The European Lead Factory (ELF) – a drug discovery hub for validation new targets from academia and biotech SMEs – has again received project funding from the Innovative Medicine’s Initiative.

Transgène SA and AstraZeneca plc have entered into a collaboration and exclusive license option agreement on Transgène’s armed oncolytic immunotherapies.

Liver specialist Alentis Therapeutics AG has raised CHF12.5m in a Series A round co-led by BioMedPartners and BB Pureos Bioventures.

Immunic, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing best-in-class, oral therapies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of Tamara A. Seymour, MBA, as its Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective April 26, 2019. Ms. Seymour is a corporate finance veteran with three decades of experience in the biotech and life sciences industries.

In its first meeting in Amsterdam, the CHMP of the European Medicines Agency recommended six new drugs, two orphan meds, and one biosimilar for EU market authorisation.

Medica Group Plc (LSE:MGP) announces that Jo Easton has been appointed to the Group’s Board of Directors as a non-executive director. On joining the Board, Jo will be appointed to the audit, nomination and remuneration committees.

Targeted therapies and chemotherapeutics have helped cut cancer deaths dramatically in the last few decades. In the US, the overall mortality rate of 251/100,000 patients in 1991 had fallen by 2016 to 156/100,000 patients. Engineered (multispecific) antibodies, cell therapies and combination therapies are expected to continue to increase success rates with primary tumors. And research groups are turning their big guns on what is now the biggest killer – metastasis.

Researchers at AstraZeneca, Viela Bio, Gilead Sciences, Antidote Therapeutics Inc., and at SoseiHeptares report on a new small molecule compound  to treat RA.

The US Patent Office has granted the Charpentier/Doudna key CRISPR patent, which was previously involved in an interference proceeding.
 

As a first result of the trilogue on the €100m+ Horizon Europe programme, MEPs backed the backbone of the EU’s future research and innovation programme.