Sanofi takes over Bioverativ in US$11.8bn deal

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. 

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The 8th European Biotechnology Guide 2018

The European Biotechnology Science & Industry Guide 2018 provides a wealth of information on companies, research institutions, tech parks and providers acting in the life  sciences and biotech industry.

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Tamper-resistant labels

Serialisation dominates the discussion about how to implement the Falsified Medicines Directive (2011/62/EU). However, to meet the February 2019 deadline, companies must also pay attention to the second required safety feature: the anti-tampering device. The use of tamper-evident labels is widespread. But beware! There are many challenges associated with these popular tamper-evident devices.

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Novel blood test detects eight cancers

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.

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Government funds TxCell’s CAR-Treg therapy

French immunotherapy company TxCell received a €1.2m funding from the French governemt agency Bpifrance to develop its genetically engineered regulatory T cells (Tregs).

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Synpromics Appoints Sarah Haecker Meeks as VP of BD

Synpromics Ltd today announced the appointment of Sarah Haecker Meeks, PhD to the position of Vice President, Business Development.

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Glythera appoints Chief Scientific Officer

Glythera Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Robert Lutz as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr Lutz will lead the advancement of Glythera’s portfolio of Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) in the treatment of difficult-to-treat cancers. In addition, Glythera has appointed Dr Jon Roffey to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).

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Da Volterra’s DAV132 helps fighting AMR crisis

French microbiota specialist Da Volterra announced that its colon-targeted adsorbent, DAV132, can protect the intestinal microbiota from disruption caused by antibiotics.

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Avacta Group plc partners with Glythera

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.

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European biotech stocks: 2017 with strong results

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.
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