Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (Nasdaq: ADPT), a commercial stage biotechnology company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease, today announced the launch of T-Detect™ COVID, the first clinical T-cell based test to confirm recent or prior COVID-19 infection. In real-world studies, this first-in-class test outperformed leading antibody tests. Knowledge of…
Phase Genomics, Inc., the biotech leader providing proximity-ligation solutions for the genomics community, announced today the receipt of a $1.7MM grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This funding will fuel the commercialization of a first-in-class solution for the discovery of DNA viruses, employing a novel reagent kit and robust software platform that leverages Phase Genomics’…
Today’s installment is with BBI member Dr. Gavin Ha, Assistant Professor, Computational Biology Program in the Public Health Sciences and Human Biology Divisions at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center BBI: Thanks for speaking with us today! Gavin Ha: Thanks, I’m happy to! BBI: Kicking things off, how do you view your work in cell-free DNA as relating to…
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has three Nobel Prizes hanging in its Seattle lobby and a worldwide reputation for the quality of its science. But one honor has remained elusive, until now: a creature named after it. Researchers at Fred Hutch and the University of Washington, with colleagues in Pittsburgh and Boston, named the bacterium Megasphaera hutchinsoni in honor of the place where researchers first isolated it and in recognition of the Hutch’s longstanding expertise in HIV research. The…
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation (Nasdaq: ADPT), a commercial stage biotechnology company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease, today announced an expansion of its collaboration with Labcorp (NYSE:LH), a leading global life sciences company, to enable broader access to Adaptive’s growing portfolio of immune-driven clinical diagnostic and research products.…
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), the only NCCN-designated cancer center in Washington State, has been selected as an authorized treatment center for the new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel, also known as liso-cel and by the brand name BreyanziTM. Liso-cel was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on February 5, 2021. The CD19-directed CAR…
Dr. Barbara Jung, chair of the Department of Medicine, joins the presidential line up for the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). She will serve as vice president, president-elect and will become president in 2023. Founded in 1897, AGA has more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology.…
In fall of 2005, Mary Lidstrom was just about to wrap up a nine-year run as associate dean of new initiatives in the University of Washington’s College of Engineering as she weighed an unexpected offer to become the UW’s third-ever Vice Provost for Research. Her associate dean role was half-time and Lidstrom, a professor of applied microbiology in the UW’s…
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe degenerative muscle disease caused by mutations in the gene that encodes dystrophin, an essential muscle-building, shock absorbing and signaling protein. Onset of DMD, which affects about one in 3,500 male births, occurs in early childhood and leads steadily to lost mobility and life-threatening heart and diaphragm malfunctions. While people with DMD can live…
Astellas Pharma US (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., “Astellas”) and Seagen, Inc. (Nasdaq:SGEN) today announced completion of submissions for two supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for PADCEV® (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv). One submission, based on the phase 3 EV-301 trial, seeks to convert PADCEV’s accelerated approval to regular approval. The second submission, based on…