As the year draws to a close, it is clear that molecular science and diagnostics is the hottest funding area in the biotech industry. In an analysis of 50 of the best-funded biotechs of 2023 focused on human health, molecular and science and diagnostics startups collectively attracting roughly $945 million, dwarfing the figures in other…
Prix Galien Awards: The most innovative biotech, pharma, and orphan drugs of 2023
Prix Galien names 2023 winners in pharma and biotech In the world of medical innovation, few accolades carry as much weight as the Prix Galien Awards, which highlight the advances in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and other domains. The 2023 winners include Bristol Myers Squibb’s Camzyos (mavacamten) as the best biotechnology product and Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and…
Deepcell’s REM-I platform marries AI with morphological analysis for drug discovery
From her early days as a research assistant at UCLA, to her work as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford, Deepcell co-founder and CEO Maddison Mahdokht Masaeli has actively engaged in the field of biomedical engineering. Now, Masaeli and her team at Deepcell, a company she co-founded in 2017, are introducing a new strategy to drug…
Capsida Biotherapeutics to present preliminary findings on engineered AAV capsids at ASGCT annual meeting
The gene therapy platform company Capsida Biotherapeutics (Thousand Oaks, California) is gearing up to unveil initial data on its engineered adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids at the upcoming American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 26th Annual Meeting, held May 16–20 in Los Angeles. In developing these capsids, Capsida Chief Scientific Officer Susan Catalano explained…
Development challenges and regulatory changes for cell and gene therapies
Cell and gene therapies are the fastest growing area for drug development. The groundwork for this category was laid with the mapping of the human genome in 2003, and the field has developed rapidly in the intervening decades. These powerful therapies have significant potential for the treatment of cancer and other previously “undruggable” diseases. But…
One-time gene therapy Zolgensma from Novartis shows lasting benefits for SMA patients
A gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients is making waves. Novartis (NYSE:NVS) revealed in a press release new long-term data highlighting the durability of Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) up to 7.5 years after a single treatment. The data comes from two long-term follow-up studies, LT-001 and LT-002, which examined a range of patient populations…
Prominent cell and gene therapy vendors in 2023
In recent years, the cell and gene therapy market has grown at a rapid clip. The momentum is likely to continue. According to Vision Research Reports, the global cell and gene therapy market size could hit around $42.56 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 39% from 2022 to 2030. The burgeoning demand in…
How COVID-19 has affected Big Pharma and biotech
Biotechnology traces its roots to the Neolithic era when early civilizations discovered how to ferment grains to prepare alcoholic brews and bread. It wasn’t until genetic engineering became mainstream in the mid-1970s, however, that biotechnology, as we know it today, was launched. The field continues to evolve today. The advent of new technology has revolutionized the market…