Subscribe
Subscribe

Belgium, Flanders

V-Bio Ventures invests in Augustine Therapeutics, a VIB and KU Leuven spin-off to fight neuromuscular diseases

Ghent, Belgium, December 16 2019 – Today V-Bio Ventures announces its investment in Augustine Therapeutics, a new venture developing innovative therapeutics for patients suffering from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. A spin-off of VIB and KU Leuven, Augustine raises a seed-round of 4.2 million euro with V-Bio Ventures, PMV, Advent France Biotechnology, Gemma Frisius Fund and VIB.

New immune system gene discovered in a Flemish boy

Researchers studying a rare disease have identified a new gene responsible for human immune system regulation. An international collaboration combined information from both mouse models and a single human patient in an effort to find the underlying genetic cause of hemophagocytic syndrome. This discovery could potentially inspire a treatment for the deadly disease and provides new insights into the immune system.

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.

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.

HIV breakthrough at UZ Gent leads to new hope for a cure

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.

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.

Solving food waste one StixFresh sticker at a time

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.

Confo Therapeutics and DyNAbind announce drug discovery collaboration to identify novel GPCR-modulating compounds

Edible antibodies to prevent and treat gut diseases

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 new type of power plants to combat climate change

Miracle microchips improving cell therapy manufacturing

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.

Confo Therapeutics: the next Belgian biotech star?

Just days before KBC Securities’ "State of the Union" announcement on how well Belgian biotech has been faring in 2019, Confo Therapeutics closed a terrific series A financing round. The company raised 30 million euros, which will be used to accelerate their drug discovery activities using their camelid-based ConfoBody™ technology.