Movers & Shakers
Lisa von Moltke, former acting senior VP and head of clinical development at US global biotechnology company Alkermes, has moved to Seres Therapeutics as CMO. The Boston-headquartered biotechnology company Seres focuses on drugs to treat infectious, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases by targeting the underlying biology of the human microbiome.
Dirty air
Climate change and global warming are two sides of the same coin since both trace their origins to the release of huge amounts of polluting gases from the burning of fossil fuels. The gases most often headlined in the global warming context are carbon dioxide, methane and some of the oxides of nitrogen.
Against all odds
Since the dawn of the 20th century, there has been a huge change in the career opportunities available to women. Although still generally outnumbered by men, it is an everyday experience to learn of female doctors, lawyers, politicians, academics, architects, priests, engineers, scientists etc
Better batteries
A fundamental physics technique shows promise in energy materials research. It allows researchers to map the chemical states of battery electrodes to better understand battery performance.
Covid opportunity for India
Indian drug companies think the current coronavirus crisis could be a boost for India’s bulk drug manufacturing companies and an opportunity to again become a preferred active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) supplier of pharma products for the world.
Reinfection or reactivation
In April 2020, reports surfaced in China and South Korea that some patients who recovered from Covid-19 have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the disease again.
Japanese drug for Covid
In mid-March 2020, Chinese minister Xinmin Zhang reported that Japanese drug favipiravir was effective in treating Covid-19 patients. Administered under the brand name Avigan, the drug was developed by Toyama Chemical, now owned by Fujifilm.
Electrifying chemicals
Lux Research’s new report: Electrifying Chemicals: The cost of producing chemicals from electricity, predicts that emerging power-to-chemicals technologies will disrupt those figures and provide a new route of production, especially for niche products.
Vulnerable organs
Initial reports of infection with the Covid-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) focused on the lungs and pneumonia caused by severe infection. But increasingly there are reports that other organs, such as the heart and kidneys, are also affected.
Business digest
US-headquartered gene therapy company Asklepios BioPharmaceutical has acquired Paris-based gene therapy company BrainVectis, a spin out from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research.