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Aileron, Roche to Partner on Peptide Drug Delivery
Aileron Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts announced today a partnership with the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche to develop and commercialize a new class of drugs called stapled peptide therapeutics. Roche and Aileron will develop drug candidates with this technology for up to five targets in Roche’s fields of expertise: oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism, and central nervous…
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EPA Awards Contract for Waterborne Parasite Antibodies
Precision Antibody in Columbia, Maryland said today that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the company a contract to develop monoclonal antibodies to two species of Cryptosporidium — a.k.a “Crypto” — an intestinal parasite and common cause of waterborne illness in the United States. EPA’s contract calls for Precision Antibody to generate specific antibodies…
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Biotech Researchers Publish Parkinson’s Gene Silencing Data
Researchers from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, collaborating with colleagues at research institutes, reported effective silencing of a gene associated with Parkinson’s Disease. The pre-clinical findings were published 11 August in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS). The researchers silenced the alpha-synuclein gene using an RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic administered directly to the…
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Symposium Reports on Open Source Drug Discovery
A day-long symposium today at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Boston, Massachusetts reports on efforts to lift the secrecy often surrounding drug discovery. This new approach known as open-source drug discovery connects an online worldwide community that collaborates on discovering and developing new drugs. This combination of movement and work program has the…
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Mass. Start-Up Funding Drops 57% in July
Early-stage companies based in Massachusetts attracted investments worth some $131.4 million in July 2010, a drop of 57 percent compared to the $307 million raised in June. The number of equity deals also dropped, from 31 in June to 26 in July. The Web site Xconomy reported these findings today based on data from the…
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Iowa State Awards Research Grants with Economic Potential
Ten individual researchers and teams at Iowa State University in Ames have received grants to develop technologies and processes with potential to grow the state of Iowa’s economy. The state Board of Regents recently approved the grants, totaling more than 942,000, from this year’s Grow Iowa Values Fund. The largest grant, $120,075, was awarded to…
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Wireless Technology To Test Ford E-vehicle Batteries
Ford Motor Company has built a monitoring system for lab and field tests of its electric vehicle batteries, using wireless Internet technology. The system collects real-time performance data with sensors on the vehicles’ lithium-ion batteries and transmits the data via Internet links to a secure server for access by Ford engineers. The company says new…
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Medical Device Company Opening California Lab, Training Center
Integra LifeSciences of Plainsboro, New Jersey announced the opening of its Center for Research, Education and Training in Irvine, California. The new facility will offer hands-on simulated surgical training, as well as a laboratory for research and development for Integra’s products. The center will hold its first session for spine surgeons on 21 September 2010.…
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HHS Review Highlights Role of Business in Medical Countermeasures
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released a report on the federal government’s system to produce medications, vaccines, equipment, and supplies needed to meet a health emergency. The report — Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasure Enterprise Review: Transforming the Enterprise to Meet Long Range National Needs — reviews the process and makes…
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FDA Grants Orphan Status for Neuromuscular Drug
Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, today said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted ACE-031, its treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), with an orphan drug designation. DMD is a debilitating and fatal genetic disorder characterized by the progressive loss of muscle strength and function. The disease affects mainly boys…