The Dish’s Weekly Biotechnology News Wrap Up – November 11, 2016

November 11, 2016 Written by Brandy Sargent

This week’s biotechnology news headlines include your flu risk may be linked to the year you were born, Nestle Pays $145 Million for Stake in Biotech Firm Aimmune, Immunotherapy moves to the front lines in fight against lung cancer, Stanford readies for CRISPR human testing after sickle cell success, What the Incoming Trump Administration may Mean for FDA, Biopharma and Device Companies, Creating a Functional Cure for HIV, and Cell Culture Company (C3) Deal Targets Pancreatic Cancer.

Cell Culture Events

Webinars:

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (hPSC) – An Overview of Morphology and Culture Methods

November 17, 2016, 11:00AM ET

Speaker: Lia Thornberry Kent, Technical Training & Scientific Support, Biological Industries USA

This webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture methods. Attendees will learn about the cells’ basic culture requirements and how aspects of the culture environment have developed over time, ultimately to defined culture systems widely used in disease research, and clinically-relevant systems amenable to downstream therapeutic applications. A review of various culture environments in use today will provide a high-level overview of the field and a basic understanding of the requirements for maintaining these unique cells. This webinar is the first in a series of hPSC tips and techniques – Register Now

Presenting a case study that reduces MAb clinical trial development costs by up to 65% using different agarose Protein A chromatography resins

Wednesday 7th December | 14:00 GMT

On Wednesday 7th December, Purolite’s Life Sciences will host a webinar to present a case study that reduces MAb clinical trial development costs by up to 65% using different agarose Protein A chromatography resins.
  • New data from a HTPD comparability case study will be shared using three Protein A’s performed on a Perkin-Elmer Janus® BioTx Pro Plus Workstation
  • Assessed with Alvotech Biopharmaceuticals supplied biosimilar MAb feedstock
  • Key data includes yield, purity, DNA & HCP clearance and protein A leakage.
Register Now

Conferences:

November

  • TIDES Europe – November 14-17, 2016 – Berlin, Germany – http://get.knect365.com/tides-europe/TIDES Europe is the place where oligo and peptide experts go to meet and build successful partnerships to accelerate products from early discovery through late stage development and commercialisation. In 2015 Tides Europe attracted a 40% increase in attendance across the oligo and peptide audience.
  • World Immunotherapy Congress 2016 – November 14-16, 2016 – Basel Switzerland http://bit.ly/1rbnrYy
  • World Precision Medicine – November 14-15, 2016 – Washington DC
The World Precision Medicine Congress USA is bringing together big pharma, big data, and healthcare providers to discuss the scientific, economic, and policy goals towards producing precise and genomic-based medicines. Partnered with forward-looking industry leaders such as precisionFDA and NantWorks, this event will fast-track our momentum into the future paradigm of healthcare by spurring the important discussions to get us there. Can you afford to miss this gathering of precision medicine leaders? Pharma, big data, and healthcare providers will be there attending sessions on Gene Therapy, Cell Therapy, personalized medicine, and genomics. Download the brochure: http://bit.ly/1N3Y0vI Register to attend: http://bit.ly/1ObpkNV

December

Headlines:

“Your flu risk may be linked to the year you were born,” CNN

“Flu season has arrived, and many people are bracing themselves for the sneezes, sniffles and sick days that lurk around the corner. Yet you might not realize that you could already have a higher risk of certain flu infections than others — and that risk may be linked to your birth year.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Pumping Iron – But Not in the gym: The Critical Roles of Transferrin in Cell Culture Media”

“Nestle Pays $145 Million for Stake in Biotech Firm Aimmune,” Bloomberg

“Nestle SA’s health unit is investing $145 million for a 15 percent stake in Aimmune Therapeutics Inc., a California maker of food-allergy therapies.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Solve Production Challenges of Difficult to Express Proteins with Scalable, Continuous Manufacturing”

“Immunotherapy moves to the front lines in fight against lung cancer,” The Washington Post

“Lung cancer, which kills almost 160,000 Americans a year, is among the cruelest of foes. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced staged after punishing chemotherapy still have a bleak prognosis. More than half die within a year.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Video Tutorial – Understanding Chemically Defined Media in Bioprocessing”

“Stanford readies for CRISPR human testing after sickle cell success,” Fierce Biotech

“Scientists from Stanford University School of Medicine have used CRISPR in early-stage work to patch up the gene that causes sickle cell disease as they eye human trials in 2018.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Gain Productivity in Protein Purification through Column Loading Optimization”

“What the Incoming Trump Administration may Mean for FDA, Biopharma and Device Companies,” Regulatory Focus

“As pharmaceutical and biotech company stocks saw a quick rise in share prices yesterday, investors seem to believe the incoming Donald Trump administration and the avoidance of a California ballot measure on drug pricing will have a positive impact on the sector as a whole, at least financially.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Predicting Differentiation and Characterizing Pluripotent Stem Cells Using Non-invasive Multi-analyte Luminex® Assays”

“Creating a Functional Cure for HIV,” Genetic Engineering News

“The addition of adjuvants to vaccines to stimulate the immune system toward the antigen being injected is a common practice of vaccine delivery. However, trying to awaken the reservoir of dormant viruses in combination with vaccine administration represents a novel approach for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research. Yet, that is precisely the path a team of researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., and Gilead Sciences has taken. The collaborative group was able to demonstrate that combining an experimental vaccine with an innate immune stimulant may help lead to viral remission in people living with HIV.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Reduce Cell Line Development Time by 30% and Simplify Proof of Clonality – A Case Study”

“Cell Culture Company (C3) Deal Targets Pancreatic Cancer,” Business Wire

“Cell Culture Company (C3), a biopharmaceutical developer and manufacturer, announced today it has entered into an agreement with a China-based joint venture to produce a clinical-grade antibody-based therapeutic vaccine targeting pancreatic cancer.” If you like this story, please see our blog titled “2016 BioProcess International Award Winners – Upstream and Analytical”

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