Science and Enterprise

Month: March 2014

  • Injectable Hydrogel Developed to Prevent Heart Attack Damage

    31 March 2014. Engineers and medical researchers at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia developed a polymer gel that in animal tests shows the ability to prevent some of the cardiac damage that can occur from a heart attack. The team led by biomedical engineering professor Jason Burdick, which includes members from University of South Carolina…

  • Trial to Test Engineered DNA Therapy for Preeclampsia

    31 March 2014. The biopharmaceutical company rEVO Biologics in Framingham, Massachusetts is starting a clinical trial of its drug ATryn to treat women in mid-pregnancy with preeclampsia. The company says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its approval for the trial to begin. Preeclampsia is a life-threatening condition resulting from a sudden rise in…

  • Challenge Seeks New Uses for Trial-Tested Drug Compounds

    28 March 2014. A new challenge on InnoCentive asks the medical research community for additional uses for drug compounds previously tested in clinical trials by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. The challenge has a prize of $15,000, and a deadline for submissions of 31 May 2014 (free registration required). InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing…

  • Novo Nordisk, University Partner on Diabetes in Big Cities

    28 March 2014. The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, based in Denmark, and University College London in the U.K. are studying the scope of diabetes in big cities to develop a strategy for attacking the problem, while accounting for the special needs of urban centers. The Cities Changing Diabetes project, which includes Steno Diabetes Center, a…

  • Engineered Cardiac Tissue Helps Veins Return Blood to Heart

    27 March 2014. A pharmacologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. developed a technique to produce heart muscle tissue from an individual’s stem cells that helps weak veins return blood back to the heart. The creator of the process, GWU medical school professor Narine Sarvazyan, discussed the technology in a recent online issue of…

  • Drug Discovery Consortium Harnesses Sequencing, Big Data

    27 March 2014. A collaboration among the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, European Bioinformatics Institute, and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute aims to tap the power of genomic sequencing combined with bioinformatics to boost the success rate of discovering safe and effective medicines. Financial details of the partnership creating the new Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation were not disclosed. The consortium…

  • Investments Added to Breakout Labs Life Science Seed Grants

    26 March 2014. NetScientific in Cambridge, U.K. is adding investment funds for qualified life science enterprises taking part in Breakout Labs to help them advance beyond the initial start-up phase. Under the deal, Breakout Labs portfolio companies fitting into NetScientific’s investment priorities will qualify for $250,000 in follow-on investment beyond Breakout Labs’ $350,000 in seed…

  • Lab Chip Device Developed to Test Engineered Plant Traits

    26 March 2014. Engineers at Iowa State University in Ames created a device about the size of a microscope slide that can quickly test the effects of genetic changes on plant characteristics, rather than growing sample seeds in soil. The team led by electrical and computer engineering professor Liang Dong, with colleagues from Iowa State…

  • Biotech Group Issues Clinical Trial Data Sharing Guidelines

    25 March 2014. Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today released its principles for sharing data from clinical trials that encourage making more data available from clinical trials, but leave procedures for sharing up to the individual companies. The guidelines cover programs resulting in approved medicines, as well as those discontinued for safety or efficacy reasons, although…

  • Light-Activated Coating Kills Bacteria, Even in Dark

    25 March 2014. Chemistry researchers at University College London in the U.K. developed a material that when coated on surfaces in the lab can kill bacteria when exposed to light, as well as in total darkness. The team led by UCL chemistry professor Ivan Parkin published its findings online earlier this month in the journal…