Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk entered a deal to acquire small biotech Ziylo, gaining access to its next-generation glucose-sensitive insulins for diabetes. The deal signed on 17 August could be worth more than $800 million for the Bristol, UK-based startup if all milestones are met. Read more in Nature Biotechnology.
Nature Biotechnology
Golden Rice is safe to eat, says FDA
Golden Rice, the staple food genetically designed to contain beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, has been judged safe to eat by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A letter from the FDA on May 24 stated that the agency had no further questions about the safety of the rice, originally developed to […]
Gut bacteria link to immunotherapy sparks interest
One of the world’s largest cancer centers will collaborate with microbiome biotech Seres Therapeutics to investigate the gut microbiota’s role in shaping a patient’s response to immunotherapies. The MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy signed the agreement with the Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech in November. Read more in Nature Biotechnology.
Faster, deeper, smaller—the rise of antibody-like scaffolds
In early May the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca completed a deal with Boston-based Pieris Pharmaceuticals worth up to $2.1 billion to bring Pieris’ anticalin asthma drug PRS-060, an engineered protein that mimics antibodies, to the clinic. And on June 1, Bicycle Therapeutics in Cambridge, UK, pulled in $52 million in a series B funding round with […]
Solithromycin rejection chills antibiotic sector
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December rejected the new antibiotic solithromycin over liver toxicity fears, putting the future of the drug in doubt and sending a chill through companies working on novel antimicrobials. “The problems with solithromycin are going to hit the whole sector hard,” says Lloyd Czaplewski, director of Chemical Biology […]