Industry News
Plants help create happy office vibes
Putting plants in the office makes for happier staff and boosts productivity. [ + ]
Action urged to capitalise on opportunity as Budget tables reveal loss of support
The release of the federal government's Science, Research and Innovation Budget Tables this week reveals the losses of almost $400m to science, research and innovation, prompting AusBiotech to reinforce its calls for urgent and specific action that will drive growth in the biotechnology industry and, therefore, the Australian economy.
[ + ]Australia needs a science strategy
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb has called for a coherent, strategic and long-term approach to science in Australia. [ + ]
GSK to shut down Medicines Research Unit
GSK will cease operation of its research unit at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital at the end of the month, laying off eight employees and five contractors. [ + ]
Remote lab program receives international award
A futuristic science education program, which lets high-school students take control of live experiments from anywhere in the country, has received a prestigious award from the UK's Institute of Science and Technology. [ + ]
Pharmaxis to take anti-inflammatory to human trials
Pharmaxis (ASX:PXS) plans to conduct the first human trials of PXS4728A - a drug candidate for inflammatory diseases including COPD and NASH - in 1Q15.
[ + ]More funding for medical research
New treatments, improved research translation and Indigenous youth suicide are some of the areas to benefit from the latest NHMRC grant announcement. [ + ]
TGA joins international collaboration to evaluate generic drugs
The Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) has joined a pilot of the Decentralised Procedure (DCP) of the European Union - a collaboration on the evaluation of generic drug applications. [ + ]
Infrastructure contract for new CCS activities
CO2CRC and The University of Melbourne have announced an $18 million infrastructure contract to purchase new laboratories, plant and equipment to be used in a range of carbon capture and storage (CCS) activities over the next five years. [ + ]
Minomic forges prostate cancer partnership
Minomic International and US-based Catalent Pharma Solutions will jointly develop the former's MIL-38 antibody drug conjugate into a potential new treatment for prostate cancer.
[ + ]Finalists for Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE announced
The finalists for the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE have been announced. The $10 million global competition asks teams to develop a consumer-focused, mobile device capable of diagnosing and interpreting a set of 15 medical conditions and capturing five vital health metrics. [ + ]
PAP therapy saves lives in heart patients: ResMed
Positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy in heart patients with sleep apnoea can reduce mortality rates by up to 38%, analysis from ResMed (ASX:RMD) suggests.
[ + ]GI Dynamics lines up new CEO
Seasoned medical device executive Michael Dale will take over from Stuart A Randle as CEO of GI Dynamics (ASX:GID) from next month. [ + ]
Experimental drug for Ebola
The experimental drug ZMapp has proven effective in treating the Ebola virus in monkeys. [ + ]
Crowdfunding to test cancer drug on Ebola
Biotechnology company OncoSynergy has launched a crowdfunding campaign to enable studies of an experimental cancer drug in Ebola infection. It is hoped that the drug may be able to combat the Ebola crisis in west Africa, which has already claimed almost 1500 lives. [ + ]
