Science and Enterprise

Tag: entrepreneurs

  • Genome Editing Start-Up Secures $43M in First Round Funds

    The Cambridge, Massachusetts start-up Editas Medicine, developing therapies based on new research in genome editing, gained $43 million in its first financing round. The funding was led by venture companies Flagship Ventures, Polaris Partners, and Third Rock Ventures, with participation from Partners Innovation Fund, the venture funding arm of  Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and…

  • Neurotherapies Require Collaboration, Team Science, Big Data

    In a briefing today on Capitol Hill, University of Pennsylvania biomedical engineer and neurologist Brian Litt outlined requirements for harnessing promising research for patients suffering from brain disorders. The briefing in Washington, D.C. was organized by the journal Science Translational Medicine and its publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science. Litt, who is on…

  • Engineered Tomato Helps Cut Contributor to Clogged Arteries

    Researchers at University of California in Los Angeles found feeding a bio-engineered tomato to lab animals cuts their production of a fatty acid believed to contribute to high cholesterol levels. The team led by Alan Fogelman, director of the atherosclerosis research unit at UCLA’s medical school published their findings in the December issue of the…

  • Novartis Licenses University Stem Cell Transplant Technology

    The global pharmaceutical company Novartis, based in Switzerland, is licensing research conducted at University of Louisville to help transplant patients better tolerate donated kidneys. Financial aspects of the agreement between Novartis and the Louisville biotechnology company Regenerex LLC, the original licensee and completed last month, were not disclosed. Regenerex is the company founded by Suzanne…

  • 3-D Printer Maker Lands $19 Million in First Venture Funds

    Formlabs, a developer of three-dimensional printing technology in Somerville, Massachusetts, secured $19 million in its first venture funding. The financing round was led by venture capital company DFJ, with Pitango Venture Capital, Innovation Endeavors, and returning angel investors. Formlabs is a spin-off from MIT’s Media Lab, founded in 2011 by three engineers and designers. The…

  • Who’s a Patent Troll? You’ll be Surprised by the Answer

    Nobody likes patent trolls, the “non-practicing entities” accused of filing lawsuits with questionable infringement claims aimed at extorting settlements from companies just trying to do business. A conference today in Washington, D.C. sponsored by Innovation Alliance — a group promoting a strong U.S. patent system — featured a panelist who would under some definitions be…

  • Challenge Seeks Commercialization of Breast Cancer Advances

    A new challenge sponsored by the Avon Foundation for Women, with National Cancer Institute and Center for Advancing Innovation, aims to accelerate commercialization of unlicensed research discoveries related to breast cancer. In the Breast Cancer Start-up Challenge, Avon Foundation will award $250,000 to teams starting new companies that combine lab discoveries with solid business plans…

  • Biotech Start-Up Finds STD Treatment in Anti-Cancer Therapy

    Researchers with the biotechnology company TherapyX Inc. in Buffalo, New York found a potential treatment for the sexually transmitted disease (STD) gonorrhea in a therapy the company is developing for cancer. The team from TherapyX, a spin-off company of the University at Buffalo medical school, published its findings today online in the Journal of Infectious…

  • Cleveland Clinic Spin-Off Developing Breast Cancer Vaccine

    Shield Biotech, a spin-off company from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, is creating a vaccine to prevent breast cancer based on research conducted at the clinic’s research institute. Vincent Tuohy, a Cleveland Clinic immunologist, founded the company with the clinic’s commercialization division, and serves as its chief scientist. Tuohy’s research seeks to find a method for protecting…

  • Lab-On-Chip Diagnostics Company Lands $2.1M Angel Financing

    ChipCare Corp., a spin-off company from University of Toronto in Canada developing hand-held diagnostics devices to replace fixed expensive lab equipment, secured $2.05 million in early stage angel financing. The deal combines investments from university, private-sector, and Canadian government sources, according to an announcement by Grand Challenges Canada, a government-financed organization supporting medical innovations in…