Business of BioTechniques – July update

In the second quarter of 2020, the biotech, pharma and life science industries have seen a number of great advancements across a broad range of fields. Companies have continued their progress in the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for COVID-19, with key breakthroughs and discoveries. This month, there have also been several high-profile acquisitions, agreements and partnerships, as companies continue to expand and develop their products and services.

Industry Developments

LGC acquires The Native Antigen Company, strengthening its offer to the IVD sector

LGC announced the acquisition of The Native Antigen Company (NAC), one of the world’s leading suppliers of high quality infectious disease antigens and antibodies. The acquisition strengthens LGC’s existing product offering to the in vitro diagnostic sector, which includes a range of quality assurance tools, immunoassay reagents and disease state plasma as well as probes and primers for molecular diagnostics.

“We are delighted to be joining LGC as an integral part of their fast growing clinical diagnostics business”, said Nick Roesen, COO of NAC, “even more so, we are excited to join such a well-respected organization that shares our purpose and mission, and that will support our diagnostic customers by providing even more world-leading products and services.”

Dotmatics acquires BioBright to accelerate laboratory data automation for the lab of the future

Dotmatics Ltd, a scientific informatics software and services company that is driving the automation of laboratory data workflows for scientific discovery and innovation research, entered into an agreement to acquire BioBright LLC, a leader in automating the flow of data from laboratory instruments to a secure cloud. The acquisition will create a unique combination of lab data capture, data processing, electronic lab notebook and data analytics capability from a single supplier. The combined portfolio will be available from Dotmatics, meaning that customers will have the ability to automate their research data workflows without needing to manage multiple vendor relationships.

CN Bio and Cambridge University identify novel regulatory pathway driving NASH

CN Bio, a leading cell culture company that has developed single and multi-organ microphysiological systems that improve the accuracy and efficiency of drug discovery, has announced the publication of co-authored research led by researchers at the University of Cambridge in Nature Metabolism, identifying a novel pathway that regulates the underlying mechanism of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), potentially a new therapeutic target. The collaborative work uses CN Bio’s NASH model to help elucidate the complex cellular mechanisms that cause liver fibrosis.

Start Codon showcases the first cohort of companies from its life science business acceleration program

Start Codon, a new model of life science and healthcare business accelerator, has debuted its first cohort of start-up companies: Enhanc3D Genomics, Drishti Discoveries,  Spirea and Semarion. Start Codon aims to minimize risk and translate early stage research into successful start-ups, ready for funding and partnership. Start Codon has worked closely with four exciting life science and healthcare companies that were enrolled into the program in February this year, and plans to invest in and support up to 50 start-up companies over the next five years.

Avacta provides updates on development of Affimer-based COVID-19 antigen diagnostic tests, and potential neutralizing therapy for COVID-19 infection

Avacta has provided updates on its COVID-19 antigen diagnostic test programs using Affimer® reagents specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein during June. The BAMS™ (bead-assisted mass spectrometry) test, being developed with partner Adeptrix, has reached prototype stage and been shown to detect the coronavirus spike protein in model samples, in the concentration range appropriate for a clinical diagnostic test. The combination of the selectivity of the Affimer reagents used to capture the virus spike protein with the precision and accuracy of mass spectrometry detection provides for a very high degree of specificity in the assay.

Alongside this, the first lateral flow test strips have been developed and evaluated by Avacta’s partners at Cytiva (formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences) and show positive initial performance data. These data show that the test strips detect the spike protein in model samples at concentrations within the clinical range found in saliva of patients with COVID-19. Work continues now to refine the test strip design, optimize its performance and get the best detection limit possible in order to generate the highest sensitivity in the final rapid test product.

On the therapeutics side, the Company announced it has carried out infectivity assays in collaboration with the Centre for Virus Research at the University of Glasgow, showing that Affimer reagents which bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein prevent infection of human cells by a SARS-COV-2 model virus, and therefore provide a potential ‘neutralizing’ therapy for COVID-19 infection.

Cobra Biologics signs supply agreement with AstraZeneca for manufacture of COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Cobra Biologics, an international CDMO for biologics and pharmaceuticals, has signed a supply agreement with AstraZeneca to provide GMP manufacture of the adenovirus vector-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222, previously known as ChAdOx1 n-CoV-19. The production agreement is part of AstraZeneca’s recently announced in-licensed program with the University of Oxford to ensure broad and equitable supply of the vaccine throughout the world, at no profit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cobra, along with other consortium members, will be manufacturing the vaccine with first deliveries to begin in the UK in September 2020.

Dexamethasone identified by AI VIVO as high potential for treatment of COVID-19

AI VIVO, a company combining systems pharmacology and artificial intelligence to accelerate drug discovery announced that its platform correctly identified dexamethasone as having high potential for the treatment of COVID-19 in April 2020, demonstrating the ability of AI VIVO’s platform to systematically and correctly identify candidates with the highest chance of therapeutic success. The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone, has been part of the world’s biggest trial testing existing therapeutics that could be repurposed to help treat COVID-19. The drug, which is inexpensive and widely available, was shown to save the lives of seriously ill patients at a late stage of coronavirus.

Optibrium and North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics mark five years of education collaboration with summer school ‘Computing COVID-19’

Optibrium™, a leading provider of software and services for drug discovery, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, the states leading high school for science, technology and math education, are celebrating five years of an education support collaboration. As part of this specialist science and technology summer school program, Optibrium provides free access to StarDrop™, Optibrium’s pioneering software for small molecule design, optimization and data analysis, employed by many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies in their drug discovery programs. The classes encourage high school students to take their first steps in drug discovery and are part of Optibrium’s continuing commitment to supporting education.

Dante Labs, Cambridge Cancer Genomics and Nonacus collaborate to provide precision oncology at scale

Dante Labs, a pioneer and leader in genomic testing, Cambridge Cancer Genomics, a software developer specializing in data-driven precision oncology, and Nonacus, a provider of genetic testing products for precision medicine and liquid biopsy, have signed a collaboration agreement. The partnership aims to build the most comprehensive and patient-centric tumor profiling service enabling improved cancer patient management, treatment and monitoring.

TTP plc selected for technology advisory partnership with Cancer Research UK

TTP plc, a leading independent technology and product development company, has entered into a technology advisory partnership with Cancer Research UK. TTP has been selected by Cancer Research UK to apply its technology design and development expertise and insight in the healthcare sector, to assess discoveries made by the charity’s academic researchers.

Products and Services

Horizon Discovery introduces Cas9 and dCas9-VPR stable cell lines to simplify and accelerate CRISPR gene editing workflows

Horizon Discovery Group, a global leader in the application of gene editing and gene modulation for cell line engineering, announced the introduction of its stably expressing Cas9 and dCas9-VPR cell lines to help accelerate gene knockout and gene activation experiments, respectively. The cell lines are optimized to work alongside Horizon’s Edit-R predesigned synthetic single guide RNA (sgRNA) and CRISPRa guide RNA, offering researchers a complete solution to simplify and streamline CRISPR gene editing and modulation workflows.

BIA Separations introduces PrimaS multi-mode ligand bioprocessing technology and signs two new distribution agreements extending coverage in Asia Pacific

BIA Separations, a leading bio-chromatography development and manufacturing company, has announced the introduction of its novel PrimaS™ ligand technology. The proprietary multi-use platform facilitates high-resolution and high-speed processing and addresses many underserved but critical separation problems in the context of fast emerging advanced therapy medicinal products.

The Company also announced it has signed agreements with Bioscience companies, GeneX India Biosciences and IT Technologies. Both Companies will act as sole distributors of BIA Separations’ products and services across their respective regions of India, and Singapore and Malaysia.

People

Mogrify adds Dr. Lorenz Mayr to board of directors and scientific advisory board

Mogrify, a UK biotechnology company aiming to transform the development of cell therapies by the systematic discovery of novel cell conversions, has announced the appointment of Dr. Lorenz Mayr to the Board of Directors and the Scientific Advisory Board.

 

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Catch up on Zyme’s June roundup of the business of BioTechniques here.