Biotech News

The much-anticipated data arrive two days before an important FDA advisory meeting to discuss authorization of a booster dose for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine.

In a briefing document released Wednesday, agency reviewers did not make a strong case either for or against the broad authorization of boosters for the general public.

As increasing attention turns to microbiome-based therapeutics, the Scottish biotech Enterobiotix has closed a Series A fundraising to potentially treat a myriad of medical conditions by improving gut health. Last week, EnteroBiotix raised €18M (£15.5M) in Series A funding to further develop a pill to restore the patient’s gut microbiome to a healthy state using stool samples from healthy donors. The technology could potentially tackle a plethora of seemingly unrelated diseases, including infections, metabolic disorders, and cancer. The Scottish investment firm Thairm Bio led the financing, with US-based Kineticos Ventures joining existing investors including SIS Ventures and Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency. This is the latest example of increasing interest in the human microbiome — the ecosystem of viruses, bacteria, and other microbes in and on the body — and its potential to treat a wide range of conditions including cancer, diabetes, Covid-19, and depression. “The microbiome is now considered a key area for innovative healthcare, and we believe that the momentum is growing,” said Hervé Affagard, The post UK Startup Surfs Investment Wave in Microbiome with €18M Series A appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The move, which will affect an estimated 270 positions, follows a review by the company's board, and comes just weeks after one of its most advanced drugs failed a key test.

Deals with Regeneron and Eli Lilly will secure nearly 1.8 million additional doses of the companies' respective treatments over the next four months.

Newly discovered immune cells block melanoma metastasis in mice and could inspire new treatments arlene.weintraub Wed, 09/15/2021 - 09:58

Abingworth, Gimv and Pfizer back stealthy Swiss startup's $61M round to crack gene therapy delivery ntaylor Wed, 09/15/2021 - 09:17

From red blood cells to platelets, the cells in our own blood could prove an effective way of delivering drugs to their target and improving their safety. Many pharmaceutical drugs in the market come with side effects that generally arise from their effects on parts of the body other than their intended target. Even when a drug is beneficial, strong side effects can lead to a patient skipping doses or abandoning the drug regimen completely. Drug delivery systems are the holy grail of precision medicine, seeking to reduce these off-target effects. However, drug delivery systems such as synthetic nanocarriers or lipid nanoparticles continue to run into challenges regarding preventing unwanted immune responses to the carrier and implementing mechanisms to release the drug in a controlled way. Recent work suggests that a better alternative lies in the most abundant cells in our bodies: blood cells. In particular, red blood cells and platelets show promise in this area. Unlike most of our cells, they do not carry genetic material, The post Blood Cells: The Future of Drug Delivery appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Novo Nordisk Foundation teams up with Broad Institute, Harvard for diabetes, obesity research hub badams Wed, 09/15/2021 - 08:27

Theravance axing 75% of staff, slashing R&D budget after flunking phase 3 ntaylor Wed, 09/15/2021 - 08:01

Executives at Amylyx Pharmaceuticals said that based on the agency's recent feedback, they will soon ask for approval of AMX0035 — a change of plans from earlier this year. 

Moderna, AbCellera join forces to tackle major mRNA opportunity ntaylor Wed, 09/15/2021 - 01:28

The company announced a Phase III cardiac drug failed to meet its primary endpoint and a significant shift in its R&D efforts that have resulted in the termination of 75% of its staff.

The German biotech, which announced disappointing results for its shot in June, said the move was done in response to reduced demand. 

The venture firm, which previously invested in Disarm Therapeutics, Ra Pharma and Tizona Therapeutics, said its third fund surpassed its target.

Sanofi dumps Principia Biopharma's San Francisco labs with plans to immediately cut 38 jobs nhigginsdunn Tue, 09/14/2021 - 11:36

The study, which was suspended following three deaths last year, had been restarted in February after Astellas lowered the treatment dose used. 

After 3 big exits, Lightstone snags largest fund yet with $375M geared toward next biotechs, medtechs klahucik Tue, 09/14/2021 - 08:40

RedHill BioPharma follows familiar biotech path after COVID-19 drug fails in severe patients badams Tue, 09/14/2021 - 08:38

UPDATE: Pfizer and Trillium: How a $25M investment led to a $2.3B buyout ntaylor Tue, 09/14/2021 - 07:54

Europe has a number of bubbling biotech hubs that offer access to expertise, financial support, and networking opportunities for young healthcare ventures. One of them is the Basel Area in Switzerland.   It goes without saying that the basis of each biotech should always be world-class innovation. But that is just the beginning: In order to develop a scientific discovery into a life-changing drug, talents, and specialists from all kinds of fields are needed. These include academia, preclinical and clinical research and development teams, regulatory authorities, intellectual property law firms, business development, commercial and financial experts, as well as access to smart capital and partners. This sort of ecosystem is very hard to find. There are some, scattered across the globe, but pinpointing them is not so easy. One of the best-suited life sciences ecosystems in Europe is the Basel Area in Switzerland. Basel’s tightly woven life sciences ecosystem Nestled between the borders of France and Germany, the Basel Area is home to the headquarters of the global pharma giants Roche and Novartis. The post Basel: It Takes an Ecosystem to Build a Startup appeared first on Labiotech.eu. © Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Labiotech UG and Labiotech.eu with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Another death blights Astellas' $3B Audentes buy as FDA slaps clinical hold on the test badams Tue, 09/14/2021 - 03:37

The company has agreed to pay $370 million, and possibly north of $1 billion more, to gain access to a Regenxbio treatment targeting wet AMD and other eye conditions.

Kapeller's Rome bags $77M to strike gold in the backwaters of the genome ntaylor Mon, 09/13/2021 - 11:40

Marion Gruber and Philip Krause, two top FDA vaccine reviewers who are unexpectedly departing this fall, joined senior WHO officials in saying booster vaccine doses are not yet widely needed.