Tag: pharmaceuticals
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Self-Propelled Particles Designed to Stop Bleeding
2 October 2015. A biochemistry lab designed microscale particles that travel on their own through the body to stop heavy bleeding in trauma victims, surgery, and childbirth. Researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada led by biochemistry and engineering professor Christian Kastrup, published their findings in today’s issue of the journal Science Advances.…
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RNA Therapy Biotech Earns $44 Million in IPO
1 October 2015. A biotechnology company developing therapies based on RNA, genetic material that sends signals to cells, raised $43.75 million in its initial public stock offering. Mirna Therapeutics Inc. in Austin, Texas issued 6.25 million shares today at $7.00, and trades on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol MIRN. Its shares closed today at…
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Nanotech Cancer Center Gains $10.1M Funding
1 October 2015. Cornell University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are developing cancer diagnostics and therapies with nanoscale particles, funded largely by a National Cancer Institute grant. NCI, part of National Institutes of Health, is providing $8.2 million to the institutions over five years, while Sloan Kettering is adding $1.9 million. Cornell and Sloan…
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Special: The Next Health Care Disruption
– Sponsored Content – This blog post is part of the ‘Think Further’ series sponsored by Fred Alger Management. For more “Think Further” content, please visit www.thinkfurtheralger.com.” The frustration of the physicians comes through, piercing the structured format of a scientific journal. In July 2015, 118 oncologists at leading medical centers and cancer research institutes…
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Antibody Shown to Reduce Disability in Multiple Sclerosis
28 September 2015. A late-stage clinical trial shows an engineered antibody can reduce the extent of disability in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The experimental drug, ocrelizumab, is made by Genentech, a biotechnology subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Roche, in South San Francisco, California. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks…
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Simpler Genome Editing Process Discovered
25 September 2015. Researchers at the Broad Institute, a biomedical research center affiliated with Harvard University and MIT, revealed a simpler and potentially more accurate technique for editing mammalian genomes than used today. The team led by biomedical engineering professor Feng Zhang, a pioneer in genomic editing technologies at Broad Institute and MIT, published its…
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Diabetes Biotech Acquires GSK Spin-Off
24 September 2015. Intarcia Therapeutics, a developer of long-acting treatments for diabetes, is purchasing Phoundry Pharmaceuticals, a discoverer of engineered peptides for metabolic and other disorders. Phoundry — a spin-off company from GlaxoSmithKline in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina — is being acquired by Intarcia for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. Intarcia, based…
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Engineered Viruses Harnessed to Fight Bacteria
24 September 2015. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a new technique for fighting bacteria, by genetically engineering their natural predators, a type of virus. The team from the synthetic biology lab led by engineering professor Timothy Lu published its findings yesterday in the journal Cell Systems. Lu and colleagues are seeking a better…
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Clinical Trial Underway Testing Cancer Surgery Aid
22 September 2015. A clinical trial is enrolling patients with soft tissue sarcoma to test a synthetic peptide that illuminates cancer cells to make them more easily removed during surgery. The early-stage study is testing the safety of the peptide made by Blaze Bioscience Inc. in Seattle and conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los…
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Virus Particles Rebuilt to Boost Immunotherapies
22 September 2015. Engineers at Stanford University redesigned a hepatitis virus from the inside out to make it a better vehicle to stimulate the immune system for treating disease. The team led by chemical and bioengineering professor James Swartz published its results yesterday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Swartz…