Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ flagship drug has made a strong case it can treat yet another rare disease, and the company is now mapping out plans to file for approval in the U.S. and other regions.

The Boston company released preliminary Phase 3 data for eculizumab (Soliris) as a treatment for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a central nervous system disorder that has no FDA-approved treatment. The Alexion antibody drug is already approved to treat two ultra-rare blood diseases: paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemoyltic uremic syndrome (aHUS). Investors welcomed the prospect of adding another disease to a product that is already… Read more »

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[Source: Research & Innovation] Without a clear view of marine resources and environments, efforts to derive sustainable growth from the seas cannot fully succeed. An EU-funded project has developed virtual labs for research relevant to policy aimed at activating untapped economic potential in a sustainable manner and stimulating job creation in the marine and maritime sectors.

Next week the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will convene in New York City. Among the many high-level meetings taking place, the UN will be evaluating progress of sustainable development goal (UN SDG) #3, “Ensuring Access to Healthcare,” with a specific focus on combatting tuberculosis (TB) globally and preventing early death from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

World leaders are expected to adopt high-level political declarations that will set priorities for tackling TB and NCDs. However several countries continue to demand the inclusion of language calling for weakened intellectual property (IP) protections as they view IP as the sole barrier to access to medicines treating TB and NCDs. BIO opposes these misguided efforts to weaken IP protections for TB and NCD medicines because they do nothing to improve patient access and while removing the economic incentives that healthcare innovation.

The price of TB drugs is not a significant barrier to treatment and access. Most tuberculosis medicines- both low-cost generics and new patented treatments- are currently sold at very low prices and/or deeply discounted. A six-month treatment of TB drugs through the Global Drug Facility is around USD $20 per patient. Newer patented medicines are also available at deeply discounted costs and through an array of globally broad access programs. Other factors, such as costs associated with hospitalization and poor health infrastructure, are actually contributing the most to the cost of TB and NCD treatment in most countries, not high medicine prices.

Ultimately, weakening global IP standards will not only fail to improve access, but also significantly discourage urgently needed private investment into TB and NCD research and development. By passing policies that encourage innovation, the UN will ensure a positive step towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

On Wednesdays we wear black!

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Equillium, a biotech startup developing treatments for immune system disorders-including an immune response that affects some transplant recipients-is preparing for an IPO to finance tests of its lead drug.

The company set a preliminary IPO target of $86 million, according to documents filed this week with securities regulators, and has applied to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the stock symbol “EQ.”

La Jolla, CA-based Equillium, founded in 2017 (originally as Attenuate Biopharmaceuticals), licensed its antibody drug candidate itolizumab (which it calls EQ001) from Biocon Limited (NSE: BIOCON), India’s largest biopharmaceutical company. Itolizumab has been approved in India to… Read more »

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Food waste and food loss is a hot topic right now and rightly so.  The United Nations has set a target of halving food loss and waste by 2030. But a new consulting group has found that if current trends continue, food waste will continue to rise, both in terms of volume and in terms of money lost.

Of course, people have different ideas of what food waste is when you mention it to them. For some, it means, throwing away food on your plate after a meal. For parents of picky eaters, it’s throwing away of food that doesn’t look perfect or has gone brown. For others, it’s grocery stores or restaurants throwing away food that they couldn’t sell.  And for farmers, it can mean food lefts in fields that couldn’t be picked, or won’t be sold at market. Whatever your idea of food waste is, GMOs can help!

A new article from Reuters talks about the increasing cost of food waste. A recent article in the Boston Globe highlights what people are doing locally. A column in AgDaily details issue of food loss on farms.  All of these things have one thing in common: using all the tools we have to help combat this issue.

In a new blog post on our Medium page, GMO Answers expert and volunteer Janet Carpenter writes about how GMOs and other technologies can help in the fight against food waste. She writes,

GM crops have already increased yields and reduced the environmental impact of farming, where they have been deployed, especially in developing countries where hunger is more prevalent. However, there is much unrealized potential for available GMO technologies that could be beneficial in countries where they are not currently grown, as well as from technology that is still in development.

GMOs are just one way that we can all help to fight food waste. To learn more about how they can help, read the entire post. And check out GMO Answers to learn all about GMOS, and ask your own questions about GMOs.

Brian Gallagher is joining London-based Abingworth as a partner based in the life sciences investment firm’s Boston office. Gallagher comes to Abingworth from SR One, the venture capital arm of GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), where was a partner. Before SR One, Gallagher was senior director of corporate development at Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by GSK in 2008.

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[Source: Research & Innovation] Are you curious to know how integrating immigrants can contribute to the revitalisation of historic centres? Do you want to discover the benefits of an inclusive and adaptive re-use of built heritage? Then come to the “Cultural and creative cities for all” workshop, which will highlight the importance of inclusive cultural activities for wellbeing, health, social cohesion, competitiveness and to decrease public expenditure.
Case studies and EU R&I projects will showcase innovative solutions tested by cities and regions to empower people with special needs, minorities, the young and the elderly to fully access heritage sites and join creative activities. Speakers include high level panellists, representatives from the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission:
• Babette Winter, State Secretary for Europe and Culture in the Thuringia State Chancellery
• Catherine Cullen, H2020 High Level Expert Group on ‘Innovating cities’ and Special Advisor on Culture in Sustainable Cities, UCLG – and
• Pierluigi Sacco, DG EAC special adviser and Full professor of Cultural Economics, International University of Languages and Literatures –IULM- Milan and Senior Researcher at metaLAB, Harvard University
• Barbara Stacher, DG EAC
• H2020 CLIC, H2020 RURITAGE and Europeana projects
The seminar is organised in the frame of the Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP), a concept jointly developed by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission (DG RTD).

Elanco is now a standalone company after raising $1.5 billion in its stock market debut.

Greenfield, IN-based Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) sold 62.9 million shares at $24 apiece, which topped the $20 to $23 range it had initially targeted. Investors showed their appetite for the animal health company, driving its stock price up more than 39 percent after its shares began trading Thursday.

The IPO for Greenfield, IN-based Elanco completes the spinoff of the company from pharmaceuticals giant Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), its parent since 1954. Last year, Lilly announced a strategic review to determine whether to keep its animal… Read more »

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[Source: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ageing/innovation/index_en.htm] Identifier: H2020-MG-2018-2019-2020Pillar: Societal ChallengesOpening Date: Deadline: Wed, 31 Jan 2018 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)Modification Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2018Latest information:

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On 19 September 2018, a total of 74 proposals were submitted in response to the following 2018 topics:
LC-MG-1-1-2018 – 17 proposals
LC-MG-1-2-2018 – 7 proposals
LC-MG-1-3-2018 – 10 proposals
LC-MG-1-4-2018 – 2 proposals
MG-2-1-2018 – 8 proposals
MG-2-2-2018 – 7 proposals
MG-3-1-2018 – 9 proposals
MG-3-2-2018 – 6 proposals
MG-3-3-2018 – 8 proposals