It’s fair to say we’ve entered a new era in biotech and pharma. Whether it’s diagnostics, drug development or medtech; informatics, mathematics and machine learning are marching their way in. Biology is being digitized. Big Data is taking population-wide information and distilling it down for treatment plans at an individualized scale.
The science within startups is evolving.
The folding of genomic DNA from the beads-on-a-string-like structure of nucleosomes into higher-order assemblies is crucially linked to nuclear processes. Here we calculate 3D structures of entire mammalian genomes using data from a new chromosome conformation capture procedure that allows us to first image and then process single cells. The technique enables genome folding to be examined at a scale of less than 100 kb, and chromosome structures to be validated. The structures of individual topological-associated domains and loops vary substantially from cell to cell. By contrast, A and B compartments, lamina-associated domains and active enhancers and promoters are organized in a consistent way on a genome-wide basis in every cell, suggesting that they could drive chromosome and genome folding. By studying genes regulated by pluripotency factor and nucleosome remodelling deacetylase (NuRD), we illustrate how the determination of single-cell genome structure provides a new approach for investigating biological processes.
March 31st, 2:30-4:30pm
Join us to learn more about bioscience as an industry and career opportunities available in Montgomery County
Presentation on BioScience + Tour of Montgomery College BioLab for staff and partners working with job seekers
FLC Business – Your Tool for Improved Federal Resource Searchability!
“We’re excited to announce that the new and improved FLC Business is officially live to the public! Over the past year, many major enhancements went into revamping the search functionality and adding to the breadth of federal laboratory data that this unique, comprehensive search tool now offers.”
At University of California Berkeley researchers have developed an innovative new way of delivering vaccines that may one day be an option over scary, and slightly painful, needle injections. The MucoJet device is a pill that, when pushed against the cheek, releases its cargo in the form of a microjet. The pressure generated is enough to push large molecules through the mucosal layer and into tissue that’s usually highly concentrated with immune cells.
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today launched DrugCostFacts.org, a new interactive web tool designed to help healthcare stakeholders gain a better understanding of the true facts surrounding drug costs, spending and value.
The site features a series of commonly asked questions—ranging from “Why are some drugs expensive?” to “What role do PBMs, insurance companies and wholesalers play in determining what patients pay for their drugs?”—and then answers these questions using infographics, videos and interactive tools. The site also has additional research and reading materials for those who want to dive deeper into these issues. The tool is mobile responsive, allowing users to access information on their phones and tablets.
Scott Gottlieb, a former deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the agency, according to an emailed statement from the White House.
Gottlieb, 44, served in several senior positions at the FDA during the George W. Bush administration. He has talked extensively about how to lower the cost of prescription drugs by modernizing the agency’s approval process and speeding cheaper generic competitors to market.
Many global cities want to be named the next tech innovation hub. But who’s really in the running?
It’s a question on which there are myriad perspectives and theories — the latest taking the form of a survey by professional service company KPMG. The company recently released part one of it’s yearly technology industry innovation survey (now in its fifth year) — a survey of over 800 “global technology industry leaders” in which KPMG asks about the changing landscape of tech. Part one the survey explores “the rise of new ecosystems of incubators, accelerators, and venture capital alongside government incentives across the world.”
The conviction that competitive differentiation will require effective digital initiatives has led many life-sciences companies to create a new leadership role, chief digital officer (CDO), to guide their digital initiatives.
To understand how these leaders see the digital future and how they are managing for success, we spoke to CDOs and their equivalents at ten pharma companies. These conversations suggest three imperatives for digital efforts: focus on the team applying the tools, not on the tools themselves; make bold, disruptive bets; and optimize the portfolio of initiatives to achieve company priorities, while taking finite resources into account.
The Illinois Science and Technology Coalition (ISTC) today released new data showing record growth in entrepreneurial activity at the state’s universities as part of its Illinois Innovation Index, which reports on the key metrics of the state’s innovation economy. The report found that during the past five academic years, students and faculty at Illinois universities created 804 startups through technology licensing, entrepreneurship programs, competitions and other university initiatives. A record number of these startups, nearly 500, are also staying in the state.
