Research Roundup: Alzheimer’s, Schizophrenia, Diabetes and More

It’s well known that the accumulation of amyloid beta proteins in the brain are significantly involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, even if there’s some debate as to exactly what the role is. Monomers of amyloid beta, in other words, the proteins by themselves, have specific jobs they do. But when they accumulate, that’s where the problems start. At least, that’s been the thinking. Now, researchers at the University of Washington have found evidencethat smaller aggregates of amyloid beta are the toxic components of the disease. They published their research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Spotlight

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Torrent Pharma, with a market cap of over Rs. 20,000 cr, is a flagship company of the Torrent Group. It is ranked among the top pharma companies of India. It is a dominant player in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular (CV) and central nervous system (CNS) and has achieved significant presence in gastro-intestinal, diabetology, anti-infective and pain management segments. It has also forayed into the oncology and nephrology segments while also strengthening its focus on gynecology and nutraceuticals segments. Torrent Pharma’s competitive advantage stems from its world-class manufacturing facilities located at Indrad and Dahej in Gujarat, Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim in North East, advanced R&D capabilities, extensive domestic network and a widespread global presence across 40 countries.

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MedTech

Data Analytics: A Groundbreaking Technology in Biotech

Article | July 12, 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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MedTech

Wisconsin biotech companies could play key roles in long-term economic recovery from COVID-19 pandemic

Article | July 16, 2022

Whether it’s called a modern “Manhattan Project” or a medical moon shot, the concept of long-term economic recovery rests on how confident people are they won’t risk serious illness by venturing forth in public again. Wisconsin stands to be a significant part of such an undertaking, whatever it’s called. The shorter-term debate is well under way over the gradual lifting of COVID-19 emergency rules, such as the now-extended “safer-at-home” order in Wisconsin. At least a dozen states, including regional coalitions on the East and West coasts, are exploring next steps as they seek to balance responses to the virus with calls for reopening the economy, at least, in part. Wisconsin’s ability to shape longer-term responses will come from private and public resources, which range from companies engaged in production of diagnostics.

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Research

How to Choose a Reliable Biotech Clinical Trial Management System?

Article | July 11, 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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MedTech

Biotech in 2022

Article | July 11, 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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Spotlight

Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Torrent Pharma, with a market cap of over Rs. 20,000 cr, is a flagship company of the Torrent Group. It is ranked among the top pharma companies of India. It is a dominant player in the therapeutic areas of cardiovascular (CV) and central nervous system (CNS) and has achieved significant presence in gastro-intestinal, diabetology, anti-infective and pain management segments. It has also forayed into the oncology and nephrology segments while also strengthening its focus on gynecology and nutraceuticals segments. Torrent Pharma’s competitive advantage stems from its world-class manufacturing facilities located at Indrad and Dahej in Gujarat, Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim in North East, advanced R&D capabilities, extensive domestic network and a widespread global presence across 40 countries.

Related News

New machine learning approach could accelerate bioengineering

Phys.org | May 30, 2018

Scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to use machine learning to dramatically accelerate the design of microbes that produce biofuel.Their computer algorithm starts with abundant data about the proteins and metabolites in a biofuel-producing microbial pathway, but no information about how the pathway actually works. It then uses data from previous experiments to learn how the pathway will behave. The scientists used the technique to automatically predict the amount of biofuel produced by pathways that have been added to E. coli bacterial cells.

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Bioengineering team's 'circuit' work may benefit gene therapy

phys.org | March 06, 2018

Tyler Quarton, a bioengineering graduate student, and Dr. Leonidas Bleris, associate professor of bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, said they hope their work, published in Systems Biology and Applications, has a big impact on synthetic biology and gene therapy. Every living cell contains a compilation of genes, which serves as the blueprint for all the biological activity within a cell. Bleris explained this system by comparing genes to musicians. Their collective expression creates a genetic symphony that can invoke a multitude of cellular emotions, calming or exciting the cell when appropriate. Stretching this analogy, the conductor of this symphony, equipped with a waving baton, can quiet an individual or whole section if they begin to play too loudly.

Read More

New machine learning approach could accelerate bioengineering

Phys.org | May 30, 2018

Scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to use machine learning to dramatically accelerate the design of microbes that produce biofuel.Their computer algorithm starts with abundant data about the proteins and metabolites in a biofuel-producing microbial pathway, but no information about how the pathway actually works. It then uses data from previous experiments to learn how the pathway will behave. The scientists used the technique to automatically predict the amount of biofuel produced by pathways that have been added to E. coli bacterial cells.

Read More

Bioengineering team's 'circuit' work may benefit gene therapy

phys.org | March 06, 2018

Tyler Quarton, a bioengineering graduate student, and Dr. Leonidas Bleris, associate professor of bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, said they hope their work, published in Systems Biology and Applications, has a big impact on synthetic biology and gene therapy. Every living cell contains a compilation of genes, which serves as the blueprint for all the biological activity within a cell. Bleris explained this system by comparing genes to musicians. Their collective expression creates a genetic symphony that can invoke a multitude of cellular emotions, calming or exciting the cell when appropriate. Stretching this analogy, the conductor of this symphony, equipped with a waving baton, can quiet an individual or whole section if they begin to play too loudly.

Read More

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