Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • Janssen Licenses Biotech’s Antibody for Multiple Myeloma

    Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, a division of Johnson & Johnson in Horsham, Pennsylvania, agreed to license a cancer drug targeting multiple myeloma made by biotechnology company Genmab A/S in Copenhagen, Denmark. The agreement has a total potential value of $1.1 billion from upfront, milestone, and royalty payments, as well as an equity investment in Genmab. The…

  • New Process Simplifies Protein Production for Drug Companies

    A chemical engineer at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville developed a new method for producing high quality proteins used in drugs for treating an assortment of disorders. Doctoral candidate Ellen Brune (pictured right) also founded a company, Boston Mountain Biotech, to commercialize the technology. Current industry methods for protein manufacturing require separating out the background…

  • Health Care Technology Accelerator Boosts Seed Funding

    Rock Health, an organization that provides seed funding, training, and mentoring for start-up companies in health care technology, says its next class of companies will each receive a $100,000 investment. The funds for these start-ups are being provided by the Mayo clinic and three venture capital firms: Aberdare Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and…

  • Leukemia Genetic Signature, Drug Candidates Identified

    Researchers at University of Rochester in New York identified a set of genes behind the early growth of leukemia stem cells, and used those cells to highlight potential existing drugs with the chemistry to target those cells. The team led by senior investigator and Rochester medical school professor Craig Jordan — with colleagues from Weill…

  • Biopharm, Monsanto to Partner on Agricultural Biotechnology

    Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Monsanto Company in St. Louis, will collaborate on developing biotechnology applications in agriculture. The agreement has an immediate value to Alnylam of $29.2 million. The 10-year agreement gives Monsanto exclusive rights worldwide to use Alnylam’s platform technology and intellectual property in the field of agriculture. Alnylam is a…

  • Kauffman Helping Stanford Student Accelerator Go National

    The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City is providing an $800,000 grant to StartX, an accelerator for student start-up businesses on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California. The grant will help StartX scale up its operations to expand across the U.S. StartX is a not-for-profit organization for entrepreneurs affiliated with Stanford University.…

  • European Businesses Expect 4 Percent Annual R&D Growth

    A survey of executives from larger companies in Europe shows the executives anticipate spending four percent more per year on research and development in the years 2012 to 2014. The report is based on responses from 187 executives conducted in January through April 2012 in companies that spent €56 billion, which makes up about 40…

  • Breakout Labs Backs Tissue Engineering, Diagnostic Start-Ups

    Breakout Labs, an early-stage revolving fund for life sciences start-ups, revealed three new grant recipients planning to develop solutions with advanced technologies. Breakout Labs is a program of the Thiel Foundation, founded by entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel — co-founder of PayPal and early venture backer of Facebook — in October 2011. The new recipients…

  • Polymer Materials Discovered That Resist Bacteria Attachment

    Researchers at University of Nottingham in the U.K. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology identified a new class of polymer materials that resist the attachment of bacterial pathogens. The team headed by Nottingham’s Morgan Alexander appears online in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). According to the university, infections related to medical devices, caused by…

  • Pfizer, Biotech to Partner on Autoimmune Disorders

    The global pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. and biotechnology company Nodality Inc. in South San Francisco, California agreed to a partnership that provides Pfizer with access to Nodality’s cell signaling analysis technology to streamline development of treatments for autoimmune diseases, beginning with lupus. The financial amount of the multi-year year was not disclosed. Nodality has created…