Cell lines

MCW to use Transposagen's 'more flexible than ZFN' gene editing tools

19-Feb-2014 By Dan Stanton

Transposagen says its XTN Talen technology is more flexible than Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) platforms for gene editing and creating genetically engineered cell lines.

India focuses on cell therapy regulation as FDA’s Hamburg wraps up trip

19-Feb-2014

As US FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg finishes her trip through India, the country is now shifting its focus to the regulation of stem cell and other cell therapies.

Cytovance to manufacture Pamlico Biopharma antibodies

19-Feb-2014 By Zachary Brennan

CMO Cytovance Biologics has entered into a manufacturing agreement with Pamlico Biopharma to develop a group of three human IgG monoclonal antibodies intended for the treatment of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections. 

Fight for Life: new Thermo Fisher acquisition loses out in India

18-Feb-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Life Technologies has had its efforts to stop an Indian namesake using certain trademarks and web domains thrown out by the Delhi High Court.

CalTech pushes farther into HIV-prevention with new gene therapy delivery

14-Feb-2014 By Zachary Brennan

Scientists at Caltech have published a study in Nature Medicine this week demonstrating that a gene therapy technique that boosts a mouse’s protection against HIV also works against HIV that’s transmitted via mucosal surfaces.

Cumbria biopharma plant to create 500 jobs and business ops says GSK

12-Feb-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

GSK has unveiled designs for the £350m ($587m) biomanufacturing plant it intends to build in UK and confirmed that construction will start early next year.

Ireland secures stem cell supplies with new manufacturing centre

12-Feb-2014 By Zachary Brennan

The new Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland (CCMI) in Galway means Ireland-based scientists will be able to manufacture culture-expanded stem cells for drug research for the first time.

EDITOR'S BLOG

Taking a trip down to the 'Animal (Bio) Farm'

07-Feb-2014 By Dan Stanton

Lab rats are not the only animals to play a role in bologics development as Biopharma-Reporter.com discovered when it donned its wellington boots and took a wonder down to the pharm...

Pre-emptive state legislation may hinder biosimilar adoption in US

07-Feb-2014 By Zachary Brennan

At least seven states are taking actions that may hinder the substitution of biosimilars for biologics even though the US FDA has yet to approve any.

Commercial embryonic stem cell culturing now possible say researchers

05-Feb-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Commercial-scale hES culturing is now a possibility thanks to a new technique that - the developers claim - resolves the ethical, technical and regulatory issues that have held back research.

Pluristem gets German approval for cell therapy manufacturing process

04-Feb-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

German regulators have approved a 3D manufacturing process that Pluristem Therapeutics claims can produce cell therapies faster and more cheaply than standard methods.

Merck & Co. to discover 'smaller antibodies' in potential €1.7bn deal

04-Feb-2014 By Dan Stanton

Biologics could be delivered by routes other than injection using nanobodies one tenth the size of an antibody, Ablynx says as it extends its license with Merck & Co.

Double biologics expansion for CMOs Gallus and Cytovance

31-Jan-2014 By Fiona Barry

Contract manufacturers Cytovance and Gallus have both invested millions of dollars in expanding their biologics-manufacturing facilities.

Provenge CMO PharmaCell contracted for 2nd product

24-Jan-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

PharmaCell, the CMO that makes Provenge for Dendreon in Europe, has agreed to buy a facility from TiGenix to add capacity and a manufacturing contract for a second commercial product.

China OKs $13bn Life Tech takeover but insists on Thermo price cuts

15-Jan-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Chinese authorities have given Thermo Fisher Scientific the green light to buy Life Technologies on the condition it discounts certain products sold in the coutry.

Octapharma invites BPR to 'truly human' Factor VIII plant

10-Jan-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Last year Octapharma filed the world’s first ‘truly human’ recombinant Factor VIII clotting protein for EMA review and invited BioPharma-Reporter.com to visit the Swedish site where it makes the haemophilia treatment using HEK cells.

TxCell: personalised technique avoids cell therapy snags

08-Jan-2014 By Fiona Barry

Autoimmune biotechnology firm TxCell claims its manufacturing technique avoids the pitfalls of standard cell therapies like Provenge.

HyClone units to keep Utah and Colorado HQs says GE Healthcare

08-Jan-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

GE Healthcare has confirmed it will continue to run the HyClone units it is buying from Thermo Fisher Scientific from their existing US bases.

Study: patients back induced stem cells in drug dev if consent assured

03-Jan-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Good news for stem cell scientists this week with new data indicating that patients support the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) in biopharmaceutical research if proper consent is obtained. 

Crescendo raises £17m for Ab fragment drugs made using novel tech

03-Jan-2014 By Gareth Macdonald

Crescendo Biologics has secured funding to develop a range of Ab fragment-based drugs using its genetically modified mouse platform, including a psoriasis treament that could rival blockbusters like Remicade and Humira.

US Gov: Is UN chemical weapons treaty bad for biopharma business?

13-Dec-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

The US Government asked biopharmaceutical companies if the international treaty banning chemical weapons is hampering legitimate business.

AstraZeneca licenses mAb production tech from Lonza and BioWa

11-Dec-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

AstraZeneca’s biologics division MedImmune has licensed a cell line and antibody production tech from Lonza and BioWa.

Novartis signs third ADC licensing agreement with Immunogen this year

29-Nov-2013 By Dan Stanton

Novartis has signed a third license agreement this year for a specific antigen target using Immunogen’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology.

Thermo Fisher to divest HyClone cell culture biz following Life Tech approval

27-Nov-2013 By Dan Stanton

The European Commission (EC) has cleared Thermo Fisher’s acquisition of Life Technologies subject to certain divestitures including its media and sera for cell culture business.

Bioinvent has 'FIRST' for antibody discovery as tech receives US patent

13-Nov-2013 By Dan Stanton

Bioinvent has been granted a US patent for its FIRST screening platform and says it is unique in selecting antibodies without any prior knowledge of target identities.

Pfenex selects Paragon for HHS anthrax vaccine manufacture

06-Nov-2013 By Dan Stanton

Pfenex has selected Paragon Bioservices to manufacture its Recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) for an anthrax vaccine as it enters Phase I clinical trials.

OncoMed wins first US patent for mAb discovery tech

23-Oct-2013 By Zachary Brennan

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals announced last week that the US Patent and Trademark Office granted its first US patent for technology to identify mAbs (monoclonal antibodies). 

Dispatches from Biotechnica

Brain AG wins award for furthering industrial biotech

16-Oct-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Biocatalyst and microbial strain developer Brain AG was recognised for furthering industrial use of biotechnology in a ceremony at the Biotechnica trade show in Hanover, Germany yesterday.

Janssen teams with CureVac to develop influenza vaccine

09-Oct-2013 By Dan Stanton

Janssen has partnered with CureVac to use its messenger RNA (mRNA) platform to develop an influenza vaccine.

Merck Serono, Ablynx re-up for fourth partnership on nanobody discovery

04-Oct-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Ablynx and Merck Serono expanded their relationship for a fourth time – this time in a four-year deal worth about $34m (€25m), including an initial payment of $15.5m (€11.5m).

SAFC launches new CHO lines for protein drug developers

01-Oct-2013

A new knock-out cell line developed by SAFC promises to make crystallography studies more effective and –potentially – safer therapeutic proteins.

US Gov buys cell lines on top of $196m GSK anti-anthrax deal

25-Sep-2013 By Dan Stanton

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it is buying cell lines to manufacture anthrax antitoxins on top of its $196m (€145m) deal with GlaxoSmithKline to stockpile Raxibacumab.

US NIH authorizes first uses for genomic data from HeLa cells

25-Sep-2013

A US NIH working group approved the first four projects looking to use genomic data from the infamous HeLa cell line.

Report: Biopharma Industry’s Growth Driven By mAb Development

11-Sep-2013 By Zachary Brennan

The $165bn biopharma market is expected to grow by about 15% annually, driven largely by increasing revenue growth from recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), according to a recent report.

Horizon Licenses ZFN Tech from Sigma-Aldrich

06-Sep-2013 By Dan Stanton

Horizon Discovery has licensed a zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology from Sigma-Aldrich and says the combination with its own platform will be “a big step forward in gene editing.”

Vela and Evercyte to Develop Immortal Cells for Biosimilars Testing

04-Sep-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Vela Laboratories has teamed up with Evercyte to develop and commercialize cell lines for the assessment of biosimilars.

Mitsubishi Closer to Buying Vax and Biosimilar Tech Developer Medicago

30-Aug-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (MTPC) is closer to adding two plant-based expression techs to its manufacturing arsenal after Medicago shareholders back its takeover bid. 

Partnership Releases Largest Collection of Human Cell Lines Deficient for Single Genes

30-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Biotech company Haplogen and the Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences this week released the largest collection of human cell lines that are deficient for single genes.

Stemcell Tech Selects BioLife Media for Cell Products

23-Aug-2013

Stemcell Technologies will use BioLife Solutions’ cryopreservation media to ship its new range of stem cell based products under an expanded agreement.

Small Sensors, Big BioPharma Potential Say Scientists

23-Aug-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Large arrays of identical nanosensors could improve MAb production, identify glycosylation and pinpoint the best cell lines for biomanufacturing say US researchers.

CHO Know-How and Location Won Rentschler Contract says Apeiron

21-Aug-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Mammalian cell culture know-how and location won Rentschler Biotechnologie its new anticancer MAb manufacturing deal according Austrian BioPharma Apeiron Biologics. 

Rise of Yeast-Based MAb Tech as Adimab Inks Two More Deals

21-Aug-2013 By Dan Stanton

Adimab says it is cornering the market with its yeast-based monoclonal antibody (MAb) technology after inking another two discovery collaborations.

Agilent Looks to Expand Access to Biomarker Discovery Platform

16-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

Agilent Technologies is partnering with SomaLogic to expand the dissemination of Soma’s proteomic assay to at least five academic and contract research centers by the end of the year as demand for the tool has skyrocketed among biopharma companies.

Global Bioseparation Systems Market Set to Nearly Double by 2018, Report Finds

16-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

The global bioseparation systems market is projected to almost double in size from $3.25B in 2012 to $6B in 2018, at a compound annual growth rate of about 11%, according to a recent report on the market.

TIL Tech Can Produce Cheaper Cancer Drugs, Says New Lion CEO

09-Aug-2013 By Dan Stanton

Genesis Biopharma has merged with Lion Biotechnologies and says its tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) technology can offer higher potency cancer drugs with lower manufacturing costs.

US NIH Forges Pact to Make HeLa Genomic Sequence Data Available to Scientists

09-Aug-2013 By Zachary Brennan

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week that the famous HeLa genomic sequence data will continue to be available for scientists worldwide, though they will have to apply for access to the data.

EDITOR'S BLOG

From China to the Culture Dish: A Brief History of the CHO cell line

07-Aug-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Scientists say the Chinese hamster genome published last month will help biomanufacturers develop better CHO cell lines. 

Chinese Hamster Genome a Boon for BioPharmas say Researchers

02-Aug-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Making better CHO cell lines for biomanufacturing may soon be a more precise task according to the team behind the draft Chinese hamster genome published last week.

New E. Coli Cell Line Could Boost Bioproduction for Manufacturers

31-Jul-2013 By Zachary Brennan

A new genetically modified strain of E. Coli cells could create enough protein for downstream production without the need for the challenging endotoxin removal steps that are currently employed.

'First Japanese Clinical Trial using Stem Cells’ isn’t and doesn't say Researchers

31-Jul-2013 By Gareth Macdonald

Recent reports of a 'clinical trial' assessing 'stem cells' for the treatment of AMD are wrong say the Japanese researchers trying to transform somatic cells into retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells for transplant.