When patients take HIV medication, a small amount of the virus nonetheless stays hidden in the body, preventing a cure. This hiding place has finally been uncovered in a groundbreaking study led by UZ Gent researchers. With this ‘viral reservoir’ identified, researchers may finally be able to develop a cure for this devastating disease.
Collaboration is vital for science. Without cross-pollination of ideas and talent, progress would be excruciatingly slow in both industry and academia. Networking opportunities, like the annual Knowledge for Growth event and Science for health, stimulate research collaboration by connecting people. So, what’s the role of a cluster organization in all this? BioVox spoke with flanders.bio representatives Pascale Engelen and Katrien Lorré to find out.
The newest generation of ground-breaking gene therapy drugs, Zolgensma and Zynteglo, come with eye-catching price tags of more than a million dollars per treatment. Is the pharma industry recklessly overstepping a line here, or do they fall within current standards of value-based drug pricing? With more of these drugs soon to be rolling out of pharma pipelines, the stakes are rising high for patients, industry, governments, health insurance companies, as well as investors. It all warrants a deeper dive into the case.
Food waste is a major global issue exacerbated by premature fruit spoilage. A US company, StixFresh, is working together with VIB-KU Leuven Prof Patrick Van Dijck to develop a solution to the problem. The company has created stickers coated in a plant-based antimicrobial formula that protects fruit from fungal infections, extending their shelf life by several weeks.
Belgian researchers have developed edible antibodies that can prevent gut bacterial infections. Normally antibodies need to be injected, but the antibodies developed by Dr. Vikram Virdi in the group of Dr. Nico Callewaert can instead be mixed with food and eaten. These antibodies are produced using yeast and have so far been shown to protect piglets from diarrhea-causing enterotoxigenic E. coli, which is a serious issue in pig farming. The edible antibody concept also has enormous potential for applications in human medicine, such as in preventing diarrheal disease outbreaks following natural disasters.
A microchip engineer might seem like an odd fit for a keynote speaker at an event focused on cell therapy, but at Science for health Peter Peumans will be presenting one of the day’s visionary talks. Peumans will draw on his experience with the tech powerhouse imec to give us an insider’s perspective on the role new chip technologies may soon take on in the cell therapy field.
When patients take HIV medication, a small amount of the virus nonetheless stays hidden in the body, preventing a cure. This hiding place has finally been uncovered in a groundbreaking study led by UZ Gent researchers. With this ‘viral reservoir’ identified, researchers may finally be able to develop a cure for this devastating disease.
Collaboration is vital for science. Without cross-pollination of ideas and talent, progress would be excruciatingly slow in both industry and academia. Networking opportunities, like the annual Knowledge for Growth event and Science for health, stimulate research collaboration by connecting people. So, what’s the role of a cluster organization in all this? BioVox spoke with flanders.bio representatives Pascale Engelen and Katrien Lorré to find out.
The newest generation of ground-breaking gene therapy drugs, Zolgensma and Zynteglo, come with eye-catching price tags of more than a million dollars per treatment. Is the pharma industry recklessly overstepping a line here, or do they fall within current standards of value-based drug pricing? With more of these drugs soon to be rolling out of pharma pipelines, the stakes are rising high for patients, industry, governments, health insurance companies, as well as investors. It all warrants a deeper dive into the case.
Food waste is a major global issue exacerbated by premature fruit spoilage. A US company, StixFresh, is working together with VIB-KU Leuven Prof Patrick Van Dijck to develop a solution to the problem. The company has created stickers coated in a plant-based antimicrobial formula that protects fruit from fungal infections, extending their shelf life by several weeks.
Belgian researchers have developed edible antibodies that can prevent gut bacterial infections. Normally antibodies need to be injected, but the antibodies developed by Dr. Vikram Virdi in the group of Dr. Nico Callewaert can instead be mixed with food and eaten. These antibodies are produced using yeast and have so far been shown to protect piglets from diarrhea-causing enterotoxigenic E. coli, which is a serious issue in pig farming. The edible antibody concept also has enormous potential for applications in human medicine, such as in preventing diarrheal disease outbreaks following natural disasters.
A microchip engineer might seem like an odd fit for a keynote speaker at an event focused on cell therapy, but at Science for health Peter Peumans will be presenting one of the day’s visionary talks. Peumans will draw on his experience with the tech powerhouse imec to give us an insider’s perspective on the role new chip technologies may soon take on in the cell therapy field.