Category Archives: Biotechnology

Venture Capitalist Biogeneration Ventures has exceeded the target size of its life sciences fund BGV III through investments from the European Investment Banks InnovFin Equity Facility and the Dutch Venture Initiative II. The third fund of the Dutch company now comprises 66m, 16 more than the BVG IIIs initial target size. Biogeneration did not provide figures about the exact financial contributions of its new investors but said that investments will focus on medtech, diagnostic and drug development companies in Germany and Benelux. The new fund will build on the first two BGV funds which yielded some success for investors including a 1,55bn divestment of Dezima Pharma into Amgen and the 7bn exit of Acerta Pharma, the largest private exit in Europe in the biotech sector to date. Four investments have already been made from BVG III into German immuno-oncology company Catalym, and Dutch companies Escalier Biosciences, Scenic Biotech and Varmx, working on autoimmune diseases, target discovery, and haematology, respectively. Our third fund makes BGV amongst the largest life sciences funds dedicated to seed investments in Europe, said Edward van Wezel, Managing Partner. Over the last decade we have made over twenty investments in the European life sciences ecosystem. Weve observed … Continue reading →

Paul Weisbruch is the VP of ETF/Options Sales and Trading at Street One Financial. Prior to joining the team at Street One, Paul served as the Director of RIA and Institutional ETF Sales at RevenueShares ETFs from December 2007 until November of 2009. Before RevenueShares, Paul was employed by Susquehanna International Group from 2000 until 2007 serving in roles including OTC/NYSE Institutional Block Trading, Nasdaq/OTC Market Making, ETF/Derivatives Intelligence and Strategy, Algorithmic Trading, as well as acting as the PHLX Floor Specialist in the ETFs, SPY and DIA.Paul has been actively involved in the ETF space from both a product and trading standpoint since 2000. Additionally, Paul has well forged relationships with national RIAs, institutional pension fund managers and consultants, mutual fund and hedge fund managers, and also the ETF media. Co-authoring the S1F ETF Daily since 2009, the daily piece has become a must for many portfolio managers in the ETF space, with segments regularly appearing in the likes of Barrons, WSJ, and ETFTrends.com for instance. He holds his Series 4 (Registered Options Principal), 6, 7, 55 (Equity Trader), 63, and 65 licenses. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S. Economics), graduating magna cum laude, and has an … Continue reading →

The American Soybean Association submitted comments recently to both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding regulations in response to advances in genetic engineering. ASA included in comments to USDA, that biotechnology is an essential tool in farmers quest to produce enough food to meet the needs of 9.7 billion people by 2050, creating the need for a clear, science-based regulatory system in the U.S. as an example and standard for regulatory systems of biotechnology internationally. While applauding USDAs efforts to reduce the burden on regulated entities, ASA expressed concern that aspects of the rule as proposed will increase the regulatory burden and stifle research and innovation. Additionally, ASAs comments to FDA cheered USDAs proposal to exclude certain genome-editing techniques from requiring pre-market approvals because they are low risk and could be found in nature or achieved through traditional breeding methods. ASA concluded its support saying, Technological advancements such as genome editing offer an additional tool to combat threats while also improving sustainability in production agriculture. View original post here: ASA provides input to USDA, FDA on advances in biotechnology - High Plains Journal … Continue reading →

German oncologists have unveiled that market-approved inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases (DMNTi) and histone deacetylases (HDACi) act through expression of cancer neoantigens. They already have a biomarker test to identify responders. The findings, reported in Nature Genetics, are good news for drug developers who want to broaden the scope of current immune checkpoint modulators through combination therapies that trigger cancer cells to release immunogenic neoantigens. Following addition of epigenetic inhibitors to cancer cell cultures thousands of atypical transcripts with altered frameshift were expressed form previously ignored endogenous promotors of retroviral origin, resulting in profound tumour cell death, group leader Plass from German Cancer Centre told European Biotechnology. His team has already a biomarker assay that could identify responders to the treatment as it measures activation of the normally silent treatment induced, not-annotated transcription start sites (TINATs). Up to now, pharma majors such as Roche/Genentech have largely relied on combination of their checkpoint inhibitors with personalised mRNA cancer vaccines. The new findings might open the avenue to a broader activation of cancer neoantigens than these vaccinesas over 2,500 TINATs have been identified in the human genome by the researchers. The retrotransposons (elements of human endogenous retroviruses, HERVs), which are located in long … Continue reading →

A publication in Science Translational Medicine shows that Roche has a rising star in the 15 million patient market of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In a Phase II trail US and German researchers showed efficacy in geographic atrophy, an advanced stage of AMD, which has currently no treatment. One week prior to the publication, Roche announced it has intitiated two Phase III trails (CHROMA and SPECTRI) enroling 936 patients with the advanced form of AMD that affects 5 million AMD patients and has currently no cure. Primary endpoint is slowing for disease progression at 12 months, secondary endpoint is visual acuity at 24 months. However, rumors say the FDA could accelerate patient access through granting breakthrough status to the treatment. In a multi-center, randomized, 18 month Phase study that recruited 129 AMD patients ( MAHALO), lead author Brian Yaspan observed a 20% reduction in lesion area progression in patients receiving Roche/Genentechs antibody drug candidate lampalizumab at acceptable safety profile. Lampalizumab zeroes in on complement D, part of the innate immune defenses alternative complement pathway Genome analysis of participants identified a patient subgroup with complement D variants who showed a 44% reduction in geographic atrophy area progression. The authors say targeting … Continue reading →

Share This Article: Eli Lilly and Company logo. (PRNewsFoto, Eli Lilly and Company) Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced the completion of a $90 million expansion of its San Diego biotechnology center, which is now more than double its previous size with the addition of 180,000 square feet of work space. The facility, on Campus Point Drive near UC San Diego, also includes a new high-tech laboratory and room for what the Indianapolis-based company calls a Life Science Studio. Eli Lilly moved into San Diego in 2004 with the acquisition of Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., and built its Biotechnology Center in 2009. Being in the San Diego area for the last 13 years has been a game changer for us, specifically in the arena of discovering medicines for hard-to- treat autoimmune conditions, said Thomas F. Bumol, Lillys senior vice president of biotechnology and immunology research. Company officials said they hope the new facility will allow closer collaboration among researchers. The center originally focused on immunology, but in the larger facility, scientists will also work on diabetes, oncology, neurodegeneration and pain reduction. Investing in drug discovery and development is critical to maintaining an ecosystem that encourages and promotes innovation, said Jan Lundberg, … Continue reading →

Eli Lilly has added a new state-of-the-art laboratory and 180,000 square feet of additional working space to its Biotechnology Center in San Diego, CA. Reporting completion of the $90-million expansion, Lilly said the 145% increase in working space will help to foster collaborations with external partners, and allow closer partnerships between its biotechnology, discovery chemistry, and research technology teams. The aim is to accelerate drug discovery within therapeutic areas including immunology, diabetes, oncology, neurodegeneration, and pain. To further exploit its expertise in automated organic synthesis, and build on its Automated Synthesis Laboratory in Indianapolis, Lilly is also establishing the Lilly Life Science Studio at the San Diego site. The firm says the new facility will give researchers worldwide the ability to remotely test new ideas, and design, synthesize, and screen molecules. "Investing in drug discovery and development is critical to maintaining an ecosystem that encourages and promotes innovation, commented Jan Lundberg, Ph.D., executive vice president for science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. "Expanding our presence in San Diego will not only help us discover and deliver innovative medicines faster, but will also help us achieve our goal of launching 20 new medicines in 10 years." "This year … Continue reading →

Canadians generally do not have a solid understanding of what exactly the term biotechnology refers to, according to recently released public opinion research collected by Nielsen Consumer Insights on behalf of Agriculture Canada. In July 2016, the department issued a contract asking Nielsen Consumer Insights to conduct a comprehensive research project to measure Canadian consumers perceptions and attitudes towards issues related to domestic agriculture and agri-food. The research would help provide insight while developing the next agriculture policy framework, which comes into force in 2018. The data was collected via a series of focus groups, telephone calls and online consultations. Overall, researchers found 88 percent of those surveyed have a generally positive or neutral view of biotechnology. Canadians generally feel that biotechnology will have a positive impact on their future, placing it near the top of a selection of new and emerging technologies in terms of this promise, researchers told Agriculture Canada. However, Canadian knowledge and view on specific forms of biotechnology varies widely. Researchers found that most of the people who were surveyed struggled to give examples of biotechnology used in agriculture. Participants typically offered up examples used within the medical and health care fields, such as stem cells, … Continue reading →

Kansas City Star Shawnee Mission West High student wins international biotechnology competition Kansas City Star Hosted by the Biotechnology Institute, the competition challenges high school students from across the world to find solutions to health care, sustainability and environmental needs through biotechnology. Earlier this year, Smith was chosen along with ... Read this article: Shawnee Mission West High student wins international biotechnology competition - Kansas City Star … Continue reading →

The center features a new technologically-advanced laboratory and an additional 180,000 square feet of working space, which is an increase of 145 per cent compared to the former facility. Eli Lilly and Company has announced completion of a $90 million expansion of its Biotechnology Center in San Diego, California. Lilly's new space will help foster and accelerate the discovery of medicines within the company's core therapeutic areas of immunology, diabetes, oncology and neurodegeneration, as well as the emerging area of pain. The center features a new technologically-advanced laboratory and an additional 180,000 square feet of working space, which is an increase of 145 per cent compared to the former facility. In addition to the center's established presence in preclinical and clinical immunology research, the new space allows for closer partnership between Lilly experts in biotechnology, discovery chemistry and research technologies while also fostering external collaborations. As a pioneer in automated organic synthesis, Lilly is creating the Lilly Life Science Studio in San Diego. Building upon Lilly's Automated Synthesis Laboratory in Indianapolis, the new facility will allow researchers across the globe to remotely design, synthesize and screen investigational molecules in an unprecedented manner. Using the power of automation, the Lilly Life … Continue reading →