Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

Poolbeg takes centre stage in CRS research

Cancer immunotherapies can save lives, yet their side effect — cytokine release syndrome (CRS) — remains a barrier for wider use, even though IL 6 receptor antagonists can treat it. Now the UK company Poolbeg Pharma plc, together with Johnson & Johnson, investigates how CRS might be prevented. The programme is backed by a £3.4m grant from the MRC.

EU trilogue sets clear path for new genomic techniques

After four EU Council presidencies, EU member states and the European Parliament yesterday struck a provisional deal on new genomic techniques under the current Danish presidency, setting clear rules to boost agrifood innovation, plant resilience, transparency and sustainability.

UK hikes drug prices after pharma exodus

After the withdrawal of investment pledges totalling £2bn by pharmaceutical companies — seeking to offset lower US revenue by raising UK prices — the British government has now caved in and signed a deal with the US administration that will lift UK drug prices by 25%

Angelini Ventures and EIB launch joint start-up financing

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Angelini Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Angelini Industries, have signed an agreement to jointly provide €150m over the next six years to support European biotechnology and digital health start-ups through seven to ten funding rounds. This marks the EIB’s first partnership with a corporate venture capital firm in Europe’s health sector under its TechEU programme.

EU Commission presents new bioeconomy strategy

A month after China publicly revealed its bioeconomy priorities under its 15th Five Year Plan, the European Commission released an updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy — and the contrast could hardly be sharper. While China bets on a bold mix of AI, bioengineering and synthetic biology to replace fossil based industrial products with recombinant and cell free systems, the EU remains anchored in a more traditional vision focused on the valorisation of agricultural output and industrial waste. By contrast, the UK has taken a more modern approach, heavily investing in engineering biology — the use of reprogrammed microorganisms to produce industrial goods — as a key pillar of its biotech and bioeconomy strategy.