The startup Karius aims to help establish a world where infectious disease is no longer a major threat to human health. “It’s an audacious vision,” said Dr. Brad Perkins, chief medical officer at Karius. “But I think it’s commensurate with the platform we’ve developed and continue to evolve.” The Redwood City, California-based company has developed…
Bio-Rad debuts anti-cemiplimab antibodies
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has launched a line of antibodies specific to cemiplimab (Libtayo). The antibodies inhibit the binding of the drug to its target, human programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1). Hercules, California–based Bio-Rad Lab, said the ready-made antibodies could be used to develop selective and sensitive assays for bioanalysis and drug monitoring of cemiplimab. Cemiplimab,…
How Lunaphore aims to simplify spatial biology
Spatial biology specialist Lunaphore (Tolochenaz, Switzerland) recently announced a collaboration with the pathology department at Massachusetts General Hospital to develop an in vitro diagnostic (IVD) that assesses the sensitivity of solid tumors to poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. “Lunaphore is based on a technology that I developed for my Ph.D. at the Swiss Federal Institute…
Berkeley Lights names new CEO
Digital cell biology firm Berkeley Lights (NSDQ:BLI) has named Dr. Siddhartha Kadia to lead the company. Founded in 2011, Berkeley Lights has developed a platform that supports the rapid functional characterization of single cells. To date, the company has raised $272.6t million in funding over nine rounds, according to Crunchbase. Kadia replaced outgoing CEO Eric…
Ambys Medicines opens cell therapy manufacturing facility, presents data on liver cell data
Privately-held Ambys Medicines has announced that it has opened a 52,000-ft² facility dedicated to hepatocyte manufacturing. The facility is certified to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) regulations. The company, based in South San Francisco, California, also presented data on its novel bioreactor manufacturing at the Joint Congress of the International Xenotransplantation Association, IXA-CTRMS-2021. Focused on…
VectorBuilder and Landau join forces to create primate gene therapy research center
Recombinant vector specialist VectorBuilder and Landau Biotechnology, which develops nonhuman primate models for clinical research, have entered into a strategic partnership. The two companies will collaborate on establishing a primate gene therapy R&D center. VectorBuilder is based in Chicago and has facilities in Germany, Japan and China. Landau Biotechnology is headquartered in China. The center…
Cell logistics firm Cellbox sets up shop in the U.S.
Live cell shipping specialist Cellbox Solutions GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) has now formally entered the North American market after setting up an office in Rockville, Maryland. The company is the developer of patented Cellbox technology, a transportable CO2 incubator that hit the European market in 2019. The company has also developed packaging compliant with UN3373 standards…
Why hospital biobanks should supply biotechs
When it comes to using biospecimens for research, the saying “garbage in, garbage out” applies (Compton, 2018). This maxim has been a driving force in biospecimen science: a field in which the focus is pre-analytical factors affecting biospecimen quality. It has also been a driving force in the professionalization of biobanking. As a result, the…