Battling antibiotic resistance: are we ready for a bacteriophage revival?
The discovery of antibiotics fundamentally changed healthcare in the 20th century. Deadly infections suddenly became treatable and millions of lives were saved. But excessive antibiotic use in both healthcare and agriculture has allowed some microbes to become resistant. Resistance has even been reported to last resort treatments, like colistin, in the past few years. With classic antibiotics failing, will trivial infections become deadly again or will we manage to find new solutions? In this two-part series, we will look into some of the fundamentally different therapeutics that are being developed as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. In this second installment, we highlight bacteriophages: are they finally ready to take center stage, nearly 100 years after being discovered?
Orphan CNS diseases receive attention with new Minoryx site in Belgium
The Spanish start-up Minoryx Therapeutics recently opened a subsidiary in Belgium to further their research on treatments for rare and orphan diseases. Co-founder and CEO Marc Martinell spoke to BioVox about his personal reasons for founding the company and why Belgium is such an attractive location to start-ups in the medical sector.
Are we spending too much money on cancer drugs?
This article was authored by Ward Capoen from V-Bio Ventures. November is classically the month where immunotherapy takes center stage, especially at the annual conference of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC, endearingly pronounced sitsie). Immunotherapy is a very active domain and given the recent activity in the field and the emergence of many […]
argenx signs billion-dollar deal with Janssen
Another Belgian biotech on the up and up: argenx just closed a billion-dollar deal with Janssen Pharmaceutica for their antibody cusatuzumab. Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen will pay argenx $300 million in an upfront payment and Johnson & Johnson Innovation Inc. (JJDC) will purchase $200 million worth of newly issued argenx shares. Furthermore, […]
Battling antibiotic resistance: a new protein powered solution
The discovery of antibiotics fundamentally changed healthcare in the 20th century. Deadly infections suddenly became treatable and millions of lives were saved. But excessive antibiotic use in both healthcare and agriculture has allowed some microbes to become resistant. Resistance has even been reported to last resort treatments, like colistin, in the past few years. With […]
Bringing clinical trials into the home
Lowering the costs of drug development is more important than ever; with the increasing pressure on drug pricing and billions in funding poured into small biotechs, competition is fierce. While the latest reports have estimated the cost to bring a single drug onto the market at $ 2.7B, a look at the R&D expenditure of […]
Saving lives through fundamental research: James Allison wins Dr. Paul Janssen Award 2018
Dr. James Allison has dedicated his career to improving our fundamental understanding of how the adaptive immune system works. Much of what you will find on T cells in today’s immunology textbooks is the result of his work. Dr. Allison’s focus on basic research has also impacted the lives of cancer patients tremendously. By unraveling […]
Forever young: the science of aging well
“Is aging a disease?” For a long time, the answer to this question seemed obvious: aging is a natural thing that happens to all of us. It is an inevitable side-effect of growing older. However, with new insights into the processes underlying many chronic diseases and aging, the answer is seeming less clear and researchers […]
Galapagos and MorphoSys to receive up to EUR 850mil in deal with Novartis
Galapagos (Belgium) and MorphoSys (Germany) recently announced that they have entered into an exclusive global license agreement with Novartis. The Swiss big-pharma partner has acquired the rights to MOR106, an antibody capable of treating immune disorders such as eczema. The deal involves an up-front payment of EUR 95 million, with potential milestone payments of EUR […]
Curing hay fever – ASIT Biotech allergy vaccines
The sun is shining, the grass is green, but hay fever season is at its peak! Many people (myself included) will spend a lot of money on antihistamines and tissues this summer. Wouldn’t it be lovely if there was a vaccine against grass pollen allergies?
CD3 as co-creator of drugs with academia and pharma
The Center for Drug Design and Discovery (CD3), based in Leuven, bridges the gap between innovative biomedical research emerging from academic institutions or SMEs and pharmaceutical companies. Their aim is to convert discoveries from the lab into promising drug programs, at a stage where these drug candidates can be further developed by pharmaceutical companies to […]
Stem cell patch restores vision to the blind
A stem cell patch has successfully restored sight to two blind patients in the UK. The Phase I trial is the first of its kind to use a whole engineered piece of tissue to treat vision impairment. The patients both suffered from a sudden and severe loss of vision due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). […]
UCB psoriasis drug approved for use in mothers
The UCB core drug CIMZIA® has just been approved by European Medicines Agency (EMA) for use in pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The company has also sought to have CIMZIA approved for psoriasis treatment, as it is currently only indicated for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondylitis. Biovox spoke to Emmanuel Caeymaex, Head of Immunology […]
Is innovation killing the pharmaceutical industry?
In the past few years, the speed at which new drugs have been coming to the market has accelerated significantly [1]. This means there is a lot more competition than before, greatly affecting the price of drugs. Peak sales for a drug often don’t even last until the expiration date of its patent. This influences […]
WHO report ranks deadly diseases in need of drugs
The World Health Organization recently released a report outlining the imminent threat of antimicrobial-resistant diseases. In the midst of such doom and gloom, could a solution be found in our own backyards? Scientists are turning their attention towards medicinal plants for future drug research and development. By Amy LeBlanc Superbugs, failing antibiotics and deadly diseases: […]