Tag: U.K.
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Oxford, Ludwig Institute Launch Immunotherapy Start-Up
9 July 2015. University of Oxford in the U.K. and Ludwig Cancer Research Institute are forming a spin-off enterprise to commercialize research by an Oxford immunology professor for cancer therapies. Financial details of the partnership to create iOx Therapeutics were not disclosed. The new company is commercializing research from the lab of Oxford immunologist Vincenzo…
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Engineered Mosquitoes Sharply Reduce Dengue Carriers
2 July 2015. A variety of mosquito, engineered to produce offspring that die before maturity, was found to reduce the dengue mosquito population in a city in Brazil by 95 percent, well below the level needed to spread the disease. The team from the biotechnology company Oxitec Ltd. in Abingdon, U.K., with academic and business…
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Novartis Acquires Pain Medication Developer in $200M Deal
29 June 2015. Global pharmaceutical company Novartis is acquiring Spinifex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a developer of new types of therapies for neuropathic pain. Spinifex reports Novartis is paying $200 million in cash for the company — based in Stamford, Connecticut and Melbourne, Australia — as well as undisclosed future milestone payments. Spinifex Pharmaceuticals develops therapies for…
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Anti-Infection Compound Devised for Dental, Wound Care
18 June 2015. A new formulation of a common antibacterial agent can protect against infections for weeks or months at a time, according to its developers at University of Bristol in the U.K. The team led by Bristol dental materials scientist Michele Barbour is developing Pertinax, an extended antimicrobial compound, and receiving this year’s £25,000…
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Antibiotic Developer Adds $9.2 Million in Early Funds
3 June 2015. Auspherix Limited, a start-up developer of new antibiotic drugs, raised £6 million ($US 9.2 million) in early-stage venture financing. Funding for the two year-old enterprise, located in a pharmaceutical and biotechnology incubator at Stevenage, U.K., was led by technology commercialization company Imperial Innovations plc, with earlier investor Australia’s Medical Research Commercialisation Fund.…
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Mini Gamma Camera Developed, Spin-Off Company Formed
1 June 2015. Physicists and medical researchers at two universities in the U.K. designed a hand-held camera that performs gamma ray imaging, normally requiring a powerful room-sized device for diagnosing tumors and other medical functions. The team from Universities of Leicester and Nottingham also formed a spin-off company, Gamma Technologies Ltd., to take the device…
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Smartphone Vision App Found Accurate as Clinic Test
29 May 2015. An inexpensive smartphone-based test was found to measure visual acuity as well as the familiar standard eye chart used in clinics. The team that developed the Portable Eye Examination Kit or Peek at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and other institutions in the U.K. published its results in yesterday’s…
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Oxford Establishes £300M Spin-Off Capital Fund
15 May 2015. University of Oxford in the U.K. is creating a capital investment fund to help launch spin-off companies based on research from university labs. The £300 million ($US 472 million) fund will be managed by a new enterprise, Oxford Sciences Innovation plc, which will be the university’s preferred capital financier for businesses generated…
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Nanoneedles Deliver Therapeutic DNA, Grow Blood Vessels
31 March 2015. A device made of tiny nanoscale needles successfully delivered genetic material that encourages growth of blood vessels in lab animals, in tests of its therapeutic potential. Researchers from Imperial College London in the U.K. and Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas reported their findings yesterday in the journal Nature Materials (paid subscription…
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Hand-Held DNA Sequencer IDs Bacteria, Viruses
26 March 2015. A palm-sized DNA sequencing device was able to identify a number of bacteria and viruses, and discriminate between closely related species in about 6 hours. Tests of the MinIon device, made by Oxford Nanopore Technologies in Oxford, U.K., were reported today in the journal GigaScience. Oxford Nanopore is developing the MinIon as a…