Tag: genomics
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National Academies to Develop Gene-Editing Guidelines
18 May 2015. National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine plan to write guidelines governing an emerging technology for editing human genomes. The initiative includes an international meeting in the fall to discuss the scientific, ethical, and policy issues associated with the technology known as CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR, short for clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic…
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Mayo Clinic, Baylor to Study Genomes for Drug Safety
13 May 2015. Mayo Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine are beginning a study of 10,000 human genomes to reveal drug safety problems and highlight where drugs may not work for some people. Financial aspects of the collaboration, involving Mayo Clinic’s Biobank and Baylor’s Human Genome Sequencing Center, were not disclosed. The research aims to…
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Biotech, Research Institute Partner on Gene Therapies
13 May 2015. A collaboration between a U.S. biotechnology company and French research institute is enhancing current techniques to allow patients with rare diseases to receive multiple doses of gene therapies. Selecta Biosciences in Watertown, Masachusetts and Généthon in Evry, France plan to co-develop and co-own the results of their partnership, but financial details of…
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RNA Therapies Developer Spins-Off Rare Disease Venture
12 May 2015. Moderna Therapeutics, a developer of RNA-based treatments, is starting a new company to design therapies with its technology to address rare diseases. Financial details of the spin-off company Elpidera LLC, the third such venture launched by Moderna, were not disclosed. Moderna, a biotechnology enterprise in Cambridge, Massachusetts, develops medications that use genetic…
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Gene Editing Harnessed to ID Cancer Targets
12 May 2015. Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Lab in New York developed a technique that reveals targets for leukemia drugs with an emerging gene editing technology. A team from the lab of geneticist Christopher Vakoc published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Vakoc and colleagues study proteins regulating chromatin,…
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23andMe, Lupus Institute Partner on Genetics Study
5 May 2015. The personal genetics company 23 andMe and Lupus Research Institute are collaborating on a study of genetic associations with systemic lupus erythematosus, the disease more commonly known as lupus. Financial and intellectual property details of the collaboration between 23andMe, Lupus Research Institute, and Pfizer Inc. serving as an adviser to the project,…
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Trial Underway Testing RNA Therapy for Rare Liver Disorder
5 May 2015. An early-stage clinical trial is testing a therapy derived from genetic material to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a rare inherited disease affecting the liver and lungs. The therapy, code-named ARC-AAT, is developed by Arrowhead Research Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company in Pasadena, California. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, or AATD, is caused by a mutation…
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Heart Drug Developer Raises $46M in Venture Funds
1 May 2015. MyoKardia Inc., a developer of therapies for inherited heart diseases, raised $46 million in its second venture funding round. Taking part in the financing for the South San Francisco, California company are the drug company Sanofi that already holds an equity stake in MyoKardia, as well as venture capital firms Casdin Capital,…
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Phone Add-On Designed to Image DNA Molecules
30 April 2015. A bioengineering lab at University of California in Los Angeles is developing a smartphone attachment that can image and measure the length of DNA molecules. The team led by engineering professor Aydogan Ozcan is scheduled to describe the system on 14 May at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics sponsored by the…
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Plant Science Biotech Gets Genome Editing Technology
16 April 2015. Cellectis Plant Sciences, a biotechnology company in Minnesota developing higher quality crops through genetic engineering, licensed CRISPR genome editing technology from University of Minnesota. Financial details of the agreement between Cellectis and the university were not disclosed. The technology licensed by Cellectis covers techniques known as CRISPR, short for clustered, regularly interspaced short…