Euro Biotechnology

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, …

Whether from embarrassing parties or sobering surveys, the biotech gender gap problem has made plenty of headlines the past couple years. The industry’s largest trade group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), is trying to encourage its more than 1,000 member companies to do better.

Last winter, BIO posted diversity goals for the industry to hit by the year 2025, and last week, BIO sent a letter to members to remind members of those goals: gender parity-50 percent women-among company leadership, as well as 30 percent female board membership. Current estimates put the industry’s rank and file at 50 percent women, but… Read more »

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Writing for The Hill, Steve Forbes, Forbes Media Chairman and Editor in Chief, delivered a simple message to the American people about the implications of drug importation: “Your health could be put in unnecessary danger soon.”

Let’s rewind to July, when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar directed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to establish a drug importation working group. Azar stated that he was open to a variety of solutions, as long as they are “effective, safe for patients and respect choice, innovation, and access.” But as the facts show, importing medicines from abroad do not meet any of these requirements.

As Forbes points out, four former FDA commissioners who served under both President Bush and President Obama had a front row seat into the dangerous, counterfeit global medicine marketplace which is alarmingly deceptive.

“[The] vast majority of internet sites that advertise as being Canadian are actually based in South America, Eastern Europe and Russia,” the group stated.

It’s often assumed that buying drugs from highly developed Western countries like Canada poses little to no safety risks. This claim, however, cannot be further from reality.

Sure, the Canadian government works to ensure the safety and authenticity of medicines entering their market that are intended for use by patients in Canada, but they do not apply those standards for medicines intended only for export. The Canadian government has even stated, “Health Canada does not assure that products being sold to U.S. citizens are safe, effective, and of high quality, and does not intend to do so in the future.”

These concerns are also backed by a number of current and former law enforcement officials who have sounded similar alarms about allowing drugs from foreign countries to flow into our communities.

The National Sheriff’s Association stated that importing medicines from abroad would “jeopardize law enforcement’s ability to protect the public health; threaten the safety of our drug supply; and endanger law enforcement officers, their canines, and other first responders across America.”

Louis Freeh, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, added that drug importation could “force law enforcement agencies to make tough prioritization decisions that leave the safety of the U.S. prescription drug supply vulnerable to criminals seeking to harm patients.”

And George Karavetsos, former director of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and Assistant United States Attorney, warned that importing counterfeit prescription drugs could lead to an uptick in deadly, illegal opioids.

To put the risks in perspective, the Wall Street Journal recently shared the story of a young man who lost his life after taking a counterfeit medicine to help him fall asleep. The medication in question was purchased on the black market and laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl.

“All risk with no reward does not sound like great policy,” Forbes concluded. “If patients cannot trust and rely on the safety of their treatments, the cost benefit of importing these risky medications, or the hope of innovative medical discoveries, then what good is importation as policy anyway?”

Read the full op-ed here, and visit DrugCostFacts.org to learn more about the dangers of drug importation.

[Source: Research & Innovation] Today the Commission has put forward an action plan to develop a sustainable and circular bioeconomy that serves Europe’s society, environment and economy.

Ask someone “What’s on your phone?” and he or she might respond with some combination of photos, music, contacts, and mobile apps. But a series of interactive experiments co-led by a prominent geneticist are answering the question in a different way, by swabbing the surface of smartphones and telling their owners what bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other plant and animal matter are detected.

Chris Mason, a genomics professor at Weill Cornell Medical College was the keynote speaker at the Wisconsin BioHealth Summit, an event held Tuesday in Madison, WI, and organized by BioForward, the state’s flagship life sciences advocacy group. Attendees… Read more »

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In 1984, President Ronald Reagan used the phrase “It’s Morning in America” as a now famous campaign message to reassure American’s that his economic policies were working. Fast forward nearly 25 years later and it is now past midnight in America – at least for those who contribute to the U.S. biobased economy and rely on key Farm Bill energy titles.

Brent Erickson, BIO’s Executive Vice President, Industrial and Environmental

As Brent Erickson, BIO’s Executive Vice President for the Industrial and Environmental section, explains in an op-ed for Biofuels Digest, because the Farm Bill expired as the calendar turned to October funds for critical Farm Bill energy title programs that many in rural America rely on are now in jeopardy. These programs, representing a drop in the bucket in terms of overall Farm Bill spending, have become substantial sources of federal support for companies at the core of the burgeoning biobased economy – an economy that BIO estimates is valued at $205 billion, generating 1.665 million jobs.

And while the bill’s energy title programs cost little, the positive impacts are real.  Erickson argues that the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill energy title should be passed to continue building on the positive gains.

Read the full piece below, or at Biofuels Digest by clicking here.

On September 30^th, the 2018 Farm Bill officially expired. And while both chambers of Congress passed their respective bills, the final version of the legislation that supports the agricultural sector in the U.S. is still being negotiated between House and Senate leaders in conference committee. Now it appears efforts to finalize the legislation will be delayed until after the election. If Congress does not pass a new bill by the end of the year, they risk having to go back to the drawing board after a new Congress is sworn in January 3^rd– a Congress that could look significantly different.

Because of this, Congress should pass the Senate version of the Farm Bill energy title without delay to ensure funding for these programs so manufacturers – many based in Rural America – can continue strengthening the burgeoning biobased economy.

Over the past year, BIO has been working to improve upon the existing Farm Bill energy title programs and reauthorize them with mandatory funding. Because of our leadership, the Senate Farm Bill energy title expands eligibility to renewable chemicals and biobased products, with mandatory funding. Supporting these technologies is economically sound policy. The U.S. biobased economy has made significant strides due to the Farm Bill energy title. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) analysis found that biobased products contributed $393 billion to the U.S. economy, generating 4.223 million jobs. Support for these programs will ensure continued domestic growth of this sector.

One of the key energy title programs is the USDA BioPreferred Program®, which helps establish a market for companies developing renewable chemicals and biobased products by prioritizing the procurement of these products by federal agencies and their contractors. Additionally, the program issues a USDA certified renewable chemical and biobased label – ensuring the product is biobased – to manufacturers across the country, helping companies promote their products to consumers. As a result of BIO’s advocacy, the Senate bill strengthens the program to ensure certification of new renewable chemicals and biobased product processes and technologies, through the application of a biobased mass balance test method. This will increase the use of renewable feedstocks, benefitting the biobased sector and agricultural producers by making more feedstocks available for producers and creating an expanded value-added market.

By helping companies promote their renewable chemicals and biobased products, thus increasing sales, the Farm Bill’s BioPreferred Program supports millions of jobs in the renewable chemicals and biobased products industry across the country and gloablly. According to USDA, in Texas alone, the biobased products industry is valued at more than $6.8 billion and creates more than 88,000 jobs. Therefore, funding of the BioPreferred Program® is essential to generating job growth in the U.S.

The Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance program is critical to the growth of the biobased economy and is also at risk if the Farm Bill is not finalized before the end of the year. Because of BIO’s advocacy, the Senate version of the program will support companies who are developing first-of-a-kind technologies to produce advanced biofuels, as well as standalone renewable chemicals and biobased manufacturers, by helping these companies secure financing from rural lenders.

Because of BIO’s efforts, more companies with innovative technologies will be able to secure funds through this program for commercial projects across the nation. The program enables companies to meet the increasing consumer demand for cleaner biofuels and greater and safer household and personal care products.

Additionally, BIO continues to advocate for the continued funding of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). The program provides matching payments to farmers growing dedicated energy crops to produce biofuels, biobased products and renewable chemicals. These payments provide certainty to manufacturers that dedicated feedstocks needed to produce bioproducts will be in steady supply. This certainty in the supply chain allows manufacturers to continue producing and developing the biofuels, biobased products and renewable chemicals that have become pillars of the biobased economy. Because of our efforts the Senate version of the energy title allows algae to qualify under BCAP and helps incentivize the collection of forest residue, helping remove hazardous fuels that lead to forest fires.

Of course, the ability of Congressional leaders to pass the Farm Bill will come down to dollars and cents. However, the bill’s Energy Titles barely represent a drop in the bucket. The Energy Title programs account for less than one-tenth-of-one-percent of total Farm Bill spending. For so much so success for such little funding, reauthorizing these programs with mandatory funding should be a priority, especially considering their minimal burden on the budget.

As Congressional leaders return to Washington post-election, BIO will be working to make sure their primary focus should be to pass a final Farm Bill with the Senate’s version of the energy title as soon as possible. By passing the Senate version, key programs that support the biobased economy, and thus many in rural America, will continue to be funded. If they wait until the new Congress is sworn in we could see a significant delay in reauthorizing the Farm Bill, jeopardizing funding and operation of these programs. Lack of funds for these programs would significantly impact the rapidly growing biobased economy that supports domestic manufacturing, jobs, renewable energy, rural communities, and agricultural producers across the country.

The FDA has lifted its hold on a clinical trial for a genetically engineered treatment for sickle cell disease, and CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals say they plan to start testing the therapy in U.S. patients by the end of the year. Enrollment is already underway for a clinical trial in Europe.

In May, partners CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) and Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX) halted their U.S. plans to test their drug, CTX001, in sickle cell disease-a red blood cell disorder-as well as beta thalassemia, an inherited disorder that affects hemoglobin in the blood. At the time of the… Read more »

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[Source: Research & Innovation] The Biocities Forum will facilitate international science-policy-business dialogue on the potential of forests and circular bioeconomy solutions to build sustainable and resilient cities, including:

• Holistic views on the future of cities and their role in leading sustainable change
• Wood engineering products for building construction
• Innovative architectural solutions and vertical forests
• Mayors’ panel discussion on challenges and opportunities for future biocities

The event is organised by the European Forest Institute in collaboration with the City of Joensuu, Regional Council of North Karelia, CTFC, Diputació Barcelona and the European Commission.

Glympse Bio has developed sensor technology that it says can give clinicians an early look at a developing disease. As Glympse prepares to test its disease detection approach in a serious liver disorder, the startup has raised $22 million in Series A financing.

LS Polaris Innovation Fund and Arch Venture Partners co-led the investment in Cambridge, MA-based Glympse.

The startup has developed bioengineered nanoparticles that circulate through the body, detect disease, and report their findings through a signal read by testing the patient’s urine. The company, which spun out from the laboratory of MIT professor Sangeeta Bhatia (pictured above), says its “activity… Read more »

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[Source: Research & Innovation] Patients with long-term medical conditions, such as depression, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, need regular monitoring, but having to visit the clinic frequently for tests can be a problem. An EU- and industry-funded project is aiming to implement real-time, on-demand monitoring through remote assessment, to potentially improve patient experience and outcomes and increase clinical efficiency.