Tag: Europe
-
Smartphone-Based Sensor Gives Early Epilepsy Warning
8 April 2016. An academic and business consortium in Germany is developing a small sensor worn in the ear that detects and warns of seizures in people with epilepsy. The 3-year Epitect project to develop the system, including smartphone software and cloud-based analytics, is led by University Hospital Bonn and supported with €2 million ($US…
-
Intrexon Spin-Off Developing Type 1 Diabetes Therapy
4 April 2016. A new subsidiary of the synthetic biology company Intrexon Corp. is creating a pill for people with type 1 diabetes to stop the disease’s damage in its early stages. The enterprise, known as Intrexon T1D Partners LLC, is a joint venture between Intrexon, in Germantown, Maryland, and White Rock Capital Partners a…
-
Gene-Editing Therapy Advances for Rare Immune Disorder
1 April 2016. A key committee of the European Medicines Agency recommends approval of treatments for a rare children’s immune disease that uses edited genes as therapy. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency at its March 2016 meeting recommended approving Strimvelis by GlaxoSmithKline to treat adenosine-deaminase-deficient…
-
Regeneron, Bayer Collaborating on Eye Disorder Drug
24 March 2016. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and drug-maker Bayer AG are developing a combination of biologic drugs to treat the eye disorders wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. The agreement — the third such deal between the companies — is expected to bring Regeneron as much as $130 million if all milestones are met.…
-
Cancer Diagnostics Company Raises $12.3M in IPO
18 March 2016. VolitionRx, a developer of blood tests that screen for cancer and other disorders, is raising some $12.3 million in its initial public stock offering. The Namur, Belgium company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VNRX, issued about 3.8 million shares of common stock priced at $3.25. VolitionRx designs…
-
Implant Developed to Deliver Alzheimer’s Immunotherapy
18 March 2016. A neuroscience team from Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, or EPFL, in Switzerland designed and implanted a capsule that in lab mice generates antibodies to reduce amyloid beta plaque accumulations in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from the lab of Patrick Aebischer, also EPFL’s president, published its findings in the…
-
FDA Gives Initial Clearance for Engineered Mosquitoes
11 March 2016. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a preliminary report that self-limiting engineered mosquitoes will have no significant environmental impacts on the Florida Keys, where they plan to be tested. The report agrees with an environmental assessment by Oxitec Ltd., developer of the engineered mosquitoes, that the agency is releasing for public…
-
Gene Editing Creates Pigs Resilient to African Virus
23 February 2016. University and industry researchers edited the genomes of domesticated pigs to create a variety better able to withstand a deadly tick-borne virus. The team from University of Edinburgh and the biotechnology companies Sangamo BioSciences and Genus plc published its findings in yesterday’s (22 February) issue of the journal Scientific Reports. The team…
-
Virtual Reality Seen Helping People with Depression
15 February 2016. Individuals suffering from depression often express a high degree of self-criticism to the point it interferes with recovery from their disorder. Researchers from University College London showed in a pilot study that a virtual reality exercise could increase feelings of self-compassion and reduce the severity of depression, in some cases with enough…
-
What it Takes to Innovate in the Old Economy
12 February 2016. Innovation is important throughout the modern economy, particularly in established industries that may lack the excitement of hot new sectors like biotechnology. A panel at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS 2016 annual meeting today (12 February) in Washington, D.C. examined ways of creating innovation in these legacy…