Month: January 2015
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Biotech Licenses Cell Research for Ebola Treatments
8 January 2015. H&P Labs, a biotechnology company in Montreal, is licensing research on cell proteins at a lab affliated with Harvard University to develop into treatments for Ebola. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. The current Ebola outbreak in Africa that began in March 2014 totals 20,747 cases resulting in 8,235 deaths,…
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Fertility Science Company Raises $115 Million in IPO
8 January 2015. OvaScience Inc., a developer of fertility treatments using a woman’s early-forming egg cells, issued its initial public offering of common stock, raising some $115 million. The Cambridge, Massachusetts company that trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol OVAS, issued 2.3 million shares yesterday priced at $50.00. At 12 noon on 8…
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Biotech, Device Maker Partner on Retinal Disease Therapy
7 January 2015. GenSight Biologics, a Paris-based biotechnology company, and Pixium Vision, a developer of vision restoration systems also in Paris, are collaborating with a French vision and hearing foundation to design a therapy for people with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder causing people to lose their vision over time. The project is funded by…
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Novartis Licensing Biotechs’ Gene-Editing Technologies
7 January 2015. Pharmaceutical maker Novartis is licensing technologies from two biotechnology companies that enable the editing of human genomes to cure disease. Financial details of the agreements with Caribou Biosciences Inc. in Berkeley, California and Intellia Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts were not disclosed, but involve equity investments, initial payments and research support, and milestone…
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Genentech, 23andMe to Analyze Parkinson’s Genome Data
6 January 2015. Personal genomics company 23andMe plans to analyze the genomes of 3,000 of its clients to discover new Parkinson’s disease drug targets for biotechnology company Genentech, a division of the pharmaceutical company Roche. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 23andMe, in Mountain View, California, provides genetic ancestry testing services, but also…
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Gilead Acquires Biotech Liver Disease Therapies
6 January 2015. Biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences bought an experimental drug to treat non-alcoholic liver diseases from Phenex Pharmaceuticals AG, a German biotechnology firm. Gilead, in Foster City, California, is expected to pay Phenex up to $470 million for the drug. Under the deal, Gilead acquires Phenex’s work developing a drug that binds to and…
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RNA Therapies Company Gains $450M in Venture Funds
5 January 2015. Moderna Therapeutics, a developer of medications that use genetic material to produce therapeutic proteins in the body, raised $450 million in its third announced venture financing round. The Cambridge, Massachusetts biotechnology company says existing investors AstraZeneca and Alexion Pharmaceuticals joined with new participants Viking Global Investors LP, Invus, RA Capital Management, and…
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Amgen, Kite Pharma Partner on Personal Cancer Immunotherapy
5 January 2014. The biotechnology companies Amgen and Kite Pharma are developing personalized cancer treatments harnessing the immune system in a deal combining Amgen’s targets with Kite Pharma’s cell therapies. The agreement is expected to bring up to $525 million in milestone payments plus sales royalties to each company, as well as an upfront payment…
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Computer Model Predicts Bacteria Mutations, Aids Drug Design
2 January 2014. Researchers at Duke University and University of Connecticut wrote a mathematical model with open-source software that predicts mutations in bacteria to help design treatments for bacteria resistant to antibiotics. A team of computer scientists and biochemists from the two universities published their findings on 31 December 2014 in Proceedings of the National…
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Happy New Year
1 January 2015. Science and Enterprise wishes all of our visitors a joyous holiday and successful 2015, in any way you define that term. To celebrate the holiday and begin 2015, we offer the new year anthem Auld Lang Syne, sung by Mexican singer and composer Malukah. Science and Enterprise will return to regular posting…