Science and Enterprise

Tag: biotechnology

  • Clinical Trial to Test Leukemia Drug Combination [UPDATED]

    UPDATE, 29 December 2011: Emergent Biosolutions, Abbott Labs End Collaboration Emergent BioSolutions Inc. in Rockville, Maryland has started a phase 2 clinical study of its drug candidate TRU-016 in combination with the chemotherapy drug bendamustine for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The company is developing TRU-016 in a partnership with Abbott Laboratories. Chronic…

  • Baxter, Momenta to Partner on Biosimilars

    Pharmaceutical and medical device maker Baxter International and biotechnology company Momenta Pharmaceuticals have agreed to collaborate on development of follow-on biologic drugs, also known as biosimilars. The deal valued at at least $33 million is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012. Under the agreement, Baxter in Deerfield, Illinois, will make an up-front…

  • Biotech Lands $30 Million Late Stage Investment

    Acceleron Pharma Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts says it raised $30 million in private financing from its current investors and one of its drug development partners. The funds, says Acceleron, will advance its clinical stage drug pipeline, as well as its overall research agenda. The company develops therapies based on the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)…

  • Patent Awarded for Stem Cell Generation Process

    A process that enables a single gene to generate millions of therapeutic stem cells from ordinary human cells has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent — number 8,080,420 — was awarded to medical professor Kiminobu Sugaya and colleagues at University of Central Florida in Orlando, and assigned to that…

  • Life Science Venture Fund Raises $313 Million

    Burrill & Company in San Francisco announced today a new life sciences investment fund with commitments so far totaling $313 million. The company says its Burrill Capital Fund IV plans to make early to late stage investments in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, health care delivery, wellness, and digital health. CEO G. Steven Burrill says the…

  • Enzyme Developer In-Licenses Synthetic Biology Technology

    Novozymes A/S in Bagsvaerd, Denmark has agreed to license genetic engineering technology from MorphoSys AG in Martinsried, Germany for the development of industrial biotechnology products. The multi-year agreement provides Novozymes, a manufacturer of industrial enzymes, with a non-exclusive license to use MorphoSys’s Slonomics technology. Financial and more precise timetable details of the deal were not…

  • Patent Awarded for Cell Life, Protein Production Technology

    Immunomedics Inc., a pharmaceutical company in Morris Plains, New Jersey has been granted a U.S. patent for its discoveries that extend the lifetime of cell lines and improve production of therapeutic proteins. Patent number 8,076,140 — “Mammalian cell lines for increasing longevity and protein yield from a cell culture” — was issued yesterday by the…

  • Biotech Secures $20 Million in Early Stage Financing

    ImmusanT Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts has received $20 million in early stage financing to develop its therapy and diagnostic tools  for celiac disease. The funds from venture capital firm Vatera Healthcare Partners LLC are expected to support further research and development of the company’s Nexvax2 therapeutics and diagnostics to a proof-of-concept demonstration. ImmusanT’s Nexvax2 therapeutic…

  • Venture Fund Raises $50M for Life Science Investments

    Forbion Capital Partners in the Netherlands says it is closing a new $50 million fund for investing in life science start-up companies nearing liquidity. The company’s second FCF 1 Co-Investment Fund plans to invest additional capital into its current portfolio of life science and biomedical technology companies. Forbion specializes in backing new businesses with late…

  • New Radiation Therapy Directly Attacks Cancer Cells

    Researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel have developed a new method of tumor removal that improves the likelihood of permanently destroying the tumor, and reduce the odds of it returning. The ablation process devised by Tel Aviv medical researcher Yona Keisari and physicist Itzhak Kelson is described in the journal Translational Research (paid subscription…