The Dish’s Weekly Biotechnology News Wrap Up – August 21, 2015

August 21, 2015 Written by Brandy Sargent

This week’s biotechnology news headlines include, Roche buys Gene WEAVE BioSciences diagnostics firm, FDA approves expanded use of Seattle Genetics lymphoma drug, research on cancer vaccine for breast cancer, AbbVie buys priority review voucher, WHO reports vaccine hesitancy, Valeant to buy Sprout Pharma, and Novo Nordisk licenses DuoBody platform from GenMab.

Cell Culture Events

Workshops:

 

High Performance Tour 2015

Discover how to improve efficiency and productivity for your bioprocessing workflows during our exclusive High Performance Tour.

Learn how the choice of chromatography media (resins), hardware, and services can dramatically affect your process performance.

Register now to reserve your seat at this special event where you can gain insights in improved process efficiency and productivity.

Coming to these Cities:

  • San Diego, CA – September 15, 2015
  • San Francisco, CA – September 17, 2015

To Register – https://promo.gelifesciences.com/na/K15104/landing.html

Webinars:

Less False Negatives: Quantifying Cell Viability by Simultaneous Triple Staining

Sep 15 2015 | 7:00 AM  PT

Cellular viability is usually determined by measuring the capacity of cells to exclude vital dyes such as 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), or by assessing nuclear morphology with chromatinophilic plasma membrane-permeant dyes, such as Hoechst 33342. However, a fraction of cells that exclude DAPI or exhibit normal nuclear morphology have already lost mitochondrial functions and/or manifest massive activation of apoptotic caspases, and hence are irremediably committed to death. Here, we developed a protocol for the simultaneous detection of plasma membrane integrity (based on DAPI) or nuclear morphology (based on Hoechst 33342), mitochondrial functions (based on the mitochondrial transmembrane potential probe DiOC6(3)) and caspase activation (based on YO-PRO®-3, which can enter cells exclusively upon the caspase-mediated activation of pannexin 1 channels). This method, which allows for the precise quantification of dead, dying and healthy cells, can be implemented on epifluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry platforms and is compatible with a robotized, high-throughput workflow.

Register here – https://www.labroots.com/ms/webinar/id/117/beckman-kepp-sauvat-sep15

Conferences:

September

October

  • Bioproduction – October 14-15, 2015 – Dublin, Ireland – http://www.informa-ls.com/event/bio-production14Benchmark technological developments and explore best practices in biomanufacturingThe biopharmaceutical industry is making a capital investment of approximately $8 billion in new facilities in Ireland, most of which has come in the last 10 years, representing close to the biggest wave of investment in new biotech facilities anywhere in the world.Join us at BioProduction 2015 in Dublin this October to see why so much is being invested in this area and to network with leading players within this growing industry!BioProduction 2015: Europe’s leading and largest event for a comprehensive update on all aspects of large scale biological manufacturing. Providing insights on the latest technologies, upstream/downstream processing, process analytics, the implementation of continuous manufacturing, facility design, flexibility facilities and single use systems to reduce inefficiencies during the biomanufacturing process.4 Conferences – 1 Exhibition – 1 Congress
    • Conference 1: Continuous Manufacturing
    • Conference 2: Upstream Processing – Production, Development & Analytics
    • Conference 3: Manufacturing Strategy & Technology
    • Conference 4: Downstream Processing

    For more information on the 2015 event please visit the event website at http://www.informa-ls.com/CQ3531BioproductionCellEL

  • Bioprocessing International – October 26-29, 2015 Hynes Convention Center Boston, MA http://www.ibclifesciences.com/BPI/overview.xml

November

  • Bioproduction Summit 2015 – November 2-3, 2015 – Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront – Burlingame, CA Bioproduction Summit 2015 will focus on quintessential topics in Biotech field, such as technology advances in protein production, Cell culture, Bioprocess Development and Novel protein therapeutics. http://www.bioproductionsummit.com
  • World Vaccine Congress – November 3-5, 2015 – Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel – Brussels, Belgium –  For 15 years the World Vaccine Congress in Europe has been the leading event to talk about scientific advances and find new business opportunities within the vaccine sector and this year is no exception. http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/world-vaccine-congress-europe/index.stm
  • FAST: Functional Analysis & Screening Technologies Congress – November 9-11, 2015 – Renaissance Waterfront Hotel – Boston, MA -Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) is pleased to announce the Third Annual FAST: Functional Analysis and Screening Technologies Congress. Now in its third year, the FAST Congress brings you the latest technologies and research in cellular screening. – http://www.fastcongress.com/

Headlines

“Roche buys ‘superbug’ diagnostics firm for up to $425 million,” Reuters

“Roche is buying U.S. diagnostics firm GeneWEAVE BioSciences for up to $425 million, expanding the Swiss group’s commitment to fighting so-called “superbugs” as the threat from drug-resistant microbes grows.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “New Report Forecasts Sustained Growth in the Pharmaceutical Market through 2020”

“FDA expands use of Seattle Genetics’ lymphoma drug,” PharmaTimes

“US regulators have approved the use of Seattle Genetics’ Adcetris earlier in the treatment pathway for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Cancer Drug Market Continues to Grow and is Fueled by Significant R&D Focus and Clinical Pipeline”

“Pioneering vaccine brings hope to breast cancer victims,” Nottingham Post

“A groundbreaking vaccine being developed in Nottingham could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients who have untreatable breast cancer.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “The Evolution of Vaccine Manufacturing – Past, Current, and Future Trends”

“AbbVie buys special review voucher for $350 million,” Reuters

“AbbVie Inc has bought a priority review voucher from United Therapeutics Corp for $350 million that will allow it to accelerate the review process for one of its drugs.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Culturing hPSCs: From MEFs to Naïve State Cells”

“WHO: Vaccine hesitancy is a mounting challenge for immunization programs,” Fierce Vaccines

“The reluctance of some parents to vaccinate their children in the U.S. has been in the spotlight this year, with a measles outbreak at Disneyland and the California government striking down exemptions to vaccination requirements for children. But the WHO says that vaccine hesitancy is a worldwide problem.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Cord Blood-derived HSCs – The Quest to Overcome Limited Cell Numbers”

“Valeant to buy ‘female Viagra’ maker Sprout Pharma,” Reuters

“Canada’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO) (VRX.N) said on Thursday it would buy Sprout Pharmaceuticals, maker of the first approved treatment for low sexual desire in women, for about $1 billion plus milestone payments.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Cell Culture Media Optimization: Making the perfect magical potion”

“Genmab Licenses DuoBody Platform to Novo Nordisk,” Genetic Engineering News

“Genmab said today it has agreed to license its DuoBody technology platform to Novo Nordisk to create and develop bispecific antibody candidates for two therapeutic programs “outside of cancer therapeutics” but otherwise undisclosed. The deal could generate for Genmab up to $250 million per antibody developed.”

If you like this story, please see our blog titled “3D Printing and 3D Bioprinting – Changing the Healthcare Landscape”

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