We are at the beginning of a transformation in human health, treating diseases in ways that we could only speculate about in the recent past. While biology isn’t quite engineering (yet), biotech has become a technology-based, high-growth, high-wage space, all while working to cure cancer. Doing well by doing good. It is more than a business.
As we look back on the medtech developments of 2015 there’s definitely a sense that we’re living through revolutionary times. Nearly every day exciting and fascinating technologies are being unveiled by small and large companies, universities, and even tiny independent groups. Empowered by high-powered computers, 3D printers, and other technologies, researchers, scientists, and engineers are coming up with novel solutions to age-old medical problems. Everything from treating gunshot wounds to how fetuses inside the womb are monitored is going through change thanks to technologies developed by thousands of independent minds around the world.
Biologists often emphasize how little anyone really knows about the brain, the genome, and the mechanisms behind effective drugs. But this year their tune changed as diverse technologies–gene editing, stem cells, cloning, and DNA databases–coalesced into an immensely powerful toolkit for manipulating life. The message in 2015 seemed to be: “We can do anything.”
The Executive Director is a full-time, benefited position which serves as CEO of the organization, reports to the Board of Directors, and is responsible for all operational aspects of organization including facilities, staff, day-to-day business and financial functions. The position also requires providing entrepreneurial support and advice to FITCI clients. The position requires normal weekday core hours and participation at evening/ and some weekend events. The salary is negotiable.
Like many CEOs, Peter Greenleaf knows that disagreements will inevitably arise among smart, driven executives. He says the best leaders serve as aligners who bring people together to pursue a shared vision, even if they hold different views on how to get there.
Emergent Biosolutions has announced the selection of its spin-off company’s board of directors. The spin-off company, Aptevo Therapeutics Inc., was announced by the Emergent in August. According to an earlier report from Bio Prep Watch, the company will be focused on therapeutics development in oncology and hematology.
Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) will spin out cancer research group Aptevo Therapeutics into its own publicly traded company to be based in Seattle, the company announced this week. The tax-free spinoff will happen in mid 2016, the company said.
The Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval to AstraZeneca’s gout medicine Zurampic. Zurampic was approved as combination therapy with a xanthine oxidase inhibitors (XOIs) for the treatment of hyperuricemia — an excess of uric acid in the blood — associated with gout in patients who have responded to XOIs alone.
Private equity firm TPG Growth just invested $75 million in Precision for Medicine, a Maryland-based startup that melds value-based care with precision medicine.
We’re waiting to hear back from TPG Growth and Precision for Medicine for comment on how this funding will be deployed.
Global biopharmaceutical business AstraZeneca has expanded its presence in Asia by entering two significant relationships with medical companies in China and Japan.
A strategic alliance was announced on December 16, between WuXi AppTec (WuXi), an open-access research and development capability and technology platform company, and, MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.
