Animation of Vaximm's oral T killer cell activating Salmonella vaccine. © Vaximm

Belgian, Swiss, and US researchers have found a new way to boost efficacy in cancer immunotherapy. In mid-April, they reported that cancer cells actively block tumour infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, but that this process can be reversed using angiogenesis blockers. Some Big pharma companies have already jumped on the bandwagon of angiogenesis/PDL1 combination therapy.

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French green chemistry pioneer, Carbios SA (Clermont-Ferrand) announced in March that it has secured equity financing of €2.5m from Kepler Cheuvreux through the acquisition of 380,000 shares over 24 months. 

© Patheon

Lab equipment giant Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is growing even bigger. 

Since US senators in February conveyed the impression that drug developers might have misused market monopolies related to orphan drugs (ODs) to overprice their compounds, the status has come under closer scrutiny. Neither the US nor Europe currently have consistent approaches for deriving value for OD therapies. Pooling expertise and scattered patient data across borders could help ease both diagnosis and development, providing a foundation for pricing and giving patients much faster access to treatments.

The concept has been around for more than a century, but recent advances in the field are causing numerous experts to say it’s widely under­used. The goal of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is to induce a specific immune tolerance by confronting patients with increasing levels of allergens. AIT developers are now working on improving efficacy and safety, while at the same time trying to speed up the still lengthy process of desensitisation. Peanuts in particular are in the crosshairs, as they cause one of the most life-threatening common allergies in humans.

Uncertainty regarding the amount of future funding and political support from the European Commission for the bioeconomy is set to hamper investments into the switch from oil-based industry production to renewable, bio-based manufacture in Europe. The schedule for the review of the bioeconomy strategy has been delayed until the end of 2017. More importantly, it is not yet certain if the strategy will be updated.

Readiness of the 32 European states (28 EU member states + Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). Fourteen states have founded NMVOs, and two have selected an IT provider. According to the EMVO, all IT systems must be ready for testing by the end of 2017, and fully functional by 02/2019. Belgium, Italy, and Greece, which each have a system that verifies individual medicines, must implement the new system by 2022. @ BIOCOM AG

Drug makers have only until two years from now to make their drugs and packaging counterfeit-resistant. By 9 February, 2019, every prescription drug pack must carry a 2D data matrix code that can be tracked by wholesalers and pharmacists along each stage of the value chain. Additionally, each pack must be sealed with an anti-tampering device. If companies and the NMVOs that handle national databases can’t manage the task, their drugs cannot be sold after the deadline. 

@ Symrise

Until recently, aroma compounds were either sourced directly from plants or made from petrochemicals with the help of chemical synthesis processes. Now a handful of biotechnological production approaches are making headway and inroads into the key sector. There haven’t been real breakthroughs in big F&F markets yet, but biotech companies look poised to change the industry forever.

Postulated MoA for adrecizumab, Adrenomed's white hope to treat septic shock and acute congestive heart failure. The antibody, which can't pass the endothelium, leads to redistribution of adrenomedullin (ADM) from the interstitium  where it is produced  to the blood vessel lumen without affecting ADM activity. Relocation of adrenomedullin to the lumen prevents its vasodilatory effects in tissue but promotes its endothelium-stabilising effect. Phase II trials will be designed to show whether the first-in-class antibody diminishes congestion without affecting blood pressure. @ Adrenomed AG
German Adrenomed AG has decided to start clinical Phase II tests of the very first personalised treatment for the six million patients with acute congestive heart failure. Large trials suggest that the company can stratify patients resistant to diuretics standard therapy by a proprietary companion diagnostics blood test. Adrenomed will assess whether its first-in-class antibody adrecizumab can reverse the congestion that that manifests as pulmonary edema.
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Italian, Swedish, and German researchers have started recruitment for a systematic investigation into the factors affecting longevity.