Funded with €9m by the French government, biomaterial player Global Bioenergies is getting closer to its goal to build the first bio-isobutene plant. IBN-One, sugar beet producer Cristal Union and cosmetics giant L’Oreal are also on board.

GATC Biotech, a leading provider of advanced genome analysis and diagnostic services, launched today INVIEW ONCOPANEL, a comprehensive multigene cancer panel for solid tumour profiling.

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When Sanofi sells its animal health division Merial, CEO Carsten Hellmann will join Danish allergy specialist ALK Albello as the next President and CEO. He will also give up his seat on the Executive Committee and his position of Executive Vice President at Sanofi.

A few months ago, the EMA introduced its new accelerated access scheme, PRIME. Now, the agency has published the first few therapies that will use the chance to speed their breakthrough meds through the approval process.

French Dx play BioMérieux has acquired German Hyglos. The leader in industrial microbiological control paid around €24m for the German company and its innovative endotoxin detection method.

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British research service provider Envigo has appointed Scott Schulz to the post of Director, North American Operations. Schulz joins Envigo from Taconic Biosciences, where he was VP of Operations.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) means to increase first-in-man trial safety. Following the death of a volunteer in a Phase I trial earlier this year, the European Medicines Agency has started a review of the guidelines for first-in-man studies.

A novel ophthalmic solution from R-Tech Ueno (Tokyo, Japan) made using Novozymes Biopharma’s recombinant human albumin has recently obtained FDA approval to undergo Phase I/II clinical trials in the United States.

The Finnish Technology Academy has awarded US-American innovator Frances Arnold the 2016 Millennium Technology Prize, worth €1m. Arnold is a pioneer in the field of directed evolution.

BigDNA relaunches as Iceni Pharmaceuticals with the aim to develop repurposed and reformulated cancer therapies. First order of business: repurpose Merck Serono’s cilengitide as a multiple myeloma treatment.