Industry news

NIH awards $11M to develop tests for drug-resistant bacteria

Emily Wasserman / FierceDiagnostics

The U.S. National Institutes of Health is funneling more than $11 million toward 9 research programs developing rapid diagnostics for antimicrobial resistance, a week after the Obama administration announced a plan to prioritize point-of-care testing to curtail the rise of drug-resistant bacteria.

16 April 2015

Epic Sciences Demonstrates Single Cell Genetic Analysis for Circulating Tumor Cells

Epic Sciences announced today that its no cell left behind™ technology has successfully integrated single cell isolation and downstream genetic analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to the platform's capabilities. 

WHO demands disclosure of all clinical trial results

Ben Hirschler / Reuters

The World Health Organization called on Tuesday for the release of clinical trial results for all drugs, vaccines and medical devices - whatever the result - in the latest salvo against the withholding of data.

More Evidence that Size Matters

Jim Miller / BioPharm International

Size has proven to be a major competitive advantage in the clinical contract research organization (CRO) industry, and if that experience is any guide, it presages how the dose CMO industry will evolve as well. 

Specialty, generic drug costs drive Medicaid costs up

Marie French / Associated Press

The high cost of a drug used to treat Medicaid patients with hepatitis C drew scrutiny from lawmakers earlier this year, but other drugs are also driving up the state's costs and likely will continue to do so for several years, government data reveals.

Vaccine to prevent two meningitis types at once developed in Bashkortostan

Marchmont Innovation News

Scientists in Ufa, in the Volga region of Bashkortostan, have come up with a combined vaccine for two different types of meningitis, the website of the Vesti TV channel reported . There have traditionally been separate vaccines for each of the types. 

15 April 2015

Atlas Genetics Enters Into Diagnostic Collaboration With a Major Pharmaceutical Company

Atlas Genetics Ltd (“Atlas Genetics” or the “Company”), the ultra-rapid ‘test and treat’ molecular diagnostics company, today announces that it has entered into a collaboration with a major pharmaceutical company to develop a diagnostic test, expanding capabilities beyond infectious diseases.

PhRMA & LLS: More than 240 Medicines in Development for Blood Cancers

Tina Stow / PhRMA

It’s hard to believe, but – this year alone – more than 162,000 Americans will be diagnosed with a form of blood cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. Fortunately, science has advanced quickly in recent years, opening doors for more precise treatments for more patients. This progress is certainly encouraging, but more work remains to find effective, targeted medicines for all patients impacted by blood cancer.

Rise of Big Data prompts peer review rethink at Nature Biotechnology

Nick Paul Taylor / Fierce BiotechIT

Nature Biotechnology is encouraging authors of computational biology papers to publish their source code on GitHub as part of a company-wide drive to ensure research is reproducible. The policy is designed to counter long-standing concerns about the peer review of computation-heavy research.

Big Pharma partner: Check. Crossover round: Check. Hot tech: Check. IPO...

John Carroll / FierceBiotech

Two months after tying the Big Pharma collaboration knot with Sanofi, Cambridge, MA-based gene therapy startup Voyager Therapeutics has rolled out a $60 million venture round that will help set the stage for a prospective IPO.