Swedish cancer med developer Oncopeptides AB has raised SEK649m (€68m) in an IPO at Nasdaq Stockholm.

Several promising antibiotic candidates, developed by ENABLE and its partners, are rapidly approaching the pre-clinical development stage. The European consortium is now seeking new partners to proceed with non-clinical studies.

BaseLaunch, a new life sciences accelerator in Basel, has been kicked off. Its mission: to bring the most promising healthcare projects and ventures to Europe’s leading life sciences hub.

While governments worldwide discuss to pay premiums to pharma companies offering novel antibiotics that fight multiresistant pathogens, Roche has extended  its discovery deal with British Discuva Ltd.

Growth of the bioplastics market in the EU is being hampered by lack of political support. According to market analysis from nova-institute, production capacity for bio-based polymers in 2016 dropped by 6% compared to previous years.

A combination therapy of Roche’s checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab plus its VEGF blocker bevacizumab doubles median progression-free survival (PFS) compared to sunitinib, the standard care in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Basel-based BioMedPartners announes the first round of BioMedInvest III, its third equity venture capital fund at CHF75m. Up to 16 private Swiss, German and EU early-to-midstage ventures might be selected in the first closing by Q1/2018.

While GMO opponents are protesting, German Research Minister Johanna Wanka has recommended to rely on modern genetic engineering methods such as genome editing to develop the next generation of crops.

Raising €48m by the sale of 5.7 million shares at €8.50, French Inventiva S.A. is set to secure capital to further its late-stage products until H1/2019.

Swiss Galenica subsidiary Vifor Pharma has licensed commercialisation rights for ChemoCentryx Inc’s complement C5a receptor (C5aR ) blocker Avacopan (CCX168) in Asia and the Middle East. The drug is currently undergoing Phase III testing in patients with rare renal diseases.