Tag: biotechnology
-
Grünenthal Group to Commercialize Duchenne Therapy
8 January 2015. Grünenthal Group, a German pharmaceutical company, is licensing a treatment candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy developed by Akashi Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company created by organizations advocating for research on the disease. While full financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, Grünenthal says it’s committing more than $100 million to the venture.…
-
Biotechs to Develop Antibody Therapies, Explore Merger
8 January 2016. Two biotechnology companies in Vancouver agreed to collaborate on developing antibody treatments for cancer, with an option to merge their enterprises later on. The deal calls for Zymeworks Inc. to make an undisclosed equity investment in Kairos Therapeutics Inc. Zymeworks is also receiving $US 61.5 million in its first venture funding round.…
-
Monsanto, Biotech Developing Soil Nutrient Microbe
6 January 2016. A partnership between Monsanto and the biotechnology company Novozymes developed a new soil microbe product, which the companies say in field tests substantially increases corn yields. The collaboration known as BioAg Alliance plans to introduce the corn inoculant product in the U.S. next year. Novozymes, an agricultural biotechnology company in Copenhangen, Denmark,…
-
Rodin, Biogen Partner on Neurological Epigenetics
6 January 2016. The biotechnology company Rodin Therapeutics is collaborating with Biogen, another biotech enterprise, in developing treatments based on epigenetics for neurological disorders. The agreement includes a $17.3 million equity investment in Rodin by Biogen and venture investor Atlas Venture, with an option for Biogen to acquire Rodin that provides further payments valued as…
-
Trial Underway Testing Preterm Respiratory Treatment
30 December 2015. A clinical trial testing new treatment methods for a common respiratory disorder faced by preterm babies began enrolling patients. The trial is testing an aerosol-delivered surfactant, a wetting agent applied to the lungs of babies born prematurely without natural surfactants to keep open air sacs in lungs, made by Discovery Laboratories a biotechnology…
-
Human Cornea Cells Derived from Stem Cells
28 December 2015. A biotechnology company designed a process for generating human cornea cells from embryonic stem cells, without a donated cornea, the current replacement therapy. The team from Ocata Therapeutics Inc. led by Robert Lanza, the company’s chief scientist, published its proof-of-concept findings last week in the journal PLoS One. Lanza and colleagues —…
-
Trial Shows Vaccine Protects Against Stem Cell Complications
24 December 2015. An early-stage clinical trial indicates a vaccine protects against complications from stem cell transplants used to treat blood-related cancers. Results of the trial conducted by City of Hope medical center in Duarte, California that developed the vaccine appear online in the journal The Lancet Haematology (paid subscription required), and were discussed earlier…
-
Start-Up Licenses Founder’s Research for Resistant Bacteria
22 December 2015. A biotechnology company spun-off from University of California in San Diego is licensing technology from the university to develop treatments for bacterial infections now becoming resistant to conventional antibiotics. Financial terms of the licensing agreement between UC-San Diego and Forge Therapeutics were not disclosed. Forge Therapeutics, also in San Diego, is licensing…
-
Biotech, Bayer Partner on Gene-Editing Treatments
21 December 2015. CRISPR Therapeutics and the drug company Bayer AG are forming a joint venture to develop gene-editing therapies for three types of genetic diseases, and later for other human and agricultural applications. The deal calls for Bayer AG, in Leverkusen, Germany, to invest at least $300 million in the joint venture and take…
-
Lilly Licensing Biotech’s Drug Injection Technology
21 December 2015. Eli Lilly and Company is licensing a technology from Halozyme Therapeutics that makes it possible to inject biologic drugs under the skin rather than with intravenous infusions. The deal could bring Halozyme Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in San Diego, as much as $825 million. Halozyme develops synthetic enzymes, with a technology platform, called Enhanze…