Today Stories

David Spencer-Percival founded Spencer Ogden and Huntress - two globally successful recruitment firms Life Science People launches with a commitment to boost employment opportunities post Covid-19 London, 01 September 2020: David Spencer-Percival, serial entrepreneur and founder of two globally successful recruitment businesses, Huntress and Spencer Ogden, is launching his latest venture, Life Science People. With a personal investment of £2m and an initial team of 20, Spencer-Percival’s team have set their sights set on ambitious growth, with plans to have a London office of 100 by December, and nine international offices within five years. In launching Life Science People he continues his commitment to hiring and training graduates, something he has maintained throughout all of his ven…

An international team of scientists, led by the University of Glasgow, has announced findings that could pave the way to a new treatment for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The breakthrough findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, identify a new class of drugs that reverse the symptoms of asthma in animal models. The work was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Researchers also found that the same drugs, when applied to lung samples obtained from human donors, showed effects similar to those seen in the animal models. Scientists believe that these combined findings offer new hope that these drugs could provide new medicines for human inflammatory lung disease. The drugs u…

A new therapy that could treat people with diabetes suffering from COVID-19 is to undergo an advanced clinical trial in the UK.  The first patient will be dosed this week. The Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) has approved the trial following new preclinical research that suggests a glucose kinase activator (AZD1656) could help diabetes sufferers infected with coronavirus by dampening the overactive response of the immune system typically acute in those patients with raised blood glucose levels. The trial will involve hospitalised patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms and if successful the compound could ultimately be prescribed by a GP for people with diabetes presenting with early COVID symptoms. People living with diabetes face a significantly higher risk of dyi…

NEW YORK & MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Forbius, a privately held, clinical-stage protein engineering company that designs and develops biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and fibrotic diseases, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bristol Myers Squibb will acquire Forbius. Forbius has developed a portfolio of highly selective and potent inhibitors of TGF-beta 1 & 3, which are key mediators of immunosuppression and fibrosis. The transaction includes an upfront payment and future success-based milestone payments. Prior to closing, Forbius’ non-TGF-beta assets will be transferred to a newly formed private company, which will be retained by Forbius’ existing shareholders. The companies anticipate comp…

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MNTA, “Momenta” or the “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel biologic therapeutics to treat rare immune-mediated diseases announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement for Johnson & Johnson (“Johnson & Johnson” or “J&J”) to acquire Momenta for $52.50 per share in an all-cash transaction, implying a fully-diluted equity value of $6.5 billion. The agreement was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Momenta and Johnson & Johnson. "The agreement with J&J recognizes the value created by years of commitment and dedication to our mission by the many current and past Momenta employees. Programs such as nipocalim…

[LONDON, 17 August 2020] An enhanced remote consultation service for GP surgeries has been launched by three of the UK’s leading providers of healthcare technology. eConsult Health, Q doctor and Cognitant have collaborated on an online toolbar which enables GP practices to have quick and easy access to the three providers’ platforms. This prioritises patient needs and directs them to the best starting point in the healthcare system, first time. It allows GPs and practice staff to manage the entire patient journey from one screen and provide fully integrated triage, remote consultation and patient information, minimising the number of steps traditionally taken after a patient completes an online consultation.  The toolbar provides greater dexterity for remote-working GPs and practices throu…

Green shoots of recovery are emerging within the manufacturing sector, as evident in new findings from InfinityQS’ 2020 Global Client Survey. The results show a positive upturn in the industry, with nearly 74% of respondents reporting that they are optimistic toward the future. These manufacturers are adapting and rebounding in the wake of the pandemic, adopting new technologies and processes for managing production and controlling quality, including 75% who noted more of their workers are now working remotely.  To enable this remote work and build greater flexibility and resiliency into their processes, manufacturers are rapidly adopting technologies, such as cloud computing. Additional results from InfinityQS indicate that an acceleration in digital transformation initiatives is occurrin…

Oslo, Norway, 6 August 2020. Nordic Nanovector ASA (OSE: NANO) today announces that, following a planned interim analysis of the PARADIGME Phase 2b pivotal trial of Betalutin® in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL), the Independent Review Committee (IRC) has recommended Nordic Nanovector to focus on one dosage arm (15 MBq/kg Betalutin® after a pre-dose of 40 mg lilotomab; “40/15”) to completion. In this very difficult to treat patient population (bulky disease, patients refractory to standard therapies) the interim analysis confirmed activity. Betalutin®, as a single administration, was active (CR, PR and disease control rate) and had a well-tolerated safety and manageable safety profile in both arms. Based on a comprehensive assessment, the interim data set supporte…

Improvements also demonstrated in quality of life, lung function and nasal polyposis symptoms 05 August 2020  Results from the positive Phase IIIb ANDHI trial showed AstraZeneca’s Fasenra (benralizumab), when given on top of standard of care, demonstrated a statistically significant 49% reduction in the annual rate of asthma exacerbations at week 24 compared to placebo (0.94 vs. 1.86; p≤0.0001) in patients with baseline blood eosinophil counts greater than or equal to 150 cells per microlitre.1 These data were presented today at the American Thoracic Society 2020 Virtual International Conference.1 In key secondary endpoints, Fasenra demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in health-related quality of life at week 24 compared to placebo (p≤0.0001), wi…

Heidelberg (Germany), 3 August 2020: Pharma business development requires meeting other people but this has become very difficult in times of distancing, travel restrictions and quarantine. The traditional model of "partnering events" has suffered a blow and so have organisers. The workaround of merely replacing physical by video one-on-one meetings on the same conference days meets organisational and technical glitches.RauCon has developed an entirely novel, Corona-proof partnering concept which is now online and running. The new Marketplace for Pharma Business Opportunities provides an unprecedented degree of flexibility in pharma partnering by adding full four weeks of pre-arranged and secure, one-hour video meetings to the physical two-days euroPLX or asiaPLX events. Attendees can move…

BASINGSTOKE, August 3, 2020 – Eli Lilly and Company today announced the initiation of BLAZE-2, a Phase 3 trial studying LY-CoV555 for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in residents and staff at long-term care facilities in the U.S. (skilled nursing facilities, commonly referred to as nursing homes, and assisted living facilities). LY-CoV555, the lead antibody from Lilly’s collaboration with AbCellera, is a neutralizing antibody against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 among residents of long-term care facilities combined with the higher mortality rate for the elderly creates the urgent need for therapies to prevent COVID-19 in this vulnerable population. “COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on nursing home residents. We’re worki…

29 July 2020: Announced today, GAMA Healthcare, the number one supplier of Clinell disinfectant wipes to the NHS, has added four roles to its expanding Science and Innovation (S&I) team. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, GAMA Healthcare looks to address the increase of demand for essential disinfectants not only in hospital settings but also for businesses, retail and the home. Since joining GAMA Healthcare in September 2019 as S&I Director, Dr Teresa Layer has been responsible for innovation and new product pipeline for brands including Clinell. Hired as a values-based research and development leader with over 20 years of experience and previously Vice-President of Oral Health and Skin Health R&D at GSK Consumer Healthcare, Teresa brought strong experience in strategic planni…

Open Orphan plc "Open Orphan" or the "Company" Awarded Contract from Codagenix Inc. New York USA for COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Open Orphan plc (ORPH), a rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which is the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge clinical trials is pleased to announce a new contract with Codagenix Inc. (“Codagenix”) to conduct a first in human (Phase I) trial evaluating safety and immunogenicity of a single-dose, intranasal SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate in 48 healthy young adult volunteers.  Highlights: First in human (Phase I) study of CodaVax-COVID, a codon deoptimized SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) single-dose, intranasal vaccine candidate Vaccine being trialled at hVIVO’s state-of-the-art Quarantine Facility in…

Today the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has awarded £100 million to fund a Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Innovation Centre to accelerate production of a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. The centre, located in Braintree, Essex, is due to open in December 2021 and will have the capacity to produce millions of doses of vaccines. An additional £4.7 million will be awarded for upskilling in advanced therapy and vaccine manufacturing. The funds will be utilised to expand existing training facilities and develop a virtual learning platform to address the demand for skills in the UK cell and gene therapy industry. Steve Bates OBE, CEO of the BioIndustry Association (BIA) commenting on the funding for the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult said: “The funding will he…

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 22, 2020-- Moderna, Inc., (Nasdaq:MRNA) a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, today announced that it will host a live conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 to report its second quarter 2020 financial results and provide a corporate update. To access the live conference call, please dial 866-922-5184 (domestic) or 409-937-8950 (international) and refer to conference ID 2673189. A webcast of the call will also be available under “Events and Presentations” in the Investors section of the Moderna website at investors.modernatx.com. The archived webcast will be available on Moderna’s website ap…

Test for cancer hallmark MCM5 more effective at ruling out disease than current gold standard  Sunderland, United Kingdom, Thursday 23 July 2020 – A HIGHLY accurate urine test which can rule out bladder cancer with a negative-predictive value (NPV) of 99%1,2 using a hospital laboratory’s standard ELISA testing equipment is today being offered free to the NHS to help urologists clear the backlog of people waiting for a diagnosis and monitoring as a result of COVID-19 hospital closures. Clinical trials involving approximately 3,000 patients have shown that ADXBLADDER, made by UK-based Arquer Diagnostics, is a simple and painless test enabling urologists to confidently exclude the presence of high-risk bladder cancer. New data being presented at the European Association of Urology congress at…

Saint-Herblain (France), July 20th, 2020 – Valneva SE, a specialty vaccine company focused on prevention against diseases with major unmet needs, today confirmed its participation in the UK government COVID-19 vaccine response program. Valneva has reached agreement in principle with the UK government to provide up to 100 million doses of its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, to be manufactured at its facilities in Livingston, Scotland. The UK government is expected to contribute to UK clinical studies costs and is negotiating funding to expand Valneva’s Scottish facility. As part of its broader COVID-19 response, Valneva plans to further invest in its manufacturing facility in Livingston, Scotland and also in Solna, Sweden. Thomas Lingelbach, CEO of Valneva, commented, “We are delighted to hav…

OXFORD, 20 JULY 2020: Vaccitech Ltd, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing immunotherapies to treat and prevent infectious diseases and cancer, today announces that Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group have taken the next step towards the discovery of a safe, effective and accessible vaccine against coronavirus. The vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, now known as AZN1222, was co-invented by Vaccitech and Oxford University’s Jenner Institute. The results of the Phase I/II trial published today in the scientific journal, The Lancet, indicate no early safety concerns and the induction of strong immune responses in both parts of the immune system. The vaccine provoked a T cell response within 14 days of vaccination (a cellular immune response, it cou…

COVID-19 research and development (R&D) has started to see the first set of novel drug candidates enter clinical trials by way of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Experts interviewed by GlobalData see potential in these but are cautious that the cocktail strategy may not pan out better than treating with a single mAb, according to reporting from Manasi Vaidya, Pharma Writer for the Investigative News team at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. Vaidya adds: “Beyond their treatment potential, when it comes to preventing infection, mAbs will likely be most applicable to the post-exposure setting. “While the clinical development landscape has, so far, largely focused on repurposing existing drugs and investigating vaccines, mAbs for COVID-19 provide a novel and attractive appr…

DANBURY, Conn. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IQVIA™ (NYSE:IQV) has announced its collaboration with AstraZeneca (LON: AZN) to accelerate development of a potential new vaccine for COVID-19. This joint initiative is part of the U.S. government’s recently announced Operation Warp Speed project. Operation Warp Speed is part of a broader strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. The specific IQVIA and AstraZeneca collaboration will drive faster delivery of clinical studies in the U.S. aimed at demonstrating efficacy of AstraZeneca’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222. This initiative includes an expansive subject study, which is expected to begin enrolling participants this summer and wil…