Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • 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…

  • Engineered Castor Beans Growth-Tested as Biofuel Feedstock

    The plant genomics company Evogene Ltd. in Rehovot, Israel says growing trials of its engineered castor bean show it is ready for commercial development as an alternative feedstock for biodiesel fuels and other industrial products. The three-year trials were conducted in Brazil with SLC Agrícola S.A., a grower of soybeans, corn, and cotton. Evogene’s biofuel…

  • Fox Foundation, Companies Create Research Tools Group

    The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in New York and seven companies are joining in a consortium to systematize development and sharing of tools for studying Parkinson’s disease. The seven companies are Amicus Therapeutics, ApoPharma, Biogen Idec, Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, PsychoGenics and Upsher-Smith Laboratories. The group, called the Parkinson’s Disease Research Tools…

  • Stanford University Adds Funds for Start-Up Accelerator

    Stanford University and its hospital system, with the business accelerator program StartX, unveiled a three-year, $3.6 million fund to support early-stage enterprises started by Stanford-affiliated entrepreneurs. StartX is a training and mentoring program for founders of new companies with a connection to Stanford including students, faculty, postdocs, and alumni. StartX, a not-for-profit organization, connects new…

  • University, Company Partner on Computer-Based Drug Discovery

    The drug discovery company Serometrix in Pittsford, New York is deploying bioinformatics software developed by University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland for identifying protein structures that show subtle clues as potential targets for drugs. Financial terms of of the licensing agreement were not disclosed. The system is a result of  a collaboration between Strathclyde chemistry…

  • Diagnostics Developer, Mt. Sinai to Partner on Biomarkers

    Exosome Diagnostics and Mount Sinai medical center, both in New York, are collaborating on the discovery of genetic biomarkers to build diagnostics for inflammation, cancer, and other diseases. Financial aspects of the five-year agreement were not disclosed. Exosome Diagnostics develops diagnostics based on biomarkers derived from bodily fluids, such as blood, urine, plasma, serum, and…

  • FDA Grants Muscle-Wasting Disease Drug Breakthrough Status

    The global pharmaceutical company Novartis says the Food and Drug Administration granted its therapy candidate bimagrumab breakthrough status to treat a rare muscle-wasting condition for which there are currently no approved treatments. FDA designates new drugs for serious or life-threatening conditions as breakthroughs to expedite their review in the agency. The disorder is known as…

  • Challenge Seeks Technique to Estimate Age from DNA Samples

    A new challenge on InnoCentive asks for a crowd-sourced solution for determining an individual’s age from a small sample of that person’s DNA. The competition has a a prize purse of $25,000 and a deadline of 7 October 2013 for submissions (free registration required). InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowd-sourcing competitions for corporate and…

  • GSK Starts Venture Fund for Nerve-Signal Devices, Medicines

    The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline is starting a venture capital fund to invest in companies making therapeutic devices and medications harnessing the body’s electrical signaling system. The fund, called Action Potential Venture Capital (APVC) Ltd. will have $50 million, with its first investment in a California company developing a device to regulate nerve signals for treating…

  • Bayer, Compugen to Partner on Cancer Immunotherapies

    The pharmaceutical company Bayer HealthCare in Berlin and drug discovery company Compugen Ltd in Tel Aviv, Israel agreed on a development and licensing deal for two potential cancer therapies discovered by Compugen that harness the body’s immune system. The deal has a potential value to Compugen of at least $540 million. Compugen uses computational biology,…