Puma Biotechnology Inc (NASDAQ:PBYI) shares were up 6.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $68.90 and last traded at $68.25. Approximately 616,125 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 901,021 shares.

The facility undertakes research in fundamental physics, which has a wide range of applications in structural biology, biotechnology, chemical and engineering materials, just to name a few. Hong Kong, being part of Guangdong geographically, is located in a relatively seismically stable area for …

Cellect Biotechnology Ltd. (APOP):. If you are considering getting into the day trading or penny stock market, it’s a legitimate and profitable method for making a living. Every good investor knows that in order to make money on any investment, you must first understand all aspects of it, so let’s look at daily …

Kanye West released his new single “Lift Yourself” on Friday (April 27), and the lyrics are, for lack of a better word…unexpected. The end of the song features Ye’s fire verse of “whoopdedy-scoop. whoopdedy-whoop-scoop-poop,” which caused quite a bit of head-scratching (and laughing) among …

It’s hard to change your views when you are passionate about something, explains Devang Mehta for Massive. For scientists working on climate change, vaccines, evolution, and GMOs, this tendency of significant sections of the public to resist facts that run counter to their existing beliefs can be extremely frustrating.

This is why environmentalist Mark Lynas’ new book, Seeds of Science: Why we got it so wrong on GMOs, is such a welcome read:  it gives us a peek into the process of changing one’s dearly held opinions, from someone who did so very publicly.

Lynas is perhaps most famous for getting up at the 2013 Oxford Farming Conference (an annual farming conference in the UK that first started in 1936) and giving a speech beginning, “For the record, here and upfront, I apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops… I now regret it completely.” Five years on, in his new book, Lynas walks us through this remarkable conversion with disarming, and sometimes brutal, honesty.

The book begins in 1999, with a post-midnight skulk around in a testing site of GM maize somewhere in eastern England. Lynas and a dozen other British activists, dressed in black and improbably armed with machetes and other “sharp tools,” are slashing the “living pollution” that is GM maize, when they’re rudely interrupted by the police.

Over the 250-odd pages that follow, Lynas introduces us to an eclectic cast of characters, including Vandana Shiva (the face of the anti-GMO movement), George Monbiot (the famed Guardian columnist, and an old anti-GMO comrade-in-arms), Paul Kingsnorth (a Man Booker long-listed novelist, who in the book, doubles as Lynas’ antithesis), Professor Marc Van Montagu (one of the inventors of GM technology), Dr. Leena Tripathi (a Kenyan scientist working on bananas), and Grace Rehema (a Tanzanian cassava farmer). He deftly uses his personal and professional relationships with these figures to narrate the story, first of how he came to repudiate his former allies and their beliefs, and then to describe his activities in the five years since.

As someone working in the field, I opened the book expecting to be bored by a repetition of often stale arguments and stories. After all, how much could Lynas really add in a debate that’s been raging for more than 30 years? Color me surprised!

Overall this is a book I wish could be found and read in every classroom and every university library. It’s an honest and thorough accounting of the science, issues, and emotions involved in the GMO debate, as well as the impact that perceptions of the technology in Europe have in poorer parts of the world. Mark Lynas accurately dissects the differences in thinking between scientists and activists that have stymied any agreement on GMOs for the last 20 years.

However, as I read the last, and possibly most anodyne, paragraph of Seeds of Science, I found myself, much like the author, caught between two worldviews, with more questions than answers about the future of GMOs  -  a technology that I’m still hoping reaches those who need it the most.

DNA defines who we are. And like anything else, sometimes there are mistakes – mutations in genes that can cause life-lasting conditions. But what if broken genes could be repaired? How many patients could we help in the years ahead? This is the promise and possibility of human genome editing.

While DNA modification techniques have existed for decades, recent developments in genome editing technologies have provided scientists and researchers with far more precise and efficient tools than ever before. As a result, 2017 marked the first genome editing clinical trials in humans initiated in the United States which are targeting a metabolic disorder known as Hunter Syndrome. And research is currently underway on clinical applications of genome editing technologies to treat genetic disorders like sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, congenital blindness, hemophilia, amyloidosis, and lysosomal storage disorders.

As we look beyond human health, these products can be applied to animal and plant DNA, as well as many organisms that are used in basic biological research. Applications in agriculture and animal health have the potential to deliver major advances to help feed the world.

To learn more about human genome editing, head to our Toolkit for Advocates and check out our infographic and issue brief on this important topic.

In recognition of BIO’s 25^th Anniversary, each month we are celebrating historical milestones in biotech. This week marks World Immunization Week and we are pleased to share a guest post from Thomas Cueni, Director General of the IFPMA, and Chair of the AMR Industry Alliance on the role that immunization plays in fighting antimicrobial resistance.

**

We have been lucky to live through a period of improving global public health, facilitated in part by innovation from and partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry. However we now find ourselves facing a new threat from an old foe – infectious disease through antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The challenge ahead is extensive but this World Immunization Week reminds us that we already have access to an underused AMR defense – vaccines.

AMR develops when an infectious microorganism (bacteria, virus, parasite and fungus) no longer responds to a drug to which it was originally sensitive. Drugs can lose their effect because the microbes change; either they mutate or acquire genetic information from other microbes to develop resistance. The phenomenon is accelerated by use, and especially misuse, of antimicrobial medicines whereby resistant strains survive and aggregate.

Antibiotic resistance has the power to transport us back to a time when minor infections were deadly. As an example, since the 1970s the typhoid bacteria has been evolving and typhoid, an otherwise vaccine-preventable infectious disease, is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, resulting in the emergence of multi-drug resistant typhoid. AMR is responsible for around 700,000 deaths annually but this could rise to 10 million by 2050, surpassing the number of deaths expected from cancer, if major action isn’t taken soon. Beyond the tremendous increase in mortality, direct medical costs and loss in productivity could cause a huge financial burden of around 60–100 trillion US dollars a year.

Immunization has a crucial role to play in the reduction of AMR. Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective health tools; every dollar spent on immunization is estimated to provide returns of $44 in economic and social benefits[i]. In regards to AMR, vaccines can help to:

• Reduce the use of antibiotics by preventing bacterial infections before they occur, thus removing any need to treat the infection. Increasing access to vaccines such as pneumococcal and meningococcal conjugate can decrease infection rates and consequently antibiotic use
• Reduce the prevalence of viral infections, which are often inappropriately treated with antibiotics and can give rise to secondary infections that require antibiotic treatment. Immunization against viral influenza can reduce antibiotic use by as much as 64% in vaccinated individuals[ii]
• Reduce the number of infections in the population through direct protection of vaccinated individuals and by reducing carriage (the infection of an individual without causing symptoms), thus limiting the spread of infections within a community (herd immunity)
• Limit the spread of AMR organisms within and across communities by reducing the volume of visits to healthcare points of care, especially hospitals, which are themselves a source of infection

Vaccines can be utilized in the fight against AMR in three main ways. Firstly, current vaccination efforts through National Immunization Programs need to be encouraged and universal access to existing vaccines needs to be expanded. The global health efforts to eradicate smallpox show that this is a feasible prospect.

Secondly, immunization programs need to be offered to children and adults alike as part of a life-course approach to preventing disease, which stresses the importance of vaccination at all stages of life to help prevent illness. Adult immunization programs provide a cost-effective approach to promoting health and wellness in older populations (whose immune systems gradually weaken) and in people who have underlying health problems.

Finally, industry needs to prioritize the R&D of new vaccines – especially for diseases that pose the biggest threat to drug resistance (the WHO has a priority list of antibiotic-resistant bacteria). There are scientific and commercial challenges in developing new vaccines and more investments from both public and private sources, as well as economic and regulatory incentives, are needed to overcome these hurdles.

Expanding access to vaccines should be viewed as a key component to achieving Universal Health Coverage and most of the SDGs, but is it also a fundamental strategy in achieving other health priorities such as AMR. The scale of antimicrobial resistance has never been so large, and with that global attention is high. In 2016, over 100 companies signed the Industry Declaration on AMR and 193 countries committed to fighting AMR by signing a UN declaration on antimicrobial resistance.

The AMR Industry Alliance is an industry initiative that brings together over 100 companies breaking silos between different sectors such as biotechs, diagnostics, generics and R&D pharma. It ensures signatories deliver on specific commitments made in the Industry Declaration on AMR and the Industry Roadmap. One of the key pledges is to foster innovative approaches to using alternatives to antimicrobials and new technologies for diagnosis and vaccines. The Alliance calls for an integrated deployment of vaccines and medicines, diagnostics, antibiotics and other therapies to address the multiple challenges across the continuum of care – from prevention, monitoring and screening to treatment.

Universal vaccination and the successful development of new or improved vaccines are important measures in the long-haul fight against AMR. We are dedicated to working together as an industry to address AMR and partnering with world leaders and donors to ensure immunization can play its full role in achieving global health security.

[i] Ozawa S, et al. Return On Investment From Childhood Immunization In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, 2011–20. Health Affairs. 2016; 35(2)

[ii] Wilby K, Werry D. A review of the effect of immunization programs on antimicrobial utilization. Vaccine. 2012; 30(46): 6509-6514

Why selected: In leading North Carolina Biotech’s Triad office, Nancy Johnston works to grow life-science companies and jobs in the Triad, connect entrepreneurs with funding and resources, and develop an ecosystem supporting research, business, education and strategic policy. Since 2011, she’s led …

It’s not as simple as cutting and posting.
[Read More …]

To understand the significance of Earth Day, it’s important to understand how it was first established. As Jim Greenwood wrote in a piece one year ago, we’ve recognized Earth Day every April 22 since 1970. In that year, America was in the midst of the Vietnam War, making our way to the moon and still recovering from the scars left behind by the civil rights era. Even so, the nation’s concerns around mankind’s impact on the environment were so intense it motivated millions to take to the streets on April 22, 1970 to establish environmental protections of our planet.

Today, Earth Day is a global event celebrated by over 1 billion people in hundreds of countries. It is arguably the largest civic-focused day of action on earth. It has perhaps inspired researchers’, farmers’, educators’ and scientists’ work every day to lessen man’s environmental footprint. Biotechnology can help us take better care of the planet throughout the year, especially when applied to agriculture and environmental and industrial practices.

Greener Fields

Biotechnology is an essential part of agriculture practices that help save the environment by lessening the inputs needed to grow essential foods.

• Drought Tolerant Crops. Through genetic engineering, researchers have been able to alter the genes of plants to require less water, which is crucial to limiting our impact on the environment. For example, researchers have been successful in modifying the genes of corn – through transgenic mutation – to be drought tolerant. By altering crops to require less hydration, farmers are able to limit their water waste. This is especially important in dry regions with limited access to water, a chronic challenge shared by many developing countries.
• Resistant Crops. Probably the most widely desired trait when modifying the genes of plants, crops resistant to insects and diseases can help save the environment too. When faced with insect infestation, farmers are forced to spray crops with chemicals, thus reducing environmental impact. Additionally, crops that have been modified to be disease resistant tend to produce higher yields, thus reducing the amount of land and resources needed to grow the crop and lessening the farmer’s environmental impact.

Cleaner Industrial Practices

Equally as important is the role biotechnology can play in developing greener industrial and environmental practices.

• Biobased products. Through biotechnology we have created numerous biobased alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. These biobased products are naturally biodegradable. Companies like Coca-Cola, Heinz and Ford have been working with biotechnology companies to develop a 100 percent biobased alternative to PET – a plastic widely used in bottles. Until then, however, researchers have discovered a natural microorganism that evolves new enzymes to break down petroleum-based PET. Using biotechnology, the researchers believe they can improve the enzyme further, leading to an energy efficient method for recycling  plastic, and to new biobased plastics. Through biotechnology we may be able to one day eliminate excess plastic found in landfills, oceans and in all corners of the earth.
• Biofuels. Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels are produced from living matter, such as corn. In the U.S., the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates that a certain volume of renewable fuel be blended to the fuel supply to encourage the advancement of biofuels. Every year, the RFS slightly increases the required amount, thus expanding the market for biofuels. By increasing our biofuel supply, the U.S. can limit its reliance on fossil fuels, reducing our greenhouse emissions.

Since 1970, plenty of other historic events have taken place that could’ve easily distracted us from caring about Earth day. However, as we celebrate its 48^th anniversary, our concerns around mankind’s impact on the environment seem to be growing stronger. Luckily, through biotechnology there is promise that in the future we will be able to eliminate some of the main culprits that have blemished this planet.