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May 2020 Volume 16, Issue 5

Volume 16, Issue 5 | May 2020

In this Issue

Clinical Trials

Quashing brain cancer

Personalized cancer immunotherapy creates antigens from patient’s own cancer cells

ASCENT rises above and beyond

Immunomedics to halt study due to ‘compelling efficacy’ of novel therapy for TNBC

Social distancing meets clinical trials

PPD subsidiary and Science 37 to provide virtual trial access to patients globally

The FDA, trials and the coronavirus

COVID-19 causes agency to issue guidance for conducting clinical trials

Contract Services

Meeting demand for neoantigens

GenScript launches neoantigen-specific peptide synthesis service for biotech and pharma

New capabilities for Cambrex

Cambrex completes biopharmaceutical expansion at its Durham facility

Viroclinics and DDL join forces

Two leading virology testing laboratories integrate to form new group serving global biopharmaceutical industry

Diagnostics

A rapid testing option for COVID-19

VTT and MeVac work together to develop virus detection

Aiming to outsmart cancer

Caris launches MI FOLFOXai, an AI-powered predictor of metastatic colorectal cancer

Bringing speed to coronavirus testing

BillionToOne says new COVID-19 protocol could unlock a million tests per day

Capsulomics teams up with Johns Hopkins University

$3.7M NIH-funded research will advance pre-cancer and cancer-detection technology licensed in 2019

‘Hearing’ disease

Lab-on-a-chip monitors extracellular matrix

Discovery

Building compounds less expensively

Rice team publishes simple aziridination method for synthesizing pharmaceutical building blocks

Biomarkers and bowel disease

Gilead and Second Genome partner to identify response biomarkers for IBD drug candidates

Dynamic duo

Sosei Heptares chooses Discngine software to aid in GPCR-based chemogenomics

GWAS may create roadblock in MDD discovery

Popular minimal phenotyping method could inhibit identification of pathways specific to depression

Research & Development

Plugging the leaks

UCSD team develops mini-gut organoids to answer questions about leaky gut and test a possible treatment

Heart smart

Papers address cardiac safety testing protocols

An immunosuppressive interest

Newly published data support the potential of LNA-modified ASOs to block important immunosuppressive pathway

Bridging the divide

New study identifies trigger that turns dormant cancer stem cells into active ones

Preclinical

Clearing the checkpoints

Scholar Rock preclinical study shows SRK-181 can reverse immune cell exclusion

In search of further data

GBS Global Biopharma, NRC extend agreement for additional testing of cannabinoid formulations in Parkinson's disease

Positive pain relief

New compound may help reduce chronic opioid use and facilitate dose tapering

Stem cells to the rescue in hemophilia

Induced pluripotent stem cells show success in treating hemophilia A in mice

Feature

Focus Feature on Gene Editing: Catching up on CRISPR

A roundup of recent CRISPR gene editing R&D news, plus a Q&A and two commentaries from experts in the field

Spotlight on Stem Cells

A look at some recent stem cell-related R&D news and an update on the most notable stem cell research meeting of the year

Editor's Focus

Editor’s focus: The future of the face-to-face

The ongoing pandemic is doing ongoing harm not just to public health but to plans for healthcare and life-sciences conferences, but perhaps the changes can bring improvements and new ways of thinking about large professional meetings

Commentary

Out of order: What’s next?

We often have not learned harsh lessons from the past; will we this time as we endure and eventually come out the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Expert Insight: Moving toward 3D bioprinted cardiovascular tissue

Cardiac tissue engineering techniques, such as those that use 3D bioprinting, could be used to create functional constructs capable of re-establishing the structure and function of damaged myocardium following myocardial infarction

May 2020