Euro Biotechnology

Arie Belldegrun and David Chang steered Kite Pharma last year to a historic FDA approval and a $12 billion bear hug from Gilead Sciences. Now they’ve re-emerged with a new startup, Allogene, which has $300 million in backing and the rights to a CAR-T cell therapy program which is quite different from the one they brought to market with Kite.

With its cash haul, Allogene will take over U.S. development of UCART19, a cell therapy that Pfizer licensed in 2015. Pfizer has traded its rights for a 25 percent stake in Allogene. One year ago, Pfizer vice president of CAR-T… Read more »

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The competition was strong for #BIO2018’s contest but only one winner from each category, “Technologies of Tomorrow” and “Pipelines of Promise,” could come out on top of the voting. Avery Therapeutics took the crown for “Technologies of Tomorrow” and biomarck Pharmaceuticals achieved the top spot in the “Pipelines of Promise” category. Buzz of BIO winners receive one complimentary Convention Access & Partnering registration pass and the opportunity to give a Company Presentation in front of industry colleagues at BIO’s convention.

Both companies, along with many others, will be presenting at the in Boston this June 4-7, an opportunity conducive to increasing visibility and attracting more partners at the event. Presenting biotechs pitch their companies’ stories, pipelines, and objectives to a global audience representing more than 70 countries. Company Presentations are open to all BIO International Convention registrants.

“Technologies of Tomorrow” winner, Avery Therapeutics, is a startup company dedicated to advancing tissue-engineered therapeutics to treat diseases and injuries to human muscle. Avery’s novel engineered tissue platform enhances cell therapy delivery by targeting the root cause of degenerative disease. Avery’s MyCardia™ treatment for heart failure demonstrated pre-clinical functional improvements anticipated to translate to a significant improvement in quality of life.

Winner of the “Pipelines of Promise” category, biomarck Pharmaceuticals, is developing its lead compound, BIO-11006 for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). They have active INDs for both indications and are conducting Phase 2 clinical studies in patients with NCSLC and ARDS in 2017/2018.

BIO is still accepting applications to deliver a company presentation. Gain access to business development executives, investors, research analysts, policy makers, and media, and get more activity in BIO One-on-One Partnering™ by presenting. to learn more about Company Presentations and for application instructions.

Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer of Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) has left the company. The Summit, NJ, drugmaker gave no reason for Smith’s departure. In a press release issued after the markets closed Monday, Celgene said that Smith’s employment ended “effective immediately” and his duties will now be handled by chairman and CEO Mark Alles. Smith had joined Celgene in 2008 as vice president, global marketing for inflammation and immunology. He later held several senior management positions in inflammation and immunology until a year ago, when Celgene promoted him to president and chief operating officer.

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A startup team from the University of Wisconsin that moved to San Diego in January to advance their technology for optimizing treatment regimens for cancer patients won the audience vote for best pitch at the EvoNexus Spring Demo Day last week.

Lynx Biosciences co-founder and CEO Chorom Pak said her startup has developed microfluidic technology that uses live cancer cells to determine how multiple myeloma patients would respond to different treatment regimens. The Wednesday evening pitch event drew several hundred people to an auditorium at Qualcomm’s (NASDAQ: QCOM) corporate headquarters in San Diego.

Pak told the audience the microfluidic device… Read more »

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When people arrive at your Facebook Page, where do you think they first look?

I’ll give you some hints. It’s a visual piece of content that sits at the top of your Page. Its dimensions are 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall. It takes up almost a quarter of the screen on most desktop browsers.

That’s right — it’s your Facebook cover photo.

Sometimes called your Facebook banner, this graphic is one of the most noticeable parts of your Page. It’s therefore crucial that you follow Facebook cover photo best practices.

Whether you’re using Facebook to generate leads, close your next sale, or create a customer community, knowing how to make and optimize your cover photo is very important. Read on to learn what you should (and shouldn’t) do in your cover photo, and grab some social media performance tracking templates at the bottom of the page.

(You’ll also get cover photo templates for Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+ with your cover photo template download!)

11 Best Practices for Your Facebook Cover Image

1. Do abide by Facebook’s cover photo guidelines.

It seems like a no-brainer, but obeying Facebook guidelines is crucial to your Facebook Page existing in the first place. I’d highly suggest reading through the full Page Guidelines, but here are a few important things to keep in mind for your Facebook banner:

• Your cover is public.
• Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright.
• You can’t encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines.

If you get caught violating the above terms, Facebook could take action against your Page. And while Facebook doesn’t explicitly say what will happen if you violate their Page guidelines, it’s probably not smart to get your Facebook Page taken down over a cover photo infraction, so read the guidelines in full and adhere to them.

2. Do make sure your Facebook cover photo size is right.

As stated at the beginning of this article, the best Facebook banner size is 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall for computers, and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on mobile devices.

You don’t want to spend all this time designing a cover photo only to have it look weird when you upload it to Facebook.

If you upload an image smaller than those dimensions, Facebook will stretch it to fit the right size, as long as it’s at least 399 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall.

If you want a no-hassle way to make sure your cover photos are the right size, download our pre-sized template for Facebook cover photos here.

3. Don’t worry about the old ‘20% text’ rule, but still try to stay visual.

Back in 2013, Facebook removed any reference to the 20% rule on text in cover photos … but that doesn’t mean you should go wild with using text in your cover photo. The previous rule said that only 20% of your cover photo could be text. Personally, I thought that was way too restrictive for marketers, but the sentiment behind the rule was a good one.

If you’re going to use text in your cover photo, keep that text concise. Your photo will be much more informative and engaging. You can see how we’ve tried to strike that balance on HubSpot’s Facebook Page below.

4. Do give your cover image a focal point and colors that match your brand.

Think of your cover photo as the portion of your Page that’s “above the fold.” If it’s distracting or confusing, people will be more likely to click off the Page.

Many of the best Facebook cover photos include a centerpiece to focus visitors’ attention, along with a color scheme that aligns with the rest of their brand. Remember, your social media accounts are extensions of your business, and should give that impression to visitors right away.

They also use negative white (i.e., empty) space as an advantage to make the subject, any copy on there, and other elements unique to Facebook (like the CTA button on Facebook business Pages) stand out even more.

Here’s an example from Makr:

And one from social media management platform Sprout Social:

5. Do consider publishing a Facebook cover video.

You read that right. Facebook Business Pages now have the option to add a video in lieu of a static cover photo, provided they meet certain requirements — which we dug up for you:

Facebook currently supports cover videos that are between 20 and 90 seconds long, and a minimum of 820 pixels wide by 320 pixels tall.

Once you pull the file from your desktop, you’ll click “Next” where you’ll be asked to select from 10 thumbnail versions of your video. The thumbnail you choose will display for users who hover their cursor over your profile photo before visiting your full Business Page.

Cover videos are a terrific option for the video-inclined, and brands across numerous industries have already taken advantage of it to hold their visitors’ attention. Brooks Running, Brightcove, and the New England Aquarium all have great cover videos to inspire you.

As you can see from these examples, your video should be just as simple as a cover photo. Keep in mind the same guidelines outlined in best practice #1 apply to cover videos as well.

6. Don’t try to blend the contents of your cover photo with your profile picture.

With some clever design tweaks, you used to be able to manipulate your profile picture and cover photo so they appear as if they’re two parts of the same canvas. You can still do this on your personal profile, but Facebook no longer sets up Business Pages this way.

One of Paris’ former cover photos did this nicely:

Now, as shown in the examples earlier in this article, the profile picture is completely separate from the cover photo.

We admire your creativity, but don’t prepare your design this way if you haven’t yet launched a Business Page — you’ll be disappointed.

7. Do draw attention to the action buttons on the bottom right.

You might’ve noticed in a few of the cover photo examples above that their primary call-to-action (CTA) buttons were different. Makr’s says “Shop Now,” while Sprout Social’s says “Sign Up.”

Depending on your business, you can launch a Page on Facebook with a unique CTA button to the bottom right of your cover photo. Take this button into consideration when designing your cover photo, and make it clear in the photo that this is a visitor’s next step.

Hotel Urbano does this is a charming way below, using the girl in goggles to draw your eyes toward the buttons she seems to be swimming toward …

Note: While it might seem like a good idea to add directional cues like an arrow to get people to click on the CTA buttons, note that those CTA buttons don’t appear the same way on the mobile app. In other words, it might be confusing to mobile users if you directly integrate the cover photo design with the buttons.

I’ll show you how Business Pages look on mobile devices in just a minute.

8. Do right-align the objects in your cover photo.

Since your profile picture is on the left, you want to add some balance to your Facebook cover photo design by having the focus of the image be on the right.

Take a look at these cover photos. Which one looks more aesthetically pleasing?

Right-aligned focus:

Left-aligned focus:

Doesn’t the right-aligned cover photo look better? The biggest design elements (the profile picture, the text, and the Statue of Liberty) are evenly spaced. In Samsung’s old cover photo, your attention goes immediately to the left side of the page, completely missing the name of the product on the upper-right side.

Not only is adding balance a crucial element of design, but it also allows for your cover photos to be more visually effective on mobile. Which brings me to my next point …

9. Do keep mobile users in mind.

In April 2016, Facebook reported that over half of its user base (54.2%) access the social network exclusively from mobile devices. That’s huge — and it’s exactly why it’s so important to keep mobile users top-of-mind when designing your Facebook cover photo.

On mobile, a much larger portion of your cover photo is blocked out because the profile picture and the Page name are on top of the cover photo.

Image Credit: Twelveskip

Let’s take a look at a real-life example. Below, take a look at what Cisco’s Facebook Page looks like in a desktop browser versus on Facebook’s mobile app.

Desktop:

Mobile:

Notice that the sides of the photo are cut off on mobile. Whereas your cover photo displays at 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall on desktop, it displays only the center 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on smartphones. Take a look at this Facebook help document for more information.

Notice, by the way, how the text in Adobe’s cover photo is cut off on the right-hand side. While it looks best to right-align your visual elements, be careful not to put important content so far to the right that it gets cut off on mobile.

10. Do include a shortened link in your cover photo description that aligns with your page CTA.

If you want to use your cover photo to support a Page CTA, make sure your cover photo description also includes a text CTA and link to the same offer. This way, any time people view your cover photo directly, they can access the download link.

Here’s this practice in action on Adobe’s Facebook Page:

Make sure you shorten your links and add UTM codes so you can track clicks on them. Shortening and tracking features are available in the HubSpot Marketing Platform and in tools like bitly.

(If you want to learn more about how to write effective call-to-action copy for your cover photo description, click here to download our free ebook on creating compelling CTAs.)

11. Do pin a related post right below your Facebook cover image.

Have you ever “pinned” a post to your Facebook Page’s Timeline? Basically, pinning a post allows you to highlight a typical Facebook post on the top of your Timeline for seven days. It’s signified by a small blue push pin on the top right of the post, like on Fashion Nova’s Page below:

How does this relate to optimizing your Facebook cover photo? Well, if you’re spending time aligning your Facebook Page CTA, your cover photo design, and your cover photo description copy, you should also make sure to post about the same thing directly to your page, and pin that post to the top of your Timeline.

That way, you’re giving people one very clear call-to-action when they arrive to your page (albeit in several different locations) — which should help conversions.

To pin a Facebook post: Simply publish the post to Facebook, then click the three dots on the top right corner of the post and choose “Pin to Top.”

Want to see how HubSpot uses Facebook? Like our Facebook Page here.

 

Cancer immunotherapy developer Mustang Bio (NASDAQ: MBIO) has promoted Sadik Kassim to chief scientific officer. Kassim joined New York-based Mustang last year as vice president of process and analytical development. He came to Mustang from Novartis (NYSE: NVS), where he was head of analytical development. Mustang also promoted Knut Niss to chief technology officer. Niss joined the company last year as vice president of operations. He previously worked at Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB) as cell therapy asset leader. Mustang’s pipeline includes two drugs in Phase 1 studies, MB-101 for glioblastoma and MB-102 for acute myeloid leukemia.

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[Source: Research & Innovation] Nitrogen and pesticides linked to agriculture pose a threat to Europe’s freshwater supply. An EU-funded project involving farmers and many other stakeholders is championing joint approaches to preserve this important resource.

We’re a country that is generations from being on the farm, for the most part. And most people just don’t know that much about where their food comes from. Because of this, there are a lot of myths, misconceptions, and flat out rumors about how farmers manage their farms. There are claims that farmers are forced to buy certain seeds, or buy from a certain company. The reality is that farmers decide for themselves what to grow each year.  They choose what to do.  And those decisions are made based upon a variety of factors, including economics, weather, land, and global market demand.

GMO Answers has asked farmer and GMO Answers volunteer expert Brandon Hunnicutt to explain how he makes these decisions. Brandon lives on a piece of land that his family has farmed for over 100 years. He is passionate about agriculture, whether he’s trying to raise the next big crop, utilizing the next big technological advance, researching a product to make his crops healthier or more productive, or trying to protect agriculture from those who want to farm it.

In a new post on the GMO Answers Medium page, he talks about his options. And yes, those options include growing genetically modified seeds. Ultimately, the decision is his. He and his family have many questions to ask, and answer:

Our plan is developed in many the same ways a home gardener would develop their plan. We consider:

·         What crops do I like?

·         What grows well in my area?

·         Were there problems (disease, weeds, insects) last year that may be a problem this year?

·         Do I need to rotate crops to help with soil health?

·         Is there something new I would like to try?

·         Where am I going to purchase my seeds?

·         Do I have a preferred place to buy seeds or do I want to try something new?

Ultimately, their goal with all of these decisions is to produce the highest quality crop they can, free from pest damage and disease – just like any home gardener would do. Learn more about Brandon, and his decision making process, at the GMO Answers Medium page.

Puma Biotechnology logo AXA purchased a new position in Puma Biotechnology Inc (NASDAQ:PBYI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,647 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at …

The board that fired Arcturus Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Joseph E. Payne earlier this year unleashed a new broadside this week in the ongoing battle for control of the San Diego-based RNA drug developer.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday (see below) and in an open letter to shareholders issued Wednesday, the Arcturus (NASDAQ: ARCT) board ­says a pattern of alleged misconduct, deceit, and failed leadership by Payne led to his termination on January 25. The allegations include attempting to give Arcturus assets to a friend’s biotech company for free, and operating a side business on company time.

Payne, who… Read more »

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