Industry & Policy News

[Science] The birth of babies with genomes edited by Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui has prompted China and other nations to tighten oversight of such germline editing.

[Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the US FDA had cleared the IND for VX-264, a stem cell-derived, fully differentiated pancreatic islet cell therapy encapsulated into a Vertex-developed, immunoprotective device with the potential to treat type 1 diabetes.

[Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd] Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. announced the signing of a non-exclusive license agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Jonson & Johnson.

[CBC News] Colorectal cancer is rising in people under 50 in US and Canada. The incidence of colorectal cancer went up two per cent each year in people under 50 between 2011 and 2019, even though U.S. incidence rates have either dropped or stabilized for older adults who are eligible for screening programs.

[NYSCF] Dr. Takebe received the NYSCF – Robertson Investigator Award for his pioneering work in understanding liver disease by creating liver organoids – 3D avatars of human liver tissue – from stem cells. With these liver organoids, Dr. Takebe aims to understand exactly how liver diseases form and progress, as well as develop strategies to better treat them.

[King's College London] New funding has been awarded to Dr Joana Neves, to further develop a human organoid model to generate mucosal immune cell populations. The funding was awarded as part of a £4.7m investment from several institutions to support the next generation of non-animal technologies.