Biotech CEOs advise EU on breakthrough innovations

Two biotech CEOs have been selected by the European Commission for the High Level Group. The EU think tank will provide strategic input to Horizon 2020 and a €2.5bn fund to support innovation by 2020 in order to boost disruptive technologies and to address gaps in in the current innovation support landscape. 

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Affimed is seeking funds

While German Nasdaq company Affimed (AFMD) had an accumulated loss of over €100m, an annual development cost of about €38m for its Tandab pipeline, and an income of only about €8m from collaborations at the end of 2015, the company is trying to bulk up its funds through a public offering of common stock. 

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Eppendorf: Veteran supervisor

Promega-founder William Linton has been elected as a member of the Supervisory Board of lab supplier Eppendorf AG.

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Octimet bags €11m for development of cancer drugs

Belgian start-up company Octimet Oncology NV has secured €11.3m in a series A financing round. The funds will be used to develop two MET kinase blockers to treat solid tumours.

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Joint-venture Fibrocor tackles fibrosis

Drug screening expert Evotec AG and Ontario-based MaRS Innovation have launched the joint venture company Fibrocor Therapeutics LP to tackle fibrosis, an unmet medical need and multi-billion US dollars market. 

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Ixico: Taking over from the founder

London-based brain health company Ixico has hired Giulio Cerroni as its new Chief Executive Officer. Cerroni replaced co-founder Derek Hill, who will remain on the board and serve as executive director going forward. 
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New technology speeds up mapping of DNA-protein interaction

Scientists at EPFL have developed a technique that can be a game-changer for genetics by making the characterisation of DNA-binding proteins much faster, more accurate, and efficient.

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Telix licenses Wilex’ girentuximab programme

German Wilex has licensed its clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) antibody Redectane to Australian biopharma company Telix Pharmaceuticals. Redectane is a radiolabeled version of Wilex’ Phase III therapeutic antibody girentuximab.

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Bioprinting: Screening drugs in multiple dimensions

90% of all preclinical drug candidates fail to make the grade. Now novel methods that employ miniaturised organs could help overcome this healthcare hurdle. Researchers and CROs are testing a range of models – whether grown from stem cells or spit out by 3D bioprinters – to identify toxicities, simulate cancer development and identify responders to expensive therapies. The field of 3D microtissue-based screening is just a decade old, but it clearly is soon going to play a key role when it comes to improving productivity in drug development.

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Mithra Pharmaceuticals: Master of finance

Mithra Pharmaceuticals, a Belgian company focused on women’s health, has appointed Christophe Maréchal as Chief Financial Officer. 
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