BIO-Europe networking party in Copenhagen. © BIOCOM AG

Gene and cell therapies, pediatric drugs, and formulation were just some hot topics discussed in a record number of B2B meetings at BIO-Europe in Copenhagen. 

Oxurion NV and Beta Therapeutics Inc have inked an R&D agreement aimed to develop new heparanase inhibitors to treat dry AMD.

Schematic of the three-step targeted delivery procedure used for the slippery micropropellers.
(1) Injection of the micropropellers into the vitreous humor of the eye. (2) Magnetically driven long-range propulsion of the micropropellers in the vitreous toward the retina. (3) Observation of the micropropellers at the target region near the surface of the retina by OCT.

German researchers have developed a drug delivery nanobot that can propel through the eye.

ARGX-110 mode of action. © Argenx SE
Argenx SE announced it achieved an overall response rate of 92% in patients with AML with its anti-TNFSF7 (CD70) antibody cusatuzumab. 
Denali Therapeutics raised $250m through an Nasdaq IPO in December 2017. © Nasdaq

Sanofi has acquired the global commercialisation rights for two preclinical programmes from Denali Therapeutics.

Dutch ProQR NV has licensed global commercialisation rights to IONIS-RHO-2.5Rx (QR-1123) from Ionis Pharmaceuticals, to treat autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP)

The EIB has agreed to support Italian CNS drug developer Newron Pharmaceuticals with up to €40m to support the development of the company’s late-stage pipeline.

© TES Pharma SRL

TES Pharma has presented a novel treatment approach for acute kidney injury and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Nature.

In mid-October, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the Agence Française de Developpement launched a five-year €2bn initiative called "Clean Oceans", which is dedicated to sustainable solutions set to reduce the amount of 8 million tons of plastic that are littered into the oceans every year. About 90% of the plastic waste and the resulting microplastic particles come from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. © KfW

The European Parliament has approved measures that could lead to a ban of the top 10 single use plastic products that contribute to marine littering by 2021.
    

© Innate Pharma SA

AstraZeneca plc has extended its immunoncology pipeline by an extension of its partnership with French Innate Pharma SA.