Biotechnology Sector

This chart shows the patent expirations for ointment dosed drugs over the next decade. The term of drug patents varies. The basic term for a patent is 20 years from… The post Ointment dosed drug patent expirations by year appeared first on DrugPatentWa... The post Ointment dosed drug patent expirations by year appeared first on Biotechblog.

Key takeaways Credit: American College of Surgeons Key takeaways Cancer centers in the west were more than six times as likely to offer telehealth visits than other regions in the country. Race, older age, and income level linked to use of telehealth services at cancer centers. Each 10-year increase in patient age decreased the odds

Key takeaways Credit: American College of Surgeons Key takeaways Men with Stage IV breast cancer who are receptive to systemic therapy benefit from surgical intervention. Patients also benefitted who received trimodal therapy consisting of systemic therapy, surgery, and radiation compared to just receiving systemic therapy. The authors hope their findings prompt reconsideration of National Comprehensive

Key takeaways Credit: American College of Surgeons Key takeaways A survey of adults eligible for colorectal cancer screening patterns found a preference for at-home fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) versus colonoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey respondents reported less use of colonoscopy during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels, with factors related to both COVID-19

Key takeaways Credit: American College of Surgeons Key takeaways Telemedicine screening preserved access to lung cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic for a safety net hospital’s large African American patient population. Despite the opportunity to be screened for lung cancer remotely through telemedicine, lung cancer screenings were down 75 percent during the pandemic. Not only

October 22, 2021. East Hanover, NJ.  Kessler Foundation has been awarded a Spinal Cord Injury Model System (SCIMS) grant by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), part of the Administration for Community Living. The five-year grant for $2,350,527 continues federal funding for the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System (NNJSCIS). Kessler

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

A new study led by researchers at UCLA Health has found that women over the age of 50 who had breastfed their babies performed better on cognitive tests compared to women who had never breastfed. The findings, published in Evolution, Medicine and Public Health, suggest that breastfeeding may have a positive impact on postmenopausal women’s

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A heart attack kills heart muscle cells, leading to a scar that weakens the heart, often leading to eventual heart failure. The lack of muscle repair is due to the very limited ability of mammalian heart muscle cells to proliferate, except for a brief period around birth. Credit: UAB BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that manifests as red, scaly skin patches. There is no causal treatment for the disease, but the symptoms can be significantly alleviated with modern therapies. Complex changes in the networks of immune cells and the messengers they use to communicate with each other are responsible for the development

Galli is recognized for her contributions to the fields of computational condensed matter, materials science and nanoscience. Credit: (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.) Galli is recognized for her contributions to the fields of computational condensed matter, materials science and nanoscience. Giulia Galli, a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory,

Rolling green pastures dotted with grazing cows are a common sight in Virginia. However, there’s more strategy behind those grazing cows than most people know, such as the impact on the land, water quality, and farm profitability. Credit: John Benner for Virginia Tech Rolling green pastures dotted with grazing cows are a common sight in

Two new species dating back to the Early Cretaceous Period were recently discovered in Sevier County in southwest Arkansas. One is a small skink researchers named Sciroseps pawhuskai and the other is a new fish named Anomoeodus caddoi. Credit: Paleoart by Brian Engh Two new species dating back to the Early Cretaceous Period were recently

Two tiny new species that inhabited part of what is now the American south some 100 million years ago have been discovered by a team of researchers that includes a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh paleontologist. Credit: Illustration by Brian Engh, http://dontmesswithdinosaurs.com Two tiny new species that inhabited part of what is now the American south

Just as humans may leave their home five minutes early to avoid a talkative neighbor or depart work late to avoid a rude coworker, carnivorous mammals may go out of their way to avoid other species. But they’re not trying to navigate awkward social interactions; rather, they are negotiating space and resources for survival. Credit:

A team of researchers from Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Leipzig) has discovered that the age-related decline in bilateral anti-phase movement is linked to differences in alpha and beta neural activity. Among the researchers was Vadim Nikulin, Leading Research Fellow of the Centre for Cognition & Decision Making at HSE University. Credit: Shih P.,

Egle Therapeutics nabs $46M as it looks to push into the clinic with next-gen Tregs platform badams Fri, 10/22/2021 - 07:28

Metacrine shares halved as NASH program nixed on mixed bag data and early safety issue badams Fri, 10/22/2021 - 06:32

Confidence in gene-edited T cell therapies from donor cells has faltered as Allogene Therapeutics paused all clinical development following the detection of an unexpected genetic change in a clinical trial. Industry experts see these events as a reality check for the nascent field. Off-the-shelf treatments that use genetically engineered T cells to treat diseases suffered a blow to their image earlier this month when a gene-edited Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy, developed by the US biotech Allogene Therapeutics, encountered a safety concern in a phase I/II trial. According to Allogene, a biopsy from a blood cancer patient infused with its CAR-T cell therapy revealed CAR-T cells with an unexplained chromosomal change. The company noted that the abnormality was found on a chromosome that’s also targeted by TALEN-based gene-editing technology used by the firm. It’s still unclear if the change originated from the gene-editing process, and what its clinical impact could be. The FDA has put a hold on all clinical trials involving Allogene’s CAR-T cell therapy, The post Gene-Edited T Cell Therapy Players Battle Safety Doubts appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for ENTRESTO Entresto is a drug marketed by Novartis Pharms Corp and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are nine… The post New patent for Novartis Pharms drug ENTRESTO appeared first on DrugP... The post New patent for Novartis Pharms drug ENTRESTO appeared first on Biotechblog.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for JAKAFI Jakafi is a drug marketed by Incyte Corp and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are eight patents… The post New patent for Incyte Corp drug JAKAFI appeared first on DrugPatentWatch... The post New patent for Incyte Corp drug JAKAFI appeared first on Biotechblog.

Annual Drug Patent Expirations for LEVULAN Levulan is a drug marketed by Dusa and is included in one NDA. It is available from one supplier. There are two patents protecting… The post New patent for DUSA drug LEVULAN appeared first on DrugPatentWatch -... The post New patent for DUSA drug LEVULAN appeared first on Biotechblog.

This chart shows the pharmaceutical companies with the most patents in Malaysia. 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 pat... The post Which pharmaceutical companies have the most drug patents in Malaysia? appeared first on Biotechblog.

Could cancer drugs address a hard-to-treat lung disease? Researchers say 2 look promising klahucik Thu, 10/21/2021 - 17:51

Ventyx nabs a $152M upsized IPO to challenge BMS' Zeposia—and a backer with intimate knowledge of its rival badams Thu, 10/21/2021 - 09:00

VCs back Leucid to trial CAR-T twist in ovarian cancer patients ntaylor Thu, 10/21/2021 - 08:09

Menarini, chased by 3 Big Pharmas, records win in breast cancer phase 3, plots path to FDA ntaylor Thu, 10/21/2021 - 06:12

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

DrugPatentWatch has been ranked the “Best Biopharmaceuticals Commercial Business Intelligence Platform” by Global Health & Pharma News This award is dedicated to honoring the innovation, determination and outstanding levels of… The post DrugPatentWatch... The post DrugPatentWatch Ranked Best Biopharmaceuticals Commercial Business Intelligence Platform appeared first on Biotechblog.

DrugPatentWatch’s Custom Market Surveillance provides you with a robust platform to monitor your business opportunities from every angle. You’re monitoring your business, but you’re too busy to sift through data.… The post DrugPatentWatch Custom Market... The post DrugPatentWatch Custom Market Surveillance appeared first on Biotechblog.

FDA slaps clinical hold on AstraZeneca cancer drug amid heart safety scare in combo test badams Wed, 10/20/2021 - 13:59

Before the passage of the Biologic Patent Transparency Act DrugPatentWatch’s biologic patent data was cited as a reason why the law should not be passed. Thankfully, the Act advanced, and… The post Updating the DrugPatentWatch Biologics Module appeared... The post Updating the DrugPatentWatch Biologics Module appeared first on Biotechblog.

Chase, after selling last biotech to Allergan, gets cash to start pivotal trials in depression, Parkinson's  ntaylor Wed, 10/20/2021 - 08:43

Takeda crashes out of Wave discovery pact at cost of $23M ntaylor Wed, 10/20/2021 - 07:51

Nanobots are tiny biological machines that can deliver drugs to the target destination to make them more efficacious and reduce side effects, which are the biggest challenges of drug delivery. Traditional drug treatments, for example cancer chemotherapy, can come with toxic compounds that indiscriminately damage healthy tissues. Nanobots could circumvent this issue by protecting the drug until it’s delivered to the intended target. The goal is getting the right dose to any part of the body without collateral damage. To achieve this, nanobots are made by combining inorganic elements or materials with biological components, such as cells, proteins or DNA. This requires the collaboration of researchers from several branches of science. “In robotics we see materials scientists and biologists working more closely with us than ever, for good reason,” says Bradley Nelson, Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zürich. “We get insight into problems we were stuck on, such as new adhesives based on gecko feet and their use of van der Waals forces, The post Arming Biological Nanobots to Deliver Drugs Inside Our Bodies appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Princeton and MIT gene-editing pioneers uncover clues for improving CRISPR and other tools aliu Wed, 10/20/2021 - 06:20

Amid Amgen's similar struggles, AstraZeneca slams the brakes on MCL-1 blood cancer drug badams Wed, 10/20/2021 - 06:11

Injured tumor cells activate immuno-oncology drugs to combat breast cancer and melanoma in mice arlene.weintraub Tue, 10/19/2021 - 11:06

Despite volatile biotech stocks limiting options for exit, Sofinnova Partners’ latest €472M fund highlights ballooning European venture capital and its growing focus on early-stage biotech investments.   Biotech fundraising broke records in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe. This year seems set to continue biotech’s winning streak in private fundraising. One example is a surge in funding going to European life sciences investors, which was topped up this week by the venture capital (VC) firm Sofinnova Partners’ €472M Capital X fund, dedicated to supporting early-stage life sciences firms. Henrijette Richter, Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners, told me that the fund’s impressive size was largely due to the team’s reputation and track record. “The context of the global pandemic, which demonstrated the importance of bringing innovative and efficacious new drugs to patients, has further fuelled interest in Capital X,” said Richter. The splurge in private biotech investments starkly contrasts with the recent performance of biotech stocks in the US and Europe, The post Biotech VCs Face Funding Bulge Amid Struggling Stock Markets appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Dicerna narrows focus for kidney drug after mixed data, setting up head-to-head market battle with rival Alnylam badams Tue, 10/19/2021 - 08:57

Atea and Roche's COVID-19 antiviral flunks phase 2, prompting switch that will delay pivotal data ntaylor Tue, 10/19/2021 - 08:11

Biogen, Sage plot 2022 filing for zuranolone approval, furthering turnaround of depression drug ntaylor Tue, 10/19/2021 - 07:33

Biotech firms partner with contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) to leverage their expertise in process development, optimization, and scale-up. In this article, we share an exclusive sneak-peek into a recent survey, which explores the main reasons why biotech companies collaborate with CDMOs at different stages of drug development. To make a new drug candidate market-ready, drug developers need to have the right expertise to develop a robust production process and optimize their drug scale-up, while navigating complex regulatory frameworks. Large pharma companies may have capabilities in-house for certain aspects of drug development and manufacturing by virtue of their previous experience. Such firms would seek external expertise for specific steps that their internal capabilities may not support.  Small and emerging biotechs with resource and time constraints, on the other hand, often partner with CDMOs right through the drug development and production journey.  The external expertise sought can vary depending on the product type or the phase – from preclinical and clinical to commercial – that a firm is at with its drug. The post Top Reasons to Outsource Your Early Clinical Pipeline to a CDMO appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Sofinnova bulks out VC shop with a hefty $548M as it zeroes in on early-stage European biotechs badams Tue, 10/19/2021 - 03:44

A new target in multiple myeloma? TAK1 blocker boosts chemo's cancer-killing power in preclinical study arlene.weintraub Mon, 10/18/2021 - 09:31

There hasn’t been a new hair loss drug approved in twenty years. But a number of European companies are hot on the case and are getting tantalizingly close to the breakthrough that many patients hope for. With body dysmorphia magnified by the omnipresent digital world, psychiatrists have increasingly linked the onset of male and female pattern baldness to mental health conditions ranging from anxiety to even depression. Over the past decade, cosmetic surgery has looked to ease the burden. There is a scarcity of preventative treatments – the only drugs approved by regulators are Minoxidil and Propecia, both of which are only marginally effective at halting hair loss, and the former is the only treatment available to women. The market value of the global hair transplant industry is therefore predicted to exceed €24B ($28B) by 2027. However, hair transplants are no panacea as they can be costly and sometimes painful. As a consequence, there is a huge market for any new product that can effectively halt pattern baldness in its tracks, The post Could We See a New Dawn for Hair Loss Treatments? appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

FDA rejects Omeros transplant drug over difficulties estimating its effect ntaylor Mon, 10/18/2021 - 07:57

Biogen's ALS drug has failed phase 3. Will FDA approve anyway? ntaylor Mon, 10/18/2021 - 05:13

Greenwood takes the top job at Kojin Therapeutics, leading an all-woman biotech C-suite badams Fri, 10/15/2021 - 10:02

Inhalable anti-COVID-19 antibody from TFF and Augmenta tamps down viral load in hamsters arlene.weintraub Fri, 10/15/2021 - 08:26

AstraZeneca delivers rare win for treme in liver cancer, bouncing back from flops to beat Bayer's Nexavar ntaylor Fri, 10/15/2021 - 07:58

Chinese biopharma powerhouse continues charge into siRNA with Silence R&D pact ntaylor Fri, 10/15/2021 - 04:33

Oxford Nanopore Technologies, until recently one of very few unicorns in the European biotech industry, had a stellar IPO on the London Stock Exchange late last month. This is ushering in a whole new generation of DNA sequencing, genetics research, and diagnostics. During the first day of the IPO, which bagged the firm over €400M (£330M), the company’s market capitalization rose from €4B (£3.4B) to over €5.7B (£4.8B). The success for the company came on the heels of a €230M (£195M) fundraise earlier this year.  Many analysts saw the company’s successful listing as the rise of a European alternative to US-based Illumina, which provides one of the most popular platforms for genetic sequencing on the market today.  “I was very encouraged by the first-day performance of Oxford Nanopore as it listed in London up 50% on the day, with the majority of the issue being taken by UK and European institutions,” said Thomas Burt, an Investment Partner at the VC company Sofinnova, The post Third-Generation DNA Sequencing Shines with Oxford Nanopore’s IPO appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Protein that manipulates gene expression inside the cell nucleus could inspire new RSV drugs, vaccines klahucik Thu, 10/14/2021 - 10:23

Omega, eyeing new uses for genome-tuning tech, taps Stanford to find ocular disease targets ntaylor Thu, 10/14/2021 - 08:48

For cell therapy to become mainstream, important issues such as management of risk and quality control need to be addressed, argues Duncan Borthwick, Global Marketing Manager at cell therapy manufacturing firm Solentim. Research and development of cell therapies, along with other advanced medicines like gene therapies, has increased exponentially over the last few years. According to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, as of June this year there were over 2,000 ongoing clinical trials of cell therapies around the world. Of these, 541 were at phase III. “It’s absolutely boom time for cell therapy,” Borthwick told me, adding that the field has changed enormously in recent years. “It’s just unimaginably different. And not only its applications, but also the robustness of the methodologies. You speak to some of the researchers and they say ‘two years ago, we couldn’t get these cells to grow.’” With an increased presence in medicine comes increased scrutiny. Following the appearance of adverts for cell therapies to treat or cure serious diseases in early 2020, The post Thinking About Risk Early on Is Key for Cell Therapy Success appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The crisis of antibiotic resistance is making the discovery and development of new antibiotics crucial, and companies are teaming up to tackle the growing challenge. But managing collaborative drug discovery data is tough, requiring many small biotechs to rethink how they share and manage their data for antimicrobial development. Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise. Worldwide, approximately 700,000 people die from drug-resistant infections each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if nothing is done to prevent it, this number could increase to 10 million deaths by 2050. So why has the situation escalated this much? The problem, explained Andrej Trauner, Project Manager in Discovery Research at Swiss biotech BioVersys, is that we have taken antimicrobial drugs for granted for too long. “Antimicrobials are a cornerstone of modern medicine. But just as we take for granted that there will be electricity in our house, we also take for granted that there will be effective antimicrobials when we need them.”  However, The post How Managing Data Effectively Helps Fight Antimicrobial Resistance appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Initial public offerings by European biotech companies were hot in September, and companies developing technologies including sequencing and bioinformatics received big private and public investments.  Last month, European and Israeli biotech companies raised over €1.5B in 42 deals, which included initial public offerings (IPOs) and private financing rounds. This was more than triple the total catch in August, which saw €466.8M raised in 26 deals. Roughly half of the cash — €782.4M — came from four IPOs. The star position went to the UK sequencing heavyweight Oxford Nanopore Technologies, which took home €407.4M (£330M) from its listing on the London Stock Exchange. A Nasdaq IPO worth €302.6M ($350M) flushed compatriot firm Exscientia with cash to scale up its artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted drug discovery technology.  IPOs in European stock markets also went to Afyren and Genetic Analysis, which respectively are developing sustainable chemicals manufacturing and diagnostics based on the microbiome. Leading the private fundraisers, the French pharmaceutical firm Provepharm Life Solutions topped up its bank account with €122.9M in equity investments. The post The Top European Biotech Investment Rounds in September appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

CAR-T therapy has been hailed as a cure for cancer, but what really is this ‘miraculous technology’ and what can we actually expect from it? The field of immuno-oncology is booming with billions of euros in investment. The ability to rewire our own immune system to fight cancer has certainly created huge expectations. After the success of the first checkpoint inhibitor drugs on the market, many are turning their attention to CAR-T cell therapy. There are five CAR-T therapies already on the market. The field is now booming, with over 500 CAR-T clinical trials running worldwide. But is this therapy really a cure for cancer, as many seem to believe? Can the technology meet such high expectations? Are side effects a concern? Is it worth the huge price tag?  To answer the most burning questions, I talked with some of the leaders in this field to draw an overview of the current state of CAR-T technology. How does this ‘miracle cure’ work? The post A Cure for Cancer? How CAR-T Cell Therapy is Revolutionizing Oncology appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The newly-created Longevity Science Foundation aims to extend the human lifespan to more than 120 years by channeling over €860M ($1B) into early-stage geroscience research in the next decade. Experts say that’s a worthy if complex goal. Based in Zug, Switzerland, the Longevity Science Foundation will prioritize four areas of research: personalized medicine, therapeutics, artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive diagnostics. The foundation accepts applications from any organization with a focus on funding early-stage academic research into the process of aging, known as geroscience. The mission for the projects it funds is to make a difference in people’s lives within five years.  The foundation has already raised an undisclosed amount to fund an initial round of projects and will continue raising the rest of its €860M ($1B) target over the next 10 years. Its setup expenses were covered by founders of LongeVC, a Swiss venture capital fund focused on the anti-aging niche. The Longevity Science Foundation board includes members of LongeVC in addition to research organizations including the National University of Singapore and Human Longevity in the US.  The post Longevity Foundation to Fund Geroscience Research with €860M appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Exscientia’s lucrative entry onto the Nasdaq last week demonstrated investors are still excited by efforts to use artificial intelligence to fuel drug discovery, with global tech investors often taking the lead. The Oxford, UK-based company Exscientia has one of the most mature artificial intelligence (AI)-focused drug discovery pipelines, alongside companies like BenevolentAI in the UK, as well as Aria Pharmaceuticals and Atomwise in the US.  In May this year, Exscientia entered phase I trials with a small molecule for psychotic symptoms resulting from Alzheimer’s disease. This drug, co-developed with the Japanese firm Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, is the third program identified by the company to enter human testing. Another drug developed by Exscientia and Sumitomo Dainippon went to clinical trials last year for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and a cancer immunotherapy developed with the German company Evotec began phase I testing in April. Exscientia’s total winnings from the Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO) and a private placement led by the tech-focused investor SoftBank were an impressive €442.1M ($510.4M). The post Exscientia IPO Attracts Tech Investor Bets to AI Drug Discovery appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Gene therapies offer a promising hope of cure against rare diseases and other diseases like cancer, with over 1,000 ongoing clinical trials. The increasing need for safe and effective gene therapies is emphasizing the importance of viral safety within the viral vector manufacturing process. This will enable meeting global regulatory timelines and providing faster access to innovative therapies for patients in need. Gene therapies are evolving to become promising therapeutic options for patients with rare diseases. But so far, scientists have just explored the tip of the iceberg with gene therapies; comparable to where the healthcare industry was with monoclonal antibodies roughly three decades ago.  As the fastest growing sector in biotechnology, the gene therapy market is bracing to meet the high unmet medical needs of rare disease patients. Pharma and biotech companies are realizing that to enable increased access to gene therapies, production processes need to be improved and optimized. The science behind viral vectors and their production  Viral vectors are used to deliver the corrective genes into patient cells to trigger the production of proteins that are missing in patients with rare diseases. The post How to Develop a Robust Viral Safety Strategy for Gene Therapies appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Choosing where to plant your biotech company’s roots is a fundamental question driven by access to capital, talent, and infrastructure. But the pandemic is accelerating a decentralization movement, changing the way companies think about headquarters. Regions like the Bay Area and Boston in the US, or the UK’s golden triangle remain huge draws for biotech companies because they have self-contained ecosystems with all the ingredients that founders need for success. Hubs like these have already built critical mass, spawning a virtuous cycle: these magnet cities draw academic founders with an entrepreneurial spirit to launch their careers because they are places that draw other entrepreneurial academics.  “People come to the area before they have a job,” Adam Sciambi says of the Bay Area. Sciambi is a co-founder of South San Francisco-based Mission Bio, which markets single-cell analysis technology. Once they’re in, it’s hard to consider leaving the area in search of a better place to launch a company. Sciambi came to the Bay Area for his PhD work at Stanford University, The post How to Choose the Right Headquarters for Your Biotech Startup appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Although most gene therapy still relies on non-infectious viral vectors for delivery, a recent venture financing round for the Swiss company Anjarium Biosciences has shone the spotlight on alternative vectors, including lipid nanoparticles and electric pulses.  Last month, Anjarium Biosciences raised €51M (CHF55.5M) in a Series A financing round to advance its gene delivery system based on DNA vectors and other proprietary nanoparticle technology. The round was led by veteran investors Abingworth and Gimv, and also included Pfizer Ventures, Omega Funds, and Surveyor Capital. Gene therapy has taken off in recent years, with treatments such as Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna for the treatment of inherited blindness and Novartis’ spinal muscular atrophy therapy Zolgensma blazing a trail and exciting investor interest. The vast majority of marketed gene therapies deliver their therapeutic genes using viral vectors such as adeno-associated virus. However, important safety, efficacy, and manufacturing hurdles remain for the gene therapy field. For example, getting fragile genetic material to cells without causing significant side effects or having the immune system attack the therapy midway is proving even harder than scientists had thought. The post Non-Viral Gene Therapies Get €51M Boost, Though Challenges Remain appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

As pressure mounts to tackle climate change, the Danish Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted €84.7M to the world’s first research institution dedicated to capturing carbon dioxide from the air and harnessing the gas as a raw material. The new Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center has the mission to efficiently capture, store, and recycle the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). The research will focus on employing microbes and electrochemistry to turn the gas into components for fuel and plastic. The center will be set up at the University of Aarhus this autumn with the help of an €84.7M grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The grant will be paid out over the next seven years and additional contributions will be sought from organizations such as the Innovation Fund Denmark and the EU.   Pasi Vainikka, CEO of Finnish biotech Solar Foods, who wasn’t involved in the project, welcomed the new institute’s recognition of CO2 as a vital raw material. Solar Foods produces the natural protein Solein from microbes using only air and electricity. The post Novo Nordisk Foundation Pumps €85M into Carbon Capture Research appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The French biotech investment firm Jeito Capital has capped its first fund at an impressive €534M, just the latest example of the cash surge benefiting European life sciences investors this year. This year is set to break records in terms of the money flowing into institutional life science investors. With 2021 not even finished, European biotech investor funds have bagged over €6.5B. This vastly outperforms the €4.5B total in 2020 — which was itself a record-breaking year for biotech investments. According to Rafaèle Tordjman, Founder and CEO of the French firm Jeito Capital, this upwards trend is “one of the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis, which has raised awareness of the central role played by the biotech industry in solving the pandemic, and therefore the need to invest significantly in this capital-intensive industry.” Earlier this month, Jeito closed its first fund at €534M, making it one of the biggest venture capital (VC) funds in Europe. The announcement follows other impressive European fundraisings in recent months, The post Jeito Fundraise Cements Record Year for European Biotech Investments appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Will the daily routine of finger pricking to monitor blood sugar levels finally come to an end for the millions living with diabetes? Diabetes affects over 463 million people worldwide. Diabetics have to test their blood sugar levels several times a day, usually by pricking their finger with a lancet. This can be uncomfortable and painful for many, which can result in less frequent testing and consequently worse control of blood sugar levels. The last decade has seen the rise of blood sugar monitors that are installed by pricking the skin and only need replacing every few weeks. One of the best sellers is FreeStyle Libre, developed by Abbott Diabetes Care in the US, which measures glucose levels in the interstitial fluid between the cells right under the skin.  Many companies around the world aim to make the lives of millions of people with diabetes easier by developing non-invasive methods of glucose monitoring. Making these methods as accurate as traditional test strips is a tough undertaking, The post Needle-Free Diabetes Care: 7 Devices that Painlessly Monitor Blood Sugar appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a part of everyday modern life and continues to generate excitement. In this article, we will take a look at how biotechs are advancing into AI-facilitated early drug design, its real-world outcomes so far, and whether it is living up to its potential in the life science industry. AI enables computers and machines to learn from past behavior and mistakes, much like humans can. From search algorithms to self-driving cars and Siri, it is cemented in our daily lives.  In complex drug discovery, AI has the potential to make processes faster and more cost-effective, with the hope of reducing the time a new drug needs to reach the patient. The optimism surrounding AI has increased attention towards the technology from the life sciences industry.  Data scientists have become highly sought after, and AI-driven life science startups raised €8.45B ($10B) from 2015 through the first half of 2021. In the current pandemic, AI has been successfully used to identify potential drugs that could be used to treat Covid-19. The post Artificial Intelligence: A Road to Faster and Better Drug Discovery? appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

After years of under-fulfilled promise, breath tests for cancer, liver disease, and respiratory conditions appear to be taking off with UK biotech Owlstone Medical raking in almost €50M (£42M) in an oversubscribed Series D funding round. The round, whose original target was about €43M, was led by the Hong Kong-based Horizons Ventures and was joined by a number of unnamed new investors from the US, Asia, and the Middle East. It increased the total capital raised to date by the company to €128M (£109M) and earned Horizons a seat on the company’s board.  The idea that breath tests can be used for diagnostics is over a decade old—one historical focus has been the use of dogs to sniff out cancer. Ever since, scientists have been struggling to construct devices that can reliably do the same. Each breath sample is unique and carries information about the biochemical processes, including disease processes, throughout the body—yet collecting samples properly and analyzing them accurately has proven elusive time and again. The post Breath Testing To Be Tapped by UK Pioneer with €50M Fundraising appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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