The post New patent expiration for Abbvie Inc drug ORIAHNN ... The post New patent expiration for Abbvie Inc drug ORIAHNN (COPACKAGED) appeared first on Biotechblog.

Chutes & Ladders—GSK vaccine exec Reichman splits to take biotech CEO post fkansteiner Fri, 01/22/2021 - 08:36

GlaxoSmithKline's R&D failures rack up, notching an Immutep-partnered trial cull badams Fri, 01/22/2021 - 08:31

Pfizer's R&D president Dolsten: Not taking government cash made us more nimble for COVID-19 vaccine badams Fri, 01/22/2021 - 08:10

Incyte lands priority review for PD-1 inhibitor in anal cancer ntaylor Fri, 01/22/2021 - 07:45

Tracking cancer metastasis with CRISPR opens new areas for drug development aliu Fri, 01/22/2021 - 07:32

BIO lays off staff to adapt to another year of virtual events ntaylor Fri, 01/22/2021 - 05:52

Plexium bumps up series A by $35M as it battles rivals in the new protein-degradation space badams Thu, 01/21/2021 - 08:32

Rallybio hires Tuch from BMO to lead corporate development ntaylor Thu, 01/21/2021 - 08:25

Servier, MiNA ally to upregulate neurological disorder proteins using small activating RNAs ntaylor Thu, 01/21/2021 - 07:51

Purification of tagged proteins such as antibodies is a common and essential task in many pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic labs, but it’s also cumbersome. One novel protein purification system is streamlining workflows and easing bottlenecks so researchers can answer their important questions quickly and cost-efficiently. Protein purification: a critical but complicated first step There is a growing demand for purified proteins such as antibodies for both research and therapeutic applications. They are the key components for many in vitro and in vivo functional assays and structural and mechanistic studies of drug targets. They are also increasingly under investigation and development as biopharmaceutical drug candidates. To ensure accurate results, researchers must first generate highly pure antibodies or other proteins. Nevertheless, a lack of commercially available, cost-efficient, and high-throughput purification systems makes the preparation of these essential molecules a time- and resource-intensive task. The most common approach for purifying target antibodies and other proteins is column chromatography using different types of resins.  This procedure requires lengthy timelines and many hands-on steps, The post Working Smarter and Quicker with this Protein Purification Platform appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Water purification has never been more important, but antiquated methods and a lack of innovation have held the sector back. Biotechnology proposes solutions that bring us one step closer to a true circular economy.  Rising populations and pollution levels mean that water purification is now more crucial than ever before. However, much of the industry is still using water treatment methods that originated over 100 years ago.  “Coming from biotechnology, I’m really surprised about how little innovation we find in the water industry, since it’s the world’s largest natural resource… and it’s the world’s third largest market. Only oil and energy, as far as I know, have a larger revenue number than water treatment,” says Peter Holme Jensen. He’s the CEO of Aquaporin, a Danish biotech company seeking to improve and update the water purification industry.  These outdated methods are unsustainable in the long term, particularly in developing countries. To make water purification sustainable, a handful of companies are developing new technologies that aim to make water consumption part of a circular economy, The post Biotech Drives the Water Purification Industry Towards a Circular Economy appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

A colossal deal struck last month between Germany’s Merck KGaA and UK-based Artios Pharma is one of several highlighting soaring interest in cancer drugs that target the DNA repair systems of our cells. The deal, potentially worth €5.7B, granted Merck optional rights to co-develop a class of cancer treatments called DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitor drugs. Merck took this gamble on drugs that haven’t yet reached clinical testing, demonstrating hitherto unseen levels of support for the emerging DDR inhibitor field. Artios’ CEO Niall Martin — who was instrumental in developing the blockbuster DDR inhibitor drug Lynparza — told me the collaboration “represents a great validation for the DNA damage response field.” “Its multi-billion-dollar potential underscores the possible, future value which multinational pharma companies see in the field and its ability to revolutionize targeted treatment of cancer and deliver on the promise of precision medicine,” he said. Drugs targeting DNA repair have been heralded as a game-changer for multiple cancers, The post Investors Up the Ante for Drugs Striking Cancer via DNA Repair appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

This week, the Paris-based Eligo Bioscience became one of a growing number of biotechs to land a big pharma deal focused on the skin microbiome, receiving up to €185M from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as they explore a CRISPR-based treatment for acne.  Acne is a condition that troubles the majority of adolescents and often persists into adulthood. It affects an estimated 40-50 million people in the US alone.  The treatment of acne is notoriously difficult. Common medications — benzoyl peroxide, retinoids, and antibiotics — focus on eradicating Cutibacterium acnes – the bacterium causing the inflammation – or restoring hormonal balance. However, antibiotics can also kill beneficial bacteria on the skin, leading to side effects such as skin dryness, redness, light sensitivity, and peeling. The €185M deal between Eligo Bioscience and GSK aims to bring a more selective approach to acne treatment. Eligo engineers a viral vector to carry a DNA-cutting CRISPR system similar to that used in the famous gene editing tool. The viral vector injects the acne-causing bacteria with the CRISPR system, The post GSK Acne Deal Heralds Growing Interest in Skin Microbiome appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Happy New Year, and welcome to the new Labiotech.eu! We decided to surprise you with a fresh look to start 2021. In the last couple of months, we’ve been working hard to create a better website experience. Here are some details on what you can expect from this new design. A better reading experience Over the years, our website went through a succession of redesigns aiming at improving your experience and adding features to our platform. For this new version, we decided to go back to the drawing table and rethink the website from the bottom up. Our priority was to make reading and finding articles easier than ever. We put a lot of effort into designing a website that removes distractions from your reading. Our new post page uses a minimalistic design and a modern font to increase readability. We also worked with our advertising partners to develop a less intrusive model that still lets you discover new brands and technologies while you navigate through our website. We also rebuilt our homepage with discoverability in mind. The post Labiotech.eu Gets a Facelift for 2021 appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

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Covid-19 vaccines developed by Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca have been approved at record speed across Europe to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the quest to develop and distribute Covid-19 vaccines is far from over. All of the three vaccine approvals came through in a matter of weeks. First, there was the UK approval of a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer in early December, which then received EMA approval right before Christmas. A few days later, the UK approved a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. And just last week, Moderna got the go-ahead from both the UK and the EU for its mRNA vaccine. The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine employs a viral vector to activate the immune system against Covid-19 — a more traditional type of vaccine technology than mRNA vaccines. This vaccine can be stored at fridge temperatures unlike the mRNA vaccines, and, with a per-dose price of around €3, costs at least four times less. The post Covid-19 Vaccines Roll Out in the UK and EU: What’s Next? appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to put our lives on hold, and a vaccine is the most likely route back to normality. Vaccine development is in the limelight, and our need for one has led us to search for ways to speed up the process. The UK was the first European country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine in December 2020. However, it took almost a year to reach this point, as vaccine development is a long and complex process. Typically, each pathogen needs its own vaccine manufacturing process. Stringent regulations and the lack of incentives make the process even more challenging. Various approaches could drive the industry forward. New and improved technologies have the potential to speed up and simplify vaccine development. The creativity and expertise of biotechs have led to their prominent role in the development of many vaccines, including those for Covid-19. Implementing new technologies Improved platforms and rapid testing that streamlines safety and quality assessments could transform vaccine development. The post How the Vaccine Industry and Biotechs Can Accelerate Pandemic Responses appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

As next-generation gene-editing technologies become increasingly popular, biotech industry stakeholders carry the responsibility to ensure the ethical deployment of these tools through mindful partnerships and investments. Some call it the Bio Revolution or  Fourth Industrial Revolution – characterized by the convergence of technology, where the physical, digital, and biological worlds merge to create a huge promise for society.  At their intersection, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled systems search through massive genomics databases to discover drugs, therapeutics, and other biotech tools that naturally evolved and now reside inside microbial genomes. Investing in promising companies  Leaps by Bayer, the investment arm of Bayer, invested in US biotech Metagenomi at the end of last year. Metagenomi lies at an important intersection of biology and data.  The company is using an AI-powered discovery engine to find naturally occurring gene-editing systems in metagenomic data. It is leveraging AI to enhance the power of CRISPR gene-editing technology, as it works towards its vision of advancing therapies and cures for oncology and genetic diseases.  The post Ethics, Investment, and What Comes Next in Gene-Editing Technologies appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

As we enter 2021, the biotech industry is already bustling with activity. Here’s a list of 21 European biotech companies likely to make a big splash in the biotechnology sector over the next year. There were many memorable moments for the European biotech industry in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic took over the media and many biotech companies changed their focus to develop vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics for the novel disease. Others were busy in the background with impressive funding rounds, marketing authorizations, and exciting trial results.  As the new decade rolls out, it will be fascinating to see how European firms shape emerging biotech trends such as advances in immuno-oncology and gene therapy. Together with biotech industry experts, we have compiled a list of the top 21 biotech companies that have exciting developments to look forward to in 2021. The companies are listed in alphabetical order.  AB Science Founded: 2001 Location: Paris, France AB Science ended 2020 on a high after its drug masitinib prevented patients with moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease from progressing to severe dementia in a  phase IIb/III study. The post The 21 European Biotech Companies to Watch in 2021 appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

As pollution and climate change become growing problems, breaking society’s addiction to fossil fuels is a daunting task. What are the main obstacles holding European biotechs back from building a more sustainable economy and how can we resolve them? Modern society’s dependence on fossil fuels is unsustainable. Although the Covid-19 pandemic caused a 7% drop in carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 compared to 2019, atmospheric greenhouse gases continue to increase. Additionally, products derived from fossil fuels, such as plastics, are highly polluting and will become more scarce in the long run. Policymakers in the EU have taken this problem to heart and have pushed through the European Green Deal, which aims to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. A promising way to meet this target is to replace fossil fuels with bio-based sources of chemicals, food additives, textiles, and even metals. Bio-based sources can include plant crops, waste biomass, and microorganisms like algae and bacteria. The post The Bio-Based Economy: What’s Holding It Back? appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

The end of 2020 saw several big pharma acquisitions of companies developing antibody-drug conjugate drugs for the treatment of cancer. Unfazed by the Covid-19 pandemic, companies developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancer have flourished over the last year. For example, Gilead closed a colossal €17.8B acquisition of the US ADC developer Immunomedics in September, and in November, Merck took over the US ADC firm Velos Bio for €2.2B. The last month of 2020 saw a flurry of European deals in the same field. The most impressive was Boehringer Ingelheim purchasing the Swiss ADC company NBE Therapeutics for a neat €1.2B.  Additionally, the UK firm ADC Bio announced an impending acquisition by the contract manufacturing heavyweight Sterling Pharma Solutions while the Swiss biotech ADC Therapeutics, which raised €215M in a Nasdaq IPO last year, teamed up with the Chinese company Overland Pharmaceuticals to commercialize its pipeline in the Greater China region. ADCs are drawing investor attention because of their potential to hit tumors more selectively than classical chemotherapy drugs and minimize side effects, The post Wave of Acquisitions Hits ADC Cancer Treatment Space appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

Just like that, another decade has gone by. It’s time to look at what the future will bring to the European biotech industry.  European biotech has seen some huge breakthroughs and a few setbacks during the last 10 years. As we enter a new decade with great uncertainty due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, let’s look at what the next decade has in store for European biotech.  Oncology Historically, cancers were treated with small molecule-based drugs. The last 10 years have seen a move towards immunotherapy, either through boosting the patients’ own immune cells as is the case of CAR T-cell therapies or through immune checkpoint inhibitors that make cancer cells more visible to the immune system.  The oncology field is getting crowded with numerous different treatment modalities in clinical trials, which include gene and cell therapy, radiopharmaceuticals, gene editing, and microbiome approaches, among others. But will we need them all in the future? Martin Bonde, CEO of Inthera Biosciences in Switzerland believes that we do. The post What Does the Next Decade Have in Store for European Biotech? appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

As we prepare to enter a new decade, we look back on the major milestones and blunders within European biotech over the last 10 years.  Over the last decade, we have seen many biotech breakthroughs to come from Europe, including first-in-class therapies for cancer, the first approved in vivo gene therapy, as well as notable efforts to combat Covid-19. Some other areas have proven to fall behind expectations, such as Alzheimer’s or microbiome research, and will need a push over the next decade. Let’s have a look back at what the biotech industry has accomplished in the decade we’re now leaving behind. Oncology  Few would disagree that this has been a game-changing decade within oncology. We’ve seen the arrival of checkpoint inhibitor drugs, the first oncolytic viral therapy, and the approval of the first CAR-T cell therapies.  For Alexandra Bause, who leads a venture creation program at the investment firm Apollo Health Ventures, immuno-oncology was one of the most exciting things to happen during the last decade. The post A Look Back at the Past Decade of European Biotech appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused huge disruption for European biotech in 2020, but the industry pulled through. Let’s look back at some of the top moments in the last 12 months.  After the many drug approvals, startup foundations, and venture capital highs we saw in 2019, it looked like 2020 was going to be a comfortable year for the biotech industry in Europe. Instead, a pandemic threw the global economy into disarray; its impact will likely be felt for decades. In spite of this unexpected challenge, the biotech sector has emerged stronger than ever this year. In fact, the pandemic has shone a spotlight on the industry, boosting interest in fields such as vaccines and infectious disease.  Some of the biotech areas that have emerged as winners this year include RNA therapeutics, gene therapy, and using artificial intelligence for drug discovery. In addition, companies developing meat alternative products have seen a surge in investments as the market expands, The post A Year to Remember: The Biggest European Biotech News in 2020 appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

The history of modern biotechnology began around four decades ago with the invention of genetic engineering. Genentech, one of the fundamental companies in this field, set many trends for modern biotech companies today. Biotechnology doesn’t necessarily involve labs. In fact, humans have been using forms of biotechnology for millennia, for example, using fermentation to brew alcoholic drinks. However, modern biotechnology involving genetic engineering and cell manipulation, has been with us for roughly four decades. It was kickstarted in 1973, when scientists first genetically engineered Escherichia coli bacteria to introduce a foreign gene that made them resistant to an antibiotic. To achieve this, the researchers employed a process called recombination, which consists of using proteins called restriction enzymes to cut bacterial DNA. The enzymes left uneven cuts on the DNA chain where foreign DNA could be inserted. The bacteria would then start using the new genetic information as if it were its own. This new technology had the potential to revolutionize the way that we produce biological molecules. The post Humble Beginnings: The Origin Story of Modern Biotechnology appeared first on Labiotech.eu.

With significant growth in activities globally, our /local page has strained to keep up and simply is not a great...

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Here are your DIYbio events for the week Sunday, August 20 Cincinnati, OH, USA – Science Book Club – The...

Here are your DIYbio events for the remainder of the week Monday, August 14 Brooklyn, NY, USA – Biotextiles: Grow...

Here are your events for the week. Sunday, August 6 Brooklyn, NY, USA – Biotech Crash Course Introductory intense hands-on...

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Here are your DIYbio events for the week. On Sunday, Brooklyn begins its Biotechnology Crash Course, Cambridge has a series...