Novartis AG has strengthened its ophtalmology portfolio by acquiring a licence for Spark Therapeutics’ voretigene neparvovec (Luxturna), an FDA-approved gene therapy that corrects mutations in RPE65, which leads to juvenile blindness in homozygotous carriers.
Spanish researchers have identified a protein that keeps breast cancer stem cell in a dormant state preventing them from forming metastases. A German team found an endothelial receptor protein that prevents dormant micrometastases in the blood to invade tissue.
Venture capital firm Seventure Partners has joined a US$35m Series B Round in Digital Nutrition Platform Zipongo. The US$9m invested into the Californian company comes from Seventures’ €160m Health for Life Capital fund, the premier fund dedicated to the expanding microbiome and nutrition space.
Seven years after the acquisition of Genzyme, French drug major Sanofi has added another orphan drug player to its portfolio. The company agreed with the management of US blood disorder expert Bioverativ to pay US$11.6bn in cash, a 64% premium on the company’s share price.
Italian, US and Australian researchers have used a blood screening test to detect cancer in patients with 8 different cancers whose tumors had not yet spread. Its sensivity is among the best performances yet for a universal cancer blood test.
French immunotherapy company TxCell received a €1.2m funding from the French governemt agency Bpifrance to develop its genetically engineered regulatory T cells (Tregs).
French microbiota specialist Da Volterra announced that its colon-targeted adsorbent, DAV132, can protect the intestinal microbiota from disruption caused by antibiotics.
Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) specialist Glythera has licensed Actava Group’s Affimer technology in order to develop drug conjugates using the combined technologies. Affimers are small, stable synthetic proteins expressed in E.coli that mimic the molecular recognition characteristics of monoclonal antibodies.
In 2017, the stock market was a strong financial resource for the European biotech sector – with a significant volume increase in IPOs and follow-on financings compared to 2016. This says the most recent capital market report of BIOCOM.
Immunologists headed by Eicke Latz (Univ. of Bonn, Germany) have found out that calorie-rich, fatty Western diet reprogrammes the innate immune system to become hyperreactive to inflammatory triggers. This could have huge medical impact as inflammation is a hallmark of most diseases of civilisation such as diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders.