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

News and Trends 14 Jan 2019

Update: French Biotech Considers Takeover After Failed Leukemia Drug Trial

Update (14/01/2019): An anonymous French company on Euronext has made an offer to take over Hybrigenics Pharma. This takeover bid could be good news for Hybrigenics, which has been planning to dissolve the company after the failed Phase II trial of its only candidate, a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. The financial details of the offer […]

January 14, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

Startup Scout 11 Jan 2019

This Company Automates Cancer Research from Bench to Bar Charts

In the academic city of Oxford, UK, the company Arctoris is working to make life easier for cancer lab researchers, letting them ‘order’ experiments online using its robotic facilities and data analysis tools. Mission: To cut down researchers’ workloads by automating cellular, molecular, and data analysis techniques in cancer research. As any molecular biologist will […]

January 11, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

pixium vision retinal implant dry age related macular degeneration

News and Trends 10 Jan 2019

This Retinal Implant Lets Visually-Impaired Patients See Patterns

An electronic chip from French company Pixium Vision, inserted behind the retina to treat age-related macular degeneration, has shown excellent results in a small clinical trial. The five patients in the feasibility study suffered from dry age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of visual impairment in people over 65 in Europe. In this incurable […]

January 10, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

amryt skin gene therapy epidermolysis bullosa

News and Trends 8 Jan 2019

Topical Gene Therapy Shows Early Promise for Inherited Skin Disease

A gene therapy applied to the skin, developed by UK company Amryt Pharma, showed positive preclinical results for the treatment of a rare genetic skin disease. The disease, called recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), is one of a group of diseases in which sufferers have mutations in proteins vital to the integrity of the […]

January 8, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 7 Jan 2019

Sanofi Invests €80M in mRNA Cancer Vaccine Company

Sanofi is to make an €80M equity investment in the German biotech BioNTech, and the two have agreed to co-develop a cancer vaccine based on injecting messenger RNA into solid tumors. This agreement is an extension of Sanofi and BioNTech’s collaboration, which began in 2015. The two companies will continue to co-develop and co-commercialize a candidate […]

January 7, 2019 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

Best in Biotech 31 Dec 2018

European Biotech’s Biggest News of 2018

With this year coming to a close, it’s now time to look back at the biggest biotech news stories of 2018 in Europe, which include CRISPR-Cas9 controversy, big financial deals, and spider silk airplanes. The year 2018 brought a lot of change to the biotech industry in Europe, with clinical trials, approvals and Brexit […]

December 31, 2018 - 12 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 19 Dec 2018

Could We Use CRISPR to Light up Future Christmas Trees?

Scientists in the UK have proposed a way to make bioluminescent Christmas trees using the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary gene editing tool that makes it easier to edit the genome. For this reason, it is now a standard tool in research and development centers worldwide, and companies such as the German chemical […]

December 19, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 18 Dec 2018

Gut Bacteria Could Combat Obesity and Depression

A five-year microbiome project, funded by the EU, has linked the presence of specific strains of gut bacteria to protection from obesity, glucose intolerance, and even depression. The project, called MyNewGut, found evidence that specific strains of bacteria can contribute to obesity in people on high-fat or high-sugar diets. Research led by Yolanda Sanz, Professor […]

December 18, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

novo nordisk staten fat hypertriglyceridemia cardiovascular disease

News and Trends 17 Dec 2018

Novo Nordisk Partners Dutch Biotech to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease

Novo Nordisk and the Dutch company Staten Biotechnology will partner to develop a treatment to remove excess fatty molecules called triglycerides from the blood, high levels of which increase a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease. Novo has agreed to pay up to €430M for the worldwide rights to Staten’s candidate drug, as well as the exclusive […]

December 17, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 17 Dec 2018

Series B Boosts British Biotech’s Cell Therapy Automation With €22.6M

The UK company Synthace has raised €22.6M to develop its software platform to automate and improve the manufacturing process in gene and cell therapy. The round, led by Hong Kong-based investor Horizons Ventures, will help to fund the development of Synthace’s software designed to automate key protocols in the lab. Furthermore, the funding will help […]

December 17, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

NMD pharma aarhus denmark neuromuscular disorder 1

Startup Scout 14 Dec 2018

This Company is Strengthening Muscles in Neuromuscular Disorders

NMD Pharma, our pick of this week, is based in Aarhus, Denmark. The company is flexing its muscles to develop a drug that can treat muscle weakness in orphan neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and myasthenia gravis. Mission: To develop drugs to counteract muscle weakness in incurable neuromuscular disorders. Neuromuscular disorders come […]

December 14, 2018 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

janssen microbiome inflammatory bowel disease

News and Trends 13 Dec 2018

Janssen Recruits Microbiome Company to Fight Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The Israeli biotech BiomX has teamed up with Janssen to use its microbiome technology in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease. Janssen aims to use BiomX’s technology to predict which patients with inflammatory bowel diseases will respond best its treatments based on their microbiome. The financial details of the collaboration were […]

December 13, 2018 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

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Jonathan Smith

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Articles by Jonathan Smith

Update: French Biotech Considers Takeover After Failed Leukemia Drug Trial

This Company Automates Cancer Research from Bench to Bar Charts

This Retinal Implant Lets Visually-Impaired Patients See Patterns

Topical Gene Therapy Shows Early Promise for Inherited Skin Disease

Sanofi Invests €80M in mRNA Cancer Vaccine Company

European Biotech’s Biggest News of 2018

Could We Use CRISPR to Light up Future Christmas Trees?

Gut Bacteria Could Combat Obesity and Depression

Novo Nordisk Partners Dutch Biotech to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease

Series B Boosts British Biotech’s Cell Therapy Automation With €22.6M

This Company is Strengthening Muscles in Neuromuscular Disorders

Janssen Recruits Microbiome Company to Fight Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest biotech news!

Catalonia: A biotech hub going from strength to strength, with Barcelona at its core

Top biotech deals of February 2025

Grab your free report on 3D organoids and explore their future potential

These 7 biotechs are shaping the next generation of endometriosis care

Connect with decision-makers and researchers worldwide for collaborative opportunities

Subscribe to our newsletter

Advertise with us

Catalonia: A biotech hub going from strength to strength, with Barcelona at its core

Top biotech deals of February 2025

Grab your free report on 3D organoids and explore their future potential

These 7 biotechs are shaping the next generation of endometriosis care

Connect with decision-makers and researchers worldwide for collaborative opportunities

Subscribe to our newsletter

Advertise with us

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