Industry News
Bioprospect buys into US diabetes company
Queensland company Bioprospect (ASX: BPO) has dipped deep into its pockets, paying US$530,000 for a third of private Seattle-based biotech Astrum Therapeutics, which is investigating compounds that arrest the destruction of insulin-secreting cells associated with type 1 diabetes. [ + ]
Proteome snags grant for TB test
Sydney's Proteome Systems has won a US$2 million federal government R&D Start grant to advance development of its new rapid diagnostic for tuberculosis. [ + ]
FDA places clinical hold on Tysabri's drug class
GlaxoSmithKline said US regulators had halted clinical trials on multiple sclerosis drugs in the same class as recently withdrawn treatment Tysabri, including its experimental product '699. [ + ]
Nanyang invests $2.5m in Genetic Solutions
Sydney venture capital company Nanyang Ventures has injected $2.5 million into Genetic Solutions to help accelerate the Brisbane genetic information-technology company's product development and international marketing initiatives. [ + ]
Progen R&D director leaves for medical frontiers
Progen's vice president of R&D, Robert Don, is leaving the company to take up the "job of a lifetime" developing drugs for neglected diseases that affect developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. [ + ]
Starpharma takes stake in start-up Dimerix
In one of the more intriguing examples of technological cross-pollination, Melbourne dendrimer-drug drug developer Starpharma Holdings (ASX:SPL, USOTC:SPHRY) announced today it has become a foundation shareholder in a new Perth-based biotech, Dimerix Bioscience. [ + ]
Psiron's cancer therapy passes first clinical tests
Sydney virotherapy developer Psiron (ASX:PSX) reported this week that two end-stage melanoma patients have shown no adverse effects from the first human test its of its oncolytic virus therapy, [ + ]
Sutton resigns from Polartechnics board
Richard Opara has completed step one in his plan for Sydney device company Polartechnics (ASX:PLT), installing himself as chairman today, after Ventracor CEO Colin Sutton resigned from the position, ending a three week board tussle. [ + ]
Researchers use gene-profiling to predict metastasis
Molecular oncologist Dr Kent Hunter, of the Laboratory of Population Genetics at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, told the recent Lorne Genome Conference that it may soon be possible to predict a patient's risk of developing metastatic cancer based on their individual gene-expression profiles. [ + ]
Prana starts second generation trials
Melbourne's Prana Biotechnology (ASX:PBT) has begun a Phase I clinical trial of its synthetic, second-generation molecule PBT2 in healthy volunteers. [ + ]
IBM's Kovac welcomes age of information-based medicine
There are tremendous opportunities in personalised or information-based medicine, according to Carol Kovac, IBM's general manager for life sciences and healthcare. Kovac has come to Australia as a visiting international fellow for the InnovationXchange Network. [ + ]
Mesoblast to use NHMRC grant for pilot studies
Melbourne stem cell therapy developer Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) announced today that founder and chief scientific adviser Prof Silviu Itescu has signed a memorandum of understanding to activate a AUD$1.5 million NHMRC research grant awarded to him last year. [ + ]
Protemix founder named NZ's 'biotechnologist of the year'
Prof Garth Cooper, the president and chief scientist of Auckland-based Protemix, has been named NZBio's 'distinguished biotechnologist of the year' at the New Zealand biotech organisation's conference. [ + ]
Rockeby appoints Italian distributor
Rockeby Biomed (ASX:RBY) has appointed Italian company Named as its first distributor in the European market. [ + ]
Bridge program to expand
The InnovationXchange's BRIDGE program is set to expand, as it moves toward the end of its one year pilot program. It plans new clusters in health, nanotechnology and medical devices, and has welcomed Resmed to its fold. [ + ]
