BioTech – Karma

Despite Concerns About Gene Editing, Venture Investors, Big Pharma Remain a Captive Audience

James Peter Rubin — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 16:18:18 +0000

A year after a Chinese scientist unleashed a storm of condemnation by announcing the birth of a baby whose genes he had edited, the medical and scientific community has yet to agree on rules guiding research into the practice. Still, that hasn’t dimmed venture capitalists enthusiasm for the technology, with its potential to create medical […]

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Biotech Novoheart to Collaborate With AstraZeneca on Heart-in-a-Jar Model

James Peter Rubin — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 21:49:14 +0000

Stem cell biotech company Novoheart and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced they would be partnering to develop the first test tube model of human heart failure, also called heart-in-a-jar. The companies said they would use heart tissue engineered by Novoheart to emulate conditions faced by patients suffering from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and […]

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How Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Fix Science

Daria Solovieva — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 21:23:46 +0000

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s embattled co-founder and CEO, isn’t just interested in creating the biggest ad machine and political platform in history. He also wants to fix and accelerate the rate of scientific discovery. In a video conversation published on Monday with Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, and Tyler Cowen, an economist from George Mason University, […]

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Blackstone Teams With Swiss Firm Ferring For $570 Million Effort to Make Cancer Killing Gene Therapy

Ron Day — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 19:22:27 +0000

Blackstone, which last year started up a life sciences investing arm, is pouring $400 million into a venture with a Swiss pharmaceutical firm to develop and commercialize a gene therapy for bladder cancer. Blackstone’s investment seeks to spur FerGene, a newly founded subsidiary of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, as it develops nadofaragene firadenovec, a virus-based therapy for […]

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GHO Capital, Spying European Healthcare Opportunities, Raises Record Fund

James Peter Rubin — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 21:59:21 +0000

Private equity firm GHO Capital Partners, reflecting European investors’ bullishness for healthcare, topped expectations by raising almost $1.1 billion for its second fund. The total, surpassing GHO’s $885 million goal, is a record for a fund targeting European healthcare, according to data from research group Prequin. The U.K.-based European healthcare specialist raised twice the amount […]

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“New Era for Quantum Biology” Is Upon Us

Daria Solovieva — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 21:44:13 +0000

It has been an exciting week for quantum biology enthusiasts, with two separate studies suggesting new ways to leverage quantum principles in life sciences applications. Researchers from the Quantum Nanophysics Group at the University of Vienna found a “quantum interference in molecules of gramicidin, a natural antibiotic made up of 15 amino acids,” potentially opening […]

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Brave New World: Investors Bet $100 Million on Success of Pig-to-Human Organ Transplants

Margot Habiby — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 20:52:42 +0000

The transplantation of pig organs into humans moved a step closer to reality after investors upped their bets, pouring in $100 million, on the work of biotechnology company eGenesis. The Cambridge, Massachusetts company uses new gene-editing technologies to make the organs safe for humans. The money from a Series B financing brings the company’s total […]

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FDA Will Consider Biogen’s Controversial Drug as First New Alzheimer’s Treatment Drug in 17 Years

Margot Habiby — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 13:00:37 +0000

A controversial drug that treats the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease might become the first medication for the disease in 17 years to win regulatory approval. Biogen Inc. said it plans to submit a regulatory filing for its aducanumab drug early next year — bringing it back into play seven months after the company appeared […]

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Nebula Genomics Puts DNA on Blockchain to Buoy Privacy-Concerned Consumers

Anastasia Ustinova — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 19:25:03 +0000

Key Takeaway: With concerns about the privacy of genetic data rising, Nebula Genomics has developed a Blockchain-based genomic marketplace, where users decide who gets access to their data and potentially receive compensation for sharing it. Founded by genomics pioneer and Harvard professor George Church, Nebula hopes to help accelerate genomic research and precision medicine discoveries. […]

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Researchers Use Gene Modification to Defeat Rice-Killing Disease

James Quirk — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 19:29:08 +0000

Researchers successfully edited the genome of strains of rice grown in Southeast Asia and West Africa to block a pathogen that ravages yields of the staple crop, the latest example of gene modification that may reduce hunger throughout the world. Bacterial blight is a closely-studied disease than destroys as much as 75% of a crop […]

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