Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

European bioeconomy entering the next level

A series of high-level conferences held in autumn and winter focused on current challenges to implementing an industrial scale bioeconomy in Europe. In November, the European Commission unveiled a new stock-take of progress in its Bioeconomy Strategy, ahead of an official revision planned in 2018. In a manifesto, stakeholders demand a holistic policy framework. 

Sanofi takes over Bioverativ in US$11.8bn deal

Seven years after the acquisition of Genzyme, French drug major Sanofi has added another orphan drug player to its portfolio. The company agreed with the management of US blood disorder expert Bioverativ to pay US$11.6bn in cash, a 64% premium on the company’s share price. 

Tamper-resistant labels

Serialisation dominates the discussion about how to implement the Falsified Medicines Directive (2011/62/EU). However, to meet the February 2019 deadline, companies must also pay attention to the second required safety feature: the anti-tampering device. The use of tamper-evident labels is widespread. But beware! There are many challenges associated with these popular tamper-evident devices.

Novel blood test detects eight cancers

Italian, US and Australian researchers have used a blood screening test to detect cancer in patients with 8 different cancers whose tumors had not yet spread. Its sensivity is among the best performances yet for a universal cancer blood test.

Avacta Group plc partners with Glythera

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.

European biotech stocks: 2017 with strong results

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.

New momentum for SMEs

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.

Western diet triggers inflammatory diseases

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.