Latest Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare News from Avakado

Merck Serono increases MS Ventures funding to €100 million

Merck Serono is to increase its commitment to its strategic corporate venture capital fund MS Ventures to €100 million. MS Ventures was originally established in March 2009 with a €40 million commitment to invest in emerging biotechnology compani...

UK Government confirms Technology Strategy Board budget

The UK’s innovation agency, The Technology Strategy Board, will have a record budget this year of £440 million to support innovative businesses and drive growth, as confirmed this week by David Willetts, the Minister for Universities and Science....

Almac and UCL establish metagenomics and enzyme discovery programme

Almac’s biocatalysis group has secured a UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council programme with University College London focused specifically on metagenomics and novel enzyme discovery. This R&D work will be carried out joint...

Evotec and Harvard University to collaborate on new class of antibacterials

Evotec AG has formed a research collaboration with Harvard University aimed at discovering and developing novel anti-bacterial agents based on a highly validated target family involved in bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Researchers at Harvard and E...

MorphoSys initiates Phase 2 clinical study of antibody treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

MorphoSys AG has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of its antibody drug candidate MOR208 in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). MOR208 is a potent Fc-optimised anti-CD19 antibody to which MorphoSys gained worldwide rights through an exclusive licence an...

Cobra Biologics to manufacture DNA vaccine for Vaccibody

Clinical- and commercial-scale biologics and pharmaceuticals manufacturer, Cobra Biologics Ltd, and Vaccibody AS, a biotechnology company developing next-generation vaccines against cancer and chronic infections, have formed an agreement in which Cob...

Roche creates new award for antibody-based cancer therapy research

The Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) Discovery Oncology unit of Roche, based in Penzberg, Germany, is inviting European researchers to submit abstracts describing their scientific work in the field of tumour-selective membrane targets for...

Vectura establishes strategic partnership for new respiratory business in China

Vectura Group plc has established Tianjin Kinnovata Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Kinnovata) in China with two partners, Tianjin KingYork Group Company Limited (KingYork), a Chinese pharmaceutical company and specialist manufacturer of corticostero...

FDA approves Novartis juvenile arthritis drug

The FDA has approved Novartis’ drug Ilaris (canakinumab) for the treatment of active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) in patients aged two years and older. Ilaris is the first interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) inhibitor approved for SJIA...

BIA welcomes latest Voluntary Harmonisation Procedure for multinational clinical trials in Europe

The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) has said that providing new medicines to patients more quickly has become “a step change easier” due to the improved and refined Voluntary Harmonisation Procedure (VHP) for multinational clinical trials applic...

BioCity to develop BioHub at AstraZeneca’s Alderley Park site

UK life sciences business incubation services provider BioCity Nottingham Ltd has been appointed to establish a new centre for bioscience companies at AstraZeneca’s Alderley Park location in Cheshire. The BioHub will initially provide 36,000 sq ft...

Takeda to acquire vaccines company Inviragen

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited’s wholly owned subsidiary Takeda America Holdings, Inc has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Inviragen, Inc for an upfront payment of $35 million and future payments of up to $215 million linked to...

Recipharm and Synthonics establish drug delivery technology agreement

Recipharm Pharmaceutical Development AB and Synthonics, Inc have established a Joint Promotion Agreement which will provide Recipharm customers with full access to Synthonics’ technology to improve the delivery and performance of Recipharm compound...

GSK to introduce new online system for sharing clinical trial data

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is introducing a new online system https://clinicalstudydata.gsk.com that will enable researchers to request access to anonymised patient level data that are part of the results of clinical trials. The company expects that shari...

Ablynx initiates preclinical development of Nanobody asthma treatment

Ablynx has initiated preclinical development of its anti-IgE Nanobody®, ALX-0962, for the treatment of severe allergic asthma, aiming to commence Phase 1 clinical development in the second half of 2014. ALX-0962 consists of a highly potent anti-IgE...

Cardio3 BioSciences raises €19 million in private funding

Belgian biotechnology company Cardio3 BioSciences (C3BS), a specialist in the discovery and development of regenerative, protective and reconstructive therapies for the treatment of cardiac diseases, has increased its equity by €19 million through...

Aesica and University of Nottingham to develop novel amide chemical synthesis method

Contract manufacturing organisation Aesica has formed a partnership with the University of Nottingham for the commercial development of alternative methods in amide bond synthesis. The partnership has been established through the Aesica Innovation Bo...

FDA approves Merck & Co LDL cholesterol-lowering product

The FDA has approved Merck & Co’s product LIPTRUZET tablets for the treatment of elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with primary or mixed hyperlipidemia as adjunctive therapy to diet when diet alone is not enough. LIPTRUZE...

Regeneron acquires full rights to ophthalmology programmes

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc has expanded its ophthalmology portfolio by acquiring full exclusive rights to two families of novel antibodies invented at Regeneron and previously included in the company’s antibody collaboration with Sanofi. Regene...

CollabRx and GeneInsight to collaborate on clinical genetic sequencing reporting service

CollabRx, Inc, a data analytics company focused on informing the clinical interpretation of molecular diagnostic testing, and GeneInsight LLC, a developer of software to support knowledge management and reporting for genetic testing laboratories, hav...

EuropaBio and Smithers Rapra announce agenda for European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (EFIB)

EuropaBio and Smithers Rapra have announced the agenda for the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (EFIB) taking place from September 30 to October 2, 2013 in the heart of Brussels at SQUARE. Officially launched by Elio di Rupo, Prime Ministe...

Pfizer and Merck & Co collaborate on investigational type 2 diabetes medicine

Pfizer and Merck & Co have entered into a worldwide collaboration (excluding Japan) for the development and commercialisation of Pfizer’s ertugliflozin (PF-04971729), an investigational oral sodium glucose cotransporter (SGLT2) inhibitor being...

Boehringer Ingelheim and Oxford BioTherapeutics form novel cancer antibodies discovery collaboration

Boehringer Ingelheim and Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) have established a new alliance focused on the discovery of novel cancer antibody targets that OBT will identify with the help of its OGAP discovery platform. Under the collaboration, OBT will val...

BioFocus launches Academic Engagement initiative

BioFocus has launched its Academic Engagement initiative (AEi) based on the company’s experience working with academic and non-profit institutions. The primary aim of the initiative is to identify the best new therapeutic strategy ideas from academ...

Convergence Pharmaceuticals commences Phase 2 neuralgia treatment study

Convergence Pharmaceuticals Limited, a company focused on the development of novel and high-value analgesic medicines for the treatment of chronic pain, has started a Phase 2 proof of concept study with CNV2197944 in pain associated with post-herpeti...