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Genes Identified to Boost Vitamin A in Corn
6 October 2014. Agricultural researchers at Purdue University identified a few key genes that can increase ingredients in corn for building vitamin A in humans. And because these genes are already found in some corn varieties, say the authors, new types of corn can be developed without transferring genes from other species. The team led…
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Drug Delivery, Rewards Companies Partner on Med. Adherence
6 October 2014. West Pharmaceutical Services, a company producing devices for administering drugs, and HealthPrize Technologies that offers an online system for rewarding patients when they follow medication instructions, are collaborating on a platform that connects their products into a service to boost medication adherence. Financial details of the venture were not disclosed. The companies…
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Tissue Engineers, Biotech Firm Partner on Cartilage Repair
3 October 2014. Histogenics Corp. that develops replacement cartilage is licensing technology from Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company producing engineered genetics for commercial applications, for a new process to repair cartilage injuries with a patient’s own cells. The deal has a potential value of at least $44.5 million to Intrexon, but could also result in…
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Google Glass Captioning Developed for Hearing Impaired
3 October 2014. Computer scientists at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta designed a system that converts speech from conversation partners to text, displayed on Google Glass systems worn by people with hearing difficulties. Google Glass is a wearable miniature computer that displays data on eyeglasses worn by the user. The software is a creation…
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Drug-Error Analytics Service Raises $1M in Early Funding
2 October 2014. MedAware, a company harnessing big-data analytics to prevent erroneous drug prescriptions, raised $1 million in its first round of venture financing. The Ra’anana, Israel enterprise completed the funding round led by OurCrowd, an Israeli crowdfunding investment service, with contributions from GE Ventures. The company is the creation of CEO Gidi Stein, a…
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Micro-Needle Capsule Designed to Replace Drug Injections
2 October 2014. Researchers designed and tested in animals a pill with tiny needles that could deliver some of the same biologic drugs now using injections. The team of engineers and medical researchers from the lab of Robert Langer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital and Technion in Israel, published…
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Smart Bandage Monitors Severe Wound Healing
1 October 2014. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston developed a paint-on covering for severe wounds that changes color to indicate the extent of healing taking place. The team from the lab of Conor Evans in Mass. General’s photomedicine center published its findings in today’s issue of Biomedical Optics Express, published by the Optical…
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Gold Nanoparticles Boost Heart Tissue Patch Performance
1 October 2014. Medical and materials scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel designed a heart tissue repair patch that adds in gold nanoparticles to improve electrical signaling and muscle performance. The team from the lab of life sciences professor Tal Dvir published its findings last month in the journal Nano Letters (paid subscription required).…
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Johnson & Johnson Acquires Biotech Developing Anti-Virals
30 September 2014. The biotechnology company Alios BioPharma Inc., a developer of anti-viral medications, is being acquired by health care products enterprise Johnson & Johnson for $1.75 billion. The all-cash deal will add Alios BioPharma’s pipeline to the portfolio of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson. Alios BioPharma, in South San Francisco, California,…
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Nerve-Blocking Treatment for Diabetes Approved in Europe
29 September 2014. EnteroMedics Inc., a medical device developer in St. Paul, Minnesota, says marketing approval in Europe for its vagus nerve blocking device for obesity is extended to cover type 2 diabetes. A CE Mark, which signifies approval to market regulated products such as medical devices in the European Union and associated countries, is…