Animal venom: a pharmacological goldmine
Until recently, not many people had heard of Alphabiotoxine—a rapidly developing Belgian company and the largest producer of diverse animal venoms in the world. All venoms hold a mixture of hundreds of highly specific and potent molecules, which are used as lead compounds in drug design and development. We spoke with Aude Violette, the Chief […]
How to explain the Galapagos peak
Since mid-September, Galapagos’ shares have been rising explosively and reaching new all-time highs. This was curious, since the company has not made any major announcements or released any new information, the usual reasons for double-digit share price hikes. The rumor mill started spinning, and various possible explanations started to surface. Here’s an overview on the […]
CAR-T: The T-cell training program to fight cancer
Immunotherapy is by far the hottest topic in the cancer research world. One immune approach in particular has created high expectations: CAR-T. This method of reprogramming T-cells has shown impressive preclinical and early clinical results, curing up to 90% of enrolled patients, many of whom were suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers. The development of innovative medication […]
All in on cancer immunotherapy
Founded in 2011, iTeos Therapeutics began its activities at the end of 2012. Active in the field of cancer immunotherapy, the company develops innovative drugs by focusing on the tumor microenvironment. At the time of its launch, iTeos benefited from the results of BioWin’s Cantol project, the objective of which was to discover and validate […]
Anti-cancer vaccine around the corner
Researchers in the group of Prof. Dr. Peter Vandenabeele (VIB/UGent) show that killed tumour cells can serve as a potent vaccine that stimulates the immune system to prevent the outgrowth of cancer cells. This finding opens novel perspectives for the use of necroptosis as a part of immunotherapy and for the screening for novel or […]
Cell therapy for bone injuries – Wim Goemaere
Bone Therapeutics started as a spin-off from the ULB in 2006. Prof. Valérie Gangji and Dr. Enrico Bastianelli founded the company to develop cell therapies for application in the field of fracture prevention and fracture repair. Bone Therapeutics takes regular cell therapy one step further by differentiating stem cells derived from bone marrow into bone-forming […]
The success of adipose stem cells
Cell therapy specialist TiGenix has announced that their product for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas, Cx601, has met the primary endpoint of their European phase three clinical trial. These results are a huge relief for the Leuven-based company, as the positive outcome secures the company’s future. Cx601 was developed for the treatment of complex […]
Fungi-derived chitosan for weight loss
The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled worldwide in the past couple of decades. Herstal-based biotech company KitoZyme may have an important weapon to help win the battle of the bulge as they recently announced the successful results of their clinical trial for the weight-loss product KiOnutrime-CsG. The burden of obesity The WHO estimates […]
A look across the border at cancer research and drug discovery
Jan Hoflack is chief scientific officer at the Dijon-based Oncodesign, a drug discovery company and oncology service provider. Hoflack joined Oncodesign in 2009 and introduced the Nanocyclix drug discovery approach. He originally developed this next generation kinase inhibitor platform at Janssen Pharmaceutica, based on macrocylic medicinal chemistry. To fully exploit Nanocyclix, Janssen Pharmaceutica and Oncodesign […]
Regenerative cells for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Recent research conducted by Marinee Chuah and Thierry VandenDriessche (Gene Therapy and Regenerative Medicine) is being featured on the cover of the latest issue of Nature Protocols. They provide a set of instructions for the differentiation of so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) into skeletal muscle cells. Pluripotent cells can develop into a range […]
World’s first regenerative product for heart failure
Celyad developed a breakthrough Cardiopoiesis platform designed to differentiate stem cells into cardiac cells to treat heart failure and acute myocardial infarction. The lead product, C-Cure® is currently in a Phase III clinical trial, CHART-1, for the treatment of ischemic heart failure in 15 European countries and Israel. The second Phase III clinical trial for this product, CHART-2, will start soon in the United States.
Nanobodies®: small magical molecules for big difficult diseases
One of Belgium’s established biotech companies, Ablynx, has developed an innovative platform to produce small therapeutic proteins, called Nanobodies. These Nanobodies are being developed for the treatment of several diseases with high unmet medical need such as for example RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infection, TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura – an orphan blood disease), rheumatoid arthritis, […]
How to prevent Ebola’s perfect storm?
The 2014 Ebola outbreak was devastating. The virus affected 4 West African countries: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, killing some 10.000 people and infecting more than 25.000. Since 1976 the Ebola-virus has not caused a major epidemic. What went wrong in 2014? Peter Piot explains how a local outbreak can turn into a major […]
Stem Cell Therapy is big in Wallonia
What do Bone Therapeutics, Cardio3 Biosciences and Imcyse all have in common? They focus on stem cell therapy and are all linked to the Laboratory of Cell and Gene Therapy (LTCG) led by Yves Beguin, professor of hematology at the University of Liège and head of the hematology department at the University Hospital Center in Liège. Stem cell research is booming in Wallonia and much of it has originated from the lab of professor Beguin.
Cancer immunotherapy: the ultimate ally in the tumor war
Can immunotherapy cure cancer? Fighting cancer with our own immune system. It sounds promising. At the end of the 1800s, the controversial Dr. William Coley suggested that infections fuel the immune response of cancer patients. Their agitated immune response in some cases led to healing. Now, more than 100 years later, scientists try to give […]