Category: Joint ventures/collaborations
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MedImmune, Biotech to Partner on Cancer Immunotherapies
MedImmune in Gaithersburg, Maryland, the biologics division of pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Immunocore Ltd. in Oxford, U.K. will develop cancer treatments that harness the body’s immune system, based on Immunocore’s technology. The deal will pay Immunocore, for each therapy program licensed by MedImmune, $20 million initially and another $300 million in milestone payments, as well…
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U.S., Europe Pharma Industries Implement Trial Data Sharing
Pharmaceutical industry associations in the U.S. and Europe began implementing their agreement from this past summer to provide more access to data from clinical trials conducted by their member companies. One of those companies, Paris-based Sanofi, released its procedures today for accessing its clinical trial data. The new processes are a result of a set…
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Large Genomic Study Finds New Rheumatoid Arthritis Targets
An international consortium of 70 institutions and companies combined genome-wide analyses with current drug databases to uncover new genomic targets for rheumatoid arthritis, and identify drugs for other diseases with the potential to treat the disorder. The team led by Robert Plenge of Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute and Yukinori Okada from the…
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Sugar Beet Genome Sequenced, Human Impact on Species Noted
Geneticists and computer scientists in Germany, Spain, and Sweden sequenced the genome of the sugar beet, a plant contributing a large segment of the world’s sugar production. The study offers an analytical reference for advances in biotechnology with implications for agriculture and renewable energy. The team led by biology professor Bernd Weisshaar at Bielefeld University…
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Bayer Acquires Cancer Drug Developer Algeta for $2.9B
The global pharmaceutical company Bayer Group based in Germany is buying the specialty drug company Algeta ASA in Oslo, Norway for NOK 17.6 billion (USD 2.9 billion). Algeta, developer of a radium-based drug to treat prostate cancer, says its board of directors approved the sale, subject to confirmation by shareholders. Bayer and Algeta collaborated on…
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Neurotherapies Require Collaboration, Team Science, Big Data
In a briefing today on Capitol Hill, University of Pennsylvania biomedical engineer and neurologist Brian Litt outlined requirements for harnessing promising research for patients suffering from brain disorders. The briefing in Washington, D.C. was organized by the journal Science Translational Medicine and its publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science. Litt, who is on…
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Gene Therapy Shows Long-Term Benefit for Heart Failure
A therapy using genes to induce production of an enzyme for heart cells to restore their use of calcium was found to help heart failure patients in a clinical trial reduce their incidents of cardiac problems over a three-year period. Researchers at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, with colleagues from the biotechnology company…
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Roche, Biotech Ink Cancer Vaccine/Immunotherapy Deal
The company immatics biotechnologies GmbH in Tuebingen, Germany and the global pharmaceutical maker Roche will collaborate on discovery and development of cancer vaccines and therapies that harness the human immune system. The deal will provide immatics (spelled in all lower case) an immediate payment of $17 million, but future payments to the company could reach…
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Cancer Genomics Precision-Medicine Center Opens in Boston
A group of research institutes and hospitals in Boston is opening a new lab to study the science leading to individualized cancer therapies based on the genomic make-up of a patient’s tumors. The Joint Center for Cancer Precision Medicine is a collaboration of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the…
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GlaxoSmithKline Names Academic Drug Discovery Partners
The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline named 10 academic scientists to its Discovery Fast Track competition that aims to turn university research findings into new therapies. The researchers will get access to GlaxoSmithKline’s facilities and materials to accelerate the drug discovery process, potentially leading to a collaboration to further develop the compound. Discovery Fast Track began in…