The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has invested £48m into the Babraham Institute, following a five-year review, to support core research on the key mechanisms that maintain the health of cells, tissues and organs. Over the next four years, the institute will receive funding to support research across epigenetics, immunology and cell signalling. The life sciences institute focuses on understanding biology in relation to maintaining health, particularly when protecting and maximising good health in the later years of life. From 2024 to 2028, the new BBSRC investment aims to support three strategic research programmes to advance the ability to protect health and counter age-related decline, including cellular response to stress, epigenetic control across the life course, immunity, resilience and repair. In close collaboration with partners across academia, including the BBSRC’s other strategically supported research institutes and companies based on the Babraham Research Campus, the research will be delivered ...
Mike Hollan Pharmaceutical ExecutivePharmaceutical Executive: May 2024 Mike Hollan, Assistant Managing Editor, Pharmaceutical Executive When it comes to developing new drugs and therapies, there is obviously nothing more important than data. Countless bits of data are collected for each medication before it hits the market, and researchers continue to collect data after that. Even before the modern technology boom, data was a key component of the life sciences industry. In the modern world, data is more valuable than ever. New technologies, such as AI and machine learning algorithms, are capable or collecting, sorting, and analyzing bits of data at a faster rate than ever before. Researchers across almost every industry are seeing the benefits and discovering new ways to innovate based on these discoveries. In the life sciences industry, this data is being used for everything from drug development, market analysis, and even scheduling sales reps calls. It’s undeniable that ...
The Francis Crick Institute and Broken String Biosciences have announced a new collaboration to advance research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The partnership aims to advance the understanding of genomic instability in the development of the neurodegenerative disease. Affecting an estimated 5,000 people in the UK, ALS is a rare and fatal neurological disorder that causes the brain and spinal cord nerve cells to progressively degenerate. The disorder gradually causes a loss of the ability to control voluntary movements and basic bodily functions. As part of the collaboration, the research project aims to develop novel applications for Broken String’s proprietary DNA break-mapping platform, INDUCE-seq, to leverage the technology to investigate the impact of genomic instability in the development of ALS. INDUCE-seq is a scalable platform technology that reveals the breaks induced by any nuclease-based genome editing system with high precision. It was created to address an unmet need for accurate ...
Don Tracy, Associate Editor Joint venture aims to develop up to 10 new cell and gene therapy products targeting areas with high unmet medical needs. AstraZeneca announced that it has officially completed its equity investment and research collaboration agreement with Cellectis, a biotechnology company specializing in gene editing technologies. According to the company, the agreement is expected to result in a collaboration to develop up to 10 different cell and gene therapy (CGT) products in areas such as oncology, immunology, and rare diseases. Regarding terms of the deal, Cellectis earned an upfront payment of $105 million, which included $25 million in cash and $80 million in an equity investment. Cellectis will have the opportunity to profit further through an investigational new drug (IND) option fee, and additional payments based on development, regulatory, and sales milestones that could range from $70 million to $220 million.1 The collaboration, which was first announced ...
Neurological disorders, such as epilepsy or chronic pain, affect over three billion people worldwide Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed small, flexible devices, combining electronics and soft robotics, to help treat a range of neurological conditions, including epilepsy and chronic pain. Published in Nature Materials, the nerve cuff implant has the ability to change shape through electrical activation, opening up a variety of avenues for new, highly targeted treatment options. Affecting more than three billion people worldwide, neurological disorders are conditions that affect the brain as well as the nerves found throughout the human body and spinal cord. Currently, the tools for interfacing peripheral nerves are outdated, bulky and carry a high risk of nerve injury, according to the University of Cambridge. “Nerves are small and highly delicate, so anytime you put something large, like an electrode, in contact with them, it represents a danger to the nerves,” ...
The progressive neurological condition affects more than six million people worldwide Researchers from the University of Cambridge have designed and used an artificial-intelligence (AI)-based approach to advance drug design and accelerate the search for Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatments. Published in the journal Nature Chemical, researchers used AI to identify compounds that block the clumping or aggregation of alpha-synuclein, the key protein that characterises PD. Affecting more than six million people worldwide, PD is a progressive neurological condition that slowly deteriorates parts of the brain. As well as motor symptoms, PD can also affect the gastrointestinal system, nervous system, sleeping patterns, mood and cognition and can contribute to a reduced quality of life and significant disability. Researchers developed and used a machine learning technique to screen a chemical library that contained millions of entries to identify small molecules that bind to the amyloid aggregates and block their proliferation. The process of ...
Bladder cancer, including papillary tumours, is the ninth most common cancer type worldwide Researchers from ETH Zurich and University Hospital Basel have revealed new insights for cancer research when focusing on mechanical changes in tumour tissue after investigating the early stages of bladder cancer. Researchers aimed to understand what governs the direction in which bladder tumours grow and whether it plays a role in malignant and benign formations. Currently the ninth most common cancer type worldwide, bladder cancer occurs when cells in the bladder start to grow without control. Papillary tumours, long, slender benign or malignant tumours that grow from tissue that lines the inside of the organ, are usually easy to treat, while muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which spreads into the thick muscle of the bladder wall, requires surgical removal of the bladder. Similar to bronchioles in the lungs, researchers wondered whether molecular mechanisms could be responsible for creating the ...
As the burden of documentation and various other administrative duties has increased, physician burnout has reached historical levels. In response, EHR vendors are embedding generative AI tools to aid physicians by drafting their responses to patient messages. However, there is a lot that we don’t yet know about these tools’ accuracy and effectiveness. Researchers at Mass General Brigham recently conducted research to learn more about how these generative AI solutions are performing. They published a study last week in The Lancet Digital Health showing that these AI tools can be effective at reducing physicians’ workloads and improving patient education — but also that these tools have limitations that require human oversight. For the study, the researchers used OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model to produce 100 different hypothetical questions from patients with cancer. The researchers had GPT-4 answer these questions, as well as six radiation oncologists who responded manually. Then, the ...
Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based computer process to develop drug molecules based on a protein’s three-dimensional surface. The new process could revolutionise drug research, making it possible to generate active pharmaceutical ingredients quickly and easily. The new computer process’ algorithm was developed in collaboration with ETH’s professor Gisbert Schneider and former doctoral student Kenneth Atz, using AI to design new active pharmaceutical ingredients. Researchers trained the AI model with information from hundreds of thousands of known interactions between chemical molecules and the corresponding three-dimensional protein structures. The algorithm generates the blueprints for potential drug molecules that can increase or inhibit the activity of proteins with a known three-dimensional shape. The generative AI then designs molecules that bind specifically to the protein according to the lock-and-key principle to be interacted with. “This means that when designing a drug molecule, we can be sure that ...
Merck KGaA (Merck) has announced an investment of more than €300m ($320.8m) in a new Life Science Research Center at its global headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. Set to open in 2027, the centre will be a hub for developing biopharmaceuticals, including antibodies and messenger ribonucleic acid applications. The investment is part of Merck’s broader €1.5bn commitment to the Darmstadt site by 2025. Covering an area of 18,000m², the Advanced Research Center will consolidate efforts on key life science technologies such as the production of antibodies, recombinant proteins, and viral vectors. It allows collaboration across departments of the company in an open, modern work environment. The facility will also focus on the advancement of cell culture media, pharmaceutical formulation, purification aids, and analytical chromatography. Merck said the new centre will support both European and global customers in addressing significant medical challenges. Merck CEO and executive board chair Belén Garijo said: “With ...
Go to Page Go
your submission has already been received.
OK
Please enter a valid Email address!
Submit
The most relevant industry news & insight will be sent to you every two weeks.