Tag: genomics
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AstraZeneca Begins Four Gene-Editing Collaborations
29 January 2015. The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is taking part in collaborations with research institutes and a company in the U.S. and U.K. to discover new drug targets based on an emerging genome-editing technology. Financial and intellectual property details of the partnerships with Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Innovative Genomics Initiative, Broad Institute and Whitehead Institute,…
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Trial Testing Gene Therapy for Rare Eye Disorder
20 January 2015. An early-stage clinical trial is underway testing a gene-repair therapy for choroideremia, a rare progressive genetic eye disorder that leads to blindness. The trial, conducted at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia began enrolling its first patients, according to Spark Therapeutics, also of Philadelphia, the biotechnology company leading the study. Choroideremia is associated with…
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DNA Tools Being Devised to Determine Physical Appearance
15 January 2015. A genetics professor in Indiana is developing forensics techniques to determine physical appearance characteristics of people from samples of their DNA. The work of Susan Walsh, in the biology department at Indiana University – Purdue University in Indianapolis is funded by a $1.1 million grant from National Institute of Justice, a division…
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Trial Testing RNA Therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Update: 15 January 2015. Comments on the article are offered at the end of the main text. 14 January 2015. A clinical trial is underway testing safety and effectiveness of synthetic RNA treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease affecting primarily males. The treatments are developed by Sarepta Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in…
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Biogen Idec, Columbia to Partner on Genetics Research
9 January 2015. Biotechnology company Biogen Idec and Columbia University in New York are collaborating on research into genetic causes of disease that aims to uncover targets for new treatments and help in the early stages of producing those treatments. The partnership is valued at $30 million, but timetable, intellectual property, and further financial details…
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Trial Shows Synthetic Insulin Reduces Alzheimer’s Symptoms
9 January 2015. A clinical trial shows a synthetic form of insulin delivered with a nasal spray can improve memory functions of people with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Results of the study led by gerontology professor Suzanne Craft of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina appear in an advance…
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Novartis Licensing Biotechs’ Gene-Editing Technologies
7 January 2015. Pharmaceutical maker Novartis is licensing technologies from two biotechnology companies that enable the editing of human genomes to cure disease. Financial details of the agreements with Caribou Biosciences Inc. in Berkeley, California and Intellia Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts were not disclosed, but involve equity investments, initial payments and research support, and milestone…
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Genentech, 23andMe to Analyze Parkinson’s Genome Data
6 January 2015. Personal genomics company 23andMe plans to analyze the genomes of 3,000 of its clients to discover new Parkinson’s disease drug targets for biotechnology company Genentech, a division of the pharmaceutical company Roche. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 23andMe, in Mountain View, California, provides genetic ancestry testing services, but also…
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RNA Therapies Company Gains $450M in Venture Funds
5 January 2015. Moderna Therapeutics, a developer of medications that use genetic material to produce therapeutic proteins in the body, raised $450 million in its third announced venture financing round. The Cambridge, Massachusetts biotechnology company says existing investors AstraZeneca and Alexion Pharmaceuticals joined with new participants Viking Global Investors LP, Invus, RA Capital Management, and…
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Computer Model Predicts Bacteria Mutations, Aids Drug Design
2 January 2014. Researchers at Duke University and University of Connecticut wrote a mathematical model with open-source software that predicts mutations in bacteria to help design treatments for bacteria resistant to antibiotics. A team of computer scientists and biochemists from the two universities published their findings on 31 December 2014 in Proceedings of the National…