Cambridge, Mass.-based Avrobio said today that it expanded its pipeline to include a preclinical program focused on a gene therapy for Gaucher disease. The investigational gene therapy makes use of a patient’s blood stem cells, genetically modifying them with a fully functional copy of the faulty gene responsible for the glucosylceramide accumulation that is characteristic […]
Sanofi gains on Q4 results; a look at some of the top drug-delivery earners in 2016
Shares in Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) have gained 11% to $44.58 apiece since the company released its 4th-quarter and full year 2016 financial results in February. The French company posted profits of $731.5 million on sales of $8.21 billion for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, for bottom-line growth of 136.5% on sales growth of 3.3% compared with […]
Study: Plants as 3D scaffolds for stem cells in biomedical implants
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are aiming to create novel biomedical implants using 3D scaffolds made from the decellularized husks of parsley, vanilla and orchids. The team described their work in an article published in Advanced Healthcare Materials. “Nature provides us with a tremendous reservoir of structures in plants,” lead author Gianluca Fontana said in […]
Novaliq, AFT Pharmaceuticals ink licensing deal for NovaTears dry eye therapy
Ocular therapeutics company Novaliq said today that it inked a strategic licensing agreement with AFT Pharmaceuticals for the commercialization of its dry eye therapy, NovaTears, in Australia and New Zealand. NovaTears is the Germany-based company’s 1st commercially available product indicated for the treatment of evaporative dry eye diseases. According to the agreement, AFT has an exclusive […]
Progenitor cell therapy improves motor function in patients with spinal cord injury
Shares in Asterias Biotherapeutics (NYSE:AST) jumped 11% today to $3.53 apiece after the company reported positive data for its AST-OPC1 progenitor cell therapy in patients with spinal cord injuries. The Phase 1/2A clinical trial includes 6 patients in the AIS-A 10 million cell cohort. The company’s AST-OPC1 progenitor cell therapy is derived from human embryonic […]
Drug importation bills aim to improve access, lower costs for Americans
Members of the U.S. House and Senate have introduced bills that would allow Americans to import prescription drugs from Canada in an attempt to increase accessibility and lower the cost of drugs. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) introduced the “Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act” at the end […]
Opthea gets positive feedback from European regulatory groups for wet AMD injection
Opthea (ASX:OPT) said today that it received positive feedback from meetings with the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and Sweden’s Medical Products Agency over its OPT-302 therapy for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration. The Australia-based company’s OPT-302 therapy consists of a soluble form of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 that […]
Facing pressure from pharma, FDA delays off-label promotion rule
After pharmaceutical industry groups filed a petition against the FDA’s new off-label promotion rule, the federal watchdog agency said last week it would delay the rule’s implementation to March 19, 2018. The agency originally intended for the law to go into effect on March 21 this year. The rule would expand the evidence that the […]
Study: Tethered nanoparticles help trigger cell death in cancerous tumor cells
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a way to amplify certain types of cancer treatment by tethering nanoparticles to cancerous tumor cells. The team’s work was published in Nature Communications. The researchers found that tethered nanoparticles increase the forces exerted on the cells by phenomena such as blood flow, therefore making the cells […]
Biotronik touts Orsiro data at Japanese conference
Biotronik touted data today from the BioFlow-IV study of its Orsiro hybrid drug-eluting stent at this year’s Japan Circulation Society congress. The company’s study enrolled 579 patients with de novo coronary lesions and randomized them to receive either the Orsiro stent or Xience stent. After 12 months, the researchers confirmed non-inferiority of its stent, based […]