December 2018- Volume 14, Issue 12
In this Issue
Contract Services
Diamond Pharma named best specialist CRO
Diamond Pharma named best specialist CRO
Business award granted at OBN in recognition of expert services in cell and gene therapy
CROs lead industry-wide shift to modernize trial processes
CROs lead industry-wide shift to modernize trial processes
Roughly nine of 10 CROs are taking steps to unify clinical operations for better visibility and improved study execution
Advancing biomarker discovery and therapeutic development
Advancing biomarker discovery and therapeutic development
Specialized CRO offers high-definition tissue imaging services for pharmaceutical and clinical research
Business & Government Policy
Partners in immuno-oncology
Partners in immuno-oncology
MorphoSys and I-Mab sign strategic agreement for novel immuno-oncology agent MOR210
An acquisition and a contract in infectious disease
An acquisition and a contract in infectious disease
Sobi to acquire Synagis rights from AstraZeneca for RSV; Tulane awarded NIH contract for whooping cough
On the cutting edge
On the cutting edge
A roundup of instrumentation, software and other tools and technology news
The long and short reads of it
The long and short reads of it
Illumina aims at a more comprehensive sequencing offering with the acquisition of PacBio
Clinical Trials
New combo therapy for pancreatic cancer?
New combo therapy for pancreatic cancer?
Pairing investigational peptide with Keytruda yields promising results for BioLineRx
Attacking alopecia areata
Attacking alopecia areata
Concert reveals results for drug to counter autoimmune attack against hair follicles
LOXL2 inhibitor combats fibrosis
LOXL2 inhibitor combats fibrosis
Pharmaxis releases positive results of Phase 1 clinical trial for second LOXL2 inhibitor compound
Positive data for brain cancer treatment
Positive data for brain cancer treatment
Ziopharm provides update on Controlled IL-12 platform at Society for Neuro-Oncology meeting
Against atrial fibrillation
Against atrial fibrillation
GENETIC-AF Phase 2B AFB results presented at AHA 2018 meeting
Diagnostics
Myriad makes strides in companion diagnostics
Myriad makes strides in companion diagnostics
Company announces results for ovarian cancer and an approval for breast cancer
Digging in deep for diagnostics
Digging in deep for diagnostics
Companies continue efforts to develop tests for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis
Testing the waters in genetic screening
Testing the waters in genetic screening
Nonprofits co-fund feasibility study to test screening tool for 75,000 newborns for Angelman, Prader-Willi, fragile X and Dup15q syndromes
ThyGenX and ThyraMIR data show positive results
ThyGenX and ThyraMIR data show positive results
Interpace Diagnostics presents favorable new study findings at the 88th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association
Discovery
Heal thyself—with a little boost
Heal thyself—with a little boost
Sitryx and Sygnature join hands to develop therapeutics in immuno-oncology and immuno-inflammation
Targeting tumors with TRPV6
Targeting tumors with TRPV6
Drug candidate minimizes cancer cell growth with minimal side effects
Going after Parkinson’s disease with iPS cells
Going after Parkinson’s disease with iPS cells
Keio University and Eisai open path to new techniques for developing neurological therapeutics
Novel approaches to obesity and metabolic disease
Novel approaches to obesity and metabolic disease
Novo Seeds incubatee Embark Biotech enters collaboration with Novo Nordisk
The two faces of AMPK
The two faces of AMPK
Salk scientists unravel how enzyme long thought to suppress cancer may sometimes help tumors survive
Research & Development
Fast, open and free analysis with BioJupies
Fast, open and free analysis with BioJupies
Mount Sinai researchers develop tool that analyzes biomedical data within minutes
Understanding Zika’s methods
Understanding Zika’s methods
New lab technique helps reveal how Zika virus manipulates the immune system by stripping immune cells of their identity
A challenge for Alzheimer’s innovation
A challenge for Alzheimer’s innovation
Business leader fuels global, multimillion-dollar Oskar Fischer Project
Preclinical
Negating nicotine
Negating nicotine
Scripps scientists test enzyme to reduce dependence
Heralding HERA-CD27L
Heralding HERA-CD27L
Preclinical efficacy data of Apogenix compound published in Frontiers in Oncology
Preventing heart disease in cancer survivors
Preventing heart disease in cancer survivors
CDK2 protein said to play critical role in heart damage caused by doxorubicin, a common chemotherapy drug
Innovate looking for answers about NASH
Innovate looking for answers about NASH
Company studies the effects of larazotide on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Feature
Focus Feature on Cancer Research: Combating cancer with creativity
Focus Feature on Cancer Research: Combating cancer with creativity
A collection of some of the newest approaches to targeting cancer cells
Commentary
Publishers’ commentary: A year in review and a year’s preview
Publishers’ commentary: A year in review and a year’s preview
The publishers of DDNews check in with their annual look back and look forward for readers of the magazine and visitors of our websites
Transparency vs. opacity
Transparency vs. opacity
The will to understand vs. the will to obscure is not a new theme, but when blended with electronic communications it is given new intensity
Guest Commentary: A more reproducible approach to creating functional Th17 cells
Guest Commentary: A more reproducible approach to creating functional Th17 cells
A look at the importance of Th17 cells for drug discovery and look at how the use of specialized methods to confirm cellular identity provides a level of validation that has not previously been available
