The same bacteria present in primary tumours of patients with colorectal cancer are also present in liver metastases, according to a new study. What’s more, presence of the bacteria was found to correlate with tumour growth.
The EU is investing another €6.3m into the blood diagnosis of primary breast cancer and rectal cancer. In the 4-year LIMA project, Royal Philips will lead a SME consortium that combines liquid biospy of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
Antibody-drug-conjugate (ADC) specialist Heidelberg Pharma AG has raised €34.4m through the issuance of 7,484,190 new shares at €2.60 and 14,968,380 convertible bonds with a nominal value of €1 each. Baader Bank AG acted as global coordinator and sole bookrunner.
Amsterdam has beaten Milan and Copenhagen in the race to become the European Medicines Agency’s new home. Pharma and biotech stakeholders applauded the vote as Amsterdam achieved the hightest rate of acceptance of the EMA staff for relocatation, according to a survey.
A Phase III study (IMpower150) sponsored by Roche has shown that a combo of the company’s PD-L1 blocker atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and VEGF blocking antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) plus paclitaxel + carboplatin vs Avastim plus chemotherapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death in patients with advanced lung cancer.
Danish heat shock protein specialist Orphazyme raised €80m+ through an IPO at Nasdaq Copenhagen adding momentum to the current upswing of European biotech.
The BEAM Alliance has called out worldwide stakeholders to support SME-driven innovation to revive the product pipeline fighting antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In a position paper the alliance representing roughly a fifth of the global 250 antibiotics developers describes what SMEs need to make their 100 pipeline drugs a success in fighting AMR.
German Bayer AG has acquired ex-US commercialisation rights to Loxo Oncology Inc’s Phase II lead larotrectinib (LOXO-101), which targets TRK (tropomyosin receptor kinase) fusions in 17 cancer types, and LOXO-195, a Phase I/II compound designed to prevent acquired resistance against larotrectinib.
Billionaire Bill Gates announced he is going to invest US$50m private money into the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) to support fresh ideas for developing Alzheimer drugs and diagnostics. The venture capital fund, which kicked off in 2015, includes investors such as GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Biogen Idec as well as the UK government.
The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended seven medicines for approval, including two orphan medicines, plus three generics at its November 2017 meeting.