The life science group Sartorius, through its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, has acquired a majority stake in the reagent manufacturer CellGenix GmbH. The company based in Freiburg, Germany, and with a sales subsidiary near the biotechnology hub in Boston, Massachusetts USA, produces and markets cell culture components, such as growth factors, cytokines and media in GMP quality for manufacturing cell and gene therapy products....
Tumor fragments in the lab are able to predict whether the corresponding real-life patients will benefit from immunotherapy. “We’ve solved a major problem many scientists had been facing: preserving a tumors original composition and structure outside of the patient in the lab”, says cancer researcher Daniela Thommen from the Netherlands Cancer Institute. On 8 July, the results of her study are published in Nature Medicine....
Tecan has announced a highly anticipated software upgrade for one of its flagship products, the Fluent® Automation Workstation. The new FluentControl Scheduler offers a number of features designed to simplify day-to-day laboratory automation for significantly increased throughput and workflow efficiency. This software has been developed in response to customer feedback and an in-depth understanding of future market needs, with intelligent and user-friendly features that help labs heighten productivity...
Scitara Corporation, an innovator in digital transformation and an emerging leader in delivering data connectivity to scientific laboratories, continues to deliver new releases in the Scitara Digital Lab Exchange (DLX™) cloud platform to bring next generation data connectivity and automation to scientific laboratories. Combining the benefits of modern cloud-based architecture with a vendor-neutral peer-to-peer platform with robust security...
VectorBuilder – a global leader in vector design, optimization and GMP manufacturing – has formed a worldwide strategic partnership with Univercells Technologies, a provider of novel biomanufacturing technologies for flexible and scalable viral vector production. VectorBuilder’s manufacturing center in Guangzhou, China, will work with Univercells Technologies to develop and optimize platform processes for the production of custom viral vectors for cell and gene therapies, as well as vaccine applications....
Avacta Group plc, the developer of diagnostics and innovative cancer therapies based on its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Calibre Scientific Inc. (“Calibre”), a global provider of life science products, for Avacta’s AffiDX SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test for professional use in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA)...
Illumina, Inc. has announced an agreement with the Belgian Genetic Centers to evaluate whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for the diagnosis of patients with intellectual disabilities (ID) and/or developmental disorders (DD) in routine care. The study, run by the Belgian Resolve Rare Diseases group (BeSolveRD), will also assess the health economic impact of WGS versus current standards of care....
The CEO of a British technology training firm and tech think tank has warned of a looming crisis facing UK laboratories – in particular those at the forefront of Covid-19 testing – due to a massive shortage of qualified and skilled lab technicians. Andy Lord, CEO of Manchester head-quartered Credersi, a tech talent training incubator and think tank producing the data scientists, lab technicians and software specialists of tomorrow, believes the skills shortage could severely impact Covid testing laboratories...
Porvair Sciences reports investment in a dedicated clean area for manufacturing Vyon® porous plastic components for healthcare, pharmaceutical and life science products. With the global market searching for high performance solutions for critical filtration, laboratory liquid handling and separation applications - Porvair has experienced a doubling in demand for components and products such as pipette filter tips based upon its Vyon® porous plastics....
Sinocompound Catalysts Co., Ltd has launched a new video series sharing its specialist catalyst expertise adding to its bank of educational materials. Titled ‘The essentials in a synthetic chemist’s toolbox’, the series was the idea and work of technical advisor, Dr Carin Seechurn. As a global provider of advanced homogeneous catalysts and ligands for pharmaceutical and fine chemical applications, Sinocompound is ideally placed to guide scientists through some of the challenges they may need to navigate...
A new study could lead to improved decision making in assigning treatments for children with the aggressive cancer rhabdomyosarcoma after revealing key genetic changes underlying development of the disease. In the largest and most comprehensive study of rhabdomyosarcoma to date, scientists found that specific genetic changes in tumours are linked to aggressiveness, early age of onset and location in the body....
Waters and The Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) are engaging in data analytics research meant to eliminate a major bottleneck in the characterization of biopharmaceuticals, namely the identification and quantitation of complex biomolecules such as released N- and O- glycans and metabolites that influence therapeutic function. Isomerism of both glycans and metabolites is particularly troublesome and can be tackled using Waters’ advanced instruments....
SGD Pharma announces that its 20ml EasyLyo molded glass Type I vials are now available Ready-to-Use (RTU) in SG EZ-fill Nest & Tub – an industry-recognized state-of-the-art secondary packaging format. Increased demand for parenteral drugs generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in additional pressures being placed on biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate their time-to-market....
Win 1 of 20 pipette kits to become a highly productive, low waste lab. Each kit includes: One VIAFLO electronic multichannel pipette of your choice, One case of ECO Rack GripTips (10 racks, sterile, filter), One reusable PopTop Base for use with ECO Racks and One single pipette charging stand...
Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) has recently been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at SLS receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.50 in the UK, or £10.85 in London. Both rates are significantly higher than the government minimum for over 25s, which currently stands at £8.72 per hour...
The Government Chemist (GC), hosted at LGC, has published the results of a recent international ring trial on the determination of cannabidiol (CBD) - an uncontrolled cannabinoid- and controlled cannabinoids in consumer products such as food and cosmetics. Consumer CBD products have entered the UK market rapidly in a variety of forms, including food and cosmetics. CBD when used as an ingredient in food or cosmetic products must currently be free from controlled cannabinoids....
A shortlist of eye-catching images and videos has been drawn up for the RMS Scientific Imaging Competition – featuring as part of mmc2021. As a ‘sneak preview’, the RMS has put together a collage of all the shortlisted entries across the different categories (excluding video entries) ahead of mmc2021. The images and videos will be uploaded to an online gallery available to view from the start of the event...
AMSBIO invite the global research community to the 2021 annual meeting of the ISSCR, the leading professional organization of stem cell scientists, to discover how iPSCs and organoids can be used in COVID-19 drug discovery research. At this virtual meeting - Dr. Kazuo Takayama from the renowned Center for iPS Cell Research and application (CiRA) at Kyoto University will be giving a unique insight into his recent pioneering research...
The Maulide Group at the University of Vienna (Austria) describe how a devastating water leak in a nearby chemistry laboratory prompted them to search for alternative, water-free, options to Liebig condensers for refluxing. The group teamed up with Green Labs Austria to see if they could provide and share a more sustainable solution to water cooled refluxing in the lab....
The moisture determination of liquid soap is essential to ensure a product of the highest quality. If the moisture content is too high or too low, this can result in a low quality product and wastage can occur. In this application note we determine the moisture of liquid soap using Precisa’s XM60/EM120 Halogen moisture analyser...
In 2021, Eppendorf AG, the Hamburg life sciences company, is presenting its highly prestigious research prize for the 26th time. The independent Eppendorf Award Jury chaired by Prof. Reinhard Jahn announced Dr. Tanmay Bharat, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom as the winner of the Eppendorf Award for European Investigators 2021....
HORIBA announces its participation in a new consortium formed to accelerate the development of process analytical technologies (PAT) in cell and gene therapy manufacturing. HORIBA’s new A-TEEM™ Molecular Fingerprinting technology has shown great promise for fast QC/QA of complex biological systems and is a core technology being assessed for reducing batch failures and manufacturing costs, to enable faster time to market....