Aussies Tackle Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance occurs through the misuse or overuse of antibiotics in humans or animals. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that it’s the bacteria that become antibiotic-resistant and not the humans or animals. This means that when antibiotics are used, they not only kill the bacteria causing an illness, but they can also kill the beneficial bacteria which protect the body from infection. This leaves room for the resistant microbes which survived the antibiotic treatment to thrive. They are able to re-produce in large numbers and pass on their antibiotic resistance, making it more difficult for the microbiome to recover. The most concerning part is that these antibiotic-resistant bacteria can result in infections that are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria.

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Harvard Bioscience

Harvard Bioscience is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialized products, primarily apparatus and scientific instruments used to advance life science research at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and government laboratories worldwide. We sell our products to thousands of researchers in over 100 countries through our full-line catalog (and various other specialty catalogs), our websites, and through distributors, including GE Healthcare, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and VWR.

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Medical

5 Biotech Stocks Winning the Coronavirus Race

Article | August 16, 2022

There are quite a few companies that have found ways to grow their business during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true for a number of biotechs now working on developing a potential treatment for, or vaccine against, the virus; shares of such companies have largely surged over the past couple of months. Although many of these treatments and vaccines are still have quite a way to go before they're widely available, it's still worth taking some time to look through what's going on in the COVID-19 space right now. Here are five biotech stocks that are leading the way when it comes to addressing COVID-19. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) wasn't among the initial wave of companies to announce a potential COVID-19 drug. However, investor excitement quickly sent shares surging when the company announced that its rheumatoid arthritis drug, Kevzara, could help treat COVID-19 patients.

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MedTech

Next-Gen Genetics Cancer Therapies Creating Investment Prospects

Article | July 12, 2022

Genetic therapeutics such as genetic engineering and gene therapy are increasingly emerging as one of the most influential and transformed biotechnological solutions around the globe in recent times. These genetic solutions are being assessed across various medical domains, including cancer treatment, neurology, oncology, and ophthalmology. Citing the trend, the genetics industry is estimated to experience a tsunami of approvals, with over 1,000 cell and gene therapy clinical trials currently underway and over 900 companies worldwide focusing on these cutting-edge therapies. Growing Cancer Encourages Advancements in Genetic Technologies With the surging cases of cancers such as leukemias, carcinomas, lymphomas, and others, patients worldwide are increasing their spending on adopting novel therapeutic solutions for non-recurring treatment of the disease, such as gene therapy, genetic engineering, T-cell therapy, and gene editing. As per a study by the Fight Cancer Organization, spending on the treatment of cancer increased to $200.7 billion, and the amount is anticipated to exceed $245 billion by the end of 2030. Growing revenue prospects are encouraging biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies to develop novel genetic solutions for cancer treatment. For instance, Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., a Japanese pharmaceutical company, introduced a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy, Abecma, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma in 2022. Amid a New Market: Genetics Will Attract Massive Investments Despite several developments and technological advancements, genetics is still considered to be in a nascent stage, providing significant prospects for growth to the companies that are already operating in the domain. Genetics solutions such as gene therapies, gene editing, and T-cell immunotherapy are emerging as highly active treatments across various medical fields, resulting in increasing research and development activities across the domain, drawing significant attention from investors. Given the potential of genetic treatments and the focus on finding new ways to treat cancer and other related diseases, it's easy to understand why companies are investing in the domain. For instance, Pfizer has recently announced an investment of around $800 million to construct development facilities supporting gene therapy manufacturing from initial preclinical research through final commercial-scale production. Due to these advancements, cell and gene therapies are forecast to grow from $4 billion annually to more than $45 billion, exhibiting growth at a 63% CAGR. The Future of Genetics Though there is a significant rise in advancement in genetic technologies and developments, the number of approved genetic treatments remains extremely small. However, with gene transfer and CRISPR solutions emerging as new modalities for cancer treatment, the start-up companies will attract a growing amount and proportion of private and public investments. This is expected present a tremendous opportunity for biopharma and biotechnology investors to help fund and benefit from the medical industry's shift from traditional treatments to cutting-edge genetic therapeutics in the coming years.

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MedTech

Making Predictions by Digitizing Bioprocessing

Article | July 13, 2022

With advances in data analytics and machine learning, the move from descriptive and diagnostic analytics to predictive and prescriptive analytics and controls—allowing us to better forecast and understand what will happen and thus optimize process outcomes—is not only feasible but inevitable, according to Bonnie Shum, principal engineer, pharma technical innovation, technology & manufacturing sciences and technology at Genentech. “Well-trained artificial intelligence systems can help drive better decision making and how data is analyzed from drug discovery to process development and to manufacturing processes,” she says. Those advances, though, only really matter when they improve the lives of patients. That’s exactly what Shum expects. “The convergence of digital transformation and operational/processing changes will be critical for the facilities of the future and meeting the needs of our patients,” she continues. “Digital solutions may one day provide fully automated bioprocessing, eliminating manual intervention and enabling us to anticipate potential process deviations to prevent process failures, leading to real-time release and thus faster access for patients.” To turn Bioprocessing 4.0 into a production line for precision healthcare, real-time release and quickly manufacturing personalized medicines will be critical. Adding digitization and advanced analytics wherever possible will drive those improvements. In fact, many of these improvements, especially moving from descriptive to predictive bioprocessing, depend on more digitization.

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Industrial Impact

AI and Biotechnology: The Future of Healthcare Industry

Article | January 20, 2021

Artificial intelligence has grasped the foundation in biotech. It can have the most innovative impact on biotechnology. AI has already established its presence in our day-to-day life. AI has made the existence of self-driving cars possible. Likewise, the benefits and quality that it can contribute to biotech can also be felt. With AI, bio technicians will be able to enhance virtual screening, overlook preliminary datasets from clinics, and decipher an enormous amount of information. It can also help in improving the medication process by gathering and analyzing every bit of information. The Significance of AI in Biotechnology In the past few years, the application of artificial intelligence in the biotechnology industry has shifted from being sci-fi to sci-fact. A vast number of biotech companies like Deep Genomics are adopting AI for making data-driven decisions and use analytics tools to work efficiently. Unlike the AI robots in sci-fi that are ready to take over the world. AI designed for biotech has been designed to solve certain problems or complete a bunch of tasks by using automated algorithms. The aim of AI technology for biotech is to collect insights along with hidden patterns from large amounts of data. All the different industries of biotech including agriculture, animal, medical, industrial, and bioinformatics are gradually being affected by artificial intelligence. Moreover, the biotech industry is realizing that AI enables them some of the important strength to their business, including: Expanding accessibility Cost-effectiveness Critical predictions Efficient decision-making Research centers like PwC have also estimated output of $15.7 trillion by 2030 solely with AI contribution in industries. A survey revealed that about 44% of life science experts are using AI for R&D activities, as well. Use of AI in Biotechnology Altering Biomedical and Clinical Data So far the most developed use of AI is its ability to read voluminous data records and interpret them. It can prove to be a life-save for bio technicians who would have to examine that much data from research publications by themselves for the validation of their hypothesis. With the help of AI, clinical studies of patients will also become easier as all the examination reports and prescriptions will be stored in one place for cross-reference. Furthermore, it will also help in blending and fetching data into usable formats for analysis. Test Result Prediction Through trial and error, AI along with machine learning can help in predicting the response of the patient to certain drugs to provide more effective outcomes. Drug Design & Discovery AI plays a vital role whether it’s designing a new molecule or identifying new biological targets. It helps in identifying and validating drugs. It reduces the cost and time spent on the entire drug trial process and reaches the market. Personalized Medications for Rare Diseases With the combination of body scan results, patients’ body and analytics, AI can also help in detecting dangerous diseases at an early stage. Improving Process of Manufacturing To improve the process of manufacturing in biotechnology, AI offers a wide range of opportunities. It controls quality, reduces wastage, improves useability, and minimizes the designing time. Moving Towards AI-Enhanced Biotech Future Ever since the concept of artificial intelligence has arrived, being curious by nature, humans have started working towards achieving this goal. It has been growing at a fast pace while showing unbelievable growth and achievements at times. In comparison to the traditional methods used in the biotechnology industry, AI-based methods seem more reliable and accurate. In the upcoming years, it will show its success by improving the quality of health people have. You can also develop your AI-based application or know more about it by taking IT consultations.

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Spotlight

Harvard Bioscience

Harvard Bioscience is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialized products, primarily apparatus and scientific instruments used to advance life science research at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and government laboratories worldwide. We sell our products to thousands of researchers in over 100 countries through our full-line catalog (and various other specialty catalogs), our websites, and through distributors, including GE Healthcare, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and VWR.

Related News

Will Government Incentives Help Boost Antibiotic Development? Some Pharma Companies Think So

biospace | May 09, 2019

Over and over there are reports about the increasing rise of antibiotic-resistant bugs. Even as the number of resistant bacteria increases, the number of companies developing new types of antibiotics is decreasing. Earlier this year, a coalition of healthcare organizations, along with U.S. antibiotic developers, issued a letter to Congress calling for a bundle of economic incentives that would be used to kick start the stagnant pipelines of antibiotic drug developers. In the letter, the 26 signees, which includes companies like Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, express concern over the continued rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. “Antibiotics underpin modern medicine, and antibiotic resistance jeopardizes the entire health system… New resistance threats continuously emerge, rendering many existing drugs ineffective and shrinking our treatment arsenal,” the letter says.

Read More

Study Shows How Bacteria Become Antibiotic Resistant

genengnews | April 24, 2019

Scientists from Denmark and Switzerland say they have shown that bacteria produce a stress molecule, divide more slowly, and thus save energy when they are exposed to antibiotics. The new knowledge is expected to form the basis for the development of a new type of antibiotic, according to the researchers. In a paper—“(p)ppGpp Regulates a Bacterial Nucleosidase by an Allosteric Two-Domain Switch”—published in Molecular Cell, a team from Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen, and the technical university ETH Zürich in Switzerland demonstrated that bacteria quickly reduce their rate of cell division when exposed to antibiotics in order to maintain the highest possible tolerance, but rapidly start growing again when the substances are removed. “The stringent response alarmones pppGpp and ppGpp are essential for rapid adaption of bacterial physiology to changes in the environment. In Escherichia coli, the nucleosidase PpnN (YgdH) regulates purine homeostasis by cleaving nucleoside monophosphates and specifically binds (p)ppGpp. Here, we show that (p)ppGpp stimulates the catalytic activity of PpnN both in vitro and in vivo causing accumulation of several types of nucleobases during stress. The structure of PpnN reveals a tetramer with allosteric (p)ppGpp binding sites located between subunits. pppGpp binding triggers a large conformational change that shifts the two terminal domains to expose the active site, providing a structural rationale for the stimulatory effect. We find that PpnN increases fitness and adjusts cellular tolerance to antibiotics and propose a model in which nucleotide levels can rapidly be adjusted during stress by simultaneous inhibition of biosynthesis and stimulation of degradation, thus achieving a balanced physiological response to constantly changing environments,” the investigators wrote.

Read More

Arming antibiotics with a vaccination-like immune response

Questex LLC | July 05, 2018

Harnessing the power of the body’s immune system has already proven to be effective in treating cancer. Scientists at Lehigh University are now borrowing that idea to power up existing antibiotics’ ability to attack drug-resistant bacteria. A team led by Marcos Pires, Ph.D., a Lehigh associate professor of biochemistry, grafted antigenic epitopes—parts of pathogens that can be recognized by the immune system—onto an old antibiotic called colistin, creating what they call “bacterial immunotherapy” or “immunobiotics.” As described in a paper published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology, the compound killed a large number of E. Coli bacteria in human serum.

Read More

Will Government Incentives Help Boost Antibiotic Development? Some Pharma Companies Think So

biospace | May 09, 2019

Over and over there are reports about the increasing rise of antibiotic-resistant bugs. Even as the number of resistant bacteria increases, the number of companies developing new types of antibiotics is decreasing. Earlier this year, a coalition of healthcare organizations, along with U.S. antibiotic developers, issued a letter to Congress calling for a bundle of economic incentives that would be used to kick start the stagnant pipelines of antibiotic drug developers. In the letter, the 26 signees, which includes companies like Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, express concern over the continued rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. “Antibiotics underpin modern medicine, and antibiotic resistance jeopardizes the entire health system… New resistance threats continuously emerge, rendering many existing drugs ineffective and shrinking our treatment arsenal,” the letter says.

Read More

Study Shows How Bacteria Become Antibiotic Resistant

genengnews | April 24, 2019

Scientists from Denmark and Switzerland say they have shown that bacteria produce a stress molecule, divide more slowly, and thus save energy when they are exposed to antibiotics. The new knowledge is expected to form the basis for the development of a new type of antibiotic, according to the researchers. In a paper—“(p)ppGpp Regulates a Bacterial Nucleosidase by an Allosteric Two-Domain Switch”—published in Molecular Cell, a team from Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen, and the technical university ETH Zürich in Switzerland demonstrated that bacteria quickly reduce their rate of cell division when exposed to antibiotics in order to maintain the highest possible tolerance, but rapidly start growing again when the substances are removed. “The stringent response alarmones pppGpp and ppGpp are essential for rapid adaption of bacterial physiology to changes in the environment. In Escherichia coli, the nucleosidase PpnN (YgdH) regulates purine homeostasis by cleaving nucleoside monophosphates and specifically binds (p)ppGpp. Here, we show that (p)ppGpp stimulates the catalytic activity of PpnN both in vitro and in vivo causing accumulation of several types of nucleobases during stress. The structure of PpnN reveals a tetramer with allosteric (p)ppGpp binding sites located between subunits. pppGpp binding triggers a large conformational change that shifts the two terminal domains to expose the active site, providing a structural rationale for the stimulatory effect. We find that PpnN increases fitness and adjusts cellular tolerance to antibiotics and propose a model in which nucleotide levels can rapidly be adjusted during stress by simultaneous inhibition of biosynthesis and stimulation of degradation, thus achieving a balanced physiological response to constantly changing environments,” the investigators wrote.

Read More

Arming antibiotics with a vaccination-like immune response

Questex LLC | July 05, 2018

Harnessing the power of the body’s immune system has already proven to be effective in treating cancer. Scientists at Lehigh University are now borrowing that idea to power up existing antibiotics’ ability to attack drug-resistant bacteria. A team led by Marcos Pires, Ph.D., a Lehigh associate professor of biochemistry, grafted antigenic epitopes—parts of pathogens that can be recognized by the immune system—onto an old antibiotic called colistin, creating what they call “bacterial immunotherapy” or “immunobiotics.” As described in a paper published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology, the compound killed a large number of E. Coli bacteria in human serum.

Read More

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