News

Mogrify Ltd has raised $16 million in an initial Series A round to support development of its direct cellular conversion technology. This represents a new approach to drug discovery by potentially enabling researchers to transform any mature human cell type into any other without going through a pluripotent stem cell state. Leading the round was Ahren Innovation Capital, an existing investor, with participation from Parkwalk, 24Haymarket and the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund III.

bluebird bio Inc and Novo Nordisk A/S have entered into a research collaboration to jointly  develop in vivo genome editing treatments for genetic diseases, including haemophilia. During a three year research collaboration, the two companies will focus on identifying a gene therapy candidate for haemophilia A.

The Italian biotech company MolMed SpA is withdrawing its cell therapy for use in transplantation procedures, Zalmoxis, from the market. Announcing the decision on 10 October, the company said the decision had been taken “for commercial reasons.”

Zalmoxis (allogeneic genetically modified T cells) was approved for reimbursement in Italy in 2017. It was not immediately clear whether the product was being financially supported by any other European healthcare authorities.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc has entered a five-year collaboration with Lyell Immunopharma, a San Francisco biotechnology company, to develop new technologies to improve cell therapies for cancer patients. To date, two cell therapies have been approved for blood-borne cancers, but engineered T cells have not yet delivered strong clinical activity in solid tumours. Improving the fitness of T cells and delaying the onset of T cell exhaustion could help engineered T cell therapies become more effective, GSK said.

Three scientists who discovered how cells sense and adapt to the availability of oxygen have been awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. William Kaelin Jr of Harvard Medical School, US; Peter Ratcliffe of the University of Oxford, UK; and Gregg Semenza of  Johns Hopkins University, US identified molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen, discoveries that paved the way for new strategies to treat anaemia, cancer and many other diseases.

MiroBio Ltd, a spin-out from the University of Oxford, has raised £27 million in Series A funding from a syndicate of international specialist life science investors to develop antibody modulators of immune cell receptors for auto-immune disease. It is one of the largest A rounds for a European company this year.

Scientists at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have reported positive results from a trial of a new combination therapy that includes an inhibitor of the B-Raf protein and an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor in patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer. The treatment was pioneered by René Bernards and colleagues after they discovered why patients with BRAF-mutated colorectal cancer were insensitive to BRAF inhibition.

Johnson & Johnson Inc became the latest pharmaceutical company on 1 October to settle lawsuits brought by two counties in Ohio over its alleged role in the US opioid epidemic. J&J agreed to a settlement of $20.4 million, thereby avoiding a trial in federal court. The settlement includes no admission of liability.

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB is to acquire the US specialty pharmaceutical company Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc in a bid to broaden its haematology and immunology portfolios. The transaction is valued at up to $915 million and consists of a cash offer plus a contingency payment for shareholders if Dova’s lead product is approved for a new indication by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Microsoft Corp has made another foray into the biological sciences under a new collaboration with Novartis which will see both companies use artificial intelligence (AI) to energise drug discovery. The partnership, announced on 1 October, will involve joint research on new therapies for macular degeneration and support the development of cell and gene therapies. It will also use AI to explore new designs for future drugs.