Month: August 2015
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Antibodies to Treat Cancer Complication Licensed to Pharma
17 August 2015. Aveo Oncology, a developer of biopharmaceuticals for cancer and related diseases, is licensing its engineered antibody designed to treat cachexia, a complication of cancer and other disorders, to the pharmaceutical company Novartis. The agreement could bring Aveo as much as $326 million over the course of the collaboration. Cachexia is a metabolic…
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Challenge Seeks Interventions for Epilepsy
14 August 2015. In a new challenge on InnoCentive, the Epilepsy Foundation is seeking methods and interventions to reduce sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. The competition has a purse of $30,000 and deadline for submissions of 13 October 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate and organization sponsors. Free…
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Oilseed Plant Engineered for Biofuel, Chemical Feedstocks
14 August 2015. A biochemistry lab at Kansas State University genetically engineered camelina oilseed plants to make them better feedstocks for biofuels and chemicals. The team led by Kansas State professor Timothy Durrett published its findings in the August issue of the journal Plant Biotechnology Journal (paid subscription required). Durrett, with colleagues from University of…
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Inside Air Monitor Devised as Smartphone Add-On
13 August 2015. Engineers in Finland designed a miniaturized system for measuring levels of carbon dioxide and other gases with smartphones to monitor interior air quality for health care needs. The team at VTT Technical Research Centre, an applied research institute in Finland, developed the monitor as an add-on to mobile devices, with a spin-off…
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Genetic Test Found to Save Drug Expense, Boost Adherence
13 August 2015. A genetic test to guide the choice of drugs prescribed to patients with psychiatric disorders was found to reduce the cost of medications to those patients and improve adherence to the drugs prescribed, compared to patients who were not given the test. Results of the study evaluating the GeneSight test, made by…
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Blood Disease Biotech Gains $120 Million in IPO
12 August 2015. Global Blood Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing treatments for blood-related disorders, is raising $120 million in its initial public stock offering. The company, in South San Francisco, California and trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol GBT, issued 6 million shares priced at $20.00. Shares closed today trading at $43.50, more…
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Protein Gels Being Devised to Simulate Human Functions
12 August 2015. New York University’s engineering school is developing a new type of protein-based gel materials that respond to and replicate natural biochemical processes. The three-year project, led by chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Jin Kim Montclare, is funded by a $368,000 grant from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Montclare and colleagues, at NYU’s…
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University Faculty Design Mood-Tracking Mobile App
11 August 2015. Faculty at University of Missouri in psychiatry and computer science built a smartphone app that allows people with depression to track their moods and share the data with their psychiatrists. The app, known as MoodTrek, is available free of charge on Android phones. An iPhone version is planned for the future. The…
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Trial Shows Fertility Treatment Boosts IVF Pregnancy Rate
11 August 2015. A clinical study of cellular treatments for women using in-vitro fertilization shows the treatments increased pregnancy rates compared to women receiving standard IVF alone. Findings from the study that tested treatments developed by IVF technology company OvaScience Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts are scheduled to be published on 25 August in the Journal…
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Astronauts to Eat Space-Grown Vegetables
10 August 2015. Astronauts in Expedition 44 on the International Space Station plan to eat fresh leafy vegetables today grown in their own lab. The red romaine lettuce on their menus is grown in a plant system, nicknamed Veggie — officially known as Veg-01 — and marks the first crops both grown and consumed in…