Do Commensal Microbes Stoke the Fire of Autoimmunity?

When immunologist Rachel Caspi began studying an inflammatory eye disease called autoimmune uveitis in the mid-1980s, she had to inoculate mice with a protein found in the mammalian retina to spark the disease. Injecting interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) along with an immune-stimulating compound called an adjuvant into the animals’ bloodstream prompted the mice’s own T cells to attack their eyes. That led to inflammation, tissue damage, and eventual blindness.

Spotlight

Bio-K+ International Inc.

Over its 20-year history, the company grew from 10 employees to over a hundred, and expanded its business from Québec-based natural food stores to an international network of natural food outlets, pharmacies, grocery stores and hospitals. By continuously pursuing research, the company successfully optimized its products’ quality and effectiveness, making a genuine difference in people’s lives. It owes its success to a product with amazing results in the fight against intestinal and infectious diseases.

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MedTech

Data Analytics: A Groundbreaking Technology in Biotech

Article | July 16, 2022

Biotechnology is a vast discipline of biology that employs diverse biological systems to create solutions that can significantly alter the ways in which they operate across various domains. That said, biotechnology is not a new notion. It has existed for millennia, with ancient civilizations using its earliest incarnations to cultivate crops and create alcoholic beverages. Today, the biotechnology industry has developed by leaps and bounds and has amassed a vast quantity of scientific data through study and research. Given the importance of data in the biotechnology business, it is not difficult to understand why biotech companies utilize data analytics. Modern data analytics tools have made it possible for researchers in the biotech industry to build predictive analytics models and gain knowledge about the most efficient approaches to accomplish their desired goals and objectives. Data analytics is increasingly being adopted by biotech businesses to better understand their industry and foresee any problems down the road. How is Data Analytics Revolutionizing Fields in Biotechnology? Today's business and scientific fields greatly benefit from data. Without the analysis of vast information libraries that provide new insights and enable new innovations, no industry can really advance. Being highly reliant on big data analytics, biotech is not an exception in this regard. With the tools and methods that help scientists systematize their findings and speed up their research for better and safer results, data analytics is making deeper inroads into the biotechnology industry. It is emerging as a crucial link between knowledge and information and is extensively being used for purposes other than just examining the information that is already available. The following are a few of the cutting-edge biotechnology applications of data analytics Genomics and Disease Treatment Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery Drug Recycling and Safety Agriculture and Agri-products Environmental Damage Mitigation Data Analytics Possibilities in Biotechnology With data analytics becoming an integral part of how biotech businesses operate, biotechnologists and related stakeholders need to understand its emergence and crucial role. Data analytics has opened new frontiers in the realm of biotechnology. Thanks to developments in data analytics, research and development activities that once took years may now be accomplished in a matter of months. Also, now scientists have access to biological, social, and environmental insights that can be exploited to create more effective and sustainable products. By understanding the importance of data-related tools and techniques applications, biotech companies are aiming to invest in the popularizing technology to stay updated in the fast-paced biotechnology industry.

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Medical

5 Biotech Stocks Winning the Coronavirus Race

Article | July 14, 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

Biotech in 2022

Article | September 22, 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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MedTech

Next-Gen Genetics Cancer Therapies Creating Investment Prospects

Article | July 5, 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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Spotlight

Bio-K+ International Inc.

Over its 20-year history, the company grew from 10 employees to over a hundred, and expanded its business from Québec-based natural food stores to an international network of natural food outlets, pharmacies, grocery stores and hospitals. By continuously pursuing research, the company successfully optimized its products’ quality and effectiveness, making a genuine difference in people’s lives. It owes its success to a product with amazing results in the fight against intestinal and infectious diseases.

Related News

Scientists Turn Crop Waste into Fragrances with Microbes

Labiotech.eu | November 27, 2019

In a study published in the journal Green Chemistry, the scientists used engineered Escherichia coli bacteria to break down sugar cane and wheat straw, waste products from the agricultural industry. The bacteria then fermented the waste materials into coniferol, a high-value chemical used in fragrances and washing powders. The research was carried out by scientists based at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK, and two universities in Brazil. At present, chemicals and fuels used in many industries are derived from fossil fuels, a finite resource. There are growing industries dedicated to obtaining these products from more renewable and cleaner sources, such as making biofuels from crops. However, it is hard for biofuels to compete economically with the fossil fuel industry because the latter often has more established technologies. To get around this issue, the research team has developed fermentation technology to cheaply turn plant waste into coniferol, a chemical that is more valuable than biofuels. The team is now preparing to scale up the process and is also working to overcome challenges in the technology. These challenges include making sure that the engineered E. coli bacteria remain able to process the plant waste over many generations.

Read More

Scientists Turn Crop Waste into Fragrances with Microbes

Labiotech.eu | November 27, 2019

In a study published in the journal Green Chemistry, the scientists used engineered Escherichia coli bacteria to break down sugar cane and wheat straw, waste products from the agricultural industry. The bacteria then fermented the waste materials into coniferol, a high-value chemical used in fragrances and washing powders. The research was carried out by scientists based at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK, and two universities in Brazil. At present, chemicals and fuels used in many industries are derived from fossil fuels, a finite resource. There are growing industries dedicated to obtaining these products from more renewable and cleaner sources, such as making biofuels from crops. However, it is hard for biofuels to compete economically with the fossil fuel industry because the latter often has more established technologies. To get around this issue, the research team has developed fermentation technology to cheaply turn plant waste into coniferol, a chemical that is more valuable than biofuels. The team is now preparing to scale up the process and is also working to overcome challenges in the technology. These challenges include making sure that the engineered E. coli bacteria remain able to process the plant waste over many generations.

Read More

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