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Finance and Investment, Industrial application

Magic mushrooms in modern medicine

More than 75 years after the initial discovery of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin and other natural psychoactive drugs, and their initial exploitation by the western pharma industry, these substances have seen a recent revival in clinical research. Although banned in the notorious “War on Drugs” initiated by US President Nixon, the potential medicinal applications of these substances are finally being explored again, particularly for treating depressive disorders and other mental diseases. This article aims to shed light on a topic we highlighted before in this series - anti-science in biotech - to illustrate the consequences of research being abandoned, as well as the opportunities and additional challenges to making these substances finally available for patients in need.

Caelus Health and Nestlé Health Science sign exclusive global development & option agreement on Caelus’ microbiome-based food supplements

PRESS RELEASE Amsterdam/Beerse, November 25, 2019 – Caelus Health, which develops food supplements and pharmaceutical products for the prevention, early treatment and management of cardio-metabolic diseases, is entering into a strategic collaboration with Nestlé Health Science (NHSc). The aim is to further develop and ultimately commercialize food supplements based on specific microbiota for the purpose of early intervention and nutritional management of diabetes and certain liver disorders.

Combining disciplines for a simple sampling solution

Novosanis have been able to achieve great success with their clever yet simple urine sampling solution Colli-Pee®, largely thanks to their multidisciplinary approach to product development. We spoke with Novosanis CEO Vanessa Vankerckhoven about the company’s interesting origin story.

Pulsify Medical to develop a wearable heart monitor patch

Pulsify Medical, a joint imec and KU Leuven spin-off, has closed a seed funding round of €2.6 million. The investment, led by imec.xpand and KU Leuven, will be used to develop a wearable ultrasound patch to non-invasively monitor organs like the heart.

Mining the microbiome for sustainable agriculture solutions

In this month’s article we take a look at Aphea.Bio, a V-Bio Ventures portfolio company. This startup is developing microbiome products for improved crop growth and pest protection, using state-of-the art technology.

Ovizio Imaging Systems announces iLine F and BioConnect supply agreements with Celgene Corporation

Brussels, Belgium 22/10/2019 – Ovizio Imaging Systems, a company providing an innovative microscopic imaging technology to the bioprocessing market, today announces the execution of supply agreements with Celgene Corporation for the automation of certain engineered T cell manufacturing processes.

Prof. Matthias Mann joins PharmaFluidics Advisory Board

Ghent, Belgium – October 22, 2019 – PharmaFluidics NV, an innovative player in the field of proteomics with the unique high-resolution µPACTM micro-Chip chromatography products, is pleased to welcome Prof. Dr. Matthias Mann as member of its Advisory Board.

Pulsify Medical, a joint imec and KU Leuven spin-off, closes first-round funding, led by imec.xpand

Pulsify Medical will develop wearable ultrasound patches for non-invasive, real time monitoring of physiological parameters inside the body.

Three business strategy tips to help your company grow

Fresh insights into the future of cell therapy

The first edition of Science for health was held in the heart of Brussels on 11th September 2019 with a focus on cell therapy. The event attracted over 300 researchers, clinicians and industry professionals active in the the local or international cell therapy ecosystem. Top-speakers provided interesting insights into the current state of cell therapy in Belgium, as well as requirements for further progress. Collaboration, especially outside of the traditional partnerships, is key.

Galapagos-Gilead billion-dollar deal: beyond the numbers

Last month, Galapagos sealed a 5-billion-dollar deal with Gilead. Now that the dust has started to settle, we’re taking a closer look at the agreement. Why is this deal so unique in the biotech world? What will the ripple effects be in the European ecosystem? BioVox spoke with Lenny Van Steenhuyse, Healthcare Equity Analyst at KBC Securities, for a deeper insight.

Why events are important for creating connections in the life sciences

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 million-dollar question: How much do you charge for a lifesaving drug?

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.

How do we reduce the high cost of clinical trials?

Drug development is an exorbitantly expensive endeavor. A large expense factor for developing a new therapy is the high cost of conducting clinical trials. Why are clinical trials so insanely expensive to run? And what can be done to increase the affordability of these trials?

Living on the edge: the challenge of doing things differently in cell therapy

Belgian company Celyad is a trailblazer in oncology: its T cell therapies based on NK receptors are cutting edge even for CAR-T. At the Science for health event in September the visionary Christian Homsy, former Celyad CEO, will be presenting one of the keynote talks. In this BioVox interview, we asked him to share his thoughts on the challenges faced by a company that’s pushing boundaries in the oncology space.