Wellcome awards Novartis institute €5.15 million for vaccine project
The Wellcome Trust has awarded €5.15 million to a vaccine institute run by Novartis AG to investigate a new bivalent vaccine for Typhoid fever.
Research & University News
Study looks at why pancreatic cancer drugs fail
Scientists have described a mechanism that appears to explain why patients with pancreatic cancer can be resistant to the chemotherapy drug, gemcitabine. Their findings appear in the May 2009 issue of Science.
Cancer Research UK to conduct first-in-man study of GSK drug
Cancer Research UK has agreed to conduct a first-in-man study of a novel anti-cancer drug owned by GlaxoSmithKline, but not currently a priority of the UK multinational.
AstraZeneca unit raises investment in Newcastle University programme
The AstraZeneca Plc subsidiary, KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd, has increased its investment in a programme at Newcastle University that seeks to develop drugs inhibiting DNA-dependent protein kinase, thereby improving cancer treatments.
Max Planck Innovation announces new venture capital fund
Max Planck Innovation GmbH, the technology transfer arm of the Max Planck Society, has announced the launch of a new €100 million fund to invest in pharmaceutical projects originating from the society’s research organisations.
Merck explains its external research programme
Merck & Co has become the latest big pharmaceutical company to announce plans to source a significant part of its biomedical research programmes from outside the company.
Pfizer to fund stem-cell research at the University College London
Pfizer Inc has announced plans to fund research into stem cell-based therapies for macular degeneration and other retinal diseases at University College London (UCL).
CellCentric secures IP agreement in Spain
Privately-owned CellCentric of Cambridge, UK, has secured an agreement with the Center for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, Spain giving it access to intellectual property generated by Professors Ramin Shiekhattar and Luciano Di Croce in epigenetics.
UK Medical Research Council to create new drug discovery unit
The UK publicly-funded Medical Research Council has announced the setting up of a new centre in London that will produce ‘drug-like’ molecules with the potential to become therapies. The centre will have an initial operating budget of £6 million.
Galápagos starts human study against new RA target
Galápagos NV has announced the start of a first-in-man study of a candidate rheumatoid arthritis treatment which targets a protein kinase previously not associated with RA. The target is MAPKAPK5.