Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

Update: Immunic bags €17.5m

Martinsried-based autoimmune specialist Immunic AG secured financial support for the next 3.5 years from lead investors Life Sciences Partners and LifeCare Partners (LCP, Switzerland) based on prior autoimmune programmes of 4SC AG.

iOmx hits the ground running

Backed by MPM Capital and Sofinnova, immuno-oncology specialist iOmx Therapeutics has raised €40m in its first round of financing. The German company had just been founded in spring.

Exosomes: Extracellular and extraordinary

Disregarded for decades, extracellular vesicles are now understood to be a key element in communication between cells. Discoveries around the nano-sized bubbles are revolutionising not only the field of diagnostics. With their ability to mimic stem cells, EVs could also help open the doors to novel therapeutic concepts. 

Sepsis: Targeting a silent killer

For over three decades, attempts among drug developers to target the inflammatory pathways and symptoms of sepsis have been fruitless. New rapid diagnostics, rigourous patient stratification and drugs with novel modes of action are now on the horizon for treating the most costly cause of death in the industrialised world. Biotechs are pushing new ideas towards clinical testing, but there just isn’t enough funding available in the EU. Will US investors again pick up European innovation on the cheap?

The CO2 opportunity

Although most people still view carbon dioxide (CO2) as a climate killer, industry is beginning to realise that CO2 could actually provide an abundant, low-cost feedstock for carbon-based processes. A number of Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) schemes are evaluating the many different pathways that could play a role in the field in the future.

IPO pay off for French biotechs

Europe’s first gene therapy company has floated on Euronext: Gensight raised €40m in its IPO. And it is not the only French company that has taken the leap in an uncertain market climate – Alzheimer’s expert Pharnext also went public.

Biosimilars: A crippling lack of information

The US has opened the floodgates to cheaper versions of biologic medicines, and analysts predict that by 2020, bio­similar protein meds could seize a significant share of a projected €390bn market. That’s good news for national health services and insurers, which stand to save billions in payouts. As expensive biologics begin to go off-patent, competitors with knockoffs are planning their onslaughts. But for biosimilars to have a future, both physicians and patients have to be sold on the idea – and many of them remain uninformed and unconvinced. The field is at a crucial juncture.