Science and Enterprise

Month: September 2014

  • Johnson & Johnson Acquires Biotech Developing Anti-Virals

    30 September 2014. The biotechnology company Alios BioPharma Inc., a developer of anti-viral medications, is being acquired by health care products enterprise Johnson & Johnson for $1.75 billion. The all-cash deal will add Alios BioPharma’s pipeline to the portfolio of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson. Alios BioPharma, in South San Francisco, California,…

  • Nerve-Blocking Treatment for Diabetes Approved in Europe

    29 September 2014. EnteroMedics Inc., a medical device developer in St. Paul, Minnesota, says marketing approval in Europe for its vagus nerve blocking device for obesity is extended to cover type 2 diabetes. A CE Mark, which signifies approval to market regulated products such as medical devices in the European Union and associated countries, is…

  • Investment Fund Launches to Support Stem Cell Ventures

    29 September 2014. ReproCell Inc., a developer of stem cell lines for research and therapies in Yokohama, Japan, is starting an investment fund that aims to back new biotechnology companies bringing stem cell research to market. The fund, called Cell Innovation Partners, begins with ¥800 million ($US 7.3 million) in capital, provided by Shinsei Corporate…

  • Lower Drug Dose Reduces Cataract Surgery Inflammation, Pain

    26 September 2014. A clinical trial of more than 500 patients shows a lower-dose formulation of a current medication reduces eye pain and inflammation among more post-surgical cataract patients than a placebo. Bausch and Lomb, a subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals in Laval, Quebec, Canada, reported today results of the late-stage clinical trial. The trial tested…

  • Solar Water-Splitting System Produces Hydrogen for Energy

    26 September 2014. Engineers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland designed a solar energy system made of inexpensive and abundant materials that efficiently splits water into hydrogen and oxygen for producing electricity. The team from the lab of EPFL’s Michael Grätzel, with colleagues from Singapore and Korea, published its findings in today’s…

  • Shanah Tovah 5775

    Science and Enterprise is taking off on Thursday, 25 September to observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. We wish everyone of any faith or without, a happy and healthy new year, 5775 in our calendar. We will resume regular posting on Friday. *     *     *

  • Biotech Company Licenses Caltech Immunotherapy Research

    24 September 2014. ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd., a developer of cancer therapies harnessing the immune system, is licensing technology developed in the lab of David Baltimore at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena that derives cancer-fighting cells from a person’s own blood-forming stem cells. Financial terms of the exclusive license to ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, based in Los…

  • Chip Emulates Human Airway Muscles to Test Asthma Treatments

    24 September 2014. Biomedical engineers at Harvard University developed a model of human airway muscles on a miniaturized chip that emulates their actions during an asthma attack. The senior author of the paper describing the airway muscles chip, Kevin Kit Parker, is also a recipient of a new National Institutes of Health grant to develop…

  • Safety Trial Underway for Addiction Drug Candidate

    23 September 2014. A clinical trial is underway testing the safety of a new therapy designed to treat addictions and compulsive behavior by Savant HWP, a drug development company in San Carlos, California. The study is testing the compound 18-methoxycoronaridine or 18-MC, conducted in South America by a Brazilian partner company identified as Hebron Farmaceutica…

  • U.S., Canada Authorities OK Biotech Ebola Treatments

    23 September 2014. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company providing its experimental therapy for people with suspected or confirmed Ebola infections. The Vancouver, British Columbia biotechnology company says approval of its therapy called TKM-Ebola is part of a larger regulatory framework for the treatments worked out with FDA and…