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Zymeworks, Celgene to Develop Double-Binding Antibodies
21 January 2015. Zymeworks Inc., a biotechnology company in Vancouver, Canada and pharmaceutical maker Celgene Inc. are developing biologic therapies using Zymeworks’ antibody technology. The deal makes Zymeworks eligible for up to $164 million from Celgene for each candidate developed under the partnership, as well as an unspecified initial payment and equity investment. Under the…
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University Spin-Off Develops Bone Repair Technology
20 January 2015. A materials science research center and university spin-off company in Ireland are developing a technology using natural materials to repair bones in people and animals. The bone-repair technology is a product of Ireland’s Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research (Amber) center at Trinity College in Dublin and SurgaColl Technologies in Cork, a spin-off…
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Trial Testing Gene Therapy for Rare Eye Disorder
20 January 2015. An early-stage clinical trial is underway testing a gene-repair therapy for choroideremia, a rare progressive genetic eye disorder that leads to blindness. The trial, conducted at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia began enrolling its first patients, according to Spark Therapeutics, also of Philadelphia, the biotechnology company leading the study. Choroideremia is associated with…
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FDA Issues Draft Wellness Device Guidance
19 January 2015. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday released draft guidance defining low-risk general wellness devices that the agency intends to exclude from regulatory oversight. The 8-page document, published on the FDA Web site, will be open for comment for 90 days beginning tomorrow. FDA says it prepared the document to answers…
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Neuropore, UCB Partner on Parkinson’s Drugs
16 January 2015. UCB, a biopharmaceutical company in Brussels, is licensing an experimental drug to treat Parkinson’s disease developed by Neuropore Therapies Inc., a biotechnology company in San Diego. The agreement gives UCB a worldwide license for the compound and is expected to pay Neuropore as much as $480 million. Parkinson’s disease occurs when the brain…
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New Process Expands Samples for Microscope Magnification
16 January 2015. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a process for expanding the size of tissue samples that makes possible high resolution images with ordinary laboratory materials and microscopes. The team led by MIT bioengineering professor Ed Boyden published its findings yesterday in the online journal Science Express (paid subscription required). Microscopes have…
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DNA Tools Being Devised to Determine Physical Appearance
15 January 2015. A genetics professor in Indiana is developing forensics techniques to determine physical appearance characteristics of people from samples of their DNA. The work of Susan Walsh, in the biology department at Indiana University – Purdue University in Indianapolis is funded by a $1.1 million grant from National Institute of Justice, a division…
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European Consortium to Create Alzheimer’s Trial Panel
15 January 2015. A group of 35 universities, companies, and research institutes in Europe are forming a panel of people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease to test new treatments that prevent the disorder. The five-year European Prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia or EPAD project is part of the Innovative Medicines Initiative, a joint undertaking…
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FDA Approves Nerve Pathway Device for Obesity
14 January 2015. U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a device blocking nerve signals between the brain and stomach to help obese people who have not responded to other weight-loss methods control their appetites and lose weight. The Maestro Rechargeable system approved by FDA is made by medical device maker EnteroMedics Inc. in St.…
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Trial Testing RNA Therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Update: 15 January 2015. Comments on the article are offered at the end of the main text. 14 January 2015. A clinical trial is underway testing safety and effectiveness of synthetic RNA treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease affecting primarily males. The treatments are developed by Sarepta Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in…