Tag: genomics
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Zika Virus Genome Sequenced
12 January 2016. A team from Institut Pasteur in French Guiana sequenced the complete genome of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen causing disease outbreaks in tropical regions, including the Americas. Findings from the analysis appeared last week in the journal The Lancet. The Zika virus causes fever, with rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis, also…
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Juno Acquires Biotech, Licenses Cell Sequencing Tech
11 January 2016. Juno Therapeutics is gaining single-cell sequencing technology for cancer immunotherapies through the buy-out of biotechnology company AbVitro Inc., and licensing part of that technology to pharmaceutical company Celgene Corp. The AbVitro acquisition is valued at about $125 million, while financial details of the licensing deal with Celgene are not disclosed. Juno Therapeutics,…
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Cancer Genome Data Visualization Tool Developed
29 December 2015. A bioinformatics team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital created a Web-based system that illustrates genetic mutations behind pediatric cancers. The software and database in ProteinPaint, as the system is called, are described in a letter in today’s issue of the journal Nature Genetics (paid subscription required). The team led by Jinghui…
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Biotech, Bayer Partner on Gene-Editing Treatments
21 December 2015. CRISPR Therapeutics and the drug company Bayer AG are forming a joint venture to develop gene-editing therapies for three types of genetic diseases, and later for other human and agricultural applications. The deal calls for Bayer AG, in Leverkusen, Germany, to invest at least $300 million in the joint venture and take…
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Spin-Off Developing Gene Therapies for Blood Disorders
11 December 2015. A new spin-off company from University College London in the U.K. is developing gene therapies to treat hemophilia and related diseases. The company, Freeline Therapeutics, is raising £25 million ($US 38 million) in its first venture funding round. Freeline Therapeutics is founded and commercializing research by UCL hematology professor Amit Nathwani, who…
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Advocacy Group, Genetics Company Partner on Brain Disorder
7 December 2015. The start-up genetics analysis company Pairnomix is collaborating with KCNQ2 Cure Alliance to better understand mutations leading to KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy, an inherited brain disorder. Financial and intellectual property aspects of the partnership were not disclosed. KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy is a rare condition traced to mutations in the KCNQ2 gene, which produces…
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CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Made More Accurate
1 December 2015. Medical and engineering researchers enhanced emerging CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing techniques, reducing erroneous off-target edits with an engineered enzyme. The team from the Broad Institute, a medical research center at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, published its findings today online in Science…
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GMO Database Begun for European Regulators
30 November 2015. A database of DNA sequences found in genetically modified organisms or GMOs opened on Friday to help European regulators detect GMOs in food and feed products. The GMO-Amplicons database, available to the public, is run by the Joint Research Centre, the in-house science policy service of the European Commission. Europe now grows…
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Genomic, Patient Data Integrated for Precision Medicine
18 November 2015. A collaboration of genomic profiling and software companies plans to integrate their services to provide what they call more informed precision medicine treatment options for cancer patients. Financial aspects of the agreement between genetic diagnostics enterprise Caris Life Sciences in Irving, Texas and software provider Syapse in Palo Alto, California were not…
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Less-Invasive Skin Biopsy Sought in $30K Challenge
13 November 2015. In a new challenge on InnoCentive, a pharmaceutical company specializing in skin disorders is seeking a new minimally-invasive procedure for skin biopsies to provide samples for RNA analysis. The competition, sponsored by Leo Pharma in Ballerup, Denmark has a purse of $30,000 and a deadline of 10 February 2016. InnoCentive in Waltham,…