Life Science

Horizon Therapeutics, producer of R&D 100 winner TEPEZZA, and Viela Bio today announced the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Horizon will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Viela Bio common stock for $53 per share in cash, which represents a fully diluted equity value of approximately $3.05 billion,…

The Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit alliance that works to lower barriers to innovation in life science and healthcare R&D, has this week launched its revised President’s Startup Challenge. Building on the success of the previous six years, 2021 will see the annual Challenge not just fund startups working to transform R&D and healthcare innovation,…

Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), a serious, progressive, vision-threatening rare autoimmune disease that affects a small patient population, causes serious damage including proptosis (eye bulging), strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) and diplopia (double vision), and in some cases can lead to blindness. Until the FDA approval of TEPEZZA, TED patients had no approved options for treatment…

Wellcome Leap (Leap), a U.S.-based non-profit organization founded by the Wellcome Trust to accelerate innovations that benefit global health, today announced the first 21 participants in the Leap Health Breakthrough Network, a global group of leading academic and research institutions committed to solving the world’s most serious health challenges — such as cancer and infectious…

The cost of library preparation is one of the biggest obstacles to large next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies, slowing down the pace of insights from infectious disease surveillance, cancer research and beyond. At the Festival of Genomics, SPT Labtech announced an initiative with Thermo Fisher Scientific to co-market solutions that will enable variant detection at a…

Repositive has announced this week that IDMO will be joining its global network of CRO partners. Based internationally in China, IDMO is a fast-growing CRO with over 6 years of experience in developing mouse PDX models for cancer research and personalized medicine. With this new partnership, Repositive is expanding its global reach and model selection…

The Invitrogen Intact Virus Precipitation Reagent and Dynabeads Intact Virus Enrichment kits* are optimized to isolate intact SARS-CoV-2 virus particles such as infectious virus, inactivated virus or virus like particles (VLPs). While virus cultures are often required to obtain sufficient virus yield, long isolation times can slow down sample analysis. Thermo Fisher’s Intact Virus Precipitation…

ConserV Bioscience Limited (CBL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have agreed to collaborate on the development of a broad-spectrum or “universal” coronavirus vaccine. This collaboration brings together CBL’s expertise in identifying antigens and LLNL’s nanolipoprotein delivery system. The vaccine has been designed to provide broad-spectrum protection against coronavirus pathogens of human and animal origin,…

Zeiss announces that it has formed a research collaboration partnership with the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI). Using an LSM 980 NLO next generation confocal microscope supplied by ZEISS, MPFI will investigate using implanted GRadient INdex (GRIN) lenses in combination with the Airyscan 2 area detector for deep brain functional neuroscience research. Airyscan…

As the drug manufacturing process evolves, rapid testing will become an essential component in intensified processing and how the industry will detect adventitious agents. MilliporeSigma has developed a first-of-its-kind assay platform that provides highly sensitive viral detection in just days. The innovative Blazar Platform reduces turn-around-time from up to 63 days to ten days, while…

A new microscope from researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center can rapidly image large tissue sections, potentially during surgery, to discover on the spot if the cancer was successfully removed. It was created by engineers and applied physicists at Rice and is described in a study recently published…

Chronic wounds have devastating consequences for patients and contribute to billions of dollars in healthcare costs. Diabetic ulcers have the highest growth rate amongst the global population with wounds and require frequent observation to prevent them from becoming chronic. Fifteen percent of diabetic patients will experience at least one diabetic ulcer in a lifetime. Each…

CCM (Cardiac Contractility Modulation) therapy, delivered by Impulse Dynamics’ the Optimizer, is a breakthrough treatment that can help many people with heart failure feel better and reduce their symptoms. The therapy is designed to improve the heart’s ability to contract by delivering precisely timed pulses of energy directly to the heart. The Optimizer is the…

To meet accelerating demand for robust clinical supply chain services throughout Europe, Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its pharma services footprint with two new state-of-the-art facilities in Rheinfelden and Weil am Rhein, Germany. The new sites will bring much-needed clinical supply chain continuity and specialized cold chain and cryogenic expertise across Europe and globally. Today’s…

Pioneering research, which reveals digital chest drains generate and distribute less aerosol generated particles compared to traditional water seal systems, has been published in the Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery journal. The research was led by a team of thoracic consultants from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – home to one of…

OSTAR Artificial intelligence early warning heart disease technology discovers abnormal heart conditions and diagnoses cardiac disease in advance. Their new AI algorithm uses BPM/ECG transform spectrum diagram to detect the most common and dangerous types of heart disease. The AI technology is able to prevent and warn potential heart disease patients and also track them,…

EUROIMMUN, a PerkinElmer Company, today announced the launch of the CE marked EURORealTime SARS-CoV-2/Influenza A/B for direct detection of SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus type A and influenza virus type B. It expands the testing portfolio for acute COVID-19 diagnostics by supporting differential diagnostics between SARS-CoV-2 infections and the common flu. It is available in countries accepting…

Thermo Fisher Scientific today announced it will further expand its footprint in North America and Europe for sterile drug product development and commercial manufacturing of critical medicines, therapies and vaccines. “We have continued to invest strategically in capacity, technology and expertise across our global network so we can accelerate innovation and enhance productivity for our…

Therapeutic use of cannabis is a growing industry increasingly accepted by the medical community and general public — but that growth may be stopped if biopharma companies lack reliable methods to extract and purify potentially useful compounds from the plant. Tadas Laukaitis, production manager at Sanobiotec, has shared his insights on why chromatography could bridge…

Boston Scientific’s WATCHMAN FLX Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Device consists of access and delivery systems that permit closure device placement in the left atrial appendage (LAA). The device is designed for patients with Non-valvular atrial fibrillation who are eligible for anticoagulation therapy or who have a contraindication to anticoagulation therapy to reduce the risk…

Researchers have developed a potential new treatment for the eye disease glaucoma that could replace daily eyedrops and surgery with a twice-a-year injection to control the buildup of pressure in the eye. The researchers envision the injection being done as an office procedure that could be part of regular patient visits. The possible treatment, which…

Thermo Fisher Scientific announces CE-marking of its TaqPath COVID-19, Flu A/B, RSV Combo Kit for the in vitro diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A/B infections. Using the new kit, laboratories can now run a single test for SARS-CoV-2, influenza (flu) A/B, and RSV to detect and differentiate between diseases that share…

A team led by Mass Eye and Ear researchers has developed an eye drop to effectively deliver drugs to the retina and other tissues located in the back of the eye, a new technology with potential application for the treatment of multiple blinding diseases. According to a report published online today in Nature Scientific Reports,…

PerkinElmer, announced today the Lighthouse Lab in Charnwood, Loughborough, England is now processing COVID-19 testing samples as part of the Company’s collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in support of the UK Government’s NHS Test and Trace program. The facility, operated by PerkinElmer Genomics, began processing samples today, and with its…

By John Toon,  Georgia Institute of Technology Using an array of tiny needles that are almost too small to see, researchers have developed a minimally invasive technique for sampling a largely unexplored human bodily fluid that could potentially provide a new source of information for routine clinical monitoring and diagnostic testing. Biochemical information about the…