Tag: Europe
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Intrexon Acquires Oxitec, Partners on Genetic Disorder
10 August 2015. Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company specializing in synthetic biology, is acquiring Oxitec Ltd., a designer of genetically modified insects to control the spread of disease-bearing and agricultural pests for $160 million. Intrexon is also partnering with Synthetic Biologics Inc. to develop therapies for phenylketonuria, a genetic metabolic disorder. Intrexon, in Gaithersburg, Maryland…
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Gates Expands Collaboration with RNA Vaccine Maker
4 August 2015. CureVac, a designer of vaccines and therapies based on messenger RNA — genetic signals sent from DNA to a person’s cells — is expanding its partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to include a third viral disease affecting low-resource regions. Financial details of the new collaboration between the Gates Foundation…
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Trial Shows Weekly Growth Hormone Drug Effective, Safe
30 July 2015. Results of an intermediate-stage clinical trial show a drug candidate to treat growth hormone deficiency in children given once a week, works about as well as a current therapy requiring a daily injection. The results were released by Ascendis Pharma A/S, a specialty pharmaceutical company in Copenhagen, Denmark that conducted the trial.…
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Fibers Like Wool Yarn Devised from Animal Gelatin
30 July 2015. A materials science doctoral student in Switzerland developed a process for converting animal gelatin into a fiber similar to yarn from high-quality wool. Philipp Stössel, in the Functional Materials Lab at ETH Zurich, a science and technology university, led the team that published its findings in a recent issue of the journal…
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Opioid Overdose Nasal Spray Cleared for FDA Review
29 July 2015. Indivior plc, a pharmaceutical company in the U.K. specializing in addiction therapies, received notice that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted the company’s new drug application and is beginning review of Indivior’s opioid overdose treatment formulated as a nasal spray. The FDA also granted Indivior, in Slough, U.K., priority review status…
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Allergan Acquires Depression Therapy Developer for $560M
27 July 2015. Pharmaceutical maker Allergan plc is acquiring Naurex Inc., a designer of fast-acting therapies for depression and other neurological disorders, for $560 million. The deal covers Naurex’s products now in clinical trials, with the company’s technology platform and preclinical research spun-off into a new enterprise. Naurex, a spin-off company from Northwestern University in…
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Research, Finance Alliance to Fast-Track Alzheimer’s Drugs
24 July 2015. A coalition of research institute, venture capital firm, and drug discovery company is forming a new enterprise to develop therapy candidates for Alzheimer’s disease from promising lab results. Financial terms of the partnership of Gladstone Institutes and Dolby Family Ventures in San Francisco with Evotec AG in Hamburg, Germany were not disclosed.…
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Spinal Stimulation Start-Up Wins $200K State Award
13 July 2015. PathMaker Neurosystems Inc., a developer of non-invasive devices that stimulate the spinal cord to relieve muscle weakness and paralysis, received a $200,000 award from a Massachusetts science funding agency. The grant was made by Massachusetts Life Sciences Center as part of its life sciences milestone achievement program. PathMaker’s technology uses electronic current…
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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…