Two research team independently report they have identified specific microbes in the gut of mice and of treatment-naive patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) regulating immune responses. Phase I trails with fecal microbial transplants (FMT) are scheduled to begin early next year.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has extended its Next Generation Sequencing Companion Dx Center of Excellence Programme (COEP) in Europe. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) provider added a second agreement with the Institute of Pathology Heidelberg (IPH) to its growing COEP portfolio. On the same day, Merck KGaA announced it will partner with Project Data Sphere LLC to jointly lead the Global Oncology Big Data Alliance (GOBDA).
A comprehensive sustainability assessment carried out by nova-Institute shows that first and second generation bioethanol is feasible for the EU’s climate strategy. The study challenges the politically hyped "tank or table" paradigm that valued biofuels unsustainable due to competition to food production.
Roche is trying to offer a solution for patient selection in immunooncology. At the ESMO congress in Madrid, the theranostics company presented a liquid biopsy test that measures the tumour mutational burden in order to predict the probability for response to immunotherapy.
Portuguese and Swiss scientists have discovered that neurons located at mucosal tissues can immediately detect an infection in the organism, promptly producing a substance that acts as an "adrenaline rush" for immune cells.
Swiss cancer vaccine developer AMAL Therapeutics has raised €8m in a Series B round led by existing investor Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, and new investors BioMedPartners and Helsinn Investment Fund.
Six European states, together with the Wellcome Trust, and South Africa have pledged €56.5m to help develop new antibiotics that break resistance.
Researchers at the University of Sussex have invented a new algorithm that could revolutionise patient monitoring and activity tracking.
French Ajinomoto Eurolysine SAS, part of the world leading producer of amino acids by fermentation, has received a positive safety assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for use of freeze-dried genetically modified E. coli bacteria as a feedstuff supplement.
Swiss Novartis AG has received US market authorisation for its first-in-class CAR-T cell therapy Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel-T). As severe cytokine storms seemed to be generally linked to CAR-T therapies such as Kymriah, the FDA also authorised Roches anti-IL-6R antibody Actemra (tocilizumab) as first-in-class treatment to manage them.