Science and Enterprise

Tag: preclinical

  • Challenge Seeks Preclinical Models for Macular Degeneration

    7 November 2014. A new challenge on InnoCentive asks for novel methods to test therapies for age-related macular degeneration in the lab, before being tested on humans. The competition has a total purse of $50,000 and deadline of 12 January 2015, where winners can also compete in a subsequent design challenge with a prize pool…

  • Bone Drugs Found as Possible Breast Cancer Therapy

    6 November 2014. Medical researchers at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia found common drugs to treat bone loss could treat breast and other other tumors outside the skeleton. The team led by Garvan research fellow Mike Rogers, with colleagues in Scotland and the U.S., published its findings online in the journal Cancer Discovery (paid…

  • Gates Foundation Funds Malaria Vaccine Development

    3 November 2014. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is awarding $156 million for a new type of malaria vaccine that prevents infection and transmission of the disease. Bill Gates, co-chair of the foundation, announced the grant to the Path Malaria Vaccine Initiative yesterday during keynote remarks at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s…

  • Synthetic Blood Thinner Antidote Developed

    30 October 2014. Medical and biochemical researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada designed a polymer antidote for heparin that in lab animals neutralizes anti-coagulant activity and appears to be well tolerated. The team led by chemistry and pathology professor Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu published its findings yesterday in the journal Science Translational Medicine (paid subscription…

  • Project Developing DNA Antibodies for Infectious Diseases

    21 October 2014. The biotechnology company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. and partners are developing synthetic antibodies based on DNA that generate an immune reaction to prevent infectious diseases, a project funded by Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA. The $12.2 million DARPA grant is supporting the work of Inovia, in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania,…

  • Stem Cells Engineered to Produce Insulin-Making Cells

    9 October 2014. Researchers at Harvard University developed a technique that enables embryonic stem cells to transform into large quantities of insulin-producing beta cells found in the pancreas, a key step in developing a treatment for type 1 diabetes. The team led by biologist Douglas Melton, co-director of the university’s Stem Cell Institute, published its…

  • Calico Licenses Neurodegenerative Disease Compounds

    11 September 2014. California Life Company, better known as Calico, is licensing for development compounds shown to protect nerve cells in lab animals against degeneration and injury. Financial terms of the deal between Southwestern Medical Center and 2M Company in Dallas, with Calico, a one-year old company backed by Google, were not disclosed. A paper…

  • Synthetic Platelet-Like Particles Developed, Tested

    8 September 2014. Biomedical engineers and medical researchers designed and tested in the lab a new type of synthetic particle that acts like natural blood platelets to help heal bleeding. The team from Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University medical school, both in Atlanta, published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Materials (paid…

  • Biotech, Universities to Test Hydrogel for Vocal Fold Scars

    28 August 2014. BioTime Inc., a biotechnology company in Alameida, California, is partnering with researchers at University of Wisconsin and Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium to test its hydrogels for treating vocal cord scarring, a voice problem that results from injury or disease. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed. Vocal folds are…

  • Ionic Liquids Shown to Combat Bacterial Biofilms

    27 August 2014. Researchers at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico developed a way to harness ionic liquids — salts in a liquid state — that in lab tests disrupt biofilms, antibiotic-resistant bacterial colonies, and boost treatments for skin infections. The team led by Los Alamos Lab’s David Fox and Samir Mitragotri at University…