Synpromics Ltd today announced the appointment of Sarah Haecker Meeks, PhD to the position of Vice President, Business Development.
Glythera Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Robert Lutz as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr Lutz will lead the advancement of Glytheras portfolio of Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in the treatment of difficult-to-treat cancers. In addition, Glythera has appointed Dr Jon Roffey to the companys Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
French microbiota specialist Da Volterra announced that its colon-targeted adsorbent, DAV132, can protect the intestinal microbiota from disruption caused by antibiotics.
Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) specialist Glythera has licensed Actava Group’s Affimer technology in order to develop drug conjugates using the combined technologies. Affimers are small, stable synthetic proteins expressed in E.coli that mimic the molecular recognition characteristics of monoclonal antibodies.
In 2017, the stock market was a strong financial resource for the European biotech sector – with a significant volume increase in IPOs and follow-on financings compared to 2016. This says the most recent capital market report of BIOCOM.
Antimicrobial resistance:?In 2017, the development of new drugs and diagnostics to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens gained momentum in Europe. Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) successfully raised financings and grants – and some new start-ups entered the scene. To continue this trend, specific support for SMEs is needed, says the BEAM Alliance.
Immunologists headed by Eicke Latz (Univ. of Bonn, Germany) have found out that calorie-rich, fatty Western diet reprogrammes the innate immune system to become hyperreactive to inflammatory triggers. This could have huge medical impact as inflammation is a hallmark of most diseases of civilisation such as diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders.
So far, there is no cure to stop fibrosis, the pathogenic proliferation of connective tissue of the skin and in organs, in autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). An US-Italian research team has now identified the immune cells that trigger connective tissue disease.
French venture capitalist Truffle Capital announced the first closing of its BioMedTech venture fund aimed at investments into North American and European medical devices and biotechnology start-ups.
Nanobody developer Ablynx NV has stated that the take-over cash price of €28 per share + optional €2.50 per share as Contingent Value Right (CVR) offered by Novo Nordisk A/S at the end of December is too low. The bid valued Ablynx at €2.3bn.