As gene editing technologies gain traction in laboratories around the world, companies producing the new technologies are attracting more money from investors. An example is CRISPR Therapeutics which has a number of preclinical projects where it is investigating gene editing for therapeutic use.
Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, have discovered an antibody that can activate a protein called Bak and trigger cell death. In healthy cells Bak remains inert. But when a cell receives a signal to die, the protein mobilises to kill the malignant cell.
Researchers at KU Leuven in Belgium have discovered that the tumour protein 53 (TP53) knows exactly where to bind to a DNA sequence to prevent cancer. Once bound to this location, the protein can activate the right genes to repair damaged cells.
A group of 25 bioscience academics and genomic entrepreneurs have published a paper in Science, calling for support of a project to ‘write’ a synthetic human genome. This comes more than a decade after the Human Genome Project successfully sequenced, or ‘read,’ the three billion DNA base pairs that make up the human genome.
Researchers from the University of Aberdeen have called attention to a possible new link between Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes in a study published in the journal Diabetologia.
Verona Pharmaceuticals Plc, which is developing products for respiratory diseases, has made arrangements to raise £44.7 million with an equity placement sweetened with warrants. The proceeds will be used for a Phase 2b trial of its lead product RPL554 for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The share price of Circassia Pharmaceuticals Plc fell by 64.85% to 95 pence in mid-morning trading on 20 June following the announcement that its phase-3 trial of its cat allergy drug failed to meet its primary endpoint.
Woodford Investment Management LLP has raised its stake in Imperial Innovations Group to 21% making it the group’s second most significant investor behind Invesco Asset Management.
Medical device company Mainstay Medical International Plc has raised €30 million in a share placement to new and existing investors to commercialise its implantable neurostimulation device for back pain in Europe and complete a trial for a US regulatory submission.
Sweden-based Medivir AB has engaged professional advisors to investigate the possibility of reorganising the company into two independent businesses in order to deliver more value to shareholders. The announcement was made to the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange on 15 June.