Biotech plans: Boon or fantasy? Having mapped hormones, synthesized molecules and discovered new cell receptors, the Scripps Research Institute wants to embark on one of its biggest cloning experiments: converting the Sunshine State into biotech beach by using $510 million from taxpayers.
REDISCOVERING NATURAL PRODUCTS Cast aside for years, natural products drug discovery appears to be reclaiming attention and on the verge of a comeback
Biotech funding on track to bounce back It’s not over yet, but 2003 already looks like a banner year for biotechnology funding in the United States, according to a survey released yesterday by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.
Popping a pill could fix gene defect Simply popping a pill might be enough to overcome the type of genetic defect responsible for many cases of cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and haemophilia. An experimental drug called PTC124 produces a working protein even though the gene remains defective.
Monsanto Overhauling Businesses Monsanto, the world’s leading agricultural biotechnology company, says it is abandoning efforts to produce pharmaceuticals in genetically engineered crops to focus on businesses that could pay off sooner.
Cloning Remains a Meaty Issue The Food and Drug Administration soon will decide whether the meat in your Philly cheese steak or your barbecue spareribs could come from a cloned animal. Because of safety concerns, the FDA has barred the handful of companies that clone farm animals from selling them for meat. But since early […]
Sabotage of biotech firms grows A growing militant movement opposed to genetic engineering in agriculture and medicine is turning to violent and criminal sabotage — from the bombing of a Bay area biotech company to the destruction of genetically modified crops. As a result, targeted companies aren’t just taking extra security precautions but also often […]
High hopes for biotech companies / IPOs getting ready to go as startups woo VC investors Biotechnology leaders are cautiously celebrating the end of a two- year financial slump this autumn as more than a dozen companies line up to go public and the latest class of young startups shows its stuff to potential venture […]
Reducing Multi-Cycle Reviews Is FDA Priority FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan today described key steps the agency is taking to shorten drug approval times, in his keynote speech at IIR�s Phases conference in Washington, D.C.
Reaping and Sewing From Corn The National Renewable Energy Lab and chemical company DuPont have teamed to design a versatile bio-refinery that turns the entire corn plant into a source for materials and a petroleum alternate.