Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • Patent Issued for Protein-Engineered Flu Vaccine Technology

    Fraunhofer USA in Newark, Delaware has been assigned a U.S. patent for its technology that binds proteins with antigens to fight influenza. The Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent 8,124,103 on 28 February to three inventors, including Vidadi Yusibov, executive director of Fraunhofer USA. Yusibov also serves as the chief scientific officer of iBio Inc.,…

  • Bayer, Texas AgrilLife to Partner on New Wheat Varieties

    Bayer CropScience in Monheim, Germany and Texas AgriLife Research in College Station will collaborate on developing improved types of wheat and taking them to market. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Researchers at the two organizations plan to develop wheat lines that offer drought and disease resistance which are important properties for wheat…

  • ARPA-E Grant Funding Plant Hydrocarbon Feedstock Research

    The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E, part of the U.S. Department of Energy) has awarded a $1.8 million grant to Texas AgriLife Research in College Station to study the potential of tobacco as a direct source of fuel. The grant can also provide Texas AgriLife plant pathologist Joshua Yuan (pictured left) with another…

  • Stem Cells Repair Heart Muscle in Clinical Trial

    A clinical trial at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore has shown that treating patients with their own heart-derived stem cells helps re-grow healthy muscle damaged by a heart attack. The team led by Raj Makkar of Cedars-Sinai using technology developed by Eduardo Marbán (pictured right), director of…

  • University Genome Research Helping Biofuel Developer

    Researchers at University of Georgia in Athens have mapped the genomes of two originator cells of the large perennial grass miscanthus that can help develop this grass as a source of ethanol and bioenergy. A California biofuel feedstock developer is partnering with the university on this project. Miscanthus is a promising candidate for biomass farming,…

  • Pharma Companies to Partner on Cough and Cold Drugs

    Vernalis plc in Winnersh, U.K. and Tris Pharma Inc. in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey have agreed to develop and market prescription cough and cold drugs in the U.S. Financial terms and timetable of the deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Tris will use its drug delivery technology to develop, on behalf of Vernalis, up…

  • Companies Among Gates Foundation TB Biomarkers Awardees

    The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded today $7.7 million in funding to identify biomarkers for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in low-resource settings. The 10 awards aim to promote research into TB biomarkers that leads to a simple, low-cost tool to quickly and accurately diagnose TB in developing countries. One of the primary grant recipients is…

  • FDA Grants Priority Review to Breast Cancer Therapy

    Genentech in South San Francisco, California, says the Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review status to its drug pertuzumab to treat human epidermal growth factor receptor 2- (HER2-) positive breast cancer. Genentech is a division of the global pharmaceutical company Roche, headquartered in Switzerland. FDA applies the priority review status in this case…

  • Grants for Orphan Disease Academic-Industry Partnerships

    The Wellcome Trust in the U.K. has unveiled new funding for academic-industry partnerships in early-stage research and development projects targeting orphan and neglected diseases. The Pathfinder Awards aim to encourage pilot research projects with potential for developing new products that address diseases affecting a small percentage of the population (orphan diseases) or conditions that that…

  • Biotech, Diagnostics Companies Partner on Microbe Detection

    SDIX, a biotechnology company in Newark, Delaware and BD Diagnostics in Sparks, Maryland have agreed to collaborate on the development of systems to detect microorganisms, in a deal worth as much as $3.75 million. BD Diagnostics is a division of the medical technology company Becton Dickinson and Company in New Jersey. The goal of the…