Don't miss out on the latest business and technology news for chemical engineers, featuring select items in relation to Food, Pharmaceuticals & Bioengineering!
Biotechs going for earlier, better-funded IPOs
Biotech companies are going public earlier and with more initial public offering dollars, which analysts say may reflect more confidence in new technologies, such as gene therapy. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals CEO John Maraganore said this trend reflects the increasing cost of research and development, and an industry that has matured and "proven itself to be a real, sustainable business."
GSK delves into gene editing with $67M investment
GlaxoSmithKline will pay up to $67 million over five years for the new Laboratory for Genomics Research for the development of treatments based on gene editing for cancer, neurological disorders and immunological diseases. The center will be run in cooperation with the University of California.
Merck buys Tilos to expand antibody pipelines
Tilos Therapeutics would be acquired by Merck for up to $773 million to expand the latter's pipelines in cancer, fibrosis, and autoimmune diseases. Tilos' pipelines include therapies that target latent TGFβ complex.
Norden starts on second biofuel testing
Norden has launched a second biofuel trial on Nord Sustainable, a large ocean-going tanker powered by CO2-neutral biofuel.
Researcher develops cactus juice-derived bioplastic
Sandra Pascoe Ortiz, a researcher at the University of the Valley of Atemajac in Mexico, has created a non-toxic, biodegradable plastic made from cactus juice and other renewable ingredients. "All the materials we use can be ingested both by humans or animals. And they wouldn't cause any harm," said Ortiz.
Celgene reports on interim data for myeloma candidate iberdomide
Celgene announced interim results from a Phase I/II study for its investigational therapy iberdomide, or CC-220, combined with dexamethasone, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, which was found to be safe and was able to control the disease in almost 90% of trial participants. The preliminary data were unveiled during a presentation at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Amgen's Herceptin biosimilar approved by FDA
Amgen's Kanjinti, or trastuzumab-anns, a biosimilar version of Roche's Herceptin, or trastuzumab, has been approved by the FDA. The drug is indicated for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer and HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
Potentially dodgy stem cell trials threaten valid studies
The FDA has been cracking down on companies and clinics that market unapproved, unproven stem cell therapies, but some of the organizations' trials remain listed on clinicaltrials.gov, which critics say gives the firms undeserved credibility. Critics also say that charging participants, as some stem cell studies do, is unethical, and trials run by unapproved sellers threaten participation in valid studies that comply with federal regulations.
Trump orders streamlined biotech product review
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to speed up reviews of agricultural biotechnology, including biotech seeds and livestock. The move was an "important step forward to ensure government policy does not hinder 21st-century biotechnology from addressing the many global challenges," according to BIO.
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