Tag: biotechnology
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Tissue Engineers, Biotech Firm Partner on Cartilage Repair
3 October 2014. Histogenics Corp. that develops replacement cartilage is licensing technology from Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company producing engineered genetics for commercial applications, for a new process to repair cartilage injuries with a patient’s own cells. The deal has a potential value of at least $44.5 million to Intrexon, but could also result in…
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Johnson & Johnson Acquires Biotech Developing Anti-Virals
30 September 2014. The biotechnology company Alios BioPharma Inc., a developer of anti-viral medications, is being acquired by health care products enterprise Johnson & Johnson for $1.75 billion. The all-cash deal will add Alios BioPharma’s pipeline to the portfolio of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson. Alios BioPharma, in South San Francisco, California,…
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Investment Fund Launches to Support Stem Cell Ventures
29 September 2014. ReproCell Inc., a developer of stem cell lines for research and therapies in Yokohama, Japan, is starting an investment fund that aims to back new biotechnology companies bringing stem cell research to market. The fund, called Cell Innovation Partners, begins with ¥800 million ($US 7.3 million) in capital, provided by Shinsei Corporate…
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Biotech Company Licenses Caltech Immunotherapy Research
24 September 2014. ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd., a developer of cancer therapies harnessing the immune system, is licensing technology developed in the lab of David Baltimore at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena that derives cancer-fighting cells from a person’s own blood-forming stem cells. Financial terms of the exclusive license to ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, based in Los…
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U.S., Canada Authorities OK Biotech Ebola Treatments
23 September 2014. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company providing its experimental therapy for people with suspected or confirmed Ebola infections. The Vancouver, British Columbia biotechnology company says approval of its therapy called TKM-Ebola is part of a larger regulatory framework for the treatments worked out with FDA and…
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Gene Editing Techniques Devised to Combat Superbugs
22 September 2014. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing ways to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria by modifying the genes that make the bacteria resistant to drugs. The team from MIT’s Synthetic Biology Group, led by engineering professor Timothy Lu, published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Antibiotic resistance is…
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Boehringer Ingelheim Licenses RNA Lung Cancer Immunotherapy
19 September 2014. The pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is licensing from biopharmaceutical enterprise CureVac a vaccine based on RNA to generate an immune response for treating lung cancer. The deal has a total potential value to CureVac of €465 million ($US 597 million). CureVac, in Tübingen, Germany, develops vaccines and treatments based on messenger RNA,…
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Biotech Firms Find Genetic Drivers for Uterine Cancers
19 September 2014. Researchers with the companies Personal Genome Diagnostics and Blueprint Medicines identified genetic mutations associated with carcinosarcoma, a rare but deadly form of cancer affecting the female reproductive system also known as malignant mixed Mullerian tumors. The team that includes members from Johns Hopkins University and Oregon Health and Science University published its…
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Small Business Contract to Fund Cancer Drug Response Tests
18 September 2014. National Cancer Institute, part of National Institutes of Health, is funding development of lab tests using a patient’s own cancer cells to help determine the best treatments for the patient. The $1.975 million contract to biotechnology company Kiyatec Inc. in Greenville, South Carolina was awarded under the Small Business Innovation Research program,…
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Early Clinical Trial to Test Leukemia Antibody Safety
17 September 2014. An early stage clinical trial at University of California in San Diego is testing the safety of an antibody that in lab animals decreases the number of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, the most common form of leukemia among adults. The study is led by UC-San Diego medical school professor Thomas Kipps, who…