by Stacey Hawkins | Feb 19, 2020 | Immunotherapies
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-Ts), reviewed last week, are a powerful new weapon for oncologists to use in their fight against cancer. These engineered T-cells are designed to home in on and kill malignant cells, and have proven highly effective at treating... 
by Stacey Hawkins | Feb 10, 2020 | Immunotherapies
The first (and so far, only) chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies—Kymriah (Novartis; Basel, Switzerland) and Yescarta—(Gilead; Foster City, CA) were approved in 2017, and remain one of the hottest immunotherapies on the market today. They work by... 
by Stacey Hawkins | Sep 11, 2019 | Gene Therapy/Genome Editing
Gene Therapy Targets AIDS For many years, a diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was a death sentence. It seemed unthinkable in the 1980s, but the medical community now largely treats the disease as a chronic illness. This profound shift arose... 
by Stacey Hawkins | Jul 8, 2019 | Biopharma Industry
THE MANY FACES OF BOTOX Botox. This powerful protein has become somewhat of a meme for people of a certain age wanting to look less than that age. Botox’s applications, however, go far beyond the cosmetic, as recent industry headlines about AbbVie’s (North Chicago,... 
by Stacey Hawkins | Jun 3, 2019 | Gene Therapy/Genome Editing
CRISPR: SNIPPING AWAY AT DISEASE CRISPR genome editing is one of the most exciting developments in biotechnology since its discovery a few years ago. Bacteria use this mechanism to destroy the DNA of invading viruses. Scientists subsequently discovered CRISPR’s... 
by Stacey Hawkins | May 28, 2019 | Gene Therapy/Genome Editing
New Gene Therapy Drug Explained Novartis’ (Basel, Switzerland) Zolgensma grabbed headlines last week as it garnered the second FDA approval of a gene therapy treatment for an inherited disease. Designed to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Zolgensa is also set to...
