Month: February 2013
-
Implant Drug Delivery Company Lands $9.5M Venture Funds
PolyActiva in Melbourne, Australia, a developer of a nanoscale drug delivery technology for medical implants, raised $AU 9.2 million ($US 9.5 million) in series B venture funds, the second financing round after initial start-up. Investors include the Australian venture funds Medical Research Commercialisation Fund, Brandon Biosciences Fund 1, and Yuuwa Capital, as well as a…
-
Roche, Biotech to Partner on Growth Hormone Disorders
The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche will license a compound developed by biotechnology company Chiasma Inc., based in New York and Jerusalem, to treat the hormonal disease acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors. The deal has a total potential value to Chiasma of $595 million. Chiasma develops drugs for oral administration previously available in injection form. The company’s…
-
Process Replaces Platinum with Iron as Fuel Cell Catalyst
Chemists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington designed a process that makes it possible for iron to replace expensive platinum as a catalyst to make electricity in hydrogen fuel cells. The team led by PNNL’s Morris Bullock published its findings online in yesterday’s issue of the journal Nature Chemistry (paid subscription required). Bullock,…
-
Challenge Seeks Discontinued Drugs to Treat Rare Diseases
A new challenge on InnoCentive asks for ideas on repurposing drugs no longer in development as therapies for rare diseases other than cancer. The sponsor of the competition, an unnamed biopharmaceutical company, will award a total purse of $10,000 to the best proposals. The deadline for submissions is 11 March 2013 (free registration required). Rare…
-
Personalized Chemotherapy Devised from Patients’ Tumors
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore developed a new lab technique to personalize the selection of chemotherapy drugs, with cell lines based on patients’ own tumors and genetically engineered mice. The findings of the team led by Johns Hopkins professor James Eshleman appear online in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research…
-
FDA Approves Electronic Artificial Retina Implant Device
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first implant device to restore some visual perception for adults with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease that damages the retina. The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is made by Second Sight Medical Products Inc. in Sylmar, California. Retinitis pigmentosa is an eye disease caused by genetic defects…
-
Smart Wall Panel Designed to Give Seniors Day-to-Day Help
University and company researchers in Germany are designing systems to be built into the walls of older peoples’ homes to help with simple day-to-day tasks as well as monitor their health. A team from Technical University Munich (Technische Universität München, TUM) will demonstrate the Living Independently in Südtirol/Alto Adige or LISA prototype on 20 February…
-
Report: Common Action Needed Against Fake, Substandard Drugs
A report from the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies in the U.S., calls for a new agreement on an international code of practice on drug quality to counter the growing health risks from illegimiate medicines. Among the recommendations in the report are a mandatory drug tracking system and tightening the licensing requirements…
-
Feasibility Shown of Spintronic Enabling Organic Materials
Engineers at University of Utah in Salt Lake City developed a process to create organic materials with the ability to conduct electricity on their edges, while the inside acts as an insulator. The team led by Utah professor Feng Liu published its findings in yesterday’s issue of the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). Materials…
-
New Faster Antibiotic Shown Effective for Skin Infections
A clinical trial found an antibiotic tablet designed to work faster than existing oral drugs worked as well as the current drugs to treat bacterial skin infections, including those resistant to current antibiotics. The results of the trial testing the new tedizolid phosphate against the current linezolid appear in today’s issue of the Journal of…