30 June 2010
PharmaNeuroBoost NV (PNB) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for PNB01. PNB01 is a proprietary owned, fixed dose combination of citalopram and low dose pipamperone, and is under development for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder. The IND approval permits PharmaNeuroBoost to initiate a Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers in the US.
Previously, promising results with PNB01 over standard of care citalopram have been obtained in a UK Phase II Proof of Concept trial in patients with moderate to severe Major Depressive Disorder. PNB is currently analyzing the data of its successful European Phase II study in MDD and planning late stage development of PNB01. PharmaNeuroBoost NV, founded in 2006, is a biopharmaceutical company located in Belgium, dedicated to developing best in class CNS therapeutics, based on solid intellectual property. The company’s primary goal is to significantly improve current therapy targeted against mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. The two front-running clinical stage proprietary projects (PNB01 and PNB02) are targeted against major depression and schizophrenia, respectively.
03 June 2010
Limburg Sterk Merk (LSM) is investing 600.000 euro in the new ‘Biobank’ of Limburg. this biobank research samples are being preserved by the Jessa Hospital, Hospital East Limburg and Hasselt University for scientific biomedical research. Eventually it is intended that the other regional hospitals join this biobank.
This provincial 'Biobank' is unique because there is no university hospital located in the region, normally required in order to receive funding from the government. With the creation of this Biobank, Limburg is one step closer to its virtual univeristy hospital
Efficient
"In a clinical biobank is human tissue such as blood, tumor tissue, urine, ... of patients with a certain condition is preserved, "explains Professor Jean-Luc Rummens, one of the driving forces behind the project.
"The material used for scientific research contributes to a better diagnosis and prognostication, but also a deeper understanding of the disease process leading to better and more effective therapies can be developed. .
Existing Biobanks from UHasselt - for MS and rheumatism - and Jessa Hospital - for blood diseases will be integrated in the new biobank.
The establishment of this biobank will not only lead to a common infrastructure, but also to the availability of a large number of qualitative research samples. This will be a further stimulation of translational research in the province.
More information is avaible on Jessa's website (dutch only)
03 June 2010
Complix NV, a recently founded biopharmaceutical company, announced the successful closing of its Series A financing round, raising € 5 million (~US$ 6.25 million) from a syndicate of leading life sciences investors. The transaction was co-led by Vesalius Biocapital (Luxembourg) and LRM (Belgium), with CRP Santé (Luxembourg), existing investors and management also participating. Complix is focused on the discovery and development of next generation drugs based on “Alphabodies”, a novel class of biopharmaceuticals with superior therapeutic potential.
18 May 2010
Apitope, the European biotech company developing therapeutic peptides to treat autoimmune and allergic diseases, today announced the start of its second Phase I clinical trial of ATX-MS-1467, in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
ATX-MS-1467, an investigational peptide-based therapeutic derived from Apitope’s proprietary technology platform, has already completed successfully a Phase I clinical trial in six patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS). This new Phase I study aims to build on the results from the initial study and investigates safety and proof-of-principle of ATX-MS-1467 in 40 patients with relapsing forms of MS (RMS).