Bionow Newsletter January
Companies
Indian group buys Northwest medical firm
Indian pharmaceuticals firm Marksans Pharma
has acquired Widnes based Hale Group and its subsidiary, Merseyside
healthcare group Bell Sons & Co. Marksans told
the Bombay Stock Market on 7 January that it had entered into a
'definitive agreement' to buy 100% of the shares of
Hale
Group. The value of the deal has not been disclosed but
Marksans said Bell's high growth outlook meant it would be
revenue earning from day one.
Vindon Scientific opening a new facility in the Northwest
Oldham based Vindon Scientific, supplier of controlled
environmental testing chambers in the UK and Ireland, is opening a
new facility of 29,480 sq ft. The unit, at Kingsway Business Park
in Rochdale, which is part funded by Northwest Development
Agency, will be fitted out to Vindon's own
specification. The unit will be completed in June 2008.
New funding is catalyst for Reaxa expansion
Catalyst technologies company Reaxa, has completed
second round funding of £1 million, for the next stage of its
commercial expansion programme. Manchester based Reaxa received venture
capital from the North West Business Investment Scheme managed by
YFM Private
Equity (YFM),Rising Stars Growth Fund II managed by Enterprise
Ventures (EV) and private investors via Reaxa's corporate
finance advisors.
Manchester Incubator welcomes two new bioscience companies
The
University of Manchester Incubator Company (UMIC) welcomes two
new tenant companies to its leading-edge Grafton Street laboratory
and technology facilities. Set up by former University of Manchester
researchers, start-up bioscience companies Conformetrix and
Imagen-Biotech plan to significantly impact the
UK's pharmaceutical and drug discovery industries. Conformetrix is
developing platform technology for three-dimensional representation
of drug molecules andImagen-Biotech offers a novel screening and
assay development service.
Peakdale Molecular announces £1 million financing
Peakdale Molecular Ltd, a provider of specialist
chemistry services to the pharmaceutical industry, has completed a
£1 million round of equity funding which will enable it to
continue the expansion of its facilities in the UK.
Eden Biodesign and IQur sign a deal to develop a novel
combined vaccine for the treatment of hepatitis A and B
Speke based Eden Biodesign Ltd andIQur Ltd, a speciality
pharma company at the forefront of research to combat liver
disease, have entered into an agreement to develop IQur's innovative,
'tandem core' vaccine for hepatitis A and B. Eden Biodesign
will develop a unique bio-manufacturing process to achieve optimal
product quality in line with cost of goods parameters before
proceeding with clinical trial cGMP manufacture. The project will
also involve iQur's collaborators; Arecor Ltd, Mologic Ltd and the
University of
Leeds. Eden Biodesign Ltd are the operators of the National
Biomanufacturing Centre (NBC) which is owned by the
Northwest
Development Agency.
New Year accolade for DxS
DxS one of the Northwest's
internationally-recognised biotechnology firms has a lot to
celebrate in 2008. Based at the University of Manchester Incubator Company
facilities DxS has not only grown its staff by 28% inside a year
and expanded its laboratory facilities, the company also received a
prestigious award at the recent Bionow awards
evening in November 2007. Dr Nicola Thelwell and her product
development team were recognised in Bionow's Young Biotechnologist of the Year award,
which was sponsored by Novartis.
People & Jobs
New Commercial Manager for Manchester Science Park
Manchester Science Park, home to 18 bio and related
companies, has appointed a new commercial manager. Lynne Barlow
will be responsible for finance, tenancy contracts and estates at
the award-winning science park. Lynne, who is a chartered
accountant, brings a wealth of experience to the msp management
team, having worked in a number of senior finance and commercial
roles.
MSP's CEO elected as new UKSPA Chairman
Jane Davies, Manchester Science Park's CEO, has been
elected as Chairman of the UK Science Park Association (UKSPA) following a
successful period as Vice Chairman. The role will allow Jane to
continue establishing strong relationships with science parks in
the UK, Europe, USA and China. As Chairman, she will be responsible
for developing communications with policy makers at all levels.
Events
University of Central
Lancashire (UCLAN) and CPE-ASET Showcase event
The Centre for Professional Excellence - Applied Science,
Engineering and Technology provides companies with the
opportunity to access leading experts in eight Universities located
in the North of England. The centre offers demand led courses that
accommodate employers' requirements and individuals'
professional development needs. UCLAN are hosting a showcase event on Wednesday
20 February at the Preston Campus. For further information or to
reserve a place contact Vicky Franks on 01772 893159 or email
science4business@uclan.ac.uk.
Using Health Economics to Value Technologies
Nowgen are hosting a workshop on using health economics
to value technologies. The event will take place on Thursday 1 May
at the Nowgen Centre, Manchester. The aim is to provide the North
West business and research community with information on available
methods to measure the value of health technologies and
interventions in the NHS. For further information, please contact
Zoe Talks at zoe.talks@cmmc.nhs.uk or visit www.nowgen.org.uk/stories/249.
Call for participants - Oncology workshop
Cancer remains one of the main health problems of
our times, occupying companies and researchers globally. Today,
focused Oncology R&D is leading the way in both the UK and
Scandinavia. To further strengthen this activity, UK Trade &
Investment is organising an oncology workshop on 2 April 2008
at the British Embassy in Copenhagen. UK Trade &
Investment hold funds to reimburse all reasonable travel
expenses for UK participants. Please register your interest in
attending the workshop by email info@biosciencealliance.eu or visit www.biosciencealliance.org/register.
Greater China Seminar, North West Business Awards &
Chinese New Year
Many businesses are aware of the massive potential
for success in China, and UKTI North West believe that companies can showcase the
best of British design in products and services. The Greater China
Seminar, which is part funded by NWDA, will be held on Friday 8 February at City
of Manchester Stadium. For further information please clickhere.
Bionow Merseyside & Manchester Network Evenings
Bionow are hosting
quarterly network evenings in 2008 in both Liverpool and
Manchester. These events are always an excellent opportunity
to meet up with new and existing colleagues, share knowledge and
experiences and maybe also find new opportunities to development
your business. For more information about the Liverpool event
please email business@liv.ac.uk and for the Manchester event please
email bionow@nwda.co.uk
Information
Manchester gives Healthcare Innovation
a boost
A new research centre bringing medics and engineers
together to solve clinical problems it set to make Manchester a
world leader in patient care. MIMIT (Manchester: Integrating Medicine and
Innovative Technology) - the first international affiliate of the
highly successful US centre CIMIT® was launched on 21st January and
will draw together clinicians and scientists from a group of
Greater Manchester hospitals, GP practices and the University of
Manchester in major collaborations to apply the latest
technology to clinical problems and transform healthcare in the UK.
Innovative Medicines Initiative
The Innovative Medicines Initiative, part of Framework
7, has now been approved by the EU's Council of Ministers, and
the first call for projects is due to be launched in the spring.
The aim ofIMI is to make Europe more attractive for
biopharmaceutical R&D investments and boost the competitiveness
of European life science R&D by removing research bottlenecks
in the current drug development process. Further information about
IMI is available at www.imi-europe.org.
Up to 100% funding for research collaborations on your
chosen topic
The Marie Cure Industry-Academia Partnerships and
Pathways (IAPP) is a rare opportunity from the FP7 People Programme
to fund your research through activities such as: staff
secondments, additional researchers, workshops and conferences.
IAPP's are partnerships between research organisations and
commercial enterprises or industry based on a common research
project. The aim is to promote the two-way exchange of know-how and
experience between industry and academia and form long lasting
collaborations. To find out more about EU funding opportunities,
please contact FrameworksNW on 0151 632 8888 or email info@frameworksnw.co.uk.
UK CRC sets up website to find clinical
trial facilities
Pharmaceutical companies looking for researchers and
facilities for UK clinical trials can now use a new website set up
by the Clinical
Research Collaboration (CRC). The website provides for the
first time a central information repository on the UK's
experimental medicine and early phase clinical trial facilities.
See www.ukcrcexpmed.org.uk
Research
New Institute of Sciences, Ethics and Innovation
Nobel Laureate Professor Sir John Sulston FRS is to
join the University of Manchester Faculty of Life Sciences and
will chair a new research institute focusing on the ethical
questions raised by science and technology in the 21st
century. The 2002 Nobel Price winner and pioneer of genomic
research will be joined in the cross-discipline institute of
Science, Ethics and Innovation by Professor John Harris, a
world-renowned authority in the School of Law. The new
institute's overriding aim will be to examine how the social
and ethical consequences of science and technology can be managed
in a way that protects people and makes lives better.
Manchester Researchers find key to
stopping cancer in its tracks
University of Manchester researchers have discovered a
key process that may be involved in the spread of cancer by
studying the growth of human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Dr Chris
Ward and his team used the ES cells to investigate how some tumours
are able to migrate to other parts of the body, which makes the
treatment of cancer much more difficult. He believes his work could
lead to new treatments and stop 80-90% of cancers in their tracks.
Consortium to accelerate research into mental illness
P1vital has set up a consortium with AstraZeneca,
GlaxoSmithKline,
Lundbeck,
Organon
(Schering-Plough), Wyeth and academic clinical research teams to support
studies that could hasten the development of new treatments for
psychiatric disorders.P1vital
will conduct the studies in collaboration with UK clinical
psychopharmacology groups at the University of
Bristol, Cardiff
University, the Institute of Psychiatry, the University of Oxford and
the University of
Manchester.
Datamonitor
Datamonitor is pleased
to support the work of Bionow. By reporting on the shape of the
Biotech industry, Datamonitor aims to help Northwest firms stay one
step ahead in the global marketplace.
Amarin has reported positive news this month after successfully
completing a preclinical proof of concept study for an epilepsy
treatment and receiving approval to begin a Phase IIa trial for its
age-related memory drug. Meanwhile, Shire has also been granted
approval by the FDA for additional dosage strengths of its
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment, Vyvanse.
Amarin to initiate Phase IIa memory impairment trial
Amarin has received the necessary regulatory and
ethical approvals to commence a Phase IIa trial in age associated
memory impairment with AMR101.
Read full article
Shire receives FDA approval for Vyvanse additional dosage
strengths
Biopharmaceutical firm Shire has received approval from
the FDA for three additional dosage strengths for the attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment, Vyvanse.
Read full article
Amarin completes preclinical study of nasal epileptic drug
Amarin has successfully completed a preclinical
proof of concept study using a novel nasal formulation of
lorazepam.
Read full article
GenVec signs agreement with Cobra Biomanufacturing
GenVec has entered into a manufacturing development
agreement with Cobra Biomanufacturing for TNFerade, the
company's lead product candidate.
Read full article
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Website of the Month
Reporting on genomics, stem cells, clinical trials, infectious
diseases, news, nanotechnology, science education and more. See
www.medicineandbiotech.com/
