Jonathan Smith, Author at Labiotech.eu

About

Reporter for Labiotech. I hail from the UK. I was born in Bristol, studied Neuroscience in the University of Bristol, and trained mice in Eisai, Hertfordshire, for one year. I then tickled locusts for my Ph.D. at the University of Leicester, before eventually ending up here!
Out of the office, I travel, play video games and board games, drink beer and play the piano.

Articles by Jonathan Smith

sigrid therapeutics type 2 diabetes sweden

Startup Scout 7 Feb 2020

Sigrid Therapeutics Prevents Type 2 Diabetes Using Silica Powder in the Gut

In Stockholm, Sweden, Sigrid Therapeutics is developing an ingestible silica powder that can treat type 2 diabetes and obesity without being absorbed in the gut. Mission: To produce the first prophylactic silica-based treatment for type 2 diabetes that does not enter the bloodstream. Some people have higher blood sugar levels than normal, but not high […]

February 7, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 7 Feb 2020

EU Project Set up to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease with Lasers

A project has launched with a €3.6M grant to treat neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease by making brain cells controllable with red light. There are currently no treatments approved that can slow the progression of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. Treatments approved to alleviate the symptoms only help a small […]

February 7, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 6 Feb 2020

Valbiotis Teams up with Nestlé to Reduce Type 2 Diabetes Risk

In a deal worth up to €67M, industry giant Nestlé Health Science will have the global rights to commercialize Valbiotis’ food supplement for lowering the rate of type 2 diabetes in people at high risk of developing the condition. Under the terms of the deal, the French biotech will receive an upfront payment of €4.7M […]

February 6, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

Interview 5 Feb 2020

Harnessing Genetic Suppression to Treat Rare Disease

Through quirks of genetics, some people are naturally resilient to heritable diseases. Thijn Brummelkamp, Managing Director and founder of the Dutch startup Scenic Biotech, explains how the company is using this genetic resilience to treat rare diseases and cancer. Heritable diseases result from genetic mutations that cause essential proteins in the body to malfunction. For […]

February 5, 2020 - 5 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 4 Feb 2020

Swiss Biotech Raises €16M to Treat Autism Spectrum Disorder

Stalicla has bagged €16.3M in a Series A round to test drugs repurposed using AI for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder in phase I. The round consists of a recent €7M (CHF 7.7M) closing and an initial first tranche of €9.3M (CHF 10M) raised last year. The investors in the latest closing were not […]

February 4, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 3 Feb 2020

CureVac Bids to Develop First mRNA Coronavirus Vaccine

RNA vaccine developer CureVac will receive a grant of up to €8.3M from a global partnership to develop an mRNA vaccine against the new coronavirus strain from China. The agreement follows on from an existing collaboration launched in 2019, when the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, granted CureVac €30M to develop facilities that […]

February 3, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 1 Feb 2020

Cardior Pharmaceuticals’ Heart Failure Drug Shows Curative Potential

German biotech company Cardior Pharmaceuticals’ candidate heart failure drug has the potential to stop the condition in its tracks, according to early studies in animal models. At present, treatments for heart failure, including ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and diuretics, target the symptoms of the disease, such as high blood pressure, rather than the actual cause. […]

February 1, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 31 Jan 2020

AI-Designed Drug Enters Phase I to Treat OCD

A drug designed by the UK firm Exscientia using AI-powered software has entered into a phase I clinical trial for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, commonly known as OCD. The clinical development of the drug will be carried out by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Exscientia’s Japanese collaborator. The drug took just 12 months to get to […]

January 31, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

Startup Scout 31 Jan 2020

This Cancer Immunotherapy Attacks the Sugar Coat of Tumor Cells

The Portuguese company CellmAbs is developing cancer immunotherapies that prevent tumor cells from evading the immune system by hitting sugar molecules on their surface. Mission: To develop drugs that bind with a type of sugar molecules only found on the surface of cancer cells called aberrant glycans. Some of these aberrant glycans are able to […]

January 31, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 30 Jan 2020

Austrian Genomics Company Joins Fight Against Coronavirus

Ares Genetics will use next-generation sequencing technology from the Chinese genomics company BGI Group to track and control the spread of a new coronavirus originating in China. A new strain of coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCoV and originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has caused widespread concern in recent weeks. While only 20% of people with […]

January 30, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 29 Jan 2020

Oxitec Unveils First Field Trial Results for Crop-Protecting GM Moths

A study led by Oxitec has shown for the first time that diamondback moths genetically engineered to produce only male offspring can survive in the wild, a solution that shows promise for cutting populations of the crop pest. Caterpillars of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella are one of the most destructive pests for growers of […]

January 29, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 28 Jan 2020

A Future Gene Therapy Could Be Delivered in Tiny ‘Nanocontainers’

A Swiss research group has developed tiny plastic particles that could carry gene therapies to the center of the cell with less risk of getting attacked by the immune system than conventional gene therapies. The majority of gene therapies in use today are delivered to the DNA of target cells using viral vectors. While efficient […]

January 28, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

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