Category: Joint ventures/collaborations
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SpaceX Mission to Carry University Pathogen Research
12 December 2014. The next launch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station will carry a set of specially-configured petri dishes testing the effect of microgravity on the virulence of salmonella bacteria. The research is the work of microbiologists at Arizona State University and engineers at University of Colorado in Boulder. Salmonella…
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Chikungunya Virus Antibody Isolated, Tested
10 December 2014. Researchers from biotechnology company Integral Molecular and Blood Systems Research Institute identified and tested with lab animals a human antibody that limits viral activity causing chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease spreading in the Western hemisphere. The team led by Integral Molecular CEO Benjamin Doranz published its findings in this month’s issue of Journal…
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Pfizer, Biotech Partner on Hemophilia B Gene Therapy
8 December 2014. Spark Therapeutics, a biotechnology firm in Philadelphia, is collaborating with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to commercialize Spark’s gene therapy technology as a treatment for hemophilia B. Spark Therapeutics can gain as much as $280 million in the deal that involves sharing worldwide rights to Spark’s technology for hemophilia B with Pfizer. Hemophilia…
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Yale Univ, Organovo to Develop 3-D Print Transplant Tissue
3 December 2014. Yale University and Organovo Inc. in San Diego are collaborating on development of synthetic tissue produced on three-dimensional printers for research on transplants in humans. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed, but Yale and Organovo say the project is funded by the Methuselah Foundation. Organovo designs and produces human tissue…
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Analytics, Genomics Companies Partner on Cancer Therapies
3 December 2014. Flatiron Health, a health care data-analytics firm, and the genomics analysis company Foundation Medicine are developing automated tools to better design cancer treatments matching patients’ molecular profiles, particularly for testing new therapies in clinical trials. Financial aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed. Foundation Medicine, in Cambridge, Massachusetts — founded by scientists at…
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AstraZeneca, Lilly Begin Alzheimer’s Drug Trial
1 December 2014. The pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly and Company began enrolling patients in a clinical trial testing an experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The intermediate and late-stage trial aims to recruit some 1,550 patients in 15 countries to test safety and effectiveness of the drug code-named AZD3293 against a placebo with patients…
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Human Longevity Accessing Twins Genomic Database
13 November 2014. Human Longevity Inc., a bioinformatics and genomics company for solving age-related medical problems, is getting access to a database of genome and gut microbe samples from twins in the U.K. to provide a broader analytical base for designing new diagnostics and therapies. Financial details of the agreement between the San Diego company founded…
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Type 2 Diabetes Technology Licensed in $1 Billion Deal
12 November 2014. Intarcia Therapeutics Inc., developing a drug and delivery mechanism to treat type 2 diabetes, licensed its technology to the pharmaceutical company Servier in a deal with a potential value of $1 billion. The agreement gives Servier exclusive rights to Intarcia’s diabetes treatment technology to regions outside of the U.S. and Japan. Intarcia’s…
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Trial Shows Engineered Antibody Relieves Psoriasis
11 November 2014. A late-stage clinical trial shows a monoclonal antibody, a type of engineered biological therapy, cleared more people of the skin condition plaque psoriasis than a placebo or a competitive treatment. The biologic drug, brodalumab, is developed by the biotechnology company Amgen and pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type…
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Takada Pharma, GE Healthcare to Partner on Liver Disease
11 November 2014. Takada Pharmaceutical Company and GE Healthcare are collaborating on research into scarring of liver tissue that happens when damage occurs, often from fat building up in the liver, an increasingly common condition. Financial terms of the partnership, announced today at a meeting of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston,…