Category: Joint ventures/collaborations

  • Biotech, McGill Univ Partner on Soil Enhancement Microbes

    23 October 2014. Inocucor Technologies Inc. and McGill University are collaborating on development of new types of microbes that improve soil for greater yields of large-scale crops such as corn and soybeans. Financial details of the research and licensing agreement between the company and university, both in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, were not disclosed. Inocucor Technologies…

  • IBM, Health Tech, Univ Designing Critical Care Mobile System

    23 October 2014. IBM, University of Michigan, and mobile health technology company AirStrip are developing a system to provide real time monitoring and analytics for patients with chronic or critical disorders. The system is being designed to collect data directly from patients and provide early warning initially for hemodynamic decompensation, a type of heart failure…

  • Clinical Trial Proposals Sought for ALS Treatments

    22 October 2014. A group of U.S. organizations promoting research on therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS are seeking proposals from academic-industry research teams for intermediate stage clinical trials to test treatment candidates for the disease. The organizations — ALS Association, ALS Accelerated Therapeutics or ALS ACT, and Northeast ALS Consortium — plan to…

  • Project Developing DNA Antibodies for Infectious Diseases

    21 October 2014. The biotechnology company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. and partners are developing synthetic antibodies based on DNA that generate an immune reaction to prevent infectious diseases, a project funded by Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA. The $12.2 million DARPA grant is supporting the work of Inovia, in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania,…

  • Genomic Data Analysis Service Launches, Hosts Autism Data

    20 October 2014. NextCode Health, a start-up informatics company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, unveiled its NextCode Exchange, a shared online genomics database and analysis service for diagnostics and research with sequencing data. The 1 year-old company also is hosting a genomics database of people with autism for online access to researchers. NextCode Health says its databases…

  • Astellas, Harvard Partner on Retinitis Pigmentosa Targets

    14 October 2014. Astellas Pharma Inc. in Tokyo is collaborating with a genetics and ophthalmology lab at Harvard University to discover more about the onset of the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa and identify therapy targets. Financial details of the three-year deal with Harvard were not disclosed. Retinitis pigmentosa is a family of inherited eye disorders…

  • Drug Delivery, Rewards Companies Partner on Med. Adherence

    6 October 2014. West Pharmaceutical Services, a company producing devices for administering drugs, and HealthPrize Technologies that offers an online system for rewarding patients when they follow medication instructions, are collaborating on a platform that connects their products into a service to boost medication adherence. Financial details of the venture were not disclosed. The companies…

  • Tissue Engineers, Biotech Firm Partner on Cartilage Repair

    3 October 2014. Histogenics Corp. that develops replacement cartilage is licensing technology from Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company producing engineered genetics for commercial applications, for a new process to repair cartilage injuries with a patient’s own cells. The deal has a potential value of at least $44.5 million to Intrexon, but could also result in…

  • Biotech Firms Find Genetic Drivers for Uterine Cancers

    19 September 2014. Researchers with the companies Personal Genome Diagnostics and Blueprint Medicines identified genetic mutations associated with carcinosarcoma, a rare but deadly form of cancer affecting the female reproductive system also known as malignant mixed Mullerian tumors. The team that includes members from Johns Hopkins University and Oregon Health and Science University published its…

  • Sanofi, MyoKardia Partner on Genetic Heart Disorders

    17 September 2014. The pharmaceutical company Sanofi and biopharmaceutical developer MyoKardia are collaborating on development and commercialization of three MyoKardia therapies for inherited heart diseases. The deal could earn MyoKardia as much as $200 million in milestone payments and equity investments from Sanofi. MyoKardia, in South San Francisco, California, designs small-molecule therapies for two types…