Entries by Thomas Gabrielczyk

Poolbeg takes centre stage in CRS research

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Cancer immunotherapies can save lives, yet their side effect — cytokine release syndrome (CRS) — remains a barrier for wider use, even though IL 6 receptor antagonists can treat it. Now the UK company Poolbeg Pharma plc, together with Johnson & Johnson, investigates how CRS might be prevented. The programme is backed by a £3.4m grant from the MRC.

EU trilogue sets clear path for new genomic techniques

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After four EU Council presidencies, EU member states and the European Parliament yesterday struck a provisional deal on new genomic techniques under the current Danish presidency, setting clear rules to boost agrifood innovation, plant resilience, transparency and sustainability.

UK hikes drug prices after pharma exodus

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After the withdrawal of investment pledges totalling £2bn by pharmaceutical companies — seeking to offset lower US revenue by raising UK prices — the British government has now caved in and signed a deal with the US administration that will lift UK drug prices by 25%

Angelini Ventures and EIB launch joint start-up financing

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Angelini Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Angelini Industries, have signed an agreement to jointly provide €150m over the next six years to support European biotechnology and digital health start-ups through seven to ten funding rounds. This marks the EIB’s first partnership with a corporate venture capital firm in Europe’s health sector under its TechEU programme.

EU Commission presents new bioeconomy strategy

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A month after China publicly revealed its bioeconomy priorities under its 15th Five Year Plan, the European Commission released an updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy — and the contrast could hardly be sharper. While China bets on a bold mix of AI, bioengineering and synthetic biology to replace fossil based industrial products with recombinant and cell free systems, the EU remains anchored in a more traditional vision focused on the valorisation of agricultural output and industrial waste. By contrast, the UK has taken a more modern approach, heavily investing in engineering biology — the use of reprogrammed microorganisms to produce industrial goods — as a key pillar of its biotech and bioeconomy strategy.