This is another busy week for Seattle area biotechnology.
Affini-t therapeutics announced an initial financing of $175 million on Monday. The company’s goal is to transfer the cell therapy developed by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to the clinical treatment of solid tumors.
This week, icosavax released data “lower than our expectations”, and its covid-19 vaccine sank the stock.
At the same time, HDT 2019 coronavirus disease vaccine may slow down for different reasons. The Seattle start-up sued its Indian vaccine partners, saying it stole its technology and refused to share clinical trial data. Early trials of HDT bio in other countries continue.
Finally, the Institute of protein design at the University of Washington continues to invent new ways to make drugs. Please continue to read their latest research and other news from the Pacific Northwest, including a list of digital startups in the field of mental health.
-Fred hutch spinout affini-t therapeutics received $175 million for cell therapy for solid tumors
Icosav2019 coronavirus disease vaccine data were lower than expected, and the share price plunged by more than 60%
-Seattle start-up claimed that Indian drugmakers stole cvid-19 vaccine technology and sought $950 million.
-Researchers at the University of Washington have found new ways to design potential therapies
-A range of mental health start-ups in the Pacific Northwest, driven by the pandemic
-Startups aimed at preventing tissue adhesion after surgery won the first API health competition
Here are other life science news from the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere:
Research:
In a new study in Nature Biotechnology, lumen bioscience researchers demonstrated their platform for preparing biological drugs in green algae Spirulina.
Marion pepper, a UW immunized 2019 coronavirus disease researcher, and her colleagues observed the response to cvid-19 vaccination in people previously infected with the virus, indicating that they had stronger immunity than those protected only by injection.
Evan eihler, a geneticist at the University of Washington, and his colleagues published a study of spontaneous “de novo” mutations in the genome. Through their method, researchers can improve the detection efficiency by about 25%.
Genome:
A special report by science journalist Roxanne khamsi in the journal Nature explores how eihler and his colleagues created a reference human genome to explain human diversity. The project is known as the “human pan genome project”
In another project, the “all of us” research project released nearly 100000 whole genome sequences from different participants. The northwestern Genome Center at the University of Washington is one of the three centers involved in the project. Contributors to the University of Washington include Ashler, geneticist Gail Jarvik, and the late Deborah Nixon.
brain:
Marco plavitoni, a professor at the University of Washington, talked about his vaccine in a podcast called “big brain”, which is designed to fight opioid addiction. Pravetoni leads the newly established UW Center for drug development for substance use disorders.
Another podcast is David Baker, director of the protein design institute. The title of the play is “public brain”
On the subject of the brain, see how the Allen Institute handles samples of the organ in this story from the tissue.
investment:
Satya NADELLA, chief executive of Microsoft, recently invested in Silicon Valley digital health company, which produces patient scheduling tools and other software to simplify administrative health tasks.
Vaccines and drugs:
Since icosavax covid-19 vaccine attacks rough waters, another vaccine based on the same design has passed the progress of later trials. The Korean government ordered 10 million doses with a view to obtaining approval.
A new immune “checkpoint” drug has been approved by the U.S. Food and drug administration. The agency approved relatlimab, a LAG-3 inhibitor, in combination with opdivo for patients with metastatic melanoma or melanoma that cannot be treated surgically. Both drugs are produced by Bristol Myers Squibb, which develops immunooncology in the Seattle area. The story has a good background for this new drug.
Seattle’s response to Ukraine:
Some biotech companies in Washington, such as Higen and ABSI, are matching employee donations with humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The same is true of Seattle based phase genomics, led by Ivan liachko, who grew up in Kiev. Bioprocess online discussed his efforts to mobilize the biotechnology community with liachko.