Category Archives: Biotechnology

JOHOR BAHARU, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- Johor is drawing up a complete ecosystem for biotechnology industry players aimed at attracting more investors in the sector to the state. The efforts to create the ecosystem framework for the biotecnology sector will be implemented by the Johor Biotechnology and Biodiversity Corporation (J-Biotech). Its chief executive officer Wan Amir Jeffery Wan Abdul Majid said the ecosystem would cover several initiatives including the entry of technology, human capital development, investment collaboration, and empowering the involvement of entrepreneurs. "We will focus on research and development sector in efforts to drive the biotechnoloogy industry, which started since 2006, to a higher level. "Johor has the package sought by biotechnology industry players especially from overseas as the state has three foundations that are able to become its main strength including agriculture, healthcare and industries," he said in a media conference today. He also said Johor was among the main food producers in Malaysia and owns large areas of coconut plantations, and efforts to value-add must be enhanced. To add value to a product, technology is needed and from here J-Biotech will play the role to attract industry players, both local and overseas, which have the expertise to … Continue reading →

Beagle Bioproducts Podcast | Algae, Cyanobacteria, Biotechnology. Have you ever wonder how Dr. Wayne Carmichael started working with cyanobacteria? Beagle Podcast | Beagle Bioproducts is tremendously honored to have had the... By: Beagle Bioproducts … Continue reading →

Chapter 6 Plant Biotechnology VIDEO NOTES, Part 1B By: BIO STUFF … Continue reading →

Chapter 6 Plant Biotechnology VIDEO NOTES, Part 1C By: BIO STUFF … Continue reading →

This is with reference to the editorial titled Driving a Wedgepublished on Thursday, July 31, 2014, in your esteemed publication. We would like to bring to your notice some inaccuracies against GM technology and gross representation of facts against Monsanto. The editorial points to two arguments against GM crops. The first is that it promotes monoclonal culture. This is factually incorrect. Biotechnology, on the other hand, increases farmers choices. One only needs to look at the Indian cotton seed industry to realise the truth. Indias cotton farmers have the widest choice in the world when it comes to varieties of seeds over 800-plus hybrids, each with innate characteristics and capabilities. Biotechnology has only served to impart these seeds with an inbuilt resistance against a single, widespread pest. The wide variety of seeds available allows farmers to plant seeds most suited to his soil and climatic conditions. Indias farmers have a choice of seeds, as well as competing technologies. Again, Monsanto is not the only seed company that specialises in biotechnology. The truth is that in India alone, there are over 40 Indian and global seed companies selling cotton seeds with five distinct in-the-seed insect protection Bt cotton technologies that have … Continue reading →

bioconference2014 The theme of bioconference-2014 is Biomass Energy Natural Products The one day conference covered a multitude of sessions of biotechnology, including Bioenergy, Industrial Microbiology,... By: RIBB Nepal … Continue reading →

Local loss of jobs will contribute to overall reduction of as many as 2,900 by end of 2015, most of those in U.S. Biotechnology firm Amgen announced Tuesday that it plans to close its facilities in Colorado and Washington by the end of next year, resulting in the loss of approximately 430 jobs in Boulder County. The cuts will begin at the company's facilities in Longmont and Boulder in the third quarter of this year and the sites will be completely shut down by the end of 2015, the company said. The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company said that overall, it is cutting 2,400 to 2,900 jobs, or about 12 percent to 15 percent of its global work force. Most of those cuts will be in the U.S., it said. Robert A. Bradway "To minimize the impact on staff, we are offering a voluntary transition program for eligible staff in the U.S. and Puerto Rico," Amgen's chairman and CEO Robert Bradway wrote in a memo to employees that was made available to the media. The memo went out Tuesday morning, in advance of the company's second quarter earnings announcement in the afternoon. "The voluntary transition program provides an enhanced benefits package … Continue reading →

Puma Biotechnology (NYSE: PBYI) surged more than 200% after the bell on Tuesday after reporting that its development-stage cancer drug neratinib scored an important victory in phase 3 trials. The news surprised investors, whose worries over side effects in previous trials caused shares to fall by more than 50%, as shares held short increased from 1.5 million to nearly 1.7 million, or roughly 8% of all Puma's shares available for trading. Delivering the goods Investing in biotechnology stocks is notoriously hit-and-miss, and Puma's roller-coaster ride over the past year serves as an important reminder that risk-averse investors should stay at bay when it comes to the rollicking industry. But that's not the only lesson to be learned from Puma's pop-and-drop history. The company's dramatic rise on Tuesday afternoon also reminds investors that short-term news shouldn't dictate long-term investment decisions That's because what may seem bad today may not be viewed as bad tomorrow, particularly when it comes to hard-to-treat disease like cancer. It was only a month ago that the revelation of moderate to severe diarrhea in neratinib patients had investors overlooking what appeared to be otherwise solid trial results. Source: Puma Biotechnology Updating results In phase 3, neratinib has … Continue reading →

Regional News of Sunday, 27 July 2014 Source: GNA A book on biotechnology in agriculture has been launched in Accra with a stress on the importance of political will towards agricultural biotechnology in solving food and nutritional security in Africa. The 291-page book, dubbed Biotechnology in Africa Emergence, Initiatives and Future is a collection of science policy reports from African scientists based purely on their experiences with the use of biotechnology in agriculture in different parts of the continent. Edited by Florence Dr Wambugu, Chief Executive of Africa Harvest and Daniel Kamanga Communication Expert of the Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation, the book for the first time, offers African voices from multidisciplinary fields to be allowed to set the continents biotechnology development agenda. Dr Wambugu noted that the book has come at a time when the debate on the safety of biotechnology has heightened, particularly with the advent of the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agricultural production. She confirmed that Africa has made a tremendous shift from general discussions and was focusing on the safety of plant biotechnology to a concrete exploration of crops and traits deemed useful for various African countries. She noted that Africas political and scientific … Continue reading →

Alan Auerbach, CEO, president, and chairman of Puma Biotechnology (NYSE: PBYI) , you just personally made over $700 million after your biotech suddenly soared 295% (more if you exercise all those warrants and options you have), what are you going to do now? "You have my word that I will do what is in the best interest of the investors. And since it's public information that I am the largest shareholder of the company, I think my interests are heavily aligned with those of the other shareholders."-On Tuesday's conference call to announce the positive clinical trial results. Good answer. But no really, what are you going to do? Sell the company? License it out? Sell it yourself? Later in the call: "My goal is to do what is in the best interest of the investors." I can see where not getting anywhere here. This cat should be smiling. Source: Puma Biotechnology Let's speculate anyway If history repeats itself, Puma Biotechnology will get sold. That's what Auerbach did with his previous company, Cougar Biotechnology. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) snatched up Cougar for $970 million to get a hold of its prostate cancer drug Zytiga while the drug was still in … Continue reading →