Month: May 2016
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MIT Spin-Off Develops Material Mimicking Human Skin
9 May 2016. A substance that emulates properties of youthful human skin was shown in pilot tests with human subjects to outperform other materials used for wound dressings. The new polymer material, based on research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and commercialized by Olivo Laboratories, a start-up enterprise, is described in today’s issue of the…
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566 New Drugs in Pipeline for Orphan Diseases
9 May 2016. A report by an industry group says 566 drugs designed to treat rare diseases are now in clinical testing by pharmaceutical companies. The report, prepared by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, and the ALS Association, credits many of these new drugs to incentives in legislation encouraging research and development…
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Genome-Editing Company Raises $108 Million in IPO
6 May 2016. Intellia Therapeutics, a developer of therapies based on genome editing, issued its initial public stock offering, raising $108 million. The Cambridge, Massachusetts enterprise, less than 2 years old, issued 6 million shares priced at $18.00. At the 4:00 pm ET closing bell today, company shares trading on the NASDAQ exchange as NTLA…
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Genomics, Data Tools Track MRSA Outbreaks in Europe
6 May 2016. A combination of whole-genome sequencing and data visualization tools now makes it possible to track the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in European health facilities. A Europe-wide team led by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Imperial College London described their software and service yesterday in the journal mBio. The authors call the spread…
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Trial Underway Testing Antibody for Celiac Disease
5 May 2016. A clinical trial testing an engineered antibody therapy for celiac disease in people that do not respond to a gluten-free diet began treating its first patients. The trial is conducted by Celimmune LLC, a biopharmaceutical company in in Lebanon, New Jersey, but patients are recruited in Finland, where the rate of celiac…
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Autonomous Robot Shown Better at Soft-Tissue Surgery
5 May 2016. A robotic arm, programmed to work autonomously under direction of a surgeon, was shown superior at soft-tissue surgery with pigs than human surgeons and robot-assisted surgery. Results of these tests, conducted by a team from Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., appear in yesterday’s (4 May) issue of the journal Science…
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Genomic Variations Reveal Cholesterol, Heart Disease Risks
4 May 2016. A review of genome and blood test records from a large group of people in Iceland identified genetic sequencing variations associated with risk factors connecting cholesterol levels to heart disease. Results of the analysis, conducted by deCode Genetics in Reykjavik, Iceland, appear this week in the journal Nature Genetics (paid subscription required).…
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Engineered Protein Advances to Treat Genetic Blood Disorders
4 May 2016. Lab tests by a biotechnology company show an engineered protein can block the actions of genes responsible for low normal hemoglobin production in people with inherited blood disorders like sickle cell disease. The findings of researchers from Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Boston were reported in April in the journal PLoS One. Acetylon…
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Patent Granted for RNA Transcription Technology
3 May 2016. A technology that blocks RNA molecules from activating chemicals in the body suppressing the working of genes to treat or prevent disease received a U.S. patent. The Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent number 9,328,346 to five inventors and assigned the patent to the parent company of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.…
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Lung Function App Service Expanded to Any Phone
3 May 2016. A computer science lab extended the abilities of its smartphone app that measures lung function to a call-in service for any phone in the world. The team led by engineering and computer science professor Shwetak Patel at University of Washington will discuss the new service at the ACM Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) 2016…