MEDTECH, INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
SOPHiA GENETICS and QIAGEN | March 06, 2023
SOPHiA GENETICS, a healthcare cloud-based software company, announced a new partnership with QIAGEN N.V. that will pair QIAseq reagent technology with the SOPHiA DDM™ platform to improve tumor analysis via next-generation sequencing (NGS).
Customers can utilize QIAseq panels with SOPHiA DDM™, a cloud-based data analysis platform to enable new research perspectives. The partnership will support the detection of somatic variants using QIAseq targeted DNA pro panels for homologous recombination repair. HRR is a biomarker test that helps identify tumors with specific mutations that may be sensitive to PARP inhibitors in oncology.
SOPHiA GENETICS's Set-Up Program, which aims to establish and demonstrate any test's analytical performance before it is carried out, will be integrated with QIAGEN's kits to support a range of applications. This partnership will allow customers to improve the design of new workflows using QIAseq technologies, while SOPHiA DDM™ will offer extensive applications for QIAGEN kits.
QIAGEN intends to expand its partnership with SOPHiA GENETICS to other analysis areas, such as utilizing custom solutions and QIAseq panels. This partnership is the first one in QIAGEN's QIAseq Platform Partnership.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) can transform the detection and management of rare diseases and cancers. However, it also generates large, intricate, and messy datasets that are challenging to analyze. Identifying causal variants and getting valuable insights from NGS data requires specialized expertise, time, and numerous resources. The SOPHiA DDM™ Platform is a machine learning-based analytical tool that can efficiently call, annotate, and pre-classify variants from raw NGS data. In addition, it features user-friendly capabilities to facilitate prioritization, interpretation and reporting.
About QIAGEN
QIAGEN is a global provider of sample and assay technologies for academic and pharmaceutical research, molecular diagnostics, and applied tests. In addition, the firm offers a wide range of products and solutions for the isolation, purification, and analysis of DNA, RNA, and proteins, as well as automation and bioinformatics services. With over 35 countries and over 5,000 employees, QIAGEN serves customers in various fields such as human healthcare, animal health, and environmental testing. The company is headquartered in Venlo, Netherlands, and has offices and facilities across the globe.
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MEDTECH, INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
BioNTech and InstaDeep | January 12, 2023
BioNTech and InstaDeep Ltd. recently signed an agreement wherein the former is set to acquire InstaDeep, a worldwide leader in AI and ML technologies.
The acquisition involves a total upfront payment of about £362 million in cash, while BioNTech shares will be used to buy the remaining 100% of InstaDeep shares, excluding those currently held by BioNTech.
The acquisition strengthens BioNTech's aim to establish world-leading abilities in AI-driven drug discovery and develop vaccines as well as next-generation immunotherapies to treat diseases with significant unmet medical needs. In addition, the company will enhance its network of worldwide research collaborators and expand its presence in many talent hubs throughout the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe due to the acquisition.
With the acquisition of InstaDeep, BioNTech's proven and new AI- and ML-based models will be added to all of its discovery platforms and linked to an automated lab infrastructure through InstaDeep's DeepChainTM platform.
MD, CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech, Prof. Ugur Sahin, said, "Since the inception of BioNTech, we have focused on leveraging computational solutions to create personalized immunotherapies that can reach a wide patient population."
(Source: Globe Newswire)
Adding to this, CEO and Co-Founder of InstaDeep, Karim Beguir, stated, "AI is progressing exponentially and our mission at InstaDeep has always been to make sure it benefits everyone. We are very excited to join forces and become one team with BioNTech, with whom we share the same culture of deep tech innovation and focus on positive human impact."
(Source: Globe Newswire)
About BioNTech
BioNTech is a fully-integrated and worldwide leader in immunotherapy. It has been focusing on automating and digitizing processes and developing capacities for the specialized production of individual vaccinations and large-scale goods, such as the COVID-19 vaccine. As immunotherapy pioneers, the company believes that science and innovation can make a difference for humankind. Therefore, since the beginning, it has focused on harnessing the immune system's total capacity to combat cancer and infectious diseases.
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INDUSTRIAL IMPACT, MEDICAL
Celularity | January 17, 2023
Celularity Inc., a biotechnology firm based in the United States that develops placental-derived allogenic cell treatments and biomaterials, and CH Trading Group LLC, an international import, export, and trading corporation, have agreed to an exclusive territorial distribution agreement.
CH Trading Group will serve as the exclusive territorial distributor for halal-certified products previously announced by Celularity in over 100 countries. The product distribution agreement for halal-certified products by Celularity provides a five-year minimum accumulated purchase commitment of US $225 million.
CEO of CH Trading Group, Sayed Zayan, said, “Based on market demand for Celularity’s commercial biomaterial products, we believe there is a billion-dollar commercial opportunity across the Middle East and North Africa Islamic markets.” He also added, “We are excited to be in a position to expand access to these important medicines and wellness products to more people across the region through our exclusive territories distributor agreement with Celularity.”
(Source – Business Wire)
“According to Emergent Research's most recent analysis, the global regenerative medicine market was valued at $9.80 billion in 2021 and is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 15.9%, reaching $37.10 billion in 2030.”
Under the agreement, CH Trading Group will distribute products to more than 100 countries that are members of or affiliated with the following intergovernmental organizations (‘Islamic Markets’)
The Gulf Cooperation Council: Consists of Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation: It spans four continents and includes 57 member nations
The African Union: Includes 55 member countries
Robert J. Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., Celularity’s CEO, Chairman and Founder, said, “Our partnership with the CH Group represents another critical milestone towards bringing our innovative halal-certified—under globally recognized Circle H International Inc. standards – regenerative biomaterial products to treat degenerative disease across Islamic Markets.”
(Source – Business Wire)
About Celularity
Headquartered in Florham Park, N.J., Celularity is a clinical-stage biotechnology firm paving the way for the future of cellular medicine by offering off-the-shelf allogeneic placenta-derived cellular therapeutics with unmatched scale, quality, and affordability. With its novel approach to cell therapy, the company can unlock the unique therapeutic potential of the postpartum placenta. In addition, through the placenta, nature’s immunotherapy engine, the firm is driving the next generation of cellular medicine using placenta-derived T cells, NK cells, and pluripotent stem cells to address unmet and underserved clinical needs in cancer, infectious, and degenerative diseases.
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