Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • Faster, Automated Test Developed for Sepsis-Causing Fungus

    A test for Candida, a fungal infection that can lead to sepsis, identified the pathogen in whole blood samples in a few hours, rather than the two to five days needed by current tests. Researchers from T2 Biosystems, a biotechnology company in Lexington, Massachusetts, with colleagues from Brown University and Harvard University medical schools published…

  • European Researchers to Develop Lab Cancer Bio-Model

    Researchers in the U.K. and Switzerland are building a simulated environment to grow cancer cells in the lab for a better understanding of the way cancer cells develop and spread. The CANBUILD project draws faculty from Queen Mary, University of London — including the principal investogator Frances Balkwill — as well as colleagues from Cancer…

  • Researcher Studies, Commercializes Nanoscale Drug Delivery

    A researcher at University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada developed a process of delivering drugs to targeted locations in the body with nanoscale polymer capsules, and has received a patent for that process. Afsaneh Lavasanifar, a professor in Alberta’s pharmacy school, also started a company in 2010 to take her process to market. Lavasanifar devised…

  • Thermo Scientific Acquires Sequencing Technology Developer

    Thermo Fisher Scientific, a maker of laboratory instruments and technologies in Waltham, Massachusetts acquired the genomic sequencing systems developer Life Technologies in Carlsbad, California for $13.6 billion in cash and debt assumption. In the deal, Thermo Fisher Scientific will pay $76.00 per share and assume Life Technologies’ net outstanding debt, valued at $2.2 billion. Life…

  • Biotech Wins Fox Grant for Parkinson’s Drug Delivery Test

    Intec Pharma, a biotechnology company in Jerusalem, Israel, received a $705,000 grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for a clinical trial of its system to deliver the drug combination carbidopa and levodopa to treat Parkinson’s disease. The company expects to complete the test in the first quarter of 2014. Intec Pharma developed an oral…

  • Agriculture Biotech Secures $14.5M in Early-Stage Financing

    AgBiome LLC, an agricultural biotechnology company in Durham, North Carolina, gained $14.5 million in series A venture funding, the first round of financing after initial start-up. Polaris Partners, a venture capital company  in Boston specializing in health care and technology startups, led the round, joined by ARCH Venture Partners, Harris & Harris Group, Innotech Advisers,…

  • Biotech, University to Partner on Bone Regeneration Trial

    University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and biotechnology company NeoStem Inc. in New York are collaborating on a clinical trial to test the ability of adult stem cells to grow into bone tissue. The trial, which involves the university’s dental school, will try to regenerate bone tissue among patients who need a tooth extraction. NeoStem…

  • Cellulosic Plants Engineered for Improved Biofuel Production

    Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Berkeley, California developed a process to re-engineer the cell walls of plants to make them better feedstocks for biofuels. The team led by bio-engineer Dominique Locque of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, one of the Joint BioEnergy Institute partners and a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, published…

  • Third Rock Closes $516M Health Care Venture Fund

    Third Rock Ventures in Boston and San Francisco raised $516 million for its Fund III to invest in new health care enterprises. Wth the fund, the company plans to support up to 16 health and medicine start-ups. Third Rock aims to finance new companies offering products or services in health care with high potential impact.…

  • AstraZeneca Licenses Messenger RNA Therapy Technology

    The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca based in London is licensing genomic technology from Moderna Therapeutics, a biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts to develop treatments for heart disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer. The five-year deal has potential payout to Moderna of $420 million. Moderna Therapeutics harnesses messenger RNA, nucleic acids related to DNA that leave the cell…