News Archive

In the blink of an eye, a business world that required only antivirus protection now requires far better solutions to combat sophisticated, determined ‘bad actors’ who want to steal your valuable information. You can’t pick up a newspaper or watch a news program and not read or hear about an important breach. Despite spending at a rate of $100 billion annually, global damages from cybersecurity breaches and attacks are on a trajectory to increase from $500 billion to potentially more than $2 trillion per year.

US President Barack Obama’s plan to get a vast Pacific Rim trade deal through Congress this year is taking flak from the presidential campaign trail, where disdain for the pact appears to be one of the rare unifying themes for almost everyone from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton.

Baltimore health IT startup Protenus Inc. has raised $2.6 million of a $4 million equity funding round, according to documents filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

CosmosID, the leading genomic big data company focused on microbiome research, outbreak investigations, and infectious disease diagnostics, using next-generation DNA sequencing, announced $6M in Series B funding. The company will expand its engineering capabilities, enhance clinical applications, undertake research and development to improve linkage of the DNA genetic code to actual biological traits (genotype to phenotype), such as antibiotic resistance, and develop new products directed at monitoring, predicting, and preventing disease outbreaks.

A Virginia House panel on Wednesday advanced bills that would allocate about $40 million for grants that some of the state’s most powerful business, education and government interests are touting as a boon to regional economic growth.

Dictionary.com defines “outlier” as: (1) something that lies outside the main body or group that it is a part of, (2) someone who stands apart from others of his or her group, as by differing behavior, beliefs, or religious practices (Synonyms: nonconformist, maverick, original), (3) Statistics: (a) an observation that is well outside of the expected range of values in a study or experiment, (b) a person whose abilities, achievements, etc., lie outside the range of statistical probability.

Merck has expanded its digital health accelerator programme, opening it up in the first country outside its home territory of Germany. The company has picked Kenya for the new programme, which will run for three months and see it look for three digital health startups to support with equity-free funding of $15,000.

The complex nature of cancer and its manifestation strikes fear in the heart of many who receive the diagnosis. Scientists are making incredible strides, however, in both the development of diagnostic techniques and treatments. International Innovation’s Stephanie Spurr speaks with Professor of Cell and Gene Therapy at UCL, Waseem Qasim, and explores how gene editing is contributing to far greater success in this field.

GlaxoSmithKline has expanded its alliance with Adaptimmune Therapeutics to accelerate its lead clinical cancer programme toward pivotal trials in synovial sarcoma.   The companies signed a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement in June last year for up to five programs, including the lead programme, an affinity enhanced T-cell immunotherapy (GSK3377794) targeting NY-ESO-1, one of the best-characterised and most immunogenic cancer antigens frequently expressed by tumours. GSK can license the programme if it chooses to.

Mission Therapeutics said Tuesday it raised a 60 million pound ($85.8 million) financing round led by Imperial Innovations Businesses LLP. New investor Woodford Patient Capital Trust Plc took part with follow-on investment from existing shareholders Sofinnova Partners, SR One, Roche Venture Fund and Pfizer Venture Investments. U.K.-based Mission Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development company.