Tag: clinical trials
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23andMe, Pfizer Partner on Bowel Disease Genetics
12 August 2014. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer and personal genetics company 23andMe in Mountain View, California are researching genetic factors associated with inflammatory bowel disease, for which Pfizer is testing several treatments. Financial aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed. Inflammatory bowel disease is the name given to disorders of the digestive tract, such as…
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Licensing Deal Combines Genomics, Placenta Stem Cells
11 August 2014. A new licensing agreement will make available research by Celgene Cellular Therapeutics on stem cells from the placenta to Human Longevity Inc., a company specializing in genomics for age-related disorders. Financial aspects of the agreement were not disclosed, but as part of the deal, Celgene is expected to make an equity investment…
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Trial Shows Stem Cell Treatment Feasibility for Stroke
8 August 2014. An early-stage clinical trial shows treating stroke patients with their own bone-marrow stem cells is safe and feasible, and provides evidence of improving cognitive and motor functions. The study conducted by Imperial College London and affiliated hospitals in the U.K. appears today in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine (registration required). The…
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Immunotherapy Start-Up Adds $134M in Venture Funding
5 August 2014. Juno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Seattle developing cancer treatments that harness the human immune system, secured $134 million in its second round of venture financing. The company, a spin-off enterprise from research labs in Seattle and New York, says the new round was provided by 10 public mutual funds and health…
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Roche Acquiring RNA Medications Biotech Company
5 August 2014. The pharmaceutical company Roche is acquiring Santaris Pharma, a biotechnology company developing therapies targeting ribonucleic acid or RNA that performs vital genetic functions. Roche is expected to pay as much as $450 million for Santaris, based in Hørsholm, Denmark. Santaris designs therapies focusing on RNA, a fundamental molecular building block in the…
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Early Trial Shows Parkinson’s Vaccine Creates Antibodies
31 July 2014. An early-stage clinical trial testing the safety of an experimental vaccine to treat Parkinson’s disease, shows the vaccine generates antibodies that fight the build-up of proteins in the brain associated with the disorder. The vaccine is made by the biotechnology company Affiris AG, which presented the results today at a press conference…
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U.S. Patent Awarded for Prodrug Cancer Imaging, Treatment
30 July 2014. A new patent was awarded for a technology that detects and treats solid tumor cancers with a prodrug, a precursor compound activated inside the body — made by GenSpera Inc., a biotechnology company in San Antonio. U.S. patent number 8,772,226 was awarded on 8 July to inventors Samuel Denmeade and John Isaacs…
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Trial Testing Amniotic, Umbilical Grafts to Heal Wounds
29 July 2014. A new clinical trial is testing skin grafts from amniotic and umbilical cord tissue as a treatment for chronic wounds, in this case diabetic foot ulcers. The skin grafts are made by Amniox Medical Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, adapted from a technology developed by Tissue Tech Inc. in Miami. Amniox Medical provides…
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Trial Shows Drug Not Extending Breast Cancer Survival Time
25 July 2014. A late-stage clinical trial of the cancer drug sorafenib shows the drug, combined with the chemotherapy drug capecitabine, does not extend the amount of progression-free survival time of advanced breast cancer patients, compared to capecitabine alone. Sorafenib, marketed under the brand name Nexavar, is made by Onyx Pharmaceuticals in South San Francisco,…
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Trial Shows Herpes Simplex Therapy Generates Immune Response
21 July 2014. An intermediate stage clinical trial of an immunotherapy by Genocea Biosciences to fight herpes simplex virus 2 — the main cause of genital herpes — shows the treatment generates an immune system response to the disease that lasts an entire year. The findings were presented this week by Genocea vice-president Jessica Baker…