Gilead Sciences will acquire U.K.-based startup MiroBio, which is developing antibody drugs for autoimmune disorders, in a $405 million deal announced Thursday.
MiroBio sprouted from a University of Oxford research laboratory run by professors Simon Davis and Richard Cornall. Its approach focuses on checkpoint receptors, proteins that help to regulate the immune system.
Blocking these proteins has proven effective in treating cancer, unleashing the immune system to attack malignant cells. But companies like MiroBio are exploring how they can be targeted to tamp down damaging immune system overreactions in inflammatory diseases. READ MORE
by Gwendolyn Wu
Source: biopharmadive.com
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent to MedTrace for their method of diagnosing the human heart via 15O-water PET. The patented method is the foundation of the company’s software aQuant, currently under development. Hendrik “Hans” Harms, PhD and Senior Scientist at MedTrace, and Jens Soerensen, Professor and Clinical Advisor to MedTrace, are the originators of the method.
Teresa Graham, currently head of global product strategy for Roche pharma, will become the division’s new CEO next month, Roche said Thursday. Simultaneously, Roche is elevating Levi Garraway, chief medical officer, to the executive committee.
Fierce Pharma has obtained internal documents and video of a town hall meeting conducted this week describing what J&J called a “comprehensive review” of its portfolio. Moving forward, J&J plans to operate its vaccines and infectious diseases outfits as one group, the executives explained.
