Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • Agriculture Research Companies to Partner on Insect Control

    Syngenta, a developer of agricultural products in Basel, Switzerland and Devgen, an agro-biotech company in Ghent, Belgium have agreed on a licensing and development partnership for new insect-control products based on genetic technologies. The six-year agreement has an estimated value of at least €50.8 million ($US 65.5 million). The partnership will enable Syngenta to add…

  • Biotech Lands $20M Series A Funds for Protein Therapies

    Eleven Biotherapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts has secured an additional $20 million in series A funds, the first round of investment financing after initial start-up. A new investor, JAFCO Company Ltd in Tokyo, joins existing investors Third Rock Ventures and Flagship Ventures in the deal. Eleven Biotherapeutics is expected to use the proceeds from the financing…

  • Cancer Institute Spin-Off Lands New €3 Million Financing

    iTeos Therapeutics SA, a drug discovery company in Gosselies, Belgium, has secured €3 million ($3.94 million) in  series A financing, the first investment round after starting up. The company received its initial seed funding, totaling €6 million, in December 2011. iTeos Therapeutics is a joint spin-off company of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in…

  • Nanotech Solution Helps Enable Cancer Drug Delivery

    Researchers at University of North Carolina medical school in Chapel Hill have found a process for delivering the cancer drug wortmannin using nanoscale particles, a drug that had not been deliverable using traditional methods. Their findings appear online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Wortmannin had been considered…

  • White House Issues Outline for Bioscience-Based Economy

    The Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House today released a national Bioeconomy Blueprint that it says will harness biological research to address national priorities. The plan outlines actions to be undertaken by federal agencies. No mention is made of new legislation, although the administration’s latest budget submission identified as a priority…

  • Patent Issued on Antibody for Brain, Spinal Cord Treatments

    Lpath Inc., a biotechnology company in San Diego, has been awarded a patent for its monoclonal antibody against lysophosphatidic acid, a factor in neurological disorders such as traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Patent 8,158,124 was issued last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to four inventors, including Lpath’s chief scientist Roger Sabbadini,…

  • Biopharm Lands $25M Venture Funding for Phase 3 Trial

    Argos Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Durham, North Carolina, says it secured $25 million in series D venture financing, the fourth funding installment after initial start-up. The funds are expected to support a planned clinical trial of Argos Therapeutics’ immunotherapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer. The financing was led…

  • AstraZeneca to Acquire Biotech for $1.26 Billion

    The global pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca says it will acquire Ardea Biosciences Inc., a biotechnology company in San Diego developing small molecule therapies. The deal is valued at $1.26 billion, with AstraZeneca paying $32.00 a share, a 54 percent premium over Ardea’s closing price on Friday 20 April. Ardea’s most advanced drug candidate is lesinurad taken…

  • U.S. Venture Deals, Dollars Decline in Q1 2012

    Companies in the U.S. raised less money in fewer venture capital deals during the first three months of 2012 compared to the same period last year, according to data compiled by Dow Jones VentureSource. Some science-based sectors fared better than others during this period, while venture capital (VC) investors generally showed more interest this year…

  • Biotech Company Secures $38 Million Series D Funds

    Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. in Bothell, Washington says it closed $38 million in financing today to support clinical studies of its two lead compounds. The series D round, the fourth financing installment after initial start-up, is led by Novo Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of Danish pharmaceutical maker Novo Nordisk. Alder BioPharmaceuticals has developed an antibody production…