Month: January 2014
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Techniques Boost Range, Accuracy of Wireless ID Signals
Engineers at University of Cambridge in the U.K. developed techniques to vastly improve the range and accuracy of passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags used to identify passports, luggage, and goods in transit. The team led by Cambridge research fellow Sabesan Sithamparanathan published its findings online in the journal IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (paid…
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FDA Fast-Track Granted to Cancer Therapy Side-Effects Drug
BioAlliance Pharma SA in Paris says its drug candidate to treat inflammation of the mucus membranes in the mouth, resulting from chemo- or radiation therapy to treat cancer, received fast-track status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Validive, the drug’s brand name, is designed for patients with head and neck cancers. Oral mucositis is…
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Synthetic Bio Platform Finds Potential Superbug Antibiotic
Researchers at University of California in San Diego created a process for cloning synthetic gene clusters from marine bacteria that generate molecules with therapeutic potential, and produced an antibiotic candidate to treat previously drug-resistant infections. The team led by UC-San Diego oceanography and pharmacy professor Bradley Moore, published its findings yesterday online in the journal…
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Cancer Organizations, Biotech Partner on Drug Discovery
Institute of Cancer Research and Cancer Research Technology in London, and the drug discovery company Nuevolution A/S in Copenhagen, are collaborating on identifying leads for new cancer treatments that act on a promising biological pathway. The agreement includes the option to co-develop therapies from candidates identified in the project, but financial aspects of the deal…
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Simple, Sensitive Biosensors Derived from Engineered Viruses
Bioengineers at University of California in Berkeley developed a process for making sensors from genetically-engineered viruses simple enough to package in a smartphone app, yet can discriminate among volatile chemical vapors. The team from the lab of bioengineering professor Seung-Wuk Lee, with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab — where Lee is also on the…
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Trial Underway Testing Head-Neck Cancer Immunotherapy
Advaxis Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Princeton, New Jersey, began dosing the first patient in clinical trial testing a therapy that harnesses the immune system to treat head and neck cancer caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. The therapy is designed as part of a therapy strategy that includes robotic surgery to remove the…
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EU-Funded Project to Develop Biomaterials for Stents
Ceram, a materials technology company in Stoke-on-Trent in the U.K., is coordinating a project funded by the European Commission to develop new biocompatible materials suitable for stents that help keep blood vessels open in the heart. The project, known as Rebiostent, is receiving €4.58 million of its €5.87 million ($US 6.19 million of $7.93 million)…
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Challenge Seeks Ways to Make Trace Minerals More Available
A new challenge on InnoCentive is looking for different methods for making more available in people’s diets minerals the body needs in small quantities. The competition has a total guaranteed purse of $7,000, with a deadline for submissions of 15 February 2014. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate and organization sponsors. In…
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European Venture Licenses Biotech Drought-Resistant Traits
Genective, a joint venture between German and French seed companies to develop new corn varieties, is licensing engineered gene science from the biotechnology company Arcadia Biosciences Inc. in Davis, California. Arcadia Biosciences will receive initial, milestone, and sales royalty payments under the agreement, but the dollar amount of the deal was not disclosed. Arcadia Biosciences…
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Drugs Found with Potential to Replace Traumatic Memories
Neuroscientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology found a class of drug compounds, some of which are now in use, can erase fear-causing memories in lab mice, and thus could treat post-traumatic stress disorder. The team from the lab of Li-Huei Tsai in MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory published its findings today in the…