Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • Biotech Begins Clinical Trial for Stroke Treatment

    ZZ Biotech, a biotechnology company in Houston, began a clinical trial of an experimental drug to treat acute ischemic stroke, where blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clot. The drug being tested is 3K3A-APC, the result of research first conducted at University of Southern California and Scripps Research Institute in California, and…

  • Foundation Medicine, Clovis Oncology Partner on Diagnostics

    Genomic diagnostics provider Foundation Medicine in Cambridge, Massachusetts and biotechnology company Clovis Oncology in Boulder, Colorado, will collaborate on diagnostics to identify cancer patients most likely to respond to rucaparib, a drug candidate in development by Clovis Oncology. Rucaparib is a small-molecule drug developed to treat tumors with defective BRCA gene function in breast and…

  • Clinical Trial Tests Skin Cell Spray as Leg Ulcer Therapy

    A clinical trial by researchers at Healthpoint Biotherapeutics in Fort Worth, Texas found a spray-on skin cell therapy to be faster and more effective in healing venous leg ulcers than the standard care. The findings, with contributions from research colleagues at University of Miami, University of North Carolina, and Barry University, appear online in the…

  • Biotech Chemical Company Raises $41.5M in Venture Funds

    Genomatica, a developer of chemicals from renewable feedstocks in San Diego, raised $41.5 million in series D financing, the fourth cycle of venture funding after start-up. The round includes the Italian chemical company and new corporate partner Versalis, with existing investors Alloy Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mohr Davidow Ventures, TPG Biotech, VantagePoint Capital Partners, and…

  • Biopharm Gains SBIR Grant for Cystic Fibrosis Treatment

    OrPro Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in San Diego, received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from National Institutes of Health, to advance development of its lead product, ORP-100, for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. The company did not disclose the amount of the award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of…

  • Bayer CropScience, Australian Agencies Partner on Wheat R&D

    Bayer CropScience in Monheim, Germany, is collaborating with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia’s science agency) and the Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation to develop new wheat varieties that produce higher yields. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. CSIRO has already designed a new higher-yielding wheat strain using genetic…

  • European Venture Volume Up, Science Company Investments Drop

    Venture capital (VC) investment volume rose in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the second quarter of 2011, but the number of VC deals dropped sharply. The number and volume of investments in European science-based companies, says financial industry research service Dow Jones VentureSource, declined by double-digit percentages in the second quarter of 2012…

  • Small Business Grant Awarded for Artificial Pancreas Insulin

    Biodel Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Danbury, Connecticut, has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop concentrated faster-acting insulin formulations for use in an artificial pancreas. The two-year grant totaling $582,473 was awarded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of National Institutes of Health (NIH). Biodel notes…

  • Biopharma Secures $38.5 Million in Series D Funds

    Chiasma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Jerusalem, Israel, has closed its $38.5 million series D funding round, the fourth cycle of financing after initial start-up. The round was led by by new investor Abingworth and current investor MPM Capital, with participation from current share holders 7 Med Health Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, F3 Ventures, and…

  • Techniques Developed for Deeper Single-Cell Gene Sequencing

    Researchers in Sweden and the U.S. have devised a process for in-depth genomic sequencing of single cells, which can lead to a better understanding of malignant tumors. The team from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the University of California in San Diego, and Illumina Inc. in Hayward, California published…