MVA newsletter no 06, June 2004
: NEWS INDEX
- Register for BioTech Forum Science Conference - poster deadline: 20 August 2004
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New MVA publication: Medicon Valley Drug Development Guide
- MVA Drug Development network meeting - 8 September 2004
- MVA attended BIO 2004 with record number of delegates
- Active Biotech and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announce agreement
- Spotlight on biomedicine in Sweden in the 16 July 2004 issue of Science
- New powerful facility for protein crystallization and structure determination in Lund
- Active Biotech and Avidex enter collaboration to develop fusion proteins
- Genmab signs agreement with DSM Biologics to produce HuMax-CD4
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Symphogen and Biovitrum collaborate for scale up and production of a polyclonal antibody preparation
: MVA NEWS
MVA invites to:
BioTech Forum Science Conference 2004
5-7 October 2004 / Copenhagen / Denmark
A conference for all players within biomedical and biotechnological research and development in Medicon Valley, Scandinavia and Europe. The conference is a unique occasion for scientists and biotech players from hospitals, universities and industry to present their research results and create scientific and interdisciplinary network and partnerships. Deadline for posters: 20 August 2004.
Medicon Valley Drug Development Guide
The guide will give biotech companies advices on how to enhance the efficiency of their clinical trials, as well as contact info and profiles on Danish and Swedish players within the clinical area. The drug development guide will be published ultimo 2004.
MVA Drug Development network meeting
8 September 2004 / Öresundshuset / Copenhagen
Bengt Westrin, Vice President from Camurus AB, will give a presentation on the importance of drug formulation in relation to clinical trial outcomes.
MVA attended BIO 2004 with record number of delegates
Together with 15 Swedish and Danish companies, Medicon Valley Academy was present at the Medicon Valley exhibition booth hosted by Copenhagen Capacity and Position Skåne at the BIO 2004 Annual International Convention in San Francisco, USA.
: MEDICON VALLEY NEWS
Active Biotech (Sweden) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Israel) announce agreement
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech AB recently announced that they have signed an agreement to develop and commercialize laquinimod, Active Biotech’s novel immunomodulatory compound, which has the potential to be an orally available disease modifying treatment of multiple sclerosis.
Spotlight on biomedicine in Sweden in the 16 July 2004 issue of Science
The report will focus on the broad range of careers in Swedish academic institutions, biotechnology firms, and pharmaceutical companies and will head up the classified section of Science. Science and MVA have an ongoing collaboration regarding member benefits such as reduced advertising and supscription rates.
New powerful facility for protein crystallization and structure determination in Lund
The three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules are increasingly important tools for the understanding of their function, particularly in the drug design process. MAX-lab, the Swedish national synchrotron radiation laboratory, has collected crystallography data since 1998. A new beamline is now being constructed, allowing for the first time in Scandinavia the use of state of the art methods for de novo structure determinations. MAX-lab are offering contract protein crystallization, supported by Swegene.
Active Biotech (Sweden) and Avidex (UK) enter collaboration to develop fusion proteins
Active Biotech and Avidex have formed a collaboration to create targeted immunotherapeutics for cancer by bringing together the two companies' most powerful protein molecular platforms. The two companies are collaborating to combine the superantigen with the mTCR as a novel fusion protein.
Genmab (Denmark) signs agreement with DSM Biologics to produce HuMax-CD4
Genmab A/S recently announced that it has signed an agreement with DSM Biologics to produce a commercial supply of HuMax-CD4, Genmab’s antibody for the treatment of T-cell lymphoma. DSM will manufacture c-GMP batches of HuMax-CD4 for clinical trials and subsequent commercial supply.
Symphogen (Denmark) and Biovitrum (Sweden) collaborate for scale up and production of a polyclonal antibody preparation
Symphogen A/S and Biovitrum AB have signed a fee-for-service agreement, which involves process development and production of a Rhesus D-specific recombinant polyclonal antibody for Symphogen’s clinical studies on the prevention of hemolytic disease in newborns.
: EVENTS
10th International Congress of Toxicology 2004
11-15 July 2004 / Tampere / Finland
The plenary lectures and scientific symposia will deal with many crucial issues, food safety, carcinogenicity and dioxins, neuro- and immunotoxicology, occupational toxicology, reproduction, bioterrorism, clinical toxicology, precautionary principles, and ethics in toxicology.
The Baltic Summer School 2004
22 August - 3 September 2004 / Theoretical Course / Lund University
3 - 10 September 2004 / Laboratory Course / Universities of Lund, Kiel and Copenhagen
The Theoretical Course, at Malmö University Hospital in Sweden, is open to 50 young scientists at the late phase of their PhD studies as well as at the medical specialist or post-doc levels. The course will present the current knowledge fields such as Epidemiology, Beta cell and stem cell development, Pancreatic disorders, Diabetes, and Cytokines. Invited speakers will participate. The Laboratory Course at the universities of Lund, Kiel and Copenhagens is open to 20 of the young scientists participating in the theoretical course, who will join on-going diabetes research projects.
3rd ScanBalt Forum – The Competence Region
25-26 August 2004 / Turku / Finland
The Forum will create the future of the ScanBalt Competence region by establishing Scientific Platforms and Public-Private Partnerships. The aim of the forum is to promote networking, to create new contacts and collaboration for mutual benefit and funding of activities within biotechnology in the ScanBalt Competence Region.
EuroScience Open Forum 2004
25-28 August 2004 / Stockholm / Sweden
The Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF2004) is a groundbreaking initiative! It is the first pan-European scientific meeting ever staged to provide an interdisciplinary forum for open dialogue, debate and discussion on science and technology in society.
: NEW MVA MEMBERS
T-cellic - www.t-cellic.com - located in Copenhagen, Denmark; have as their foundation a discovery in the use of the immune system’s T-cells for providing effective treatment of cancer. The basic concept relies on utilizing the patient’s own activated, tumour-specific T-cells as carriers of cytotoxic or imaging compounds to the tumour site(s). T-cellic has a broad spectrum of proprietary inventions which exploits this advantage.
Mizarra Business Management - www.mizarra.com - located in Helsingborg, Sweden; works with business development in the field of Life Science. Mizarra offers business development and consultancy in the areas of, for example, recruitment, situation analysis, marketing and sales.
VersaMatrix - www.versamatrix.com - a specialized materials business dedicated to exploit and develop a new family of proprietary poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based polymers. The current technology platform is used as a basis to create new knowledge as well as commercialising this knowledge in terms of new products primarily directed towards the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.
Novecon Research - www.novecon.ideon.se - an independent contract research organisation located in the city of Lund in Sweden, that provides service to leading healthcare companies in Europe, USA and Japan in the areas of human and veterinary medicinal products, natural remedies and medical devices.