Month: December 2015
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Computer Vision Devised as Drug Discovery Technique
15 December 2015. Pharmaceutical chemists at University of California in San Francisco developed techniques for adapting computer vision, like those used in robotics, to early-stage drug discovery. The team led by UC-San Francisco’s Steven Altschuler and Lani Wu describe its discovery in yesterday’s issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Altschuler and Wu,…
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Hitting the Road
14 December 2015. Science and Enterprise is returning from a conference this weekend, so we will have no posts today. We’ll continue with our regular posting tomorrow. * * *
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Spin-Off Developing Gene Therapies for Blood Disorders
11 December 2015. A new spin-off company from University College London in the U.K. is developing gene therapies to treat hemophilia and related diseases. The company, Freeline Therapeutics, is raising £25 million ($US 38 million) in its first venture funding round. Freeline Therapeutics is founded and commercializing research by UCL hematology professor Amit Nathwani, who…
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More PhDs Heading to Industry, Improve Earnings
11 December 2015. An analysis of recent grant-funded Ph.D. recipients shows a large number of new doctorates taking jobs in industry, particularly with larger companies paying higher salaries. The study of federal and other grant-supported doctorates, conducted by researchers at several universities and policy institutes, appears in today’s issue of the journal Science (paid subscription…
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Biotech to Explore Gut-Brain Connections, Raises $44M
10 December 2015. A new biotechnology start-up plans to derive medical and consumer products from interactions between the human gut and brain. Kallyope Inc. in New York City is founded by biomedical researchers at Columbia University and raising $44 million its first venture funding round. Kallyope is designing a technology that harnesses communication pathways between…
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Nanotech Multi-Drug Delivery Technique Devised for Cancer
10 December 2015. A pharmacy lab at Oregon State University developed a technique for combining three drugs into nanoscale particles that treat melanoma spreading to lymph nodes in lab animals. The team led by Oregon State pharmacy professor Adam Alani published its proof-of-concept findings last month in Journal of Controlled Release (paid subscription required). Alani’s…
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Researchers Develop Eye Injury Test, Start Company
9 December 2015. A medical and engineering team at University of Illinois in Champaign designed a sensor providing a quick, portable test for the severity of eye injuries. The researchers led by bioengineering professor Dipanjan Pan and ophthalmologist Leanne Labriola at Carle Foundation Hospital affiliated with the university described the proof-of-concept device last month in the…
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University Spin-Off Develops Pain Killer Patch
8 December 2015. A new company begun by a chemistry professor in the U.K. is developing a patch infused with ibuprofen for people needing relief from pain or inflammation from arthritis. Medherant Ltd., in Coventry, is developing the patch based on research at University of Warwick conducted by David Haddleton, who founded the company and…
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High Blood Cancer Response Rates Found for Cell Therapies
8 December 2015. Two clinical trials of personalized immune cells to treat blood-related cancers — acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults — showed high rates of response and remission. Results of the two trials, conducted by University of Pennsylvania medical school, were reported earlier this week at a meeting of American…
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Advocacy Group, Genetics Company Partner on Brain Disorder
7 December 2015. The start-up genetics analysis company Pairnomix is collaborating with KCNQ2 Cure Alliance to better understand mutations leading to KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy, an inherited brain disorder. Financial and intellectual property aspects of the partnership were not disclosed. KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy is a rare condition traced to mutations in the KCNQ2 gene, which produces…