Biotech News

Eli Lilly and Company is boosting its manufacturing footprint by investing $2.1 billion in two new U.S. sites. The new facilities are located at Indiana’s LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District in Boone County. David A. Ricks, Lilly’s chair and CEO, said: “These new sites will add capacity in support of our growing pipeline of innovative medicines, while also creating more high-tech jobs for Hoosiers. We are pleased to be a founding investor at the LEAP Lebanon Innovation District.” Over the past eight years, Lilly has delivered 17 new medicines, including tirzepatide (approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as Mounjaro) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and aims to introduce four potential new medicines in the next two years. The company said the new sites will support increased demand for its existing products. The proposed project is expected to create up to 500 new jobs, with an additional four indirect jobs for every Lilly position created. An estimated 1,500 construction jobs will be required while the facilities are being built. The post Up to 500 new jobs as Lilly invests $2.1B in new manufacturing sites 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.

U.S. biotech company HotSpot Therapeutics, Inc. is looking to increase its drug development and discovery efforts by partnering with Indian data and digital insights company Excelra. HotSpot discovers and develops small molecule allosteric therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.  What are allosteric therapies? In the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, Ahmed F. Abdel-Magid explains that most current drugs are designed to bind directly to the primary active sites of their biological targets. He said when drugs bind to the active site of biomolecules, such as enzymes or receptors, they inhibit or modify the function of the biomolecule. For example, a drug binding to an enzyme’s active site inhibits enzyme function as it prevents other substrates from binding. Abdel-Magid said another approach to drug design is based on secondary binding site effects. Through this approach, small molecule drugs are designed to bind the secondary binding sites, instead of the primary ones, of targeted biomolecules. These secondary sites are termed allosteric sites, The post HotSpot looks to boost cancer therapy pipeline with Excelra partnership 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.

U.S. company CorePath Laboratories is partnering with U.K. diagnostics firm Cizzle Biotechnology on an early-stage lung cancer test for the U.S. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., making up almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. The American Cancer Society’s estimates for lung cancer in the U.S. for 2022 are about 236,740 new cases (117,910 in men and 118,830 in women) and approximately 130,180 deaths (68,820 in men and 61,360 in women) every year. Currently, there are no simple, specific blood tests for the early detection of lung cancer, which is especially important as targeted interventions can improve access to cancer care and save lives.  In a 2018 paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Cheung et al. estimated about 8 million Americans qualify as high risk for lung cancer and are recommended to receive annual screening with low-dose CT scans. The post Companies partner on early lung cancer detection blood test 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.

U.S. company Blue Lake Biotechnology, Inc. has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Fast Track designation for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) intranasal vaccine. The biopharma company, a subsidiary of CyanVac LLC, develops vaccines using a parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5)-based vector. The FDA Fast Track designation applies to BLB-201, a vaccine for the prevention of RSV-associated disease in adults over 60 and children under two years of age. The company said in preclinical studies, BLB-201, delivered intranasally as a single dose, induceds serum antibody and mucosal antibody responses, as well as immune responses, and iwas protective in RSV challenge studies conducted in various animal models.  Delivered through the nose without injections, the company said its intranasal vaccines have the potential to be delivered to pediatric and needle-hesitant groups. “FDA’s granting of Fast Track designation for BLB-201 reflects the urgent need for an RSV vaccine,” said Dr. Biao He, founder and CEO of Blue Lake Biotechnology and its parent company, CyanVac LLC.  “It is encouraging that FDA recognizes the potential of our vaccine to address this need for children under 2 years old as well as for older adults. The post Blue Lake Biotechnology RSV vaccine gets FDA fast track 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.

Four of six lymphoma patients in a small trial went into remission, an early but encouraging sign for an emerging form of cellular immunotherapy.

ASCO: Mirati cedes to Amgen's Lumakras on durability in tight KRAS battle aarmstrong Fri, 05/27/2022 - 09:05

Addex's eyelid data fail to make clear case for spasm expansion ntaylor Fri, 05/27/2022 - 07:43

Israeli foodtech startup Imagindairy, Ltd., developer of animal-free dairy milk proteins, has secured an additional $15M in its extended seed-round to bring the total investment so far to $28M.  The alt-protein company creates animal-free milk proteins from microorganisms through precision-fermentation technology, which allows the production of a wide range of dairy analogs, from raw milk to cheese, all without involving animals.  Imagindairy’s dairy proteins are non-GMO, cholesterol-free, and have the same flavor, texture, functionality, and nutritional value as their animal-based counterparts.  Imagindairy’s technology recreates nature-identical, animal-free versions of whey and casein proteins that can be used to produce dairy analogs. The products have exactly the same flavor and texture – and the functionality and nutritional value – of their animal-based counterparts. This opens new opportunities to develop a full range of non-dairy products that mimic dairy versions yet contain no cholesterol, or GMOs. They also are lactose-free, which is attractive to consumers with lactose intolerance or sensitivity. The company added its products also address the impact livestock has on the environment. The post Animal-free milk company Imagindairy reaches $28M in funding 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.

Iovance sinks 50% as pivotal cell therapy data disappoint investors, but approval plan pushes ahead anyway ntaylor Fri, 05/27/2022 - 04:57

ASCO: Genentech touts bispecific data for DLBCL, calling it 'groundbreaking' for heavily pretreated patients aarmstrong Thu, 05/26/2022 - 20:20

Bristol Myers beat Merck to the first approval of a so-called LAG-3 inhibitor. But Merck is advancing its own and data to be presented at ASCO show it could help treat Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Fresh study results showed similar rates of response and progression-free survival with Mirati's experimental adragasib as with Amgen's approved Lumakras. The new data might raise safety questions, however. 

Chutes & Ladders—Alchemab CEO resigns immediately citing 'personal reasons' mbayer Thu, 05/26/2022 - 16:22

ASCO: Merck's Keytruda combo data could spark hope for lymphoma patients who lack options aarmstrong Thu, 05/26/2022 - 13:00

Detailed results from important studies of AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug Enhertu, Gilead’s Trodelvy and Roche’s TIGIT blocker are among the most anticipated late-breaking data set to be presented next month.

Bosley, who once led the CRISPR gene editing biotech, will become a venture partner at Advent Life Sciences, which backs a range of early-stage drug companies.

The drugmaker is spending $2 billion on the new facilities, which will be staffed with up to 500 new corporate positions and support production of its pipeline of new products. 

Avadel's shares crumble as narcolepsy drug delayed yet again, this time on patent issue aarmstrong Thu, 05/26/2022 - 10:33

Vertex scoops up Catalyst's complement pipeline for $60M cash mbayer Thu, 05/26/2022 - 09:47

With the right partner, Pfizer gains fast-track tag for previously shelved NASH drug aarmstrong Thu, 05/26/2022 - 08:12

IN-ACTIV: NRx tanks as peptide fails NIH trial in severe COVID-19 patients ntaylor Thu, 05/26/2022 - 07:38

Biotech co-founder arrested on murder-for-hire charges ntaylor Thu, 05/26/2022 - 06:29

Flagship unveils ProFound Therapeutics with $75M to explore trove of new proteins mbayer Wed, 05/25/2022 - 17:03

The pharma has been criticized for not doing enough to make its COVID-19 vaccine and pill available globally. The new initiative commits Pfizer to supplying current and future branded medicines at lower cost to 45 countries.

The regulator agreed to assess the companies' data under priority review, setting up a decision on approval of the hemophilia B treatment in six months.