A new project seeks to build on the cluster’s strengths by positioning it as a global centre for microbiome research. The Microbiome Signature Project aims to strengthen entry into the
Nordic Life Science
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NLS News
Oncopeptides has entered into a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), granting the company access to an unsecured loan facility of up to 40 million EUR. The loan
In the newly released state budget, the government also announces funds for clinical trials, mature clusters and digitalization. The Norwegian government increases the funding for personalized medicine with NOK 30
Tromsø based ArcticZymes AS, a subsidiary of ArcticZymes Technologies, has entered into a supply and distribution agreement with precision medicine company Jiangsu Simcere Diagnostics, Nanjing, China. “This is just the
Follicum has announced that the patent which previously received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office has now also been formally approved by the authority. The
Scandinavian Biopharma has entered into an agreement with the United States Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) to support the production and development of the vaccine, with the long-term goal
The company is moving its production of the GAD65 protein, the active substance in its diabetes vaccine Diamyd, from abroad to Umeå, Sweden. The new unit is around 1,000 square
Inficure Bio has signed an agreement with a publicly listed US biopharmaceutical company that develops drugs for several chronic and life-threatening diseases. “We will now begin testing the effects of
Novo Nordisk Foundation’s innovation initiative, BioInnovation Institute (BII) has awarded EUR 14 million to eight early-stage life science start-ups and research projects. BII has accepted five early-stage start-up companies into
2020 is the year Recipharm celebrates 25 years of CDMO business. Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, Thomas Eldered looks back upon milestones, crucial turning points and the company’s goal of
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for
Farxiga (dapagliflozin) has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) in the US for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), with and without type-2 diabetes (T2D). The Food and Drug Administration
Oasmia Pharmaceutical announces that Elevar Therapeutics and Taiba Middle East FZ LLC have entered into an exclusive agreement under which Taiba will commercialize and distribute Apealea (micellar paclitaxel) in certain
A new Swedish cell and gene therapy company, Elicera Therapeutics, has announced that it has completed its first share issue and secured 13.2 MSEK in financing. The company is based
The COVID-19 pandemic
Two trials of AZD7442 will enrol over 6,000 adults for the prevention of COVID-19 with additional trials enrolling ~4,000 adults for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The US Government to
The Phase I/II clinical trial for the COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222 has resumed in Japan after discussion with the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA). A standard review process triggered
Researchers at Uppsala University have found that an effective way of treating the coronavirus behind the 2003 SARS epidemic also works on the closely related SARS-CoV-2 virus. The substance concerned
A type of anti-bacterial T cells, so-called MAIT cells, are strongly activated in people with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The
Danish research shows that people with COVID-19 who are hospitalized rarely have bacterial infections and antibiotics are therefore not needed at admission. About 95% of the people hospitalized with COVID-19
Lipigon Pharmaceuticals has signed agreements with the two universities to develop a new drug that can potentially reduce the number of deaths linked to COVID-19. The Umeå-based company has signed
Research by an international consortium involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that more than 10 percent of young and previously healthy people who develop severe COVID-19 have misguided antibodies that
Drug and device development
AstraZeneca’s EVP of Oncology R&D, José Baselga, shares his top five takeaways from the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer virtual meeting. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) organized a COVID-19
Ultimovacs has announced five-year overall survival data from the Phase I trial evaluating UV1 as maintenance therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The results confirm achievement of the
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) has announced results from its phase 3 study of avatrombopag, an oral thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist, in solid tumour cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT). Though
Ilya Pharma has completed recruitment for a Phase I trial of its lead candidate ILP100-Topical. Progress has been rapid considering ILP100 is the first drug based on genetically engineered Lactobacillus
Two trials of AZD7442 will enrol over 6,000 adults for the prevention of COVID-19 with additional trials enrolling ~4,000 adults for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The US Government to
Profile
Barbro Ehnbom has successfully promoted women in their careers, not least within life sciences, and she is herself a living example of the changes she has pushed for.
In a new job
Getting back to work after a long and relaxing holiday can be quite hard, perhaps even harder now when we are in the middle of a pandemic. Here is some
The Board of Directors has appointed Marty J Duvall as Chief Executive Officer, CEO, and Jakob Lindberg assumes the role as Chief Scientific Officer, CSO. Jakob Lindberg has been CEO
Professor Outi Vaarala has been appointed Senior Vice President for Research and Development and member of the Executive Management Board of the Orion Group, as of 1 June 2020. Vaarala
Careers
How do you take an invention further and make the right decisions to protect your innovation? Patent engineer Maria Lundström provides a helping hand in the delicate processes of patents,
Read the latest issue of our magazine!
No 03 2020 // This issue includes exclusive interviews with scientist and businessman William A. Haseltine and the Chief Scientific Officer of Pfizer Inc, Mikael Dolsten, a special report on the economic impact of the coronavirus and the latest within Nordic COVID-19 efforts and collaborations.
You may also learn more about Mærsk Tower, designed for high level research, and AbbVie’s transition work to form a Scandinavian organization.
The Nobel Prize
Professor Honjo did not set out to find a cure for cancer but he is glad he did not give up and believes cancer immunotherapy will be the Number One
When your passion and lifelong work are the same. Great things can happen. Just ask James Allison.
The 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for ther pioneering work in cancer immunotheraphy.
“Immunotherapy can be combined with almost anything; you can combine it with chemotherapy or radiation as long as you do it right. The benefits of immunotherapy are several; the best one is that once T cells see something different about the cancer cell and attack the cancer, they can be re-activated [if the cancer reoccurs.]” – James Allison
Upcoming events
The 26th annual BIO-Europe event is the largest biotechnology partnering conference held in Europe. Over 4,400 global decision makers from biotechnology, pharma and finance annually attend BIO-Europe to identify new
The Swedish-American Life Science Summit (SALSS) 2020 has been cancelled due to Covid-19 but instead SALSS 2021 will take place in Stockholm on January 20-22. Business woman Barbro Ehnbom initiated
NLSDays is the largest Nordic partnering conference dedicated to the life science industry. The 2020 event has been postponed until the 2021 event, April 20-21 2021, in Malmö Since its
Our region is filled with life science activity. We take a closer look at what´s going on in our Nordic cities when it comes to life science efforts, progress and challenges.
In focus – Nordic cities
Nordic Life Science
The latest clinical trials
Ultimovacs has announced five-year overall survival data from the Phase I trial evaluating UV1 as maintenance therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The results confirm achievement of the
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) has announced results from its phase 3 study of avatrombopag, an oral thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist, in solid tumour cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT). Though
Ilya Pharma has completed recruitment for a Phase I trial of its lead candidate ILP100-Topical. Progress has been rapid considering ILP100 is the first drug based on genetically engineered Lactobacillus
Two trials of AZD7442 will enrol over 6,000 adults for the prevention of COVID-19 with additional trials enrolling ~4,000 adults for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections. The US Government to
Immunicum has announced that a total of 15 patients have now been enrolled in the ongoing Phase Ib/II ILIAD combination trial. In addition, ilixadencel has maintained a consistent safety profile
Ultimovacs has announced positive results from the first cohort of 20 patients in its ongoing US-based Phase I clinical trial evaluating the company’s lead candidate, UV1, in combination with PD-1
Oncopeptides announces that the open-label Expanded Access Program, sEAPort, for eligible U.S. patients, is formally open. Melflufen (INN melphalan flufenamide), is currently being evaluated in several clinical studies as a
Hansa Biopharma has announced positive data from an investigator-initiated phase 2 trial that evaluated safety, tolerability and efficacy of imlifidase in 15 patients with severe anti-GBM antibody disease. Anti-GBM antibody
PILA PHARMA has announced that its phase 2a trial, PP-CT02, designed to investigate the efficacy and safety following 28 days dosing of XEN-D0501 4 milligrams twice daily as compared to
The latest research news from the Nordic region
Science Article
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice, for
Women vaccinated against HPV have a significantly lower risk of developing cervical cancer, and the positive effect is most pronounced for women vaccinated at a young age, according to a
Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a new method to rapidly determine how effective two antibiotics combined can be in stopping bacterial growth. The new method is simple for laboratories
C.F. Møller Architects wins a MIPIM Award in the category of Best Healthcare Development with Biomedicum, a research complex in Stockholm for the Karolinska Institutet. This year’s MIPIM Awards ceremony
Glenn Regehr is awarded the 2020 Karolinska Institutet Prize for Research in Medical Education (KIPRIME) Dr. Regehr of University of British Columbia, Vancouver (UBC), whose work has improved the educational
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