Keystone Nano said today that its ceramide nanoliposome won orphan drug status for the treatment of liver cancer. The designation provides the company with a window of market exclusivity upon product approval. The State College, Penn.-based company touted its nanoliposome delivery system as being able to load both water-loving and water-hating compounds and delivery them […]
Oncology
Israeli technical institute takes a stake in NovoCure after patent settlement
A pair of Israeli technical institutes, the Technion Research and Development Foundation and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, agreed to accept a stake in NovoCure (NSDQ:NVCR) as part of a settlement inked last year to avert a potential patent dispute. The parties agreed in February 2015 to resolve “certain potential intellectual property disputes” between […]
Tunable hydrogel helps predict tissue response to chemo
Researchers from the Wyss Institute have developed a hydrogel microenvironment to evaluate how physical properties like stiffness of the extracellular matrix impacts the efficacy of chemotherapy. “To have success with chemotherapy and other drug therapies, we will likely need to screen their effectiveness against cells living in various environments, and not just assume that cells […]
Novocure enrolls 1st patient in phase III brain metastases trial
Novocure (NSDQ:NVCR) said that the 1st patient has been enrolled in a Phase III pivotal trial of its tumor-treating field technology in combination with radiosurgery to treat brain metastases from non-small-cell lung cancer. The St. Helier, N.J.-based company’s tumor treating fields (TTFields) are low-intensity, intermediate-frequency, alternating electric fields designed to disrupt cell division within cancer cells. Novocure’s commercial product, Optune, […]
Gamida Cell wins FDA breakthrough therapy designation for NiCord cell graft
Gamida Cell said today that it won breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for its lead product candidate, NiCord. The Jerusalem-based company’s expanded cell graft is designed to be an alternative to bone marrow transplantation for patients with high-risk hematological cancers. Gamida Cell said it plans to launch an international Phase III registration study of the […]
‘Connectosomes’ efficiently deliver chemo to targeted cells
Researchers have developed a new form of nanoparticles called “connectosomes” that can efficiently deliver chemotherapy to human cells more efficiently than traditional delivery methods, according to a report out of the University of Texas at Austin. The team, who published their research in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, equipped the connectosomes with gap junctions […]
Motion-directed microrobots for targeted drug delivery
Researchers have created tiny ‘microbots’ that are able to move and react in a fashion similar to bacteria, according to a report from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Bacteria use flagella to move, directed by stimuli like sources of light or the earth’s magnetic field. Researchers have developed synthetic microrobots with motility and phototaxis, […]
Color-changing wearable tracks sun exposure
Researchers have developed a wearable patch that warns users by changing colors when they’ve had too much sun exposure. Striking a balance between too much and too little sun exposure can be challenging, according to researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. Too much sun can cause melanoma, which kills 1 […]
SQZ Biotech lands $16m in Series B for cell therapy tech
SQZ Biotech said today that it closed a $16 million Series B round to fund its preclinical cell therapy programs for oncology and other undisclosed diseases. NanoDimension and Polaris Partners led the funding for the Boston, Mass.-based biotech startup. SQZ said it developed a microchip that can open immune cell membranes temporarily and let proteins in that […]
Intuitive Surgical inks R&D JV deal with Fosun Pharma for catheter-based robotic systems
Robotic surgery giant Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) said today it inked a joint venture deal with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (SHA:600196) to research, develop, manufacture and sell robotic-assisted catheter-based medical devices. Both companies will contribute $100 million to start the joint venture, which will initially focus on development of early diagnostics and cost-effective treatments for lung cancer, one […]
ScandiDos launches non-extrapolated radiation dose monitor
ScandiDos this week unveiled its non-extrapolated radiation dose monitor, Delta4 Synthesis, touting the accuracy of the device. The announcement was made at the 58th annual ASTRO meeting this week in Boston. The Uppsala, Sweden-based company integrated the Delta4 Phantom and Delta4 Discover into 1 system, creating the 1st and only quality assurance device that provides exact measurements, […]