Current methods to generate cells from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) lack reproducibility and scalability. This raises challenges for disease research, drug discovery and cell therapy development due to unreliable data and long experimental timelines. However, there is a new technology on the block, enabling reproducible, consistent and scalable production of physiologically relevant human cell […]

Biopharmaceutical company TikoMed has announced two new appointments to its Board of Directors as the company focuses on its ILB drug programme. TikoMed has appointed Tara Heitner and Pete Zorn to its Board of Directors. Tara Heitner has more than 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and has been involved in the development […]

Clinical-stage drug discovery company Ryvu Therapeutics has received €22 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help it advance its portfolio of cancer treatments.   The funding, which is being provided under the EIB’s venture debt instrument, will help Ryvu finance its development pipeline of new cancer treatments from discovery through to clinical trials. Ryvu’s […]

The drug discovery sector is working to address cancer disparities. Anita Ramanathan examines the importance of inclusivity and diversity throughout the drug discovery and development process.  While the risk of cancer is universal, some groups are disproportionately affected by cancer compared to others. Disparities resulting from genetic, environmental, social, and economic factors increase cancer risks […]

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved an updated version of Moderna’s Covid-19 booster vaccine that targets two coronavirus variants.  Moderna’s ‘Spikevax’ booster dose targets the original coronavirus strain as well as the Omicron variant. Known as a bivalent vaccine, Spikevax was approved following data that show it triggers a strong immune […]

A precision medicine for early-stage breast cancer has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).   Developed by AstraZeneca and Merck & Co (MSD) under the brand name Lynparza, the treatment is a precision medicine which blocks DNA damage response (DDR) in cells or tumours that have a deficiency in homologous recombination repair (HRR), such […]

A monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment for the prevention of Malaria has shown encouraging results in a US Phase I clinical trial.   The mAb, known as L9LS, was developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Vaccine Research Centre (VRC). L9LS is a laboratory-made version of a naturally occurring antibody called L9, developed from […]

Genome engineering company Synthego has launched a portfolio of Engineered Cell Libraries to help improve access to CRISPR-edited cells for direct use in functional screening assays.   The company’s Engineered Cell Libraries are designed to provide speed, scalability, and efficiency to accelerate the drug discovery process by enabling a faster path between experimental design and execution.  […]

Samantha Kanza, Senior Enterprise Fellow, University of Southampton, will be speaking at the ELRIG Tech Theatre supported by DDW at this year’s ELRIG Drug Discovery 2022.  The Tech Theatre will feature a series of seminars focused on automation and technology for drug discovery.  The event will take place on 4-5 Oct, London Excel, UK and […]

News round-up by DDW’s Reece Armstrong for 8-12 August  New insights into melanoma, a company transition into life sciences and a Lyme disease vaccine are some of the stories in this week’s news round-up. Pfizer launches Phase III trial for Lyme disease vaccine    Pfizer has launched a Phase III clinical trial of a vaccine to […]