Tag: biotechnology
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Eli Lilly Expanding NYC Labs for Cancer Therapies
9 October 2015. The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company is expanding its research labs in New York City to boost discoveries of cancer therapies that harness the immune system. Lilly expects to hire 50 more research and support staff as part of the expansion. The company’s new facility will inhabit 30,000 square feet in…
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MD Anderson, Biotech Form Antibody Discovery Company
7 October 2015. MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is partnering with the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences to form a new enterprise devoted to discovering antibodies for cancer therapies harnessing the immune system. The company named OncoResponse, also based in Houston, attracted $9.5 million in its first venture funding round. OncoResponse plans to adapt Theraclone’s…
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Influenza A Therapy Shown Working in Trial
5 October 2015. A clinical trial testing a synthetic antibody designed to treat influenza A shows the treatment is effective in reducing the spread of flu viruses in humans. Visterra Inc., the therapy’s designer, also received a contract valued as much as $204.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to further…
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RNA Therapy Biotech Earns $44 Million in IPO
1 October 2015. A biotechnology company developing therapies based on RNA, genetic material that sends signals to cells, raised $43.75 million in its initial public stock offering. Mirna Therapeutics Inc. in Austin, Texas issued 6.25 million shares today at $7.00, and trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol MIRN. Its shares closed today at…
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Special: The Next Health Care Disruption
– Sponsored Content – This blog post is part of the ‘Think Further’ series sponsored by Fred Alger Management. For more “Think Further” content, please visit www.thinkfurtheralger.com.” The frustration of the physicians comes through, piercing the structured format of a scientific journal. In July 2015, 118 oncologists at leading medical centers and cancer research institutes…
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Antibody Shown to Reduce Disability in Multiple Sclerosis
28 September 2015. A late-stage clinical trial shows an engineered antibody can reduce the extent of disability in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The experimental drug, ocrelizumab, is made by Genentech, a biotechnology subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Roche, in South San Francisco, California. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks…
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Simpler Genome Editing Process Discovered
25 September 2015. Researchers at the Broad Institute, a biomedical research center affiliated with Harvard University and MIT, revealed a simpler and potentially more accurate technique for editing mammalian genomes than used today. The team led by biomedical engineering professor Feng Zhang, a pioneer in genomic editing technologies at Broad Institute and MIT, published its…
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Diabetes Biotech Acquires GSK Spin-Off
24 September 2015. Intarcia Therapeutics, a developer of long-acting treatments for diabetes, is purchasing Phoundry Pharmaceuticals, a discoverer of engineered peptides for metabolic and other disorders. Phoundry — a spin-off company from GlaxoSmithKline in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina — is being acquired by Intarcia for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. Intarcia, based…
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Engineered Viruses Harnessed to Fight Bacteria
24 September 2015. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a new technique for fighting bacteria, by genetically engineering their natural predators, a type of virus. The team from the synthetic biology lab led by engineering professor Timothy Lu published its findings yesterday in the journal Cell Systems. Lu and colleagues are seeking a better…
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Clinical Trial Underway Testing Cancer Surgery Aid
22 September 2015. A clinical trial is enrolling patients with soft tissue sarcoma to test a synthetic peptide that illuminates cancer cells to make them more easily removed during surgery. The early-stage study is testing the safety of the peptide made by Blaze Bioscience Inc. in Seattle and conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los…