Tiziana Life Sciences has acquired a biobank containing the genetic data of c.13,000 residents from the Sardinian province of Ogliastra, where an unusually large number of people live past their 100th birthday. Sardinia is renowned as one of only three regions in the world with an exceptionally high proportion of centenarians – roughly one in every 2,000 people in Ogliastra live to celebrate their 100th birthday, about five times the rate in most developed countries. The gene pool in Ogliastra is very homogenous which theoretically makes it easier for scientists to spot genetic patterns related to specific illnesses.
Envigo announced today that its breeding facilities in Bresso, Italy and Wyton, UK have been granted full accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International Council. This news follows the accreditation of Envigo’s Horst, Netherlands facility earlier this year and demonstrates continued progress towards the company’s goal to have all sites accredited by AAALAC.
VBI Vaccines has announced that it is moving forward with a Zika vaccine. Unlike all the other Zika approaches, this vaccine doesn’t contain any Zika DNA material. Instead it uses a technology called enveloped virus-like particles (eVLPs) that closely mimics the structure of the virus to illicit the immune response. Unlike VLP vaccines, DNA vaccines lose potency from studies in animals to humans. This means the material needed to achieve an immune response is much higher, which in turn increases safety concerns.
Despite 330 products in the pipeline, stem cell therapies still face commercial challenges, according to GBI Research. The company’s latest report states that while steady progress in clinical research and increasing evidence of product effectiveness are significant driving factors for growth in the stem cell therapies market, a number of obstacles remain before they become widely commercially viable – most notably the high cost of research, which survey participants stated was the biggest factor limiting stem cell progress.
Galenica has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the US company Relypsa, strengthening its business unit Vifor Pharma by gaining full global rights to the potassium binder Veltassa (patiromer) for oral suspension. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Galenica will pay $32 per share in cash, or a total of approximately $1.53 billion. Through this acquisition, Vifor Pharma will gain a fully-integrated commercial organisation in the US and significantly strengthen its presence in the US cardio-renal market, a key area of focus.
