Tag: genomics
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FDA Exemption Sought for Ebola Blood Plasma Device
20 October 2014. Cerus Corp., a developer of blood safety devices, is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow its system for removing pathogens from blood plasma be used to treat patients in the U.S. with Ebola, while the device is under review. The provision, called a Compassionate Use Investigational Device Exemption, allows…
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Better DNA Sample Prep Methods Sought in Challenge
17 October 2014. A new challenge on InnoCentive is seeking methods that make it possible to prepare DNA samples in the field for sequencing, based on smaller quantities of microbial evidence. The challenge has an award of $25,000 and a deadline of 7 December 2014. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate…
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Personalized Leukemia Immunotherapy Gets 90 Pct Remission
16 October 2014. Nine in 10 children and adults in early-stage clinical trials of a personalized therapy harnessing the patients’ immune systems achieved full remission of their acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The findings of the team from University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are reported today in New England Journal of Medicine (paid subscription…
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Astellas, Harvard Partner on Retinitis Pigmentosa Targets
14 October 2014. Astellas Pharma Inc. in Tokyo is collaborating with a genetics and ophthalmology lab at Harvard University to discover more about the onset of the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa and identify therapy targets. Financial details of the three-year deal with Harvard were not disclosed. Retinitis pigmentosa is a family of inherited eye disorders…
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Patent Awarded for Detailed Pandemic Flu Detection Test
8 October 2014. A genomics-based test to detect various types of pandemic influenza, including mutated forms resistant to antiviral drugs, is the recipient of a recent patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent number 8,808,993 — Methods and Kits to Detect New H1N1 “Swine Flu” Variants — to three inventors, and assigned it…
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Genes Identified to Boost Vitamin A in Corn
6 October 2014. Agricultural researchers at Purdue University identified a few key genes that can increase ingredients in corn for building vitamin A in humans. And because these genes are already found in some corn varieties, say the authors, new types of corn can be developed without transferring genes from other species. The team led…
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Tissue Engineers, Biotech Firm Partner on Cartilage Repair
3 October 2014. Histogenics Corp. that develops replacement cartilage is licensing technology from Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company producing engineered genetics for commercial applications, for a new process to repair cartilage injuries with a patient’s own cells. The deal has a potential value of at least $44.5 million to Intrexon, but could also result in…
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U.S., Canada Authorities OK Biotech Ebola Treatments
23 September 2014. Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company providing its experimental therapy for people with suspected or confirmed Ebola infections. The Vancouver, British Columbia biotechnology company says approval of its therapy called TKM-Ebola is part of a larger regulatory framework for the treatments worked out with FDA and…
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Gene Editing Techniques Devised to Combat Superbugs
22 September 2014. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing ways to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria by modifying the genes that make the bacteria resistant to drugs. The team from MIT’s Synthetic Biology Group, led by engineering professor Timothy Lu, published its findings yesterday in the journal Nature Biotechnology (paid subscription required). Antibiotic resistance is…
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Biotech Firms Find Genetic Drivers for Uterine Cancers
19 September 2014. Researchers with the companies Personal Genome Diagnostics and Blueprint Medicines identified genetic mutations associated with carcinosarcoma, a rare but deadly form of cancer affecting the female reproductive system also known as malignant mixed Mullerian tumors. The team that includes members from Johns Hopkins University and Oregon Health and Science University published its…