Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

Playing God with the fates of cells

Dreams of simple, reliable and scalable processes for the much-hyped cell therapy market have generated demand for cost-effective, GMP-compliant manufacturing methods. The drug-screening market is also hungry for material that will allow the establishment of human cell disease models. A growing number of companies are now trying to coax induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into specific cells needed for clinical trials. Others are seeking the same goal through direct transdifferentiation protocols. What method will prove superior?

The biotech boost – when, if not now?

Despite the threat of a looming climate catastrophe, low oil prices and giant industrial conglomerates addicted to fossil resources continue to stifle industrial biotechnology products and innovation. The European Biotechnology Network is now providing a foot up for companies that want to help themselves by launching three very different projects aimed at pushing the bioeconomy forward.

Fighting sepsis mortality

Critical care experts have presented data supporting the thesis that three specific pathways are the cause for about 90% of sepsis mortality.

British diagnostics play OBD lands contract with US pharma

The technology of Oxford-based Oxford Biodynamics (OBD) promises insights into why immunotherapies only work in some patients but not in all. A major US pharma company now wants to validate OBD’s epigenetic biomarker discovery and development platform causing a share price gain of 15%.