Genetically Engineered Biomaterials: Using Science to Mimic Nature

Biomaterials are naturally occurring materials, derived either from plants or animals. Due to their superior properties, these materials find uses in many industries. Synthetic biologists are constantly researching ways to mimic these materials as well as ways to improve on them. In this article, we will discuss why it is important to develop synthetic versions of nature’s building blocks, and about the companies that have succeeded in doing so. Finally, we will learn how CRISPR is contributing to the world of biomaterials.

Spotlight

Xell AG

Xell is an experienced partner for companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry providing them with highly-efficient solutions in cell culture technology. Meeting our customers’ specific needs is the objective of our dedicated team – our personal approach to challenging tasks is key to Xell’s success. With years of industry experience, we bring our extensive expertise in ultra-high performance media and feed development, and apply our powerful analytical tools for in-depth characterization of biological systems and pharmaceutical proteins, guaranteeing optimal solutions for our customers’ bioprocesses.

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MedTech

Biotech in 2022

Article | July 12, 2022

The robust global channel of more than, 800 gene and cell curatives presently in trials will produce clinical readouts in 2022, revealing what lies ahead for advanced curatives. The impact will be felt in 2022, no matter how you slice it. Eventually, how well industry and non-supervisory bodies unite to produce new frameworks for advanced therapies will shape the year 2022 and further. Pacific Northwest talent will continue to contribute to the advancement of gene and cell curatives in both the short and long term, thanks to its deep pool of ground-breaking scientific developers, entrepreneurial directorial leadership, largely skilled translational scientists, and endured bio manufacturing technicians. We may see continued on-life science fund withdrawal from biotech in 2021, but this can be anticipated as a strong comeback in 2022 by biotech industry, backed by deep-pocketed life science investors who are committed to this sector. A similar investment, combined with pharma's cash-heavy coffers, can result in increased junction and acquisition activity, which will be a challenge for some but an occasion for others. Over the last five years, investment interest in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest has grown exponentially, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Oregon. The region's explosive portfolio of new biotech companies, innovated out of academic centres, demonstrates the region's growing recognition of scientific invention. This created a belief that continued, especially because Seattle's start-ups and biotech enterprises are delivering on their pledge of clinical and patient impact. Talent and staffing will continue to be difficult to find. It's a CEO's market, but many of these funds' return, and are not rising in proportion to the exorbitant prices they're paying to enter deals. This schism has become particularly pronounced in 2021. Hence, everyone in biotech is concerned about reclamation and retention.

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Medical

How to Choose a Reliable Biotech Clinical Trial Management System?

Article | July 14, 2022

Introduction The medical and life-science industries are experiencing a robust transformation with the increasing prevalence of various types of diseases, including infectious diseases, chronic disorders, and acute conditions around the world. As a result, a significant rise in demand for more effective therapeutic drugs and bionics is being witnessed, leading to a swift increase in the number of clinical trials. For a successful trial, it is important for biotech companies to ensure the data submitted to regulatory bodies regarding clinical trials is accurate, reliable, and definitive from an ethical point of view. A reliable clinical trial management system plays a vital role in collecting, monitoring, and managing clinical data. The availability of high-quality clinical data also helps clinical research institutions make efficient treatment decisions and provide proper patient care. Hence, a number of biotech companies and research organizations are focusing on leveraging innovative clinical trial management solutions to handle a large amount of data, particularly in multi-center trials, and generate reliable, high-quality, and statistically sound data from clinical trials. However, selecting the most appropriate and reliable clinical trial management system is vital for the clinical trial's success. Let's see some of the steps that will assist these firms in choosing the right CTMS. Key Steps for Selecting Right Biotech Clinical Trial Management System Prioritize Study Needs Considering and prioritizing study needs is a crucial step in choosing the most reliable clinical trial management system for biotech companies. Prioritizing helps them to identify a solution that improves the study's quality and removes uncertainty for researchers when faced with difficult choices. Hence, biotech and life-science organizations should choose a clinical trial system that is simple to use, well-organized, and suitably designed to minimize the number of clicks required to complete a task. Select CTMS with Multiple Integrations Integrated clinical trial management systems provide the best value for the companies’ funds as they guarantee the smooth functioning of research protocols. In addition, integrations are necessary to fully understand the importance and advantages of clinical trial management software for ensuring smooth transitions between site management and data collection. Biotech and clinical research should look for CTMS platforms that can integrate with electronic medical record (EMR) platforms and clinical research process content (CRPC) billing grids. This will allow them to use the same billing designations and ensure compliance while minimizing the need for duplicate processes. Ensure System Compliance and Security Clinical research organizations need to adhere to a plethora of complex regulations in order to ensure compliance with one of the most challenging environments of principles, which is information security and privacy. Security and system compliance are vital aspects of choosing the right CTMS solutions for biotech firms as they assist in building trust and form a part of the system’s duties. While selecting CTMS systems, it is essential for companies engaged in clinical research to ensure that these platforms are able to configure both, group and individual permissions, along with having a data backup and recovery plan for hosted systems. This will allow companies to assess the privacy and security implications of research and anticipate complications that may arise in each phase of the project. Assess the Scalability Choosing a scalable CTMS that can accommodate various types of fluctuations and expansions enables biotech and clinical firms to quickly adapt to fast-changing trends and demand spikes while reducing maintenance costs and enhancing user agility. As scalability also means secure and expanded data storage, these businesses should instead use SaaS solutions than manually manage an ever-growing collection of hard drives. The right CTMS ensures accommodating the firm’s availability requirements without incurring the capital costs associated with expanding a physical infrastructure. The Closing Thought A well-executed and successful clinical trial involves multiple stages and processes. Several quality controls and stringent adherence to regulations are essential for the steps, along with efficient cross-departmental processes and procedures. Incorporating the right CTMS paves the way for paperless data collection, regulatory filing, and fiscal management tools for biotech researchers and administrative personnel.

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Research

Better Purification and Recovery in Bioprocessing

Article | July 11, 2022

In the downstream portion of any bioprocess, one must pick through the dross before one can seize the gold the biotherapeutic that the bioprocess was always meant to generate. Unfortunately, the dross is both voluminous and various. And the biotherapeutic gold, unlike real gold, is corruptible. That is, it can suffer structural damage and activity loss. When discarding the dross and collecting the gold, bioprocessors must be efficient and gentle. They must, to the extent possible, eliminate contaminants and organic debris while ensuring that biotherapeutics avoid aggregation-inducing stresses and retain their integrity during purification and recovery. Anything less compromises purity and reduces yield. To purify and recover biotherapeutics efficiently and gently, bioprocessors must avail themselves of the most appropriate tools and techniques. Here, we talk with several experts about which tools and techniques can help bioprocessors overcome persistent challenges. Some of these experts also touch on new approaches that can help bioprocessors address emerging challenges.

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Research

2022 U.S. Market Research Report with COVID-19 Forecasts2

Article | July 11, 2022

The global biotechnology market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.9 percent from 2022 to 2030, with a value estimated at USD 1,023.92 billion in 2021. The market is being propelled by strong government support in the form of initiatives aimed at modernizing the regulatory framework, improving approval processes and reimbursement policies, and standardizing clinical studies. The growing presence of personalized medicine and an increasing number of orphan drug formulations are opening up new avenues for biotechnology applications and driving the influx of emerging and innovative biotechnology companies, which is driving market revenue even further. The 2022 Biotech Research and Development Market Research Report is one of the most comprehensive and in-depth assessments of the industry in the United States, containing over 100 data sets spanning the years 2013 to 2026. This Kentley Insights report contains historical and forecasted market size, product lines, profitability, financial ratios, BCG matrix, state statistics, operating expense details, organizational breakdown, consolidation analysis, employee productivity, price inflation, pay bands for the top 20 industry jobs, trend analysis and forecasts on companies, locations, employees, payroll, and much more. Companies in the Biotech Research and Development industry are primarily engaged in biotechnology research and experimental development. Biotechnology research and development entails the investigation of the use of microorganisms and cellular and bimolecular processes to create or modify living or non-living materials. This biotechnology research and development may result in the development of new biotechnology processes or prototypes of new or genetically altered products that can be replicated, used, or implemented by various industries. This report was created using the findings of extensive business surveys and econometrics. The professionals follow reports with accurate and apt information on market sizing, benchmarking, strategic planning, due diligence, cost-cutting, planning, understanding industry dynamics, forecasting, streamlining, gap analysis, and other ana

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Spotlight

Xell AG

Xell is an experienced partner for companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry providing them with highly-efficient solutions in cell culture technology. Meeting our customers’ specific needs is the objective of our dedicated team – our personal approach to challenging tasks is key to Xell’s success. With years of industry experience, we bring our extensive expertise in ultra-high performance media and feed development, and apply our powerful analytical tools for in-depth characterization of biological systems and pharmaceutical proteins, guaranteeing optimal solutions for our customers’ bioprocesses.

Related News

AquaBounty considers labelling genetically modified salmon

CBC.CA | April 16, 2019

The U.S.-based company that's about to start the commercial production of genetically modified salmon in P.E.I. says it's considering labelling the product as such. However, it's not clear what exactly AquaBounty Technologies intends to tell consumers about the fish, which are modified with a growth hormone gene to make them grow faster. "We are considering our labelling options and working with potential customers to determine the appropriate approach," a spokesperson for AquaBounty said in a statement sent to CBC News. The genetically modified salmon, produced in indoor tanks in Rollo Bay, P.E.I., will become the first genetically engineered food animal to be sold in Canadian grocery stores. Environment Canada and Health Canada have given their approval, but it's up to the latter to determine whether products require labelling. "Health Canada requires labelling for food products where clear, scientifically established health risks or significant nutritional changes have been identified that can be mitigated through labelling," said spokesperson Maryse Durette. 'Safe and nutritious,' Health Canada says After a four-year study, the federal agency has determined the genetically modified salmon to be "safe and nutritious" and therefore no labelling is required. AquaBounty's most recent statement on labelling is news to Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor in food distribution and policy. "I did encourage AquaBounty to reconsider its policy around transparency and risk communication," he said Sunday on CBC Radio's Maritime Connection. "It is a pleasant surprise to me because I do think that the industry is starting to realize how important it is to connect with the public more so than ever before to get that social licence." AquaBounty Technologies is planning to grow 250 tonnes of its AquAdvantage salmon in Rollo Bay. The fish will be on the market in late 2020.

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AquaBounty considers labelling genetically modified salmon

CBC.CA | April 16, 2019

The U.S.-based company that's about to start the commercial production of genetically modified salmon in P.E.I. says it's considering labelling the product as such. However, it's not clear what exactly AquaBounty Technologies intends to tell consumers about the fish, which are modified with a growth hormone gene to make them grow faster. "We are considering our labelling options and working with potential customers to determine the appropriate approach," a spokesperson for AquaBounty said in a statement sent to CBC News. The genetically modified salmon, produced in indoor tanks in Rollo Bay, P.E.I., will become the first genetically engineered food animal to be sold in Canadian grocery stores. Environment Canada and Health Canada have given their approval, but it's up to the latter to determine whether products require labelling. "Health Canada requires labelling for food products where clear, scientifically established health risks or significant nutritional changes have been identified that can be mitigated through labelling," said spokesperson Maryse Durette. 'Safe and nutritious,' Health Canada says After a four-year study, the federal agency has determined the genetically modified salmon to be "safe and nutritious" and therefore no labelling is required. AquaBounty's most recent statement on labelling is news to Sylvain Charlebois, a Dalhousie University professor in food distribution and policy. "I did encourage AquaBounty to reconsider its policy around transparency and risk communication," he said Sunday on CBC Radio's Maritime Connection. "It is a pleasant surprise to me because I do think that the industry is starting to realize how important it is to connect with the public more so than ever before to get that social licence." AquaBounty Technologies is planning to grow 250 tonnes of its AquAdvantage salmon in Rollo Bay. The fish will be on the market in late 2020.

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