"DNA sequencing tools help scientists look at genomes of microbes"

---

29 August 2011 - The New York Times


"Several teams of U.S. scientists are using DNA sequencing technologies to rapidly decipher the genomes of microbes to determine the origins of diseases.

"One team is planning to create disease weather maps and prevent disease outbreaks by gathering samples from various locations, such as hospitals and subways, and mapping the microorganisms' genomes.

"Meanwhile, another group was able to determine through DNA sequencing techniques the cause of death of a man suspected to have died of inhalation anthrax."

Original article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/science/30microbe.html?_r=1


Originally noted in: 

BIO SmartBrief - 30 Aug 2011
http://www.smartbrief.com

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POSTED 30 August 2011 by:

David A. Palella
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
San Diego, California

cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog:  http://biobizdev.blogspot.com


& Group Founder:

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Japan Biotech/Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448

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30,000-year-old bacteria contain genes linked to antibiotic resistance

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In sum -- no bacteria alive today was ever defenseless !  Nor any bacteria alive 30,000 years ago.


"Researchers Find Antibiotic Resistance in Ancient DNA"

The New York Times -- 31 August 2011


"Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario examined the DNA of 30,000-year-old bacteria taken from the Yukon permafrost and found that ancient bacteria harbored major genes responsible for resistance to antibiotics. 

"Antibiotic resistance is part of the natural ecology of the planet, and this finding is a cautionary note about how we use these things," said Gerard D. Wright, one of the researchers."

...

The discovery that the bacteria of 30,000 years ago had genes for antibiotic resistance underlines the danger of looking at bacteria from a purely medical perspective. Resistance to antibiotics is a defense that bacteria have developed in an arms race that has gone on for a billion years.       

“Our use and overuse of antibiotics is amplifying the phenomena dramatically,” Dr. Blaser said."


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/science/01gene.html?_r=1

[ first noted in BIO www.SmartBrief.com ]

------

POSTED 02 September 2011 by:

David A. Palella
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
San Diego, California

cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog:  http://biobizdev.blogspot.com


& Group Founder:

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Japan Biotech/Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448

------

Lightening strikes ! -- mid-sized Japanese pharma makes deal with biotech company !

---

If you have not seen many deals the past 3+ years between American or European biotech companies and risk-averse mid-sized Japanese pharma companies ? -- then me neither.  Here is one below.

I hear many such deals are unannounced, but most biotechs worldwide need/want an announcement as validation for fund-raising purposes.  So I really doubt the size of this "unannounced" underground Japanese deal market.  And it's certainly not something any biz dev professional should tell his peers & board members really exists.  It will just raise their expectations unduly.

Your thoughts ?

Now, let's cut to the news:


"Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma taps Synageva for orphan disease R&D"

September 2, 2011 -- FierceBiotech.com

"Rare disease know-how remains a hot commodity.  Aiming to gain access to orphan disease and protein drug-making expertise, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma has struck an R&D deal with Synageva BioPharma. Lexington, MA-based Synageva, a rare disease drug developer, will pocket $3 million upfront in addition to unspecified research dollars from the Japanese drugmaker.

Using Synageva's tech for expressing therapeutic proteins, the collaborators plan to focus their research on a novel drug for treating an undisclosed orphan disease, according to a statement.  The target apparently won't be one Synageva is pursuing in its own pipeline, which includes its lead enzyme replacement therapy SBC-102 for LAL Deficiency."

...

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/mitsubishi-tanabe-pharma-taps-synageva-orphan-disease-rd/2011-09-02

The original release:

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/synageva-biopharma-corp-enters-development-collaboration-mitsubishi-tanabe--0

http://www.mt-pharma.co.jp/e

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POSTED 05 Sept 2011 by:

David A. Palella
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog:  http://biobizdev.blogspot.com


& Group Founder:

Japan Biotech/Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

Biofuels & Sustainable Chemicals Networking Group
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3891375/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448


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Beta amino acid allows salmonella to cause disease & resist antibiotics

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25 August 2011

"The inclusion of an atypical amino acid in their proteins allows Salmonella bacteria to resist certain antibiotics.

"University of Toronto scientists found that salmonella carries a beta version of an amino acid that produces proteins to allow the bacteria to cause infections, according to a study published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology."

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v476/n7361/full/476374e.html

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/betaversion.htm

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POSTED 26 August 2011 by:

David Palella
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog:  http://biobizdev.blogspot.com

& Group Founder:

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Japan Biotech/Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448

-----------

"'More bang for buck' from GSK's Cervarix; Findings suggest more uses for HPV vaccines"

---

Cervarix reduces long-term incidence of anal & cervical cancers in women caused by HPV strains 16 and 18

23 August 2011 - From FiercePharma.com

"Is another indication for GlaxoSmithKline's HPV shot in the cards?  A new study published in Lancet Oncology found Cervarix protected women from anal cancer, which can be caused by the two strains of human papillomavirus targeted by the vaccine, HPV 16 and 18.

"There was strong protection with the vaccine against anal infection," lead author Aimee Kreimer of the National Cancer Institute told Reuters, adding, "We know anal HPV 16, but also 18, cause the bulk of anal cancers.  We know if we remove the infection, it will greatly reduce the likelihood for the cancer."

The researchers analyzed tissue specimens in 4,210 healthy women, half of whom then received the vaccine.  The other half got a placebo injection. Four years later, the women were tested for HPV 16 and 18 infections in the anus and cervix.  The vaccine prevented 62% of anal cancers and 77% of cervical cancers caused by HPV infection, compared with cancer rates in the general population, Reuters reports.  The shot prevented 84% of anal infections with HPV and 89% of cervical HPV infections.

The researchers also found cross-protection from the vaccine against three other cancer-causing HPV strains.  "We're getting more bang for our buck than we realized with this vaccine," Kreimer said.

Merck's Gardasil, Cervarix's competitor, has already won FDA approval to prevent anal cancers in men and women.  But that approval came on the basis of a study in men.  Kreimer told Reuters she isn't sure her data would be enough to justify broader use of Cervarix, but that the study does add to evidence that HPV vaccination protects women from anal cancer.  "I do think it is getting close to a tipping point," she said, "but I don't know if we're there yet."

Original Reuters source:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44234436/ns/health-cancer/?ocid=twitter#.TlO0VXMXcXh

See also:  http://www.cervarix.com

---------

POSTED 24 August 2011 by:

David A. Palella
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog:  http://biobizdev.blogspot.com

& Group Founder:

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Japan Biotech/Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448

---------

Researchers discover body's natural defense against C. difficile toxins: S-nitrosoglutathione

---

Newly discovered cell mechanism uses amplified nitric oxide to fight C. difficile

22 August 2011

By Howard Lovy -- FierceBioResearcher.com

"Clostridium difficile, or C. difficile, is a nasty bit of business.  It can be the scourge of hospitals, striking patients when antibiotics kill all the "good bugs" that dwell in the gut -- like the ones that aid in digestion -- and leave only the dreaded harmful bacteria.

But as it turns out, the body has a natural way of defending against C. difficile by inactivating the toxin that spreads it.  And researchers describe how this knowledge can create new treatments in Nature Medicine.

C. difficile enters the gut through what Reuters colorfully describes as "molecular guillotine called cysteine protease."  The bacteria can easily fit into cells lining the intestine, release their toxin and do their damage.

However, the team discovered the body has a natural mechanism involving a nitric oxide-based molecule, S-nitrosoglutathione, which binds to the toxins secreted by C. difficile and prevents them from damaging cells.  It gums up the guillotine; therefore, the next step is to come up with a way to bottle up that natural mechanism with a treatment that mimics the process.

"Understanding how this mechanism deactivates toxins provides a basis for developing new therapies that can target toxins directly and thereby keep bacterial infections, like C. difficile, from spreading," Jonathan Stamler, a Case Western Reserve University researcher, said in a release.  The researchers tried the new treatment on mice and saw promising results; however, more research is needed."

Contact:  Kevin Mayhood
Case Western Reserve University
kevin.mayhood@case.edu
216-368-4442

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/21/us-prosunday-bacteria-treatment-idUSTRE77K1TR20110821

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/newly-discovered-cell-mechanism-uses-amplified-nitric-oxide-fight-c-diff

-----------

POSTED 23 August 2011 by:

David A. Palella
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog:  http://biobizdev.blogspot.com

& Group Founder:

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Japan Biotech/Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448

----------

Digital Outcomes & Zero-sum Games in the Japanese Pharma Market

---

Can the world's most indebted, cronyistic, deflationary -- and fragile ! -- OECD country (Japan) be an asset to your biotech company ? -- or save itself from sclerotic metastatic pernicious end-stage economic stagnation ?

The short answer ? -- probably not, so recalibrate your expectations.

More than likely, the Japanese market will not "viagrafy" your company's sales or biz dev goals for the next 3 - 5 years.  Why ? -- because in Japan, past results are indeed a guarantee of future performance !

Or non-performance !

Just as Japanese stock-market investors have on average lost 80 % of their investment for the past 21++ years (since December 1989), your company too should expect good business results in Japan to take time.  A loooooooooooooong looooooooong Time.

Doubtful ?  Although 12+ years old, this short New York Times article below reifies (makes concrete) everything above and still says it all:


"Japan's Tale of Two Pills:  Viagra and Birth Control"
By Sheryl Wu-Dunn

Published: April 27, 1999

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/27/science/japan-s-tale-of-two-pills-viagra-and-birth-control.html

------

In short, it took 40 (forty) years for the birth-control pill to be accepted / approved in Japan, but it took less than 6 months for Viagra's approval by the Japanese MHW (Ministry of Health & Welfare).  Excuse me, come again ?  Only 6 months ?  Versus 40 years ?  Yes !

In sum, unless your biotech/pharma product or service improves the sex lives of Japanese men, don't expect fast business results in Japan !

Moreover, when there is another major earthquake in the Tokyo region -- the now overdue Daini Kanto Dai-jishin -- which is the ineluctable tectonic "Manifest Destiny" of Japan -- then business outcomes for foreign companies in Japan will be Zero for many many years. 

Yes, Zero.  Or negative, sadly.

Thus, yes, you should address the Japanese market in your business plans, but the mathematical or statistical Expected Value (EV) in your spreadsheet should be ......... Zero.  Lamentably.

That's what a conservative planner or observer would say.

----------

POSTED 21 August 2011 by:

David Palella
Founder
BIOSCIENCE VENTURES Inc.
“Global Business Development & Licensing since 1991”

San Diego, California
cell: 619-787-5767
email:  dpalella@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpalella

web site:  http://www.BSVpartners.com

blog: http://biobizdev.blogspot.com

& Group Founder:

Japan Biotech / Biopharma Partnering Forum
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2857975/

Asia Business & Finance Roundup
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3132759/

Infectious Disease R&D and Business Network
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-godydbie-43/vgh/3937807/

Biotech / Pharma Business Development, Licensing & Dealmaking
http://www.linkedin.com/e/-ubgx8c-gp40f4dt-22/vgh/3964633/

& Co-founder:

Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/3921448

-------