News

Company News: SuppreMol Initiates Phase Ib/IIa Clinical Trial With Its Lead Candidate SM101

SuppreMol GmbH, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, today announced the initiation of a Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial with its lead product SM101 in Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) in Europe. For further details on the trial and the compound, please see the complete press release.

In a Phase Ia trial in 48 healthy volunteers started in April 2009, no SM101-associated adverse reactions have been observed. Detailed results of this study will be published soon.

Food for Thought: Personalized Medicine – Testing Prospective Parents?

Personalized medicine is regarded as the next big thing in healthcare, but so far business models to make money in this field are limited. One example is Hamburg-based Indivumed which specializes on the support of pharma companies and research institutions with cancer biospecimens and related data and services generated under highly standardized conditions. Another one, argues Steve Dickman of CBTadvisors in his recent Boston Biotech Watch blog, might be genetic counseling for prospective parents.
Steve judges potential success of businesses in the personalized medicine space according to four criteria, asking whether the concept is 1) actionable, 2) cost-effective, 3) based on validated science, and 4) clinically meaningful.
Going through this list he comes to the conclusion that the business model of California-based Counsyl looks promising. For $698 per couple the company is offering prospective parents a one-price panel of SNP-based tests for more than 100 genetic diseases so that a couple can learn whether its offspring is at risk for these conditions.
So while it is easy to tick the boxes on 2, 3, and 4, the questions is actionability: what are the options for treatment, preventive action, or behavior?
This is the field we predict will be hotly debated, at least in Europe. Once a risk is detected, the options on the table  are: refrain from conceiving a child and opt for adoption, or choose abortion in case the child is affected by the condition the risk was predicted for, or go for in vitro fertilization followed by preimplantation genetic diagnosis.
While many may not like the idea because it evokes memories of eugenics, reality shows that many people do want to know what their genes and their options are. Anyone dare to place a ban on it?

Company News: MediGene Signs Commercialization Agreement for Veregen / ProBioGen Is Granted New Divisional Patent on Duck Cell Line

MediGene AG has signed a license and supply agreement with Meditrina Pharmaceuticals for the supply and commercialization of Veregen® in Greece and Cyprus. Meditrina will promote and distribute Veregen® for the treatment of genital warts in both territories. Upon the achievement of specific milestones, MediGene will be entitled to successive payments totaling up to 900 thousand euros, and will receive the first milestone payment upon the initiation of the approval procedure in Greece. In addition, MediGene will supply Meditrina with finished product and will receive double-digit royalties on net sales. MediGene believes that Greece is the sixth largest potential European market for Veregen® sales volume.

MediGene has already entered into marketing partnerships for Veregen® with Nycomed, Inc. for the USA, Solvay (acquired by Abbott on February 15, 2010) for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Juste S.A.Q.F for Spain and Portugal and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. for Israel. For further information, please click here.

Also today, ProBioGen has announced that it has been granted a divisional patent on its prorietary AGE1 cell line.
The patent covers the production of Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) in duck cell lines. As these cells are free from endogenous particle-associated retrovirus activity, they are superior to current production substrates derived from chicken. The discovery has wide implications for the industrial production of one of the most promising recombinant vaccine vectors against infectious disease challenges such as HIV and malaria. Read more here.

Company News: ProBioGen Announces the Appointment of Dr. Volker Sandig to Chief Scientific Officer

– Former CSO Dr. Uwe Marx leaves for academia –

ProBioGen AG, a leading biotechnology company in cell engineering and production of biopharmaceuticals, today announced that Dr. Volker Sandig has been appointed to Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of the company. He will take over the duties of Dr. Uwe Marx, who will take an opportunity to lead an entrepreneurial innovation team at the Technical University Berlin.

Dr. Sandig has established ProBioGen´s cell line development program in 2000 and has been responsible for the development of high producer cell lines and the customized design of new cell lines from primary sources. Prior to joining ProBioGen, he held senior management positions at Merck Research Laboratories, USA, focusing on the development of manufacturing systems for gutless adenoviruses. Using his knowledge in viral vectors, he also participated in Merck´s vaccine program. Earlier in his career, he designed experimental strategies for adenovirus-based tumor treatment and directed research projects in cell cycle regulation and artificial promoters at Max Planck Society and Hepavec, a Berlin-based biotech company. After finishing medical training, Volker Sandig received his PhD in Molecular Biology from Humboldt University, Berlin.

For more information, please click here

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