Research and development - Today Stories

XNK Therapeutics AB (“XNK”) today announced the successful completion of the building phase of the company’s new GMP clean room facility. All equipment and systems are now installed, and qualification of the clean room is complete, while validation and qualification of equipment and systems are progressing according to plan. The first technical batch has been produced in the facility, demonstrating the ability to run a production process. “XNK has worked hard over the past year planning for this new GMP facility that will enable the aseptic production of ATMPs and clinical material for future studies,” said Paul Do, Head of Clinical Manufacturing and Engineering at XNK Therapeutics. “This is an important step in the company’s ambitious growth plan to enable further larger clinical studie…

ProBioGen Executes a Master Service Agreement with NextPoint Therapeutics and Starts an Integrated Project from Cell Line Development to GMP Manufacturing BERLIN, Germany and CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA, August 17, 2022 / B3C newswire / -- ProBioGen is delighted to close a Master Service Agreement with NextPoint and initiate development and GMP manufacturing of their lead antibody candidate. ProBioGen's CHO.RiGHT® cell line development including their latest DirectedLuck® transposase and platform processes enable the development to provide a high-expressing stable cell line and a robust manufacturing process. Further, ProBioGen's proprietary cell culture medium makes manufacturing processes even more robust, with improved protein titers and cell growth behavior. The integrated services ensure that…

$76 million investment increases the site’s capacity to produce critical raw materials used in the development and manufacturing of vaccines and biologic therapies GRAND ISLAND, N.Y., Aug. 4, 2022 – To meet increasing global demand for cell culture media used in the manufacturing of new vaccines and biologics, Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its dry powder media manufacturing facility in Grand Island, New York. With this expansion, the Grand Island site provides redundant capacity to support global supply of media and further extends the site’s capabilities to produce the high-quality technology and materials needed for the development and commercial manufacturing of vaccines and biologic therapies. The Grand Island expansion is part of Thermo Fisher’s $650 million multi-…

HERCULES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb), a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostic products, announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Curiosity Diagnostics, Sp. Z. o. o. from Scope Fluidics, S.A. (WSE NewConnect: SCP), a Warsaw, Poland, based developer of innovative technology solutions for the medical diagnostic and healthcare markets, for a total consideration of up to $170 million, consisting of approximately $100 million in cash, and up to $70 million in future milestone payments. Curiosity Diagnostics, a late-stage, pre-commercial platform company, is in the process of developing a sample-to-answer, rapid diagnostics PCR system for the molecular diagnostics market. “We…

New strategic collaboration leverages Sosei Heptares’ StaR® technology and SBDD platform and AbbVie’s extensive neuroscience expertise Second collaboration with AbbVie follows 2020 agreement focused on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases Sosei Heptares eligible to receive up to $80 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments and has potential to receive further downstream payments totalling up to US$1.2 billion, plus tiered royalties Tokyo, Japan and Cambridge, UK, 2 August 2022 – Sosei Group Corporation (“the Company”; TSE: 4565) and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, announce they have entered a new drug discovery collaboration and option-to-license agreement to discover, develop and commercialize small molecules that modulate novel G prote…

The advanced tools and technologies enable improved flexibility and productivity for diagnostics development and support advanced allergy and autoimmune testing and drug monitoring CHICAGO, July 25, 2022 - AACC 2022 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, is showcasing innovative diagnostic technologies, assays and a complement of solutions for researchers developing new diagnostics. During the 74th American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Laboratory Exposition (AACC 2022), being held at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, July 2428, Thermo Fisher is exhibiting within booth #1413. "Our latest platform and workflow innovations give clinical laboratories and researchers greater flexibility and assurance as…

Interim data presented at the European Academy of Neurology 2022 shows that 54.7% of patients in the study had their monthly-migraine-days reduced by 50% or more over the six-month period from the start of treatment. Teva Pharmaceuticals Europe B.V. today announces promising interim results from its Pan-European Real World study (PEARL), presented for the first time at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in Vienna, Austria. The two-year Pan-European Real World (PEARL) prospective, observational study of AJOVY® (fremanezumab), looks at its effectiveness in patients with chronic migraine or episodic migraine, and is an ongoing study sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals Europe BV.[i]  These findings further offer insight into the treatment of migraine in real-world clinical practice…

Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) – the leading supplier of equipment, chemicals and consumables for laboratory use in the UK – has announced the acquisition of two businesses, Gem Scientific and Northern Balance, to expand its product and service offerings. Both companies will continue to operate as independent entities and retain all employees, whilst harnessing SLS’s business support and infrastructure to benefit all parties, stakeholders and customers.   Gem Scientific is a laboratory equipment distributor based in West Yorkshire, supplying high quality products – including hygiene testing devices and consumables – to sectors such as the food and beverage industry. This acquisition will help to strengthen both brands in this field, giving customers greater access to a wider range of…

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) today announce a collaboration to accelerate the clinical development of adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapies for dementia. Since 2015, dementia has been one of the leading causes of mortality in the UK. Whilst new and improved treatments for heart disease and cancer are reducing mortality, a lack of effective treatment options for neurodegenerative conditions means that dementia-related deaths continue to rise. Through this collaboration, the CGT Catapult will work with UK academic centres of excellence and the UK DRI to identify new AAV-based gene therapies with high potential to become new medicines for dementia, assessing a wide range of assets in order to best address the sig…

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP LEVERAGES EVOTEC’S PROPRIETARY PLATFORM CAPABILITIES IN THE FIELD OF PROTEIN HOMEOSTASIS Hamburg, Germany, 14 June 2022:Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) announced today that the Company has entered a drug discovery collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (“Janssen”). Evotec’s innovative TargetAlloMod platforms will be evaluated to discover first-in-class novel mode of action therapeutic candidates. The agreement was facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation.Under the agreement, Evotec and Janssen will jointly conduct screens on the identified targets and collaborate with hit identification and lead optimisation of the most promising…

Move brings together AstraZeneca and Alexion colleagues in a purpose-built facility in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA, a world leading life sciences hub AstraZeneca today announced plans to open a new site at the heart of the Cambridge, MA, life sciences and innovation hub. The new site will be a strategic R&D centre for AstraZeneca, as well as Alexion’s new corporate headquarters. The site will bring together approximately 1,500 R&D, commercial and corporate colleagues into a single purpose-built space in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA. The site, scheduled for completion in 2026, will be in close proximity to several major academic, pharma and biotech institutions, inspiring greater collaboration and innovation potential, and providing access to future talent. The move reinfor…

Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, today announces a £500,000 investment in NMR instrumentation at its global Headquarters, Craigavon, UK, marking an over £900,000 total investment in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology for the organisation since 2018. High-resolution NMR is a key enabling technology that delivers advanced characterisation and purity assessment abilities in line with regulatory requirements. The service helps deliver comprehensive solutions that support drug substance (API) and drug product development programs, from early phase to commercialisation. Almac’s investment includes the addition of a second 500MHz NMR system, which has been added to further expand the current service offerings within of Almac Sciences’ state-of-the-art cGMP facility. This will…

GAITHERSBURG, MD, March 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NexImmune, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXI), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel approach to immunotherapy designed to orchestrate a targeted immune response by directing the function of antigen-specific T cells, today announced a research and evaluation collaboration with The Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and part of NYU Langone Health. The collaboration is centered around NexImmune’s artificial antigen presenting cells' (aAPCs) ability to expand neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells in apheresis material provided by melanoma patients. Dr. Jeffrey S. Weber, Deputy Director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center will guide the research and evaluat…

Nina Capital, APEX Medical and Cambridge Enterprise invest in transformational open-source data technology – to deliver precision medicine at scale   LONDON, UK. February 1, 2022:  University of Cambridge technology spin-out Zetta Genomics announces that is has raised £2.5 million in new seed funding. The successful round secures leading global Venture Capital (VC) investment in the company’s XetaBase platform – a transformational genomic data management technology that powers the discovery and delivery of precision medicine at scale.   Data for the precision medicine era  Built on the open-source OpenCB platform, co-developed by Zetta Genomics founder, Ignacio Medina, XetaBase allows researchers and clinicians to securely store, easily access and dynamically interrogate vast and increasin…

Phase 1 trial aims to build on response seen in proof-of-concept trial CAMBRIDGE, MA and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 27, 2022 / IAVI, the nonprofit scientific research organization, and biotechnology company Moderna announced today that first doses have been administered in a clinical trial of experimental HIV vaccine antigens at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. The Phase 1 trial, IAVI G002, is designed to test the hypothesis that sequential administration of priming and boosting HIV immunogens delivered by messenger RNA (mRNA) can induce specific classes of B-cell responses and guide their early maturation toward broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) development. The induction of bnAbs is widely considered to be a goal of…

Cardiff, UK, January 24, 2022 - TrakCel, a leading supplier of cellular orchestration solutions for the cell and gene therapy industry, today announces it is launching a software integration resulting from a collaborative, non-exclusive partnership with Körber, the specialists for complete handling systems for pharmaceutical and medical products. The collaboration results in a working integration between OCELLOS by TrakCel and PAS-X from Körber. This will allow cell and gene therapy customers of both companies to effectively share data detailing manufacturing events, and milestones between the two systems such as starting checks, fill and finish and product release, whilst also providing full traceability and audit logs. TrakCel’s OCELLOS has ensured that developers and other cell and gene…

Investment will transform development and commercialisation of new medicines AstraZeneca is planning on establishing a next-generation active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility for small molecules near Dublin, Ireland to ensure the Company’s global supply network is fit for future growth. The new plant will allow for late-stage development and early commercial supply, adopting state of the art process technology and digital innovation that is designed to meet the needs of the Company’s new medicines pipeline with speed and agility.  The $360m planned investment at the Alexion Campus in College Park, Dublin, is expected to create about 100 highly skilled direct jobs, including scientists and engineers, and further indirect jobs. The project, which will provide an i…

Thermo Fisher Scientific's clinical sequencing business and AstraZeneca today announced they will co-develop next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based companion diagnostics (CDx) to support AstraZeneca's expanding portfolio of targeted therapies. The companies will collaborate under a multiyear, global agreement. "As the pipeline of targeted therapies expands, the availability of diagnostic tools that can interrogate multiple biomarkers simultaneously will ensure patients can be matched with the right therapies more rapidly – this is the promise of precision medicine," said Garret Hampton, president of clinical next-generation sequencing and oncology at Thermo Fisher Scientific. "Introduction of diagnostic tools early in the process of drug development can further facilitate the success of co…

Purpose-built facility to enable precision medicine for better patient outcomes Cerba Research, a leading global clinical trial laboratory services organization owned by Cerba HealthCare, announced today that they have joined forces with ACT Genomics under a joint venture model to create a purpose-built lab facility in Taiwan covering the Asia Pacific region.   This expansion of the precision medicine offering includes central labs, flow cytometry, histopathology, and translational science laboratory services. Deep scientific expertise from both sides of this strategic alliance will support new growth areas for biotech and pharma clients globally and drive better patient outcomes across all phases of clinical trials.  The expansion includes investments in a new facility in Taipei (Taiwan)…

NRG Therapeutics Ltd (“NRG” or “company”), an innovative neuroscience company targeting mitochondrial dysfunction, today announced further equity investment of £490k from Parkinson’s UK, to support the development of disease modifying drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s. Following positive progress, this is the third investment Parkinson’s UK has made into NRG Therapeutics, bringing the total amount to £2.5m. The funding comes via the charity’s drug development arm, the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, a programme which is plugging the funding gap to fast-track the projects with the greatest scientific potential to transform the lives of people with Parkinson’s. This new funding will be used to progress the company’s lead drug candidates toward preclinical development candidate nomination. …