Tag: collaboration
Company News: Merus reaches pivotal milestone in bispecific antibody collaboration with ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.
– Successful product lead identification underscores the strength of Merus’ platform in delivering human, full-length IgG bispecific antibodies –
Merus B.V., a leader in developing best-in-class bispecific antibody therapeutics, announced today that it has reached a preclinical milestone in a bispecific antibody research and license collaboration with ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD. (Osaka, Japan, ”ONO”) triggering a payment. The milestone is for achieving preclinical proof-of-mechanism with a lead bispecific antibody directed against a target combination relevant in the treatment of autoimmune disease.
Company News: Curetis and Heraeus Medical Collaborate on the Development of New Unyvero™ Diagnostic Cartridge
– Joint development of cartridge for orthopaedics, wound and surgery infections –
Curetis AG and Heraeus Medical GmbH have signed a collaboration agreement to jointly develop a novel Unyvero™ cartridge for the detection of pathogens and antibiotic resistances in implant & tissue infections (ITI). One key application area will be in orthopaedics, e.g. to diagnose infections after knee and hip replacement surgeries.
Under the terms of the agreement, Heraeus and Curetis will co-fund product development in the respective indication areas. Heraeus’ customers will be given access to the Unyvero™ solution, while Curetis will pay a sales commission for any customer referrals by Heraeus to Curetis. No licenses are involved and further financial details were not disclosed.
Curetis will retain full control over its commercialization strategy and execution both directly in the DACH region as well as via its international distributor network. The resulting Unyvero cartridge and application will be a Curetis-labeled IVD.
The collaboration will provide Heraeus with access to leading-edge, innovative and easy-to-use in vitro diagnostics and molecular diagnostic solutions for its customers. The new ITI cartridge will be of interest not only in general surgery, but also in infections caused by biofilms (e.g. on knee and hip implants or catheters), in abdominal surgery infections, diabetic foot, burn wounds etc.
Today, wound and surgical site infections are increasingly caused by bacteria carrying multiple antibiotic resistances. In orthopaedic indications, infections often involve biofilms, communities of microorganisms very hard to open up and cultivate. At present, it may take 7-15 days to obtain results from biofilm samples. This scenario often leads to prolonged empiric treatment, follow-on surgeries and increased morbidity and healthcare costs.
For the development of the new cartridge, the partners have jointly conducted market research in orthopaedic applications throughout Europe. They have also teamed up with clinical key opinion leaders in Germany, Switzerland, France, the UK, and Scandinavia to determine the pathogens and antibiotic resistances that need to be included in the diagnostic panel of the new cartridge. The partners expect assay development for the new cartridge to be completed by early 2013, with clinical validation and CE marking throughout 2013 and an expected launch in the EU by the end of 2013. The product is likely to include more than 40 and possibly up to 50 analytes.
Curetis will present its Unyvero™ solution at the 64th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology (DGHM) in Hamburg (September 30 – October 3, 2012).
Company News: Nanobiotix and Thomas Jefferson University Start Research Collaboration
– Nanomedicine and Medical Education leaders are joining their forces in the United States to accelerate the development of NanoXray –
Nanobiotix, a company developing novel cancer nanotherapeutics and Thomas Jefferson University, one of Philadelphia’s premier medical and health sciences universities, today announced that they have entered into a research collaboration to accelerate the development of Nanobiotix’ lead compound NBTXR3 in the US.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Nanobiotix will fund a 2-year preclinical research program, which will be directed by Bo Lu, MD, Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Jefferson and Director of the department’s Division of Molecular Radiation Biology. The goal of the program is to study the therapeutic efficacy of NBTXR3, the lead product of Nanobiotix´ NanoXray pipeline.
NBTXR3, a nanoparticle consisting of hafnium oxide crystals, aims to enhance the local destruction of the tumor mass during radiotherapy. It accumulates in the cancer cells and, upon radiation, emits huge amounts of electrons leading to the formation of free radicals. These, in turn, damage the cancer cells and cause their targeted destruction. As a result, the destructive power of standard radiation therapy is locally and selectively enhanced within the tumor cells.
NBTXR3 has been classified in the EU as class III medical device and is currently being tested in a European Phase I trial to establish feasibility and safety of NBTXR3 in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Preliminary data are expected by the end of 2012. Further clinical trials are in preparation in Europe and in the US, where NBTXR3 is classified as a drug.
Company News: bubbles & beyond and Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies collaborate on the development of novel, eco-friendly cleaning solutions for microelectronics
bubbles & beyond, a technology company focusing on customized intelligent fluids®, and Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies (CNT), Dresden, today announced their collaboration to jointly develop novel cleaning solutions for the microelectronics industry.
During the two-year collaboration, bubbles & beyond and Fraunhofer Center Nanoelectronic Technologies will create novel decoating products for semiconductor applications with the goal to provide a more efficient, more cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to currently available surface treatments, which are primarily composed of aggressive chemicals. The novel cleaning approach is based on bubbles & beyond’s proprietary phase fluid technology (intelligent fluids®), which is already used successfully for other microelectronic applications. Fraunhofer CNT brings the necessary semiconductor expertise, the respective research know-how and comprehensive, highly precise measurement analysis to the project.
The collaboration focuses on the assessment and optimization of the efficacy of customized cleaning solutions. Moreover, semiconductor-specific criteria will be analyzed, e.g. critical materials, process stability and contamination risks. Based on the findings, it will be examined if the new technology is suitable for the removal of lithographic laquers. Subsequently, the assessment will be expanded to other process steps.
