February 2019- Volume 15, Issue 2
In this Issue
Clinical Trials
Breast case scenarios
Breast case scenarios
Atossa’s male Phase 1 study of Endoxifen for breast health starts well; Phase 2 for women with MBD continues
Data support SYNB1020 in cirrhosis
Data support SYNB1020 in cirrhosis
Phase 1 clinical trial of SYNB1020 in healthy volunteers demonstrated safety, clearance and proof of mechanism
A new force against cancer
A new force against cancer
Nanobiotix and MD Anderson Cancer Center collaborate on new product
A guy thing
A guy thing
Simple, reversible male contraceptive minimizes side effects
The trials of AI
The trials of AI
Machine learning and other tools seeing increased interest for clinical studies
Business & Government Policy
Working out the details: A quick look at some recent licensing deals
Working out the details: A quick look at some recent licensing deals
Three companies and their dealmaking recently
Eye on the FDA
Eye on the FDA
Agency launches new digital tool
On the cutting edge
On the cutting edge
A roundup of instrumentation, software and other tools and technology news
Lilly to acquire Loxo for $8B
Lilly to acquire Loxo for $8B
Among other benefits, addition of Loxo will broaden scope of Lilly’s oncology portfolio into precision medicines
When giants collide
When giants collide
Bristol-Myers Squibb aims to acquire Celgene for a hefty $74 billion
Preclinical
Synthetic gene promoter targets hemophilia
Synthetic gene promoter targets hemophilia
Novel approach appears to circumvent inhibitors to factor VIII in early clinical studies
Q BioMed partners with SRI International
Q BioMed partners with SRI International
Collaboration provides Q BioMed with formulation and preclinical expertise to progress QBM-001 for pediatric nonverbal disorder in autism
Wasp venom shows potential as an antibiotic
Wasp venom shows potential as an antibiotic
Altered peptides from the venom can kill bacteria but are nontoxic to human cells
It’s all in the presentation
It’s all in the presentation
A roundup of recent preclinical data presentations
Diagnostics
United front against frontotemporal degeneration
United front against frontotemporal degeneration
ADDF, AFTD announce funding plans for biomarkers of dementia
Non-invasive options for NASH
Non-invasive options for NASH
GENFIT and LabCorp team up in licensing agreement for a NASH diagnostic test
A breath of fresh (diagnostic) air
A breath of fresh (diagnostic) air
PAN Cancer trial launches to evaluate Owlstone Medical’s Breath Biopsy platform for cancer diagnosis
Machine learning could aid sepsis care
Machine learning could aid sepsis care
Model predicts whether patients need a change in therapy
Stopping the silent killer
Stopping the silent killer
New liquid biopsy technique a powerful diagnostic tool for early detection of ovarian, endometrial cancer
Contract Services
Biotech boost
Biotech boost
Dedicated PAREXEL division helps emerging companies
Imaging initiative
Imaging initiative
RadMD, AG Mednet combine specialties to offer new imaging support for clinical trials
Shore invests $6M in healthcare AI data startup
Shore invests $6M in healthcare AI data startup
H1 says it is the first to arm biopharmas with live data insights
Discovery
Free resource against infections
Free resource against infections
New data intended to ‘spark’ much-needed antibiotic research
Gilead and Scholar Rock target fibrosis
Gilead and Scholar Rock target fibrosis
The partners will focus on the potential of TGFβ inhibitors
Cryptographic protocol aids collaboration in drug discovery
Cryptographic protocol aids collaboration in drug discovery
Neural network that securely finds potential drugs could encourage large-scale pooling of sensitive data
XtalPi to accelerate platform development
XtalPi to accelerate platform development
Closing of $46-million Series B-1 extension will aid access to AI tools
RBBP6 may hold the key
RBBP6 may hold the key
Insight into how Ebola, Dengue and Zika viruses interact with human cells opens the door for treatments
Commentary
Revisiting the approach to Y2K, looking out to Y2K+20
Revisiting the approach to Y2K, looking out to Y2K+20
We have seen information technology anxiety run rampant in the past (with Y2K); today's worries about cyber security, fake news, autonomous robotics and artificial intelligence are nothing new...but they are worth noting nonetheless
Guest Commentary: Opportunities for personalized cancer immunotherapy directed by immune-profiling
Guest Commentary: Opportunities for personalized cancer immunotherapy directed by immune-profiling
There are currently three main approaches to characterizing the immune landscape of solid tumors: transcriptional profiling, single-cell cytometric analyses and histology; each of these disciplines brings its own benefits and, with rapid technological advances, powerful datasets are now achievable.
Research & Development
Amping up AMPK research
Amping up AMPK research
New model lets scientists activate health-promoting enzyme AMPK at any time, in any tissue
Blocking out genetic noise
Blocking out genetic noise
Team trains computing program to filter out benign variants to better identify pathogenic mutations
Elsevier launches Entellect
Elsevier launches Entellect
New platform designed to unlock value by creating AI-ready life-sciences data
Editor's Focus
Editor's Focus: Your 2019 intelligence briefing
Editor's Focus: Your 2019 intelligence briefing
Well, if nothing else, artificial intelligence may be about to surpass the intelligence of many of today's politicians; let's talk a little bit about both
Feature
Society of Toxicology 2019 Show Preview: Baltimore-bound for toxicology
Society of Toxicology 2019 Show Preview: Baltimore-bound for toxicology
Annual meeting and ToxExpo to unite over 300 toxicology-related companies and organizations, with more than 6,000 attendees over three da
Focus Feature on Artificial Intelligence: 'Intelligence' in the discovery
Focus Feature on Artificial Intelligence: 'Intelligence' in the discovery
AI is becoming far less of a buzzword and much more of a practical and necessary reality
