Tag: pharmaceuticals
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Antibodies to Treat Staph Infections in Early Trial
24 November 2015. A study testing the safety of antibodies to prevent and treat Staphylococcus aureus infections, including those contracted in hospitals, is underway in Vienna, Austria. The clinical trial is evaluating an experimental biologic drug for the prevention and treatment of S. aureus or staph infections made by Arsanis Biosciences, a biotechnology company in…
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FDA Approves Nasal Spray for Opioid Overdose
20 November 2015. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week approved the first formulation of a current drug to treat opioid overdose in nasal spray form. The Narcan nasal spray is made by Adapt Pharma Ltd., a company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Opioids work by reducing the intensity of pain signals to the brain, particularly…
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Exosome Therapy Start-Up Launches, Raises $80M
17 November 2015. A new biotechnology company developing therapies that use tiny cellular containers to deliver their payloads is spun off from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and raising $80 million in early venture funding. Codiak Biosciences, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts is founded and licensing research by Raghu Kalluri, chair of M.D. Anderson’s cancer biology department.…
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Licensing, Research Deal Aims at Chronic Wound Treatments
16 November 2015. Umeå University and the pharmaceutical company Prometic are partnering on development of new treatments for chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers and bed sores. The agreement gives Prometic, in Laval, Quebec, Canada an exclusive license to the university’s research on the blood plasma protein plasminogen, with the company funding further studies…
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Alliance Plans Adaptive Clinical Trials for Brain Cancer
12 November 2015. A global collaboration plans a series of clinical trials that address precise molecular targets testing treatments for glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain cancer. The alliance combines medical teams, researchers, and patient advocates to employ adaptive clinical trials, a type of clinical study that enables investigators to adjust research tactics as results with…
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Gene Therapy Company Raises $70 Million in IPO
11 November 2015. Voyager Therapeutics, a company less that two years old developing gene therapies for central nervous system disorders is raising $70 million in its initial public stock offering. The Cambridge, Massachusetts enterprise, trading on the Nasdaq exchange (symbol: VYGR), offered 5 million shares yesterday at $14.00. Shares closed today at $17.75, a gain…
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USC, Biotech Edit Genes in Stem Cells for HIV Therapy
10 November 2015. A lab at University of Southern California and biotechnology company developed a technique for editing genomes in blood-forming stem cells as a potential treatment for HIV infection. The team from the lab of USC medical school professor Paula Cannon and Sangamo BioSciences in Richmond, California published its findings yesterday in the journal…
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Biotech Targets “Undruggable” Cancer Gene
9 November 2015. A biotechnology company says it plans to focus its technology platform on a cancer-causing gene previously considered beyond the direct reach of today’s cancer drugs. Warp Drive Bio, in Cambridge, Massachusetts told an American Association of Cancer Research meeting in Boston on Saturday the company plans to target the Ras oncogene, a…
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Compound Found to Reverse Lens Clouding in Cataracts
6 November 2015. A biochemical and medical research team discovered a steroid that when given as eye drops to mice, reverses the accumulation of protein formations in cataracts. Researchers from the labs of protein chemistry professor Jason Gestwicki at University of Michigan and ophthalmology professor Usha Andley at Washington University in St. Louis published their…
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Platelets Engineered to Deliver, Transcribe RNA
5 November 2015. A biochemistry lab at University of British Columbia developed a technique for supercharging blood platelets with genetic material, enabling these cells to deliver therapies through the blood stream. The team led by biochemist and molecular biologist Christian Kastrup published its findings this week in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition (paid subscription required).…