Tag: genomics
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Patent Granted for RNA-Interference to Treat Scar Tissue
5 March 2014. RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biotechnology company in Westborough, Massachusetts, received a patent for its technology based on RNA-interference to treat skin scars, including surgical scars. Patent number 8,664,189 was awarded yesterday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to seven inventors and assigned to RXi Pharmaceuticals. RXi develops therapies with a technology…
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Gene Modified Potatoes Developed with Blight Resistance
24 February 2014. Researchers at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, U.K. developed and field tested a new type of potato with greater genetically modified resistance to late blight, a long-time scourge of potato growers. The team led by Sainsbury plant biologist Jonathan Jones reported its findings online last week in the journal Philosophical Transactions of…
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Science-Based Enterprises: Great Ideas Beat Venture Capital
14 February 2014. Three entrepreneurs starting companies based on science described how they got their businesses off the ground, with ground-breaking science in many cases more important than a large stash of venture capital. San Diego entrepreneurs John Newsam, Irwin Jacobs, and Han Cao told of their start-up business experiences today at a session of…
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AAAS Pres: Science Drives Innovation, Economic Growth
13 February 2014. Phillip Sharp, professor of molecular biology at MIT and president of American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), underscored the tight connection between scientific advancement, entrepreneurship, and economic growth, in the opening plenary session of the AAAS annual conference in Chicago. Sharp described the way scientific discovery feeds the economic engines of…
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Start-Up Developing Gene Therapies Lands $45M in Early Funds
12 February 2014. Voyager Therapeutics, a new start-up in Cambridge, Massachusetts creating gene therapies for disorders of the central nervous system, gained $45 million in first-round financing. Third Rock Ventures, a venture capital company specializing in life science enterprises, provided the funds for the company founded by researchers at University of Massachusetts Medical School, University…
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Engineered Hemp Delivers High Volume of Healthy Oleic Acid
10 February 2014. Biologists at University of York in the U.K. developed a new form of hemp plant that produces seeds with oil containing a high volume of oleic acid, a nutritious fatty acid like that found in olive oil. The team led by York’s Ian Graham, who heads the university’s biology department, published its…
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Myriad Genetics Acquires Rheumatoid Arthritis Test Developer
Myriad Genetics Inc., a designer of genetics-based diagnostics in Salt Lake City, will acquire Crescendo Bioscience in South San Francisco, California, a developer of molecular blood tests for autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis. Myriad is paying $270 million in cash, which includes repayment of an outstanding $25 million loan to Crescendo. Crescendo Bioscience, founded in…
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NIH, Pharmas, Non-Profits Partner on Molecular Drug Targets
4 February 2014. National Institutes of Health (NIH), with 10 pharmaceutical companies and 8 not-for-profit organizations, are collaborating on identification of targets at the molecular level for new drugs and diagnostics. The Accelerating Medicines Partnership — a five-year, $230 million initiative — is expected to focus on Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and the autoimmune disorders…
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Asthma/Hay Fever Genetic Risk Factors Identified
28 January 2014. An analysis of genomes of people having both asthma and hay fever, compared to those with neither disease, highlighted 11 genetic variations associated with the dual-disease condition, including two previously unconnected regions. The findings from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia, with colleagues from Australia, the U.K., and U.S., including the…
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Synthetic Bio Platform Finds Potential Superbug Antibiotic
Researchers at University of California in San Diego created a process for cloning synthetic gene clusters from marine bacteria that generate molecules with therapeutic potential, and produced an antibiotic candidate to treat previously drug-resistant infections. The team led by UC-San Diego oceanography and pharmacy professor Bradley Moore, published its findings yesterday online in the journal…