Oncology

Montis Biosciences appoints René Hoet as Chief Scientific Officer

Leuven, Belgium, 31 March 2021 – MONTIS BIOSCIENCES, a discovery stage biotech company focused on the development of novel immuno-oncology therapeutics […] March 31, 2021 · Turnstone Communications

Saving man’s best friend: Volition blood test allows cheap and easy cancer screenings for dogs

A Belgian invention is revolutionizing cancer diagnostics for dogs by making it possible to screen for two common canine cancers […] March 10, 2021 · BioVox

Newton Biocapital invests in Flemish start-up DeuterOncology

Brussels, Belgium, 24 February 2021 – Newton Biocapital I (“Newton Biocapital”), a life sciences investment fund active in Europe and […] February 24, 2021 · Turnstone Communications

Onco-immunology Company Pan Cancer T Launched as Spin-off from Erasmus Medical Center

– Dutch biotech company developing first-in-class T-cell Receptor (TCR) T-cell therapies – Seed investment by Swanbridge Capital and Van Herk […] February 8, 2021 · Turnstone Communications

Decades-old discoveries cause paradigm shifts in modern medicine

Complete paradigm shifts in medicine are rare, but there have nevertheless been several major examples in the past hundred years. […] December 16, 2020 · V-Bio Ventures

eTheRNA and China Grand Pharma enter a strategic collaboration in the Greater China Region focussed on eTheRNA’s proprietary mRNA development products and manufacturing capabilities

Niel, Belgium, 1 December 2020 – eTheRNA immunotherapies NV (“eTheRNA”) announced it has entered into a strategic cooperation and product […] December 2, 2020 · Turnstone Communications

Newton Biocapital I invests in Perseus Proteomics Inc. in Japan to develop therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of blood cancers

Brussels, Belgium / Tokyo, Japan – 1 December 2020 – Newton Biocapital I (“Newton”), a life sciences investment fund active in Europe […] December 1, 2020 · Turnstone Communications

Vascular dysfunction meets immune suppression

November 4, 2020 · BioVox

Get to know Lewis Cantley: winner of the 2020 Dr. Paul Janssen Award

Every year, the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research is granted to a scientist who embodies the eponymous man’s […] September 30, 2020 · Janssen Pharmaceutica

Montis Biosciences appoints Karen Zinkewich-Péotti as Chief Executive Officer

Leuven, Belgium, 29 September 2020 – Montis Biosciences, a discovery stage biotech company focused on novel immuno-oncology therapeutics targeting the […] September 29, 2020 · Turnstone Communications

Newton Biocapital I invests in J-Pharma Co., Ltd. in Japan focusing on drug development targeting L-type Amino Acid Transporter 1 (LAT1) for cancer and autoimmune diseases

Brussels, Belgium / Tokyo, Japan – 27 August 2020 – Newton Biocapital I (“Newton”), an investment company in life sciences, […] August 27, 2020 · Turnstone Communications

Colorectal cancer discovery raises hope for microbiome treatment

A new mechanism causing colorectal cancer has been discovered by researchers from VIB and Ghent University. A specific protein was […] July 7, 2020 · BioVox

Montis Biosciences launched with €8.4 million seed financing and a novel approach to immuno-oncology

Montis Biosciences announces its launch with €8,4 million in seed financing from an international investor syndicate to investigate interactions between perivascular macrophages [...] February 20, 2020 · Turnstone Communications

Fresh insights into the future of cell therapy

The first edition of Science for health was held in the heart of Brussels on September 11 with a focus […] September 23, 2019 · BioVox

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 […] July 17, 2019 · BioVox

Betting big on blood screens for early cancer detection

This article was authored by Ward Capoen from V-Bio Ventures. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) just held their […] June 27, 2019 · V-Bio Ventures

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 [...] June 14, 2019 · BioVox

OCTIMET Oncology tackling cancer with a new captain at the helm

In this article, V-Bio Ventures introduces one of their portfolio companies, OCTIMET. This Belgian oncology startup just added a new […] May 29, 2019 · V-Bio Ventures

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, […] January 22, 2019 · V-Bio Ventures

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 […] December 4, 2018 · Turnstone Communications

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 […] September 18, 2018 · Janssen Pharmaceutica

Damya Laoui at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy

Photo copyright: VUB / Thierry Geenen Last year, Damya Laoui received the prestigious American MIT-prize for young innovators under 35 […] July 3, 2018 · BioVox

Two genes work together to trigger childhood leukemia

Two known cancer-causing genes, HOXA9 and JAK3/STAT5, are cooperating to trigger acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a common form of childhood cancer. […] April 17, 2018 · BioVox

The controversy around sugar and cancer

In a recent article published in Nature Communications (1) by a group of scientists led by Belgian professor Johan Thevelein […] January 18, 2018 · BioVox

Celyad: CAR-T cells with natural killer skills fight cancer

Celyad, based in Mont-Saint-Guibert (Belgium), was originally established in 2004 as a company active in regenerative cell therapy. However, two […] January 9, 2018 · Turnstone Communications

Vaccinating against cancer with dendritic cells

Founded as a spin-off from the French Blood Bank, PDC*line Pharma is focused on developing immunotherapeutic vaccines. These vaccines contain [...] November 12, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

Diagnosed with lung cancer

A patient diagnosed with lung cancer should brace for the worst. Prognosis is often very disappointing. While in many cancers […] October 16, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

Tackling untreatable cancers in children

Bram De Wilde is a pediatric hemato-oncologist at the University Hospital in Ghent. He is one of the keynote speakers […] October 16, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

Very promising cancer treatment: RNAi immunotherapy

RXi Pharmaceuticals was co-founded by Craig Mello, PhD, the co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery […] October 10, 2017 · BioVox

ImmunXperts: your partner for in vitro assays in cancer immunotherapy

Although immunotherapy in cancer is booming, it isn’t by any measure an easy field to navigate. Many oncology ventures willing to explore this new terrain [...] October 9, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

Walloon radio-isotope technology in the fight against cancer

Wallonia can pride itself on harbouring some of the key players in the radiopharmaceutical sector. IRE/IRE-Elit, Trasis and ANMI – […] September 11, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

Dendritic cells boosted with mRNA form promising cancer immunotherapy

With its expertise in mRNA production and knowledge of the biology of dendritic cells, eTheRNA has developed TriMix, a new […] September 11, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

IDO 1: a promising new target for immunotherapy

iTeos Therapeutics started in 2012 as a spin-off from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR), one of the top […] June 12, 2017 · Turnstone Communications

Immunotherapy: a paradigm shift in cancer treatment

An excerpt from the BioVox White paper on Cancer Immunotherapy.

June 12, 2017 · BioVox

Grail: A billion-dollar gamble?

Grail has vowed to change the field of cancer diagnostics via simple blood tests and ctDNA analysis. Their Big Data approach, in which the company will build an atlas of DNA found in the blood, convinced major investors, such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, of the technology’s potential. A whopping $1 billion was gathered in the company’s series B financing round. Yet, do Grail and its technology deserve this huge ticket?

March 15, 2017 · V-Bio Ventures

Multiplicom: a strong focus on DNA analysis

Multiplicom offers molecular diagnostics products, focused on human genetics, oncology and prenatal testing. The company was built on a technology […] November 16, 2016 · Turnstone Communications

Second and third lives for known cancer drugs

While development of new cancer treatments is ongoing, innovators are also trying to further optimize the use of known cancer […] November 15, 2016 · Turnstone Communications

Arming cells with a cancer vaccine

In immunotherapy, the patient’s own immune system is activated to fight cancer cells. Such strategies have been pursued for a […] October 14, 2016 · Turnstone Communications

Huge steps forward in VIB skin cancer research

When it comes to finding a cure for melanoma skin cancer, major strides are being taken as we speak. One of […] August 29, 2016 · Turnstone Communications

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 […] July 14, 2016 · BioVox

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, […] June 13, 2016 · Turnstone Communications

Precision oncology: shaping a patient-centric approach

OncoDNA was founded only three years ago in Gosselies. Its focus: help the oncologist follow the evolution of a patient’s […] April 19, 2016 · Janssen Pharmaceutica

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 […] April 5, 2016 · BioVox

Sammson gene causes melanoma

In collaboration with big N2N researchers from UGent, VIB scientists from KU Leuven have revealed a remarkable link between malignant […] March 24, 2016 · Turnstone Communications

Skin on skin: Melanoma research at VIB

Melanoma is a particularly nasty type of skin cancer. It progresses and spreads very quickly, and in many cases it […] February 16, 2016 · BioVox

Preventing cervical cancer: vaccinating or freezing?

The group of human papillomaviruses has over 100 types, of which at least thirteen can cause cancer. The virus is […] November 9, 2015 · BioVox

The Fournier-Majoie Foundation: guiding cancer research to clinical application

At 77 years of age, Bernard Majoie is as active as ever. As founder of the Fournier-Majoie Foundation, he dedicates […] November 5, 2015 · BioVox

A perspective of the future - Towards a cure for cancer and much more

‘Within 10 years we will be able to cure cancer’. A bold statement? Paul Stoffels (CSO J&J) doesn’t think so. […] August 24, 2015 · Janssen Pharmaceutica

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 […] July 20, 2015 · Turnstone Communications

Nuclear technology saves lives, especially in Belgium!

Nuclear energy has become a part of our every day lives, but not solely for electricity production. Over the last […] June 22, 2015 · BioVox

Engineered immune cells to fight cancer

Our own immune T-cells can be one of the best defense lines against cancer. Walloon biopharmaceutical company Celyad is using […] June 18, 2015 · Turnstone Communications

A user experience of Idylla™, the mini-lab

Idylla™, Biocartis’ fully automated molecular diagnostics system was launched in September 2014. Since then, over 100 units have been sold. […] June 17, 2015 · Turnstone Communications

Leave your comfort zone if you aim for success

Peter Carmeliet is the director of the VIB’s Vesalius Research Center (VRC) and a leading Belgian scientist who pushes the […] June 10, 2015 · Turnstone Communications

Starving cancer with a fat free diet

During the development of cancer, our metabolism is hijacked, and new blood vessels are formed to provide nutrients to the […] May 26, 2015 · Turnstone Communications

VolitionRx detects colon cancer with a drop of blood

Belgian Volition – a subsidiary of Volition Rx – is a life sciences company located in Namur (Belgium) focused on […] May 19, 2015 · Turnstone Communications

New in Belgium: a state-of-the-art integrated care cancer center

The University Hospital Center in Liège is expanding. The new comprehensive cancer center will be ready in 2018. The center focuses on high quality integrated care, and a large part of the building will be dedicated to outpatients in consultation and day-care without overnight hospitalization. The center will offer multidisciplinary care, focused on the overall wellbeing of the patient.

April 30, 2015 · Turnstone Communications