Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • VC Funding Cut for U.S. Firms, Science Companies Take Hit

    Venture capital investments in U.S.-based companies are down for the second quarter of 2012, with software and Internet companies favored over enterprises based on scientific discoveries. According to Dow Jones VentureSource, a financial industry research service, companies in the U.S. raised $8.1 billion in 863 deals during the second quarter of 2012, a nine percent…

  • Biogen Idec, Isis Pharma Partner on Muscular Dystrophy Drug

    The biotechnology companies Biogen Idec in Weston, Massachusetts and Isis Pharmaceuticals in Carlsbad, California have agreed to develop and commercialize an antisense treatment for myotonic dystrophy type 1, also known as Steinert disease. The deal, which involves Biogen Idec licensing antisense technology developed by Isis Pharmaceuticals, will gain Isis $12 million immediately and up to…

  • U.S.-India Partnership to Develop Long Shelf-Life Tomato

    Arcadia Biosciences Inc. in Davis, California, and Bioseed Research India Pvt. Ltd. in Hyderabad unveiled plans to develop a tomato with more durability and longer shelf life.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Because of their perishable nature, many fresh fruits and vegetables — including tomatoes — are bred for durability and yield…

  • Merck Serono, Compugen to Form Toxicity Biomarkers Start-Up

    Merck Serono, a division of the global pharmaceutical company Merck in Geneva, Switzerland and the drug discovery company Compugen in Tel Aviv, Israel have agreed to form Neviah Genomics, a new enterprise to develop biomarkers for the prediction of drug-induced toxicity. While some financial arrangements were revealed, the total value of the deal was not…

  • NC State, Strasbourg Institutes to Advance Biomanufacturing

    North Carolina State University in Durham and University of Strasbourg in France, along with the Alsace BioValley cluster in Europe, are forming Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) International, to provide educational and regulatory advisory services in the U.S. and Europe. BTEC International will initially combine the resources of NC State’s Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training…

  • GSK Licenses Nanotech Product Development Platform

    The global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will license a nanotechnology-based product development platform created by Liquidia Technologies in North Carolina. The precise financial scale of the deal was not disclosed, but the companies say total earnings by Liquidia could reach as high as several hundred million dollars. Liquidia has built a development technology for pharmaceuticals…

  • Roche, Seaside Therapeutics to Partner on Autism, Fragile X

    Seaside Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche will collaborate to develop treatments for autism spectrum disorders and fragile X syndrome. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Autism spectrum disorders and fragile X syndrome are neurodevelopmental disorders for which there are no effective treatments yet that address core symptoms. Autism…

  • Report: Few Biotechs Working on Neglected Diseases

    A report by BIO Ventures for Global Health, a not-for-profit organization related to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), says only about five percent of the world’s biotechnology companies are developing new drugs, vaccines, or diagnostics against neglected diseases. The report, Biotechnology: Bringing Innovation to Neglected Disease Research and Development, is scheduled for release today at…

  • Merck, Ambrx to Partner on Biologics Candidate Development

    Ambrx Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in La Jolla, California, will collaborate with the global pharmaceutical maker Merck, to design and develop biologic drug conjugates, antibodies connected to drug payloads that bind with disease cell targets. The deal has a value of up to $303 million for Ambrx. The agreement gives Merck worldwide rights to develop…

  • Blood Disease Start-Up Lands $40.7M in Venture Funding

    Global Blood Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in San Francisco launched today with $40.7 million in funding from venture capital company Third Rock Ventures. The company plans to develop small molecule drugs to treat genetic blood disorders, such as sickle cell disease. The company’s founders include three biomedical researchers from University of California in San…