This Week in Chemical Engineering - Food, Pharmaceutical & Bioengineering Spotlight: May 8, 2018 | AIChE

This Week in Chemical Engineering - Food, Pharmaceutical & Bioengineering Spotlight: May 8, 2018

Don't miss out on the latest business and technology news for chemical engineers, featuring select items in relation to Food, Pharmaceuticals & Bioengineering!

Domino's tests AI-powered order-taking system

Domino's Pizza is testing its voice-recognition robot, DOM, on phone-in orders at 20 restaurants, as part of its ongoing effort to use artificial intelligence to improve the pizza-ordering experience. "We believe natural voice recognition is the future, as seen by the rise in virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Home," CEO J. Patrick Doyle said.

Restaurant execs advise a holistic approach to tech

Technology is changing the restaurant industry in some specific ways, but brands need to take a big-picture approach that includes the entire operation, executives from KFC, Long John Silver's and Papa John's said during a recent panel. Brands must adjust their voices depending on the social media channel and provide employees with the training and tech tools they need to succeed, they said.

MIT grads cook up a robotic, fresh-food solution

Boston-based startup Spyce Food has created a robotic system that can cook about 200 meals an hour using fresh ingredients. The machine was created by four Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates on a mission to make healthy food more affordable.

Novel method uses cell-secreted microvesicles to regenerate heart muscle

Columbia University researchers have developed a novel technique to regenerate damaged heart tissue using extracellular vesicles secreted by cardiomyocytes. The findings, reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, could help scientists develop new treatments for cardiac medical conditions.

FDA signs off on extension study of CTD's Niemann-Pick disease type C drug

An open-label extension study that will evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of intravenous Trappsol Cyclo in patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C was signed off on by the FDA. Patients who have completed the early-stage trial will be allowed to continue the treatment, which was developed by CTD Holdings.

Theratechnologies launches therapy for multidrug-resistant HIV type 1

Trogarzo, or ibalizumab-uiyk, was launched by Theratechnologies to treat adult patients with multidrug-resistant HIV type 1. The drug was approved based on a safety and efficacy study in which a majority of patients who received Trogarzo had a significant decrease in HIV-RNA levels a week after the drug was added to their failing antiretroviral regimens.

Vivus acquires US, Canadian rights of Janssen's Pancreaze

Janssen Pharmaceuticals granted Vivus US and Canadian rights of its Pancreaze, or pancrelipase, delayed-release capsules for $135 million. Pancreaze was approved for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency caused by cystic fibrosis or other conditions.

Morton Salt makes a font from food waste

Morton Salt's new social campaign focuses on the problem of food waste, using vegetables and fruit thrown out in dumpsters to design a font, and the paper and ink used to create it. Posters with messaging using the typeface that say things like "You're Reading Last Week's Dinner" are running across social, and a video ad shows people's reactions to the issue.

CRISPR patent case between Broad, UC Berkeley awaits decision

The three US appeals court judges hearing the CRISPR patent case between the Broad Institute and the University of California at Berkeley on Monday seem divided, with the court not saying when the decision will be published.

Pharmacology expert explains how animal research benefits patients

Patients would pay the true cost if animal research were eliminated, said Bill Dewey of Virginia Commonwealth University's Pharmacology and Toxicology Department. "Would you like one of your family to be the first person to have a heart cardiac transplant that was never done on an experimental animal?" Dewey said.

Janssen acquires BeneVir's oncolytic viral immunotherapy for $1B-plus

Janssen, the biotech arm of Johnson & Johnson, is set to boost its immuno-oncology pipeline with the acquisition of BeneVir, which includes its T-Stealth platform and oncolytic viral immunotherapy candidates, focusing on developing treatments for patients who are resistant to checkpoint inhibitor therapies. Janssen will pay $140 million upfront, with additional milestone payments that could add up to $900 million.

Celgene plans to file with NDA, EMA for relapsing multiple sclerosis drug

Celgene intends to submit applications in the first quarter of next year to the FDA and the European Medicines Agency for its drug candidate ozanimod to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis. The company recently released data showing that the majority of the total activity of the product in humans could be accounted for by a metabolite of ozanimod, and it plans to include existing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data and bridging nonclinical studies about the metabolite when it resubmits its new drug application with the FDA.