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The doors to Eli Lilly and Company’s new biotechnology development campus were opened to attendees of the recent “Labs21” conference, which focused on sustainable solutions for new and renovated R&D facilities.
... moreRonald Coase, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, is commonly credited with the adage, “If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.” I was recently reminded of Dr. Coase’s astute observation while relaxing with a group of bio-buddies after a long day of tending liquid cultures. The conversation worked its way around to common frustrations in the lab—dying colonies, promiscuous antibodies, and, surprisingly, the question of statistics.
... moreModern life science research frequently requires collaborative research efforts between colleagues and even institutions. But which collaborators should be named as co-inventors on a resulting patent application? The simple answer is: whoever contributed to the conception of the claimed invention.
... moreFor the second consecutive quarter we have seen positive gains for biotech, fueling the notion that the worst of the economic woes that have assailed the sector may finally be over. While biotech’s year-to-date performance still lags behind the general markets, there have been some encouraging signs that investors are coming back. These include the tremendous stock gains of Human Genome Sciences (share value up 555% in the quarter) and Targacept (share value up 783% in the quarter), driven by positive clinical data from their lead drug product candidates.
... moreBasic cell biology investigations into how lipase breaks down cell walls in plants laid the foundation for Senesco Technologies.
... moreThree-quarters of biologic drugs cannot be delivered orally, and this has forced makers of most novel drugs to think about delivery. If a protein or peptide must be injected, makers then are seeking the most patient-friendly methods, including needle-free systems. This trend has helped fuel a $2.7 billon market for pharmaceutical products combined with needle-free technology.
... moreA sustainable business is one that engages in processes and manufacturing activities that address current environmental concerns while maintaining a profit. There is a rapidly growing community of professionals in academia, industry, policy, and government who have embraced this responsibility and are committed to advancing the preservation and sustainability of global resources.
... moreThe competition to develop new therapeutics targeting metabolic disease is heating up. Here’s why: the latest estimates from the American Diabetes Association state that there are nearly 24 million Americans with diabetes. In addition, approximately 32% of American adults are medically obese.
... moreThe inherent sensitivity and specificity of LC/MS/MS has made it the technique of choice for bioanalysis. However, as compounds become more potent and are dosed at lower levels, the resultant circulatory levels also fall. This requires accurate and precise methods capable of analyzing analyte concentrations in the pg/mL range in plasma.
... moreThere is growing enthusiasm in the pharmaceutical industry for whole-system functional assays that reveal the action of potential drugs on integrated systems such as intact cells in order to find allosteric effects and off-target effects.
... moreSample preparation for mass spectrometry has been the topic of several recent symposia extensively covered in the pages of GEN. Mass spectrometry has grown over the years into an essential tool for macromolecular characterization due to the development of more economical and user-friendly instrumentation as well as more effective and accurate sample processing.
... moreIsolation of candidate mammalian cell clones by limiting dilution, ring cloning, or simple manual collection of colonies is a time-consuming, resource-intensive, and costly procedure that is prone to cross contamination of cells and user error. One major disadvantage commonly encountered is the difficulty in establishing monoclonality—an essential step in the production of therapeutic proteins and antibodies.
... moreIn recent years, GEN has reported on single-use bioprocess bags, connectors, sensors, and tubing many times. The benefits of disposables are, by now, well known and do not require repeating. An early knock on disposables was their limited volume, but the debut of 2,000 L bioprocess containers, accompanied by dramatic improvements in protein titers from cell cultures, dramatically expanded the scope of disposables. Yet, Sartorius Stedim Biotech estimates that single-use equipment has penetrated less than 20% of its potential biomanufacturing market.
... moreThe application of shaken bioreactors for cell cultivation has increased enormously in the last eight years. These bioreactors are used for the expression (transient and stable) of recombinant proteins in drug and diagnostic research. Extensive tests demonstrate their potential in terms of performance, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness when compared with more conventional technologies.
... moreRapidly evolving imaging technologies were front and center at the “World Molecular Imaging Congress”, which was held recently in Montreal. This year’s meeting provided a timely forum to discuss the use of imaging in drug development, an application that is experiencing vigorous growth.
... moreClinical detection methods are taking to the field, boosting the capabilities of point-of-care biodetection devices for clinical use as well as battlefield diagnoses. Speakers at Select Biosciences’ “Advances in Biodetection Technology” held in London last month outlined their work in developing fluorescent imaging for explosive particulates and several approaches to integrated PCR amplification and detection for point-of-care applications and environmental field work. Rapidity was a hallmark of most of the advances.
... moreRemember this term: Parthenogenesis. This six-syllable word could be the answer to controversy-free stem cell research. Though the general public is well aware of the medical potential and controversies surrounding embryonic stem cells and iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells), a third way forward—parthenogenesis—has been surprisingly sidelined from the stem cell research debate.
... moreEfficient clinical diagnosis of pathogens is important for the management of infectious diseases. Conventional methods have longer turnaround time and, in most cases, lower sensitivity. Nucleic acid based methods for detection of microorganisms are rapid, sensitive, and are generally successful even when the culturing of microorganisms fails. Sequence-based molecular methods such as real-time PCR provide rapid diagnostics and higher sensitivity, allowing differentiation between related strains.
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INTERVIEW:
NANOTECHNOLOGISTS CREATE ARTIFICIAL PORE - Interview with Peixuan Guo, Ph.D., Director of the NIH Nanomedicine Development Center at the University of Cincinnati, Endowed Chair, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering
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