Month: January 2015
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Challenge Seeks Exosome Drug Delivery Technologies
23 January 2015. A new challenge on InnoCentive is asking for systematic techniques for using exosomes, tiny components that cells secrete for specialized functions, as vehicles to deliver drugs. The challenge has a purse of $30,000 and a submission deadline of 17 February 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate and…
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UC-Davis, National Labs to Train Science Entrepreneurs
23 January 2015. Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories are partnering with the Graduate School of Management at University of California in Davis to train scientists in entrepreneurial skills to take their discoveries to market. The pilot program, called Lab-Corps, is funded by a $350,000 grant from U.S. Department of Energy, parent agency of the…
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Mobile Heart Monitor Algorithm Approved in Europe
22 January 2015. An algorithm analyzing signals to detect atrial fibrillation from a heart monitor built into mobile devices received regulatory approval in Europe. AliveCor, a developer of heart monitoring systems for mobile devices, says the company received the Conformité Européene or CE mark for the algorithm that analyzes heart monitoring signals in its AliveECG…
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Cancer Therapy Spin-Off Formed with $45M Funding
22 January 2015. Autolus Ltd., a new enterprise developing engineered immune-system cells for treating cancer, is being formed in London, with £30 million ($45.4 million) in early financing. The company is founded and commercializing research by Martin Pule, a hematologist at University College London. Pule, who serves as Autolus’s chief scientist, studies T-cells, white blood…
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FDA Approves Novartis Psoriasis Drug
21 January 2015. U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the biologic drug secukinumab for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, a common skin disorder. Secukinumab, an antibody designed specifically to address the condition, is marketed by the pharmaceutical company Novartis under the brand name Cosentyx. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis, an…
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Zymeworks, Celgene to Develop Double-Binding Antibodies
21 January 2015. Zymeworks Inc., a biotechnology company in Vancouver, Canada and pharmaceutical maker Celgene Inc. are developing biologic therapies using Zymeworks’ antibody technology. The deal makes Zymeworks eligible for up to $164 million from Celgene for each candidate developed under the partnership, as well as an unspecified initial payment and equity investment. Under the…
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University Spin-Off Develops Bone Repair Technology
20 January 2015. A materials science research center and university spin-off company in Ireland are developing a technology using natural materials to repair bones in people and animals. The bone-repair technology is a product of Ireland’s Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research (Amber) center at Trinity College in Dublin and SurgaColl Technologies in Cork, a spin-off…
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Trial Testing Gene Therapy for Rare Eye Disorder
20 January 2015. An early-stage clinical trial is underway testing a gene-repair therapy for choroideremia, a rare progressive genetic eye disorder that leads to blindness. The trial, conducted at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia began enrolling its first patients, according to Spark Therapeutics, also of Philadelphia, the biotechnology company leading the study. Choroideremia is associated with…
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FDA Issues Draft Wellness Device Guidance
19 January 2015. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday released draft guidance defining low-risk general wellness devices that the agency intends to exclude from regulatory oversight. The 8-page document, published on the FDA Web site, will be open for comment for 90 days beginning tomorrow. FDA says it prepared the document to answers…
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Neuropore, UCB Partner on Parkinson’s Drugs
16 January 2015. UCB, a biopharmaceutical company in Brussels, is licensing an experimental drug to treat Parkinson’s disease developed by Neuropore Therapies Inc., a biotechnology company in San Diego. The agreement gives UCB a worldwide license for the compound and is expected to pay Neuropore as much as $480 million. Parkinson’s disease occurs when the brain…