Tag: biotechnology
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Trial Shows Multiple Sclerosis Drug Improves Optic Nerves
15 April 2015. A clinical trial testing a new therapy for multiple sclerosis shows the drug improves the performance of optic nerves in patients with acute optic neuritis, a condition highly associated with multiple sclerosis. Researchers from the biotechnology company Biogen present their findings next week at the annual meeting of American Academy of Neurology…
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Gene Therapy Biotech Raises $60M in Venture Funds
13 April 2015. Voyager Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing gene therapies for central nervous system disorders, raised $60 million in its second venture financing round. Financing for the 1 year-old enterprise in Cambridge, Massachusetts was led by new investors Brookside Capital and Partner Fund Management, with participation by Wellington Management Company and Casdin Capital, also…
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Collaboration Collecting Data to ID Precise Cancer Meds
7 April 2015. A partnership between Caris Life Sciences and COTA, short for Cancer Outcomes Tracking and Analysis, is combining data on the chemical makeup of cancer patients with clinical outcomes information to create better profiles of cancer tumors and identify more personalized therapies. Financial details between Caris Life Sciences in Irving, Texas and COTA,…
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Bristol-Myers Squibb Licensing Gene Therapies in $2.3B Deal
6 April 2015. Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb is licensing gene therapies from biotechnology company uniQure N.V. in a deal with a total potential value of $2.3 billion, including an equity stake in uniQure. The agreement gives Bristol-Myers Squibb exclusive access to as many as 10 disease programs being developed by uniQure, including a treatment for…
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Inexpensive Test Bests PSA for Prostate Cancer Screening
3 April 2015. An inexpensive lab test using gold nanoparticles is shown in a new study to be more sensitive and specific in screening for prostate cancer than the standard prostate-specific antigen or PSA screen. A team from University of Central Florida in Orlando, led by materials science and medical professor Qun Huo, published its…
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Astellas Getting First Access to Leukemia Antibody
3 April 2015. MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is granting Astellas Pharma Inc. in Tokyo an option to license MD Anderson’s discovery of a synthetic antibody showing promise as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. For the licensing option, MD Anderson could earn up to $26 million in fees and research funding. Acute myeloid…
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$150 Million Raised for NYC Life Science Start-Ups
1 April 2015. A consortium of public and private funding sources raised $150 million to invest in new life science companies located in New York City. The Early Stage Life Sciences Funding Initiative exceeded its original $100 million goal by half, and seeks to start 15 to 20 new businesses in New York by 2020,…
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Novartis, Aduro Biotech Partner on Cancer Immunotherapy
30 March 2015. The pharmaceutical company Novartis is licensing cancer immunotherapy technology from Aduro Biotech in Berkeley, California. The collaboration could earn Aduro as much as $750 million, including an equity stake, for access to its work on cyclic dinucleotides, still in preclinical study, but considered promising as a cancer treatment. Cyclic dinucleotides are naturally…
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Stem Cell Biotech Gains $44M in First Venture Round
24 March 2015. A biotechnology start-up developing a stem-cell technology to replace missing beta cells that produce insulin for patients with type 1 diabetes, secured $44 million in its first venture funding round. Funding for Semma Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts was led by MPM Capital, with participation by Fidelity Biosciences, ARCH Venture Partners, and Medtronic.…
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Biotechs Partner on Cancer Stem Cell-Gene Therapies
23 March 2015. Two biotechnology companies are combining their expertise in neural stem cells and gene delivery to develop new cancer therapies that the parties say would be more effective with fewer side effects than chemotherapy drugs used today. While GenVec Inc. in Gaithersburg, Maryland will participate economically in the collaboration with TheraBiologics Inc. in…