Tag: Canada

  • Computer Model Predicts Protein Binding to DNA, RNA

    28 July 2015. Geneticists and computer scientists wrote a machine-learning model for predicting the way proteins bind to genetic material, and uncovering mutations causing disease. The team led by Brendan Frey with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in Toronto published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Frey and other…

  • Early Test Shows Alzheimer’s Candidate Lowers Brain Deposits

    20 July 2015. A drug developed to treat Alzheimer’s disease reduced a large percentage of accumulated harmful peptides and proteins in brains of laboratory mice induced with the disorder. Results of the tests were reported today by the biotechnology company Treventis Corp. in Philadelphia, developer of the drug code-named TRV-101. Alzheimer’s disease is progressive neurodegenerative…

  • Mobile App Data Provided for Chronic Pain Study

    21 May 2015. Data collected by a mobile app designed to help individuals manage their pain are being provided to a research lab at York University to reveal patterns in painful experiences by the app’s users. York’s Human Pain Mechanisms Lab in Toronto, Ontario, Canada will analyze data provided by the app Manage My Pain,…

  • Orphan Status Granted Eye Cancer Treatment

    21 May 2015. Food and Drug Administration designated an experimental treatment for uveal melanoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer in the eye, as an orphan drug that qualifies for incentives to expedite its development. Aura Biosciences also revealed results of preclinical tests showing the ability of its lead biologic therapy code-named AU-011 to…

  • Trial Shows Antibody Reduces Days with Migraines

    15 May 2015. A clinical trial shows high doses of an engineered antibody reduced the number of days per month that people with a history of migraines experience migraine episodes. First findings from the intermediate-stage trial of the antibody code-named AMG334 by the biotechnology company Amgen were reported at a meeting of the International Headache…

  • Simple Avian Flu Test Designed for Poultry

    10 April 2015. A bioengineering lab at University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada developed a quick, simple test for avian flu virus that infects poultry, including the type of virus now infecting turkeys in the U.S. and Canada. Guelph’s Bionano Lab led by engineering professor Suresh Neethirajan says a description of its device will appear…

  • Patent Issued for Mobile Pulse Oximetry Technology

    25 February 2015. LionsGate Technologies Inc., a medical device company in Vancouver, Canada, received a patent for techniques and processes that connect sensors measuring blood oxygen levels to smartphones and tablets. Patent number 8,958,859 was issued by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on 17 February 2015 to inventors Mark Ansermino, LionsGate’s chief medical officer, and…

  • Handheld Probe Detects Cancer Cells in Brain

    12 February 2015. Medical and engineering researchers at McGill University and Polytechnique Montréal developed a technique using a handheld probe that enables surgeons to find elusive cancer cells in the brain. The team led by McGill’s Kevin Petrecca and Polytechnique Montréal’s Frederic Leblond reported their findings yesterday in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription…

  • Zymeworks, Celgene to Develop Double-Binding Antibodies

    21 January 2015. Zymeworks Inc., a biotechnology company in Vancouver, Canada and pharmaceutical maker Celgene Inc. are developing biologic therapies using Zymeworks’ antibody technology. The deal makes Zymeworks eligible for up to $164 million from Celgene for each candidate developed under the partnership, as well as an unspecified initial payment and equity investment. Under the…

  • Biotech Licenses Cell Research for Ebola Treatments

    8 January 2015. H&P Labs, a biotechnology company in Montreal, is licensing research on cell proteins at a lab affliated with Harvard University to develop into treatments for Ebola. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. The current Ebola outbreak in Africa that began in March 2014 totals 20,747 cases resulting in 8,235 deaths,…