Type 1 diabetes- Genetic risk reflected in gut microbiome

New research finds differences in the gut microbiome of children who are at high genetic risk of developing type 1 diabetes. The findings suggest that certain species of bacteria may have a protective effect in autoimmune conditions. These genes help create proteins with a key role in the immune system, and they account for 40 Percent of the genetic risk of type 1 diabetes.

Spotlight

Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative

The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) is a pioneer and national leader in health information technology. We assist for-profit and non-profit private organizations, government agencies, and multi-stakeholder collaborative to plan, deploy, operate, and optimize health information systems. Our services range from electronic health records (EHR) implementations to health information exchange (HIE) to quality data extraction, warehousing, analytics, and reporting.

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MedTech

How to Choose a Reliable Biotech Clinical Trial Management System?

Article | July 20, 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

2 Small-Cap Biotech Stocks You Haven't Heard of, But Should Know About

Article | October 7, 2022

With everything that's going on with the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare companies have grabbed plenty of spotlight during these challenging times. At the same time, a number of otherwise promising businesses have slipped under the radar. That's especially true for small-cap biotech stocks that aren't actively involved in developing tests, vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. Vaccine developers, protective equipment producers, and healthcare service providers are all attracting plenty of attention during this pandemic, but there are just as many promising biotech stocks that aren't involved in these areas. Here are two such companies that you might have missed, but they deserve a spot on your watch list.

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MedTech

Next-Gen Gene Therapy to Counter Complex Diseases

Article | September 22, 2022

Gene therapy has historically been used to treat disorders with in-depth knowledge caused by a single genetic mutation. Thanks to the introduction of new generation technologies, the potential of gene therapy is expanding tAo treat diseases that were previously untreatable. Evolution of Gene Therapy One of the major success stories of the twenty-first century has been gene therapy. However, it has not been the same in the past. The field's journey to this point has been long and mostly difficult, with both tragedy and triumph along the way. Initially, genetic disorders were thought to be untreatable and permanently carved into the genomes of individuals unfortunate enough to be born with them. But due to the constant technological advancement and research activities, gene therapy now has the potential to treat various genetic mutation-causing diseases with its ability to insert a new copy and replace faulty genes. Gene Therapy is Finding New Roads in the Medical Sector Gene therapy can help researchers treat a variety of conditions that fall under the general heading of epilepsy, instead of only focusing on a particular kind of disorder brought on by a genetic mutation. Following are some of the domains transformed by gene therapy. Neurology – Gene therapy can be used for the treatment of seizures by directly injecting it into the area causing an uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. Furthermore, by using DNA sequences known as promoters, gene therapy can be restricted to specific neurons within that area. Ophthalmology – Genetic conditions such as blindness can be caused due to the mutation of any gene out of over 200 and resulting in progressive vision loss in children. With advanced gene therapies such as optogenetics, lost photoreceptor function can be transferred to the retinal cells, which are responsible for relaying visual information to the brain. This might give patients the ability to navigate in an unknown environment with a certain level of autonomy. The Future of Gene Therapy The news surrounding gene therapy has been largely favorable over the past few years, with treatment after treatment obtaining regulatory approvals, successful clinical trials, and garnering significant funds to begin development. With more than 1,000 clinical trials presently underway, the long-awaited gene therapy revolution might finally be here.

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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

Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative

The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) is a pioneer and national leader in health information technology. We assist for-profit and non-profit private organizations, government agencies, and multi-stakeholder collaborative to plan, deploy, operate, and optimize health information systems. Our services range from electronic health records (EHR) implementations to health information exchange (HIE) to quality data extraction, warehousing, analytics, and reporting.

Related News

AI

eureKARE and DNAlytics Form Partnership to Develop a Proprietary AI Platform

eureKARE | July 07, 2021

eureKARE, a pioneering new company focused on financing and building next-generation biotechnology companies in the disruptive fields of the microbiome and synthetic biology, today announced an agreement with DNAlytics, a Belgian company applying data sciences to healthcare, to develop eureKARE's proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform to support its Biotech start-upstart-up studios, eureKARE. Unlike conventional start-upstart-up incubation methods, which begin with new science and then attempt to find an issue to address with it, eureKARE's methodology reverses this. eureKARE is committed to first finding an unmet need and then enlisting the best scientists and experts to provide an innovative solution to launch exciting new ventures. This process will be aided by eureKARE's one-of-a-kind AI platform, which will assist the business in identifying top academic researchers, locating new ideas and approaches in development, and scaling existing portfolio companies. About eureKARE eureKARE is a ground-breaking new company focusing on financing and establishing next-generation biotechnology start-ups in the microbiome and synthetic biology cutting-edge areas. eureKARE employs a two-step investing strategy to create long-term value. Through its biotech start-upstart-up studios eureKABIOME (Microbiome) and eureKASYNBIO, the company promotes translational research by developing and financing new companies based on high-value European science (Synthetic biology). In addition, the company aims to engage in more mature biotech companies. It will systematically propose to provide some liquidity to early investors, thus fulfilling a crucial demand in the European biotech sector. EureKARE has a fast-expanding portfolio of companies with the potential to disrupt the life sciences sector, led by its prominent founder, Alexandre Mouradian, and a pan-European team. About DNAlytics DNAlytics is based in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, specializing in data science for the healthcare sector, including data management, bioinformatics, biostatistics, Machine Learning, and other Artificial Intelligence methods. DNAlytics products are utilized in clinical research, the creation of biotech drugs and medical devices, public health studies, and the monitoring and optimization of bio-manufacturing processes. In addition, DNAlytics assists a wide range of clients and partners in extracting scientifically sound observations and practical conclusions from complex data sets.

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Gut Microbiome Donations from the Old Invigorate the Young

GEN | November 15, 2019

Youth may be wasted on the young, but not elderliness—not when the elderliness manifests in the gut as a mature microbiome. In experiments led by scientists in Singapore, gut microbes from old mice (24 months old) were transplanted into young, germ-free mice (6 weeks old). After eight weeks, the young mice had increased intestinal growth and production of neurons in the brain, known as neurogenesis. The research team, which was based at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), showed that the increased neurogenesis was due to an enrichment of gut microbes that produce a specific short chain fatty acid, called butyrate. The scientists suggest that butyrate helps the old mice counter some of aging’s debilitating effects. In addition, the scientists speculate that butyrate-enriched foods could help slow aging, benefiting the young—and possibly the old and butyrate-deprived, too.

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Microbiome Influenced by Genetic Differences in Immune System

GEN | October 16, 2019

Scientists headed by a team at the University of Chicago have shown how genetic differences in the immune system can impact on the types of bacterial communities that colonize the gastrointestinal system. Their studies, in germ-free mice colonized with microbiomes from conventionally reared animals, found that while the makeup of the donor microbiome was the key factor in determining the recipient microbiome, genetic differences in the immune systems of the recipients also played a role. “When the input is standardized, you can compare mice of different genetic strains and see what these genetics do to the microbiome in recipient mice,” said Alexander Chervonsky, MD, PhD, who is a senior author of the team’s study, which is published in Cell Reports. “This approach allowed us to tell whether there was a genetic influence, and indeed there is.” Chervonsky and colleagues report their findings in a paper titled, “Polymorphic Immune Mechanisms Regulate Commensal Repertoire.” The bacteria that naturally live in and on us provide essential functions that are required for our very survival, the authors wrote. The composition of microbial communities varies between individuals and is influenced by a range of factors, including “… the mode of transmission during birth, breastfeeding, alimentary infections, and diet.” Previous studies have suggested that host genetics can also impact on microbial communities—identical twins tend to have more similar microbiomes than do non-identical twins—but, as the team continued, “ … two important questions remain unanswered: to what extent and which host’s polymorphic mechanisms are involved in shaping the repertoire of the commensals.”

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AI

eureKARE and DNAlytics Form Partnership to Develop a Proprietary AI Platform

eureKARE | July 07, 2021

eureKARE, a pioneering new company focused on financing and building next-generation biotechnology companies in the disruptive fields of the microbiome and synthetic biology, today announced an agreement with DNAlytics, a Belgian company applying data sciences to healthcare, to develop eureKARE's proprietary Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform to support its Biotech start-upstart-up studios, eureKARE. Unlike conventional start-upstart-up incubation methods, which begin with new science and then attempt to find an issue to address with it, eureKARE's methodology reverses this. eureKARE is committed to first finding an unmet need and then enlisting the best scientists and experts to provide an innovative solution to launch exciting new ventures. This process will be aided by eureKARE's one-of-a-kind AI platform, which will assist the business in identifying top academic researchers, locating new ideas and approaches in development, and scaling existing portfolio companies. About eureKARE eureKARE is a ground-breaking new company focusing on financing and establishing next-generation biotechnology start-ups in the microbiome and synthetic biology cutting-edge areas. eureKARE employs a two-step investing strategy to create long-term value. Through its biotech start-upstart-up studios eureKABIOME (Microbiome) and eureKASYNBIO, the company promotes translational research by developing and financing new companies based on high-value European science (Synthetic biology). In addition, the company aims to engage in more mature biotech companies. It will systematically propose to provide some liquidity to early investors, thus fulfilling a crucial demand in the European biotech sector. EureKARE has a fast-expanding portfolio of companies with the potential to disrupt the life sciences sector, led by its prominent founder, Alexandre Mouradian, and a pan-European team. About DNAlytics DNAlytics is based in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, specializing in data science for the healthcare sector, including data management, bioinformatics, biostatistics, Machine Learning, and other Artificial Intelligence methods. DNAlytics products are utilized in clinical research, the creation of biotech drugs and medical devices, public health studies, and the monitoring and optimization of bio-manufacturing processes. In addition, DNAlytics assists a wide range of clients and partners in extracting scientifically sound observations and practical conclusions from complex data sets.

Read More

Gut Microbiome Donations from the Old Invigorate the Young

GEN | November 15, 2019

Youth may be wasted on the young, but not elderliness—not when the elderliness manifests in the gut as a mature microbiome. In experiments led by scientists in Singapore, gut microbes from old mice (24 months old) were transplanted into young, germ-free mice (6 weeks old). After eight weeks, the young mice had increased intestinal growth and production of neurons in the brain, known as neurogenesis. The research team, which was based at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), showed that the increased neurogenesis was due to an enrichment of gut microbes that produce a specific short chain fatty acid, called butyrate. The scientists suggest that butyrate helps the old mice counter some of aging’s debilitating effects. In addition, the scientists speculate that butyrate-enriched foods could help slow aging, benefiting the young—and possibly the old and butyrate-deprived, too.

Read More

Microbiome Influenced by Genetic Differences in Immune System

GEN | October 16, 2019

Scientists headed by a team at the University of Chicago have shown how genetic differences in the immune system can impact on the types of bacterial communities that colonize the gastrointestinal system. Their studies, in germ-free mice colonized with microbiomes from conventionally reared animals, found that while the makeup of the donor microbiome was the key factor in determining the recipient microbiome, genetic differences in the immune systems of the recipients also played a role. “When the input is standardized, you can compare mice of different genetic strains and see what these genetics do to the microbiome in recipient mice,” said Alexander Chervonsky, MD, PhD, who is a senior author of the team’s study, which is published in Cell Reports. “This approach allowed us to tell whether there was a genetic influence, and indeed there is.” Chervonsky and colleagues report their findings in a paper titled, “Polymorphic Immune Mechanisms Regulate Commensal Repertoire.” The bacteria that naturally live in and on us provide essential functions that are required for our very survival, the authors wrote. The composition of microbial communities varies between individuals and is influenced by a range of factors, including “… the mode of transmission during birth, breastfeeding, alimentary infections, and diet.” Previous studies have suggested that host genetics can also impact on microbial communities—identical twins tend to have more similar microbiomes than do non-identical twins—but, as the team continued, “ … two important questions remain unanswered: to what extent and which host’s polymorphic mechanisms are involved in shaping the repertoire of the commensals.”

Read More

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