Category: Joint ventures/collaborations
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Company-Institute Teams to Tackle Residual HIV Infection
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of National Institutes of Health awarded three research teams more than $14 million a year, for up to five years, to develop strategies to help rid the body of HIV infections. The grants to project teams composed of private companies and universities or research institutes are…
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International Team Completes Draft Sequence of Potato Genome
The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium (PGSC), a global group of universities and research institutes, has published a draft sequence of the potato genome. Their work appears in the current issue of the journal Nature. PGSC began in 2006 at Wageningen University & Research Centre in the Netherlands, and has grown to include 29 research groups…
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Generic Drugs Can Generate Sharp Health Care Cost Reductions
Researchers from Harvard University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and CVS Caremark have found that expanded use of generic medications for chronic disease can significantly reduce the cost of preventive health care. Their findings appear in the July issue of the journal Health Affairs (paid subscription required). The study concludes that preventive health care…
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NIH Study to Research Health Effects of BP Oil Spill
A network of researchers funded by NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) will evaluate potential harmful effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on reproduction and birth outcomes, the cardiorespiratory system, and behavior and mental health. University and community participants will study the level of potentially harmful contaminants in air, water, and seafood, and…
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Global Study Identifies Top Mental Health Challenges
A large-scale study conducted worldwide has identified the top global challenges in mental health. A report of the study appears in the current issue of the journal Nature (paid subscription required). The Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health Initiative, led by the National Institutes of Health and the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, identified the…
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Sanofi, Rib-X to Collaborate on New Types of Antibiotics
The global pharmaceutical firm Sanofi has agreed to jointly develop new antibiotic technology with the biotechnology company Rib-X Pharmaceuticals in New Haven, Connecticut. The agreement includes an option for Sanofi to license the technology from Rib-X that treats resistant pathogens. Rib-X’s RX-04 program is developing new types of antibiotics aimed at drug-resistant pathogens, which the…
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Pharmas, BioPontis Alliance Partner on Translational Science
BioPontis Alliance, a hybrid investment fund and product development company in Raleigh, North Carolina, and global pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. agreed to collaborate on translational technology development supported by BioPontis. The companies announced the deal at the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington, D.C. BioPontis establishes research alliances with academic-research institutes, where BioPontis searches for…
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Biotech, NGO Partnership Advances Sleeping Sickness Drug
A consortium of two biotechnology companies and non-government organization have completed preclinical studies of a potential treatment for sleeping sickness. The partners — Anacor Pharmaceuticals in Palo Alto, California, SCYNEXIS Inc. in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in Geneva, Switzerland — published their findings in the journal PLoS…
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Genentech Gets Rights, Can Buy Out Biotech Research Program
The biotechnology company Forma Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts says it has an agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, granting Genentech exclusive rights to acquire one of Forma’s pre-clinical small molecule cancer research programs. The specific cancer target of the therapy under development is not disclosed. The agreement begins as a research collaboration…
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U.S., Australian Universities Collaborate on Biofuels R&D
Clemson University in South Carolina and University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia have agreed to exchange research and create a joint biofuels development program. The institutions will raise public and private funds to advance biofuel research, and further development and commercialization of ethanol and biodiesel production. Cellulosic biofuel technology uses the plant’s cell walls to…