News Archive

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found a specific protein in nearly 100 percent of high-grade meningiomas — the most common form of brain tumor — suggesting a new target for therapies for a cancer that does not respond to current chemotherapy.

Importantly, the investigators say, the protein — NY-ESO-1 — is already at the center of a clinical trial underway at the National Cancer Institute. That trial is designed to activate the immune systems of patients with other types of tumors that express the protein, training the body to attack the cancer and eradicate it.

AstraZeneca Plc took a further step to bolster its pipeline of new cancer drugs on Monday by agreeing to acquire privately held U.S. biotech company Amplimmune for up to $500 million.

The deal is the second within 24 hours in the cancer drug space, following Amgen Inc’s much larger acquisition of Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $10.4 billion.

Amplimmune specialises in developing treatments designed to help the immune system fight cancer and the purchase will give AstraZeneca access to a number of compounds currently in pre-clinical development.

Electronic medical records. DNA sequencing. Big data. These technology trends are changing the way medicine is practiced today — but what’s coming next? I scoured the web, reached out to futurists and drew from past conversations with industry leaders to compile a list of the next generation of disruptive technologies that are on the brink of breaking through in healthcare. What’s missing from this list?

Forum Agenda: 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Jones Day Terrace & Conference Center

51 Louisiana Ave, NW | Washington, D.C.

With the increasing adoption of cloud computing, mobile devices and web-based applications, hackers have more opportunities than ever to infiltrate and crash network systems, especially in healthcare, which is increasingly becoming more vulnerable. The two greatest areas of opportunity for investment capital and the start-up community is in healthcare and cyber security. The nexus of these two sectors provides an even greater and more focused set of opportunities for investment. The Angel Venture Forum brings together all star roundtables of experts to opine and discuss the topics and the opportunities herein.

Novartis International AG / Novartis holds annual healthcare entrepreneur competition to generate insight into healthcare and innovation of tomorrow . Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

• The International Biotechnology Leadership Camp (BioCamp) fosters idea exchange with leading scientists as well as entrepreneurship for young talents
• 60 selected students from leading international universities attend to explore science and innovation at Novartis headquarters in Basel, Switzerland
• Novartis CEO presents innovative health care solutions and business approaches to address the evolving need to improve patient outcomes

A new system for visualizing the brain during surgery is helping neurosurgeons more accurately diagnose and treat patients and is even allowing them to perform some procedures that until now have been extremely difficult or even impossible.

Neurosurgeons can use the imaging technology during surgeries that require small objects—biopsy needles, implants, or tubes to deliver drugs—to be placed at precise locations in the brain. The system provides live magnetic resonance images (MRI) that allow surgeons to monitor their progress during the operation.  

Howard County has plans for a new incubator that would aim to develop companies with a socially conscious focus.

The Conscious Venture Lab is a partnership between Howard County and New York-based The Porter Group LLC. The incubator, which will be housed in the county’s Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, could begin enrolling entrepreneurs and budding startups as early as this fall.

BioMaryland is supporting various events in France which benefit the biohealth community. See if your company qualifies for a travel assistance grant to fly out and attend!

Take Care Team Connect, an Evanston, Ill.-based IT firm that provides software platforms for population healthcare management while also offering provider coaching services on how to manage population-based workflows effectively.

AstraZeneca today announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Amplimmune, a privately-held, Maryland, US-based biologics company focused on developing novel therapeutics in cancer immunology.