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Small Business Grant Funds Point-of-Care Sickle Cell Test

Sickle cell test sample (A. J. Kumar, Harvard University)

22 September 2014. A Cambridge, Massachusetts diagnostics company received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a simple point-of-care test for sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder affecting a large percentage of people of African origin. The $225,000 grant from National . . . → Read More: Small Business Grant Funds Point-of-Care Sickle Cell Test

Gene Editing Techniques Devised to Combat Superbugs

E coli bacteria magnified (USDA Agricultural Research Service/Wikimedia Commons)

22 September 2014. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing ways to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria by modifying the genes that make the bacteria resistant to drugs. The team from MIT’s Synthetic Biology Group, led by engineering professor Timothy Lu, published its findings yesterday . . . → Read More: Gene Editing Techniques Devised to Combat Superbugs

Boehringer Ingelheim Licenses RNA Lung Cancer Immunotherapy

(National Cancer Institute)

19 September 2014. The pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is licensing from biopharmaceutical enterprise CureVac a vaccine based on RNA to generate an immune response for treating lung cancer. The deal has a total potential value to CureVac of €465 million ($US 597 million).

CureVac, in Tübingen, Germany, develops vaccines and . . . → Read More: Boehringer Ingelheim Licenses RNA Lung Cancer Immunotherapy

Biotech Firms Find Genetic Drivers for Uterine Cancers

(NIST.gov)

19 September 2014. Researchers with the companies Personal Genome Diagnostics and Blueprint Medicines identified genetic mutations associated with carcinosarcoma, a rare but deadly form of cancer affecting the female reproductive system also known as malignant mixed Mullerian tumors. The team that includes members from Johns Hopkins University and Oregon Health and Science . . . → Read More: Biotech Firms Find Genetic Drivers for Uterine Cancers

Small Business Contract to Fund Cancer Drug Response Tests

(Cancer.gov)

18 September 2014. National Cancer Institute, part of National Institutes of Health, is funding development of lab tests using a patient’s own cancer cells to help determine the best treatments for the patient. The $1.975 million contract to biotechnology company Kiyatec Inc. in Greenville, South Carolina was awarded under the Small Business . . . → Read More: Small Business Contract to Fund Cancer Drug Response Tests

3-D, Open-Source Syringe Pump Cuts Research Lab Costs

3-D printed syringe pump (Emily Hunt, Michigan Technological University)

18 September 2014. Engineers at Michigan Technological University in Houghton produced a syringe pump, a common but often expensive piece of lab equipment, with three-dimensional printing that drastically cuts the cost of the device. The team led by Michigan Tech’s Joshua Pearce published its . . . → Read More: 3-D, Open-Source Syringe Pump Cuts Research Lab Costs

Sanofi, MyoKardia Partner on Genetic Heart Disorders

(NASA.gov)

17 September 2014. The pharmaceutical company Sanofi and biopharmaceutical developer MyoKardia are collaborating on development and commercialization of three MyoKardia therapies for inherited heart diseases. The deal could earn MyoKardia as much as $200 million in milestone payments and equity investments from Sanofi.

MyoKardia, in South San Francisco, California, designs small-molecule therapies . . . → Read More: Sanofi, MyoKardia Partner on Genetic Heart Disorders

Early Clinical Trial to Test Leukemia Antibody Safety

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, stained purple (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine)

17 September 2014. An early stage clinical trial at University of California in San Diego is testing the safety of an antibody that in lab animals decreases the number of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, the most common form of leukemia among adults. . . . → Read More: Early Clinical Trial to Test Leukemia Antibody Safety

Lilly, AstraZeneca Collaborate on Alzheimer’s Drug

3-D brain wiring illustration (NIH)

16 September 2014. The pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Company and AstraZeneca will jointly develop a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease, currently in early-stage clinical trials. In the $500 million deal, Lilly is licensing research and development conducted so far by AstraZeneca, with the companies dividing up further . . . → Read More: Lilly, AstraZeneca Collaborate on Alzheimer’s Drug

Taking a Break

(A. Kotok)

Science & Enterprise is a taking long weekend beginning tomorrow, 12 September through Monday, 15 September. We’ll resume posting on Tuesday 16 September.

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