Sales - Today Stories

Freeline, a biotechnology company focused on developing curative gene therapies for chronic systemic diseases, today announces Syncona Ltd (“Syncona) has made an $80.0 million (£61.1 million)[1] commitment in a Series C financing and has funded the first tranche of this commitment, amounting to $40.0 million (£30.6 million)[2]. This financing augments the previous £88.4 million Series B investment and the £34.8 million Series A investment previously made into Freeline by the founding investors, led by Syncona. The first $40 million tranche will enable Freeline to expand its team, continue to develop its robust manufacturing platform, including commercial supply capability, generate further data in its clinical programmes for Haemophilia B and Fabry Disease, and continue to progress its pip…

Craigavon, N.I., 04 December 2019 - Almac Group, the global contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organisation, has been awarded $200K by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to develop novel biosynthetic routes with the aim of substantially lowering the cost of selected steroidal Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and enable their use in developing world aid programs. The programme of work will see the development of novel biocatalytic routes to Etonorgestrel and Levonorgestrel APIs by Almac Sciences’ established team of biocatalysis experts based in Ireland.  Etonorgestrel is a highly potent material currently made with mid-twentieth century chemistry which makes it very expensive at almost $200k/kg and therefore unaffordable to women in the developing wor…

Erada Technology Alliance receives 3,000 EUR for its world’s first saliva-based malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Erada Technology Alliance’s ambition to eradicate malaria moved a step closer this week after scooping 3,000 EUR on winning the 2019 Africa Challenge. In doing so, it has booked its ticket to the Paris Global Summit in March 2020, where it will pitch again against 1,000 fellow start-ups from across the world in front of 300 investors and international media for the opportunity to receive 100,000 EUR. The South African start-up saw off 5,000 applicants from across Africa to win the Hello Tomorrow Africa Challenge award. This announcement came at the AfricArena conference in Cape Town, which brought together tech start-ups from all over Africa. Erada’s RDT, known as SALVA!, de…

LONDON – 12 November, 2019 – Charity Parkinson’s UK today announced an international partnership with US-based organisation, The Parkinson’s Foundation who have granted £200,000 towards a potential new therapy for people with Parkinson’s as part of the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, led by the charity. Each year, Parkinson’s UK, their supporters and partners invest more than £4 million into the Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech to rapidly develop and test the most promising research findings with the aim of turning them into treatments that will transform the lives of people with Parkinson's. The Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech focuses on the projects that matter the most to the Parkinson’s community and is powered by collaborations with world-leading research organisations that are best placed to del…

Abingdon, UK, 8 November 2019: – OBN (UK) Ltd., the membership organisation that supports the life sciences industry, is delighted to announce the winners of the 2019 OBN Awards. The Awards, which are in their 11th year, celebrate the best of UK life sciences – from outstanding scientific innovation within Biotech, Medtech and Digital Health, to the companies that support the industry and the fundraisers that make it happen.  This year’s event hosted an audience of over 250 life sciences industry leaders at the Oxford Examination Schools. John Harris, CEO of OBN, said: “We received an incredible number of entries yet again this year, so competition has been really tough for all nominees.  All our winners and finalists are truly innovative, at the very top of their respective sectors, and s…

Combining two major forces in HEOR, market access, medical affairs and healthcare communications 4th November, 2019, London, UK and Bethesda, USA – OPEN Health has today announced the integration of Pharmerit International, a global leader in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), into its group of companies. Joining the Pharmerit business with the OPEN Health Group establishes a new unique entity equipped to be a global leader in HEOR, market access, medical affairs and healthcare communications. The merger enhances and supports OPEN Health’s positioning – deep, broad and connected: Deep in that integration will expand the company’s global footprint and capabilities in the HEOR and market access space – across four integrated centres of excellence: Strategic market access Modell…

Grant will support researchers from King’s College London and King’s College Hospital to test a personalised treatment approach for Aplastic Anaemia patients who have not responded to available therapies 21 October 2019 - LifeArc, a UK-based medical research charity, and the Aplastic Anaemia Trust (AAT) have jointly awarded a £1.15m research grant to King’s College London and King’s College Hospital to investigate the potential of a novel type of “personalised cellular therapy” to reverse the ultra-rare condition aplastic anaemia (AA). The results of this research could give new hope to people living with a severe, life-limiting form of this condition. The grant will fund a clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of using a patient’s own T-reg cells to restore the blood-makin…

The Primary Care Women’s Health Forum (PCWHF), the leading membership forum for primary care clinicians with an interest in women’s health, is pleased to announce the publication of ‘Her Life Her Health’, its new women’s health publication. It is a new quarterly publication for PCWHF members. Written by primary care clinicians for primary care, the publication follows the journey a woman typically takes throughout her lifetime when accessing healthcare, from contraceptive needs to conception, from menstruation to menopause. Spearheaded by Editor-in-Chief, renowned women’s health expert and Chair of the PCWHF, Dr Anne Connolly, Her Life Her Health combines the latest research and guidelines with news, policy, best practice, features, resources and quick reference guidelines. It is packed wi…

The publication in the Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance concluded that application of a nasal gel formulation of XF-73 in healthy volunteers was safe, well tolerated and generated minimal side effects Treatment with XF-73 was also associated with a rapid reduction in nasal Staphylococcus aureus in all subjects; nasal carriage of the bacteria is the source of the majority of post-surgical bacterial infections The same nasal formulation is being used in the Company’s phase 2b trial assessing the microbiological effect of XF-73 on nasal S. aureus in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery and at high risk of postoperative S.aureus/MRSA infection; headline results continue to be expected in mid-2020 Brighton, United Kingdom – 16 October 2019 Destiny Pharma (AIM: DEST), a clinical sta…

NEW YORK, July 22, 2019 (Newswire.com) - ​​​​​InvestAcure, PBC, honored 10 leading bioindustry scientists with the Cure Coin Award for their outstanding work developing groundbreaking scientific discoveries into lifesaving therapeutics for Alzheimer's, CTE and other related Dementias. The award reception took place on July 15, during the 2019 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Los Angeles.  "The Cure Coin Award aims to bring public attention to the vital work of leading industry scientists developing lifesaving treatments," said Max Tokarsky, the founder and CEO of InvestAcure, a Public Benefit, Finance company building a spare-change investment platform to facilitate public investment in companies working on developing effective therapeutics for Alzheimer’s.  While govern…

Converse Pharma Group is primed for national expansion after securing a £60m combined facility from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance. Founded in 2013, the firm is a national pharmaceutical wholesaler, providing a comprehensive range of prescription drugs to over 5,500 independent pharmacies across the UK and Ireland. Operating from bases in Doncaster and Prudhoe, Converse Pharma Group currently employs 980 members of staff across its 12 sites in the UK and Ireland. Its 140 strong sales team has helped revenues increase sharply in recent years, having achieved sales of £250m in 2018 – up from £188m the previous year. The funding provided by RBS and Secure Trust Bank will enable the company to invest in new, larger depots, increasing the depth and range o…

Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Oxford have shown that small RNA molecules occurring naturally in cells, i.e. microRNAs, are also abundant in cell nuclei. Previously, microRNAs were mainly thought to be found in cytoplasm. The scientists also discovered that microRNA concentrations in cell nuclei change as a result of hypoxia. The findings strongly suggest that microRNAs play a role in the expression of genes in the cell nucleus. This observation is crucial for the development of novel gene therapy, among other things. The study was published in Scientific Reports today. The scientists profiled the division of microRNAs in different parts of endothelial cells, discovering that a large share of microRNAs are enriched in cell nuclei. When the scientists…

Novartis, Amgen and Banner Alzheimer's Institute today announced the decision to discontinue investigation of the BACE1 inhibitor CNP520 (umibecestat) in two pivotal Phase II/III studies in the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative Generation Program. An assessment of unblinded data during a regular pre-planned review identified worsening in some measures of cognitive function. Given these findings, the sponsors concluded that the potential benefit for participants in the studies did not outweigh the risk. John Tsai (M.D.), Head of Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, said: "Novartis has a strong research focus and commitment to patients. As researchers we have to accept today's disappointing news as part of the search for innovative new treatments. We remain committed to advanci…

Commenting on the government response to the Promoting professionalism, reforming regulation consultation, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said: “Employees and employers will welcome steps to make the fitness to practise process quicker, fairer and effective; they will also look forward to further reform, which will allow the regulation of new roles and professions to support their full deployment to care for our patients.”

A prestigious competition that has helped innovators raise millions of pounds to take their concepts to the global marketplace is looking for 2019’s most life-changing creations. The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition has helped winners raise more than £32million in funding since it was launched in 2013. Backed by some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Unilever, Croda, Johnson Matthey, RSSL and Pfizer, entries are now open until 5 July for the next big success story whose mastery of the chemical sciences helped create a product that can deliver a real-world benefit for wider society. Aurora Antemir, a senior manager in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Industry team said: “In less than a decade, the Emerging Technologies Competition has gone from being an…

Berkshire based PharmiWeb are excited to have launched a new version of of PharmiWeb.com - The new site, focusing on News, Events and Articles from the Pharma sector, brings together a wide range of content from multiple sources, to make the site an even better resource for the Pharma Industry.  Pharma Jobs  The hugely popular Job Board has moved to a new URL - PharmiWeb.Jobs. This means that for individuals looking for a the latest jobs in the pharma industry, PharmiWeb's new job board will the only place they need to go!  According to Portal Business Manager, Mike Wood - "This is the start of a very exciting growth stage for PharmiWeb, and we have a wide ranging plan of developments for the portal which will reinforce our position as one of the primary sources of global Pharma news. Our…

CeloNova BioSciences, Inc. (CeloNova), a global medical device company that offers a family of innovative products based upon its proprietary Polyzene™-F nanocoating technology, today announced that it has signed a three-year group purchasing agreement with HealthTrust for its novel COBRA PzF™ NanoCoated Coronary Stent (NCS) System. The agreement (contract number: 39949), which became effective on February 1, 2019, provides HealthTrust's more than 1,500 member hospitals and health systems with access to the world's first non drug-eluting, nanocoated coronary stent designed to help physicians safely and effectively treat patients who may benefit from short, 1-month minimum dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).1 DAPT has been shown to increase bleeding and mortality risks, which is of greater c…

*         ICARIA (Isatuximab in Combination with pomalidomide And low-dose dexamethasone veRsus pomalidomide and low dose dexamethasone in patients with refractory or relapsed And refractory Multiple Myeloma), study evaluated the benefit of isatuximab in combination with standard of care in prolonging progression free survival as compared to standard of care in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma *         Multiple myeloma is the second most common haematological cancer1 *         First randomised Phase 3 trial to evaluate the benefit of adding a monoclonal antibody to pomalidomide and dexamethasone for treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma I…

Merck, a leading science and technology company, and GSK, a science-led global healthcare company, today announced that the companies have entered into a global strategic alliance to jointly develop and commercialize M7824 (bintrafusp alfa*). M7824 is an investigational bifunctional fusion protein immunotherapy that is currently in clinical development, including potential registration studies, for multiple difficult-to-treat cancers. This includes a Phase II trial to investigate M7824 compared with pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment in patients with PD-L1 expressing advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).   M7824 is designed to simultaneously target two immuno-suppressive pathways, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) trap and an anti-programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1…

Torque, an immuno-oncology company developing first-in-class Deep Primed™ T Cell Therapeutics to direct immune power deep within the tumor microenvironment, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), today announced a collaboration to build a dedicated Slipstream™ manufacturing facility for high-efficiency production of Torque's Deep-Primed T cell immunotherapies. Buildout of the Torque/Thermo Fisher manufacturing facility has begun, and the companies anticipate processing patient cells by the end of 2019. The Slipstream platform will initially be used in the clinical development of Torque's lead Deep-Primed T cell candidate, TRQ-1501, in solid and hematologic tumors; followed by TRQ-1201, also for solid and hematologic tumors. "Torque's cell manufacturing technology platform is crit…