Avacta Group has announced that the first Affimer-based rapid test strips to detect SARS-COV-2 spike protein have been developed and evaluated by partners at Cytiva (formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences) and show positive initial performance data. In mid-May Avacta provided Affimer reagents that are specific to the SARS-COV-2… Read More
Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services has signed a supply agreement with AstraZeneca for sterile manufacture of the COVID-19 recombinant adenovirus vaccine known as AZD1222 for AstraZeneca sponsored clinical trials. Under the agreement, Symbiosis will provide AstraZeneca fast-track access to sterile vaccine drug product manufacturing capacity for clinical trial… Read More
22 June 2020 Epidarex Capital, an international finance firm, has launched a £102 million fund in Edinburgh to invest in emerging life sciences businesses. The fund will build new life science companies using world-class research and innovation from emerging hubs across the UK, including university spinouts. Typical initial investments… Read More
09 June, 2020 The specialist developer and manufacturer of proteins for stem cell, organoid and regenerative medicine applications announced the successful closure of a £1.5 million (US$1.9 million) series A investment round to accelerate the global scale-up of its commercial operations. According to Cambridge based Qkine, the funding… Read More
27 May, 2020 Compound sourcing specialist MolPort has announced the successful completion of 100 projects in partnership with BioAscent, one of the leading providers of integrated drug discovery services based in the UK. Through their collaborative efforts, MolPort and BioAscent said they have significantly enhanced customer service by… Read More
New antibody internalization advanced screening method provides greater speed & insight 26 May 2020 Sponsored by Sartorius Researchers abilities to improve the breadth of therapeutic antibodies have been aided by innovative technologies for antibody discovery, for instance, through humanization of mouse antibodies and phage display. However, advanced antibody… Read More
The CRISPR revolution arrives in immuno-oncology By Helen Stewart-Miller and Thomas Hope Volume 21 Issue 2 – Spring 2020 CRISPR-cas9 technology is having an exciting impact on drug discovery as a whole, but more specifically CRISPR presents enormous opportunities in targeted screening for immuno-oncology research. Clustered… Read More
Meeting analytical challenges in a brave new world of next generation biotherapeutics By Mani Krishnan and Susan Darling Volume 21 Issue 2 – Spring 2020 The need for innovative advanced analytical tools to accelerate the development of immunotherapies and other complex biologics that may one day cure genetic… Read More
By Dr William Olds and Dr Deepa Shankar While the antibody market has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry enabling the discovery of cures, disease diagnosis and basic science acceleration, this has allowed low quality antibodies to hit the market. With a large crisis in reproducibility, the need for… Read More
Innovative glycan imaging methods drive cancer biomarker discovery By Dr Richard Drake, Dr Anand Mehta and Dr Peggy Angel Volume 21 Issue 2 – Spring 2020 Glycosylation accounts for the majority of post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, and changes in glycosylation are known to play a key role… Read More
By Andrii Lozoniuk Volume 21 Issue 2 – Spring 2020 Gathering compound solubility data is a key step during drug discovery that helps ensure cost-effective screening, yet it is a long process and is often underestimated in terms of difficulty. Global sharing of such data can… Read More
Reprogramming the stem cell for a new generation of cures By Dr Alex Davenport, Dr Tonya Frolov and Dr Mark Kotter Volume 21 Issue 2 – Spring 2020 The development of new and effective treatments with the potential to cure, or at the very least ease patient suffering,… Read More
Mologic has announced that it has launched an accelerated programme with the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Senegal to develop a low-cost, high-performance rapid diagnostic test for Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola). The project is supported by the Wellcome Trust and the UK Government’s Department for International Development… Read More
Drug development 2.0 – The partnership model in practice By Dr Brian Sheehan and Marco Cerato Over the last decade there has been a fundamental shift in the way in which drugs are developed and brought to market. Some years ago, the industry started to see profits falling… Read More
Cryo-EM accelerates drug discovery by delivering previously intractable structural insights By Hans Raaijmakers, et al. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a powerful biophysical technique that can analyse molecular assemblies, is changing the paradigm in structure-based drug design. As targets become more challenging, solving structures of drug target molecules… Read More
Getting a handle on liquids: automation solutions for drug discovery By Helen Stewart-Miller and Thomas Hope The accurate and precise measurement of liquids and the transport of exact volumes between vessels, or from one instrument to another, are processes that constitute the very essence of research. Read More
