Science and Enterprise

Month: January 2012

  • Canadian Govt Opens Call for Personalized Medicines R&D

    The Canadian government opened a matching grant competition for research proposals on personalized medicine. The call seeks research proposals that can take treatments from “one size fits all” to more precise treatments and interventions addressing specific characteristics of the individual, made possible by new diagnostic technologies that look at patients’ unique genetic signatures. The competition…

  • $600K Foundation Grant to Fund Cancer Genomics Research

    The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) has awarded a $600,000 grant to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix and the University of Arizona in Tucson for the study of targeted cancer therapies. The three-year grant will enable TGen and the university to continue its NFCR Center for Targeted Cancer Therapies, created in…

  • Maryland Utility to Purchase Solar Contest Winning House

    The electric utility company Pepco says it will purchase the WaterShed house that won the 2011 Solar Decathlon contest in October. The house was built by faculty and students at the University of Maryland in College Park, its current location. The 2011 Solar Decathlon pitted 20 teams representing institutions in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and…

  • Pharmas, Foundations, Agencies Partner on Tropical Diseases

    In London yesterday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 13 pharmaceutical companies, three governments, the World Bank and global health agencies announced a new plan to eliminate or control 10 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020. The effort announced at an event at the Royal College of Physicians is aimed at 1.4 billion people living…

  • FDA Approves Genentech Skin Cancer Drug

    The Food and Drug Administration today approved the drug vismodegib to treat adult patients with basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer. The drug, marketed under the brand name Erivedge by Genentech in South San Francisco, is intended for use in patients with locally advanced basal cell cancer who are not candidates…

  • Nanotech Paint Devised to Monitor for Structural Damage

    Researcher engineers at University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, U.K. have developed a type of paint that can help detect early signs of structural damage in bridges or buildings. Because this “smart paint” can be applied like any other paint and requires little maintenance, it costs a small fraction of traditional instrument-based sensors. Strathclyde civil engineering…

  • Venture Investment for European Companies Drops in 2011

    Venture capital declined 14 percent and number of deals dropped 19 percent for European companies in 2011 compared to 2010, with €4.4 billion ($US 5.8 billion) going into 1,012 deals. Industries based on scientific discoveries were among those suffering double-digit percentage declines from the previous year. Dow Jones VentureSource that compiled the data says it…

  • Knee Replacement Maker Lands $89M Series E Financing

    ConforMIS Inc. in Burlington, Massachusetts, a developer of customized knee-replacement implant technology, has raised $89 million in a series E round of funding, the fifth investment cycle after start up. The privately held company says the investments were made by private equity funds, led by AGC Equity Partners and Axel Johnson Inc., along with government…

  • FDA Approves Pfizer Drug for Advanced Kidney Cancer

    The Food and Drug Administration today approved the drug axitinib to treat patients with renal cell carcinoma, a form of advanced kidney cancer, who have not responded to another drug for this type of cancer. The drug is made by Pfizer Inc. in New York and marketed under the brand name Inlyta. Renal cell carcinoma…

  • VC Company, Harvard Start Seed-Stage Fund

    The Experiment Fund, a joint venture of Harvard University’s engineering school and venture capital company New Enterprise Associates (NEA), opened today in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The fund plans to support technology-based student start-ups in Cambridge and companies begun elsewhere by former students. The venture expects to support companies working in information technologies, health care, and energy.…