Month: February 2015
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Biochemistry Spin-Off Formed, Gains $45M Funding
4 February 2015. Revolution Medicines Inc., a spin-off enterprise based on research in protein chemistry at University of Illinois, is starting up with $45 million in first-round venture funds. The company is founded by Illinois biochemistry professor Martin Burke, and initially financed by Third Rock Ventures, a San Francisco venture capital firm. Burke’s lab in…
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Biosimilar Shown Effective for Rheumatoid Arthritis
4 February 2015. A biologic therapy for rheumatoid arthritis was shown to work as well as an approved name-brand biologic treatment in a late-stage clinical trial, according to findings released by biotechnology company Amgen. The study found Amgen’s biologic code-named ABP501 performed as well as adalimumab, marketed as Humira by AbbVie, in relieving symptoms of…
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Multiple Sclerosis Patients to Crowdsource Health Data
3 February 2015. A new initiative, called iConquerMS, is recruiting 20,000 patients with multiple sclerosis in the U.S. to offer their health data and research ideas to find a cure for the disease. iConquerMS is an undertaking of the Accelerated Cure Project for MS, with the research network segment funded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute or…
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Neuro Disease Biotech Raises $20M in Early Funds
3 February 2015. Lysosomal Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company developing treatments for inherited neurodegenerative disorders, raised $20 million in its first venture funding round. The Cambridge, Massachusetts enterprise, begun last year, is backed by several venture capital funds and pharmaceutical companies. Lysosomal Therapeutics is based on the research of Dimitri Krainc, a neurologist now at Northwestern…
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NIH Grant Funding Stress-Obesity Control System
2 February 2015. A team from University of Massachusetts Medical School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute are creating a smartphone app combined with a cloud-based data store to help people who overeat due to stress control their eating. The system known as the RELAX Application Suite is funded by a 3-year, $2 million grant from National…
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Lung Cancer Antibody Given FDA Breakthrough Tag
2 February 2015. An experimental engineered antibody for treating lung cancer received a breakthrough designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Genentech, a biotechnology subsidiary of drug maker Roche, says breakthrough status was granted for its cancer immunotherapy code-named MPDL3280A to treat programmed death-ligand 1 or PD-L1 positive non-small cell lung cancer whose disease…