Pistoia Alliance Reducing Carbon Footprint, Thermo Fisher Next-Gen Hybrid Capture Assay, More
By Bio-IT World Team
March 27, 2025 | The Pistoia Alliance launched the next phase of its project to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of clinical trials; Thermo Fisher Scientific launched a next generation sequencing hybrid capture assay; and more.
Xcell Biosciences Australia Pty has announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Royal Perth Hospital to use its AVATAR Foundry platform in a clinical trial focused on rapid manufacturing of more potent cancer-killing cell therapies. Solid tumors make up about 90% of all cancers. However, traditional cell therapies are not effective in targeting them due to the harsh nature of the tumor microenvironment (TME). The AVATAR Foundry provides a type of bootcamp for immune cells, enabling metabolic priming during the manufacturing process to achieve not only higher cancer-killing efficiency in TME conditions, but also longer persistence inside the tumor. Press release.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched the One Lambda HybriType HLA Plus Typing Flex kit, a next generation sequencing (NGS) hybrid capture assay featuring a probe-based design that optimizes read balance and uniformity, potentially mitigating allele dropout. The One Lambda HybriType assay is designed to provide flexibility in testing configuration and coverage, supporting human leukocyte antigen (HLA) Class I (4 field) and Class II (3 field) genotyping analysis across various sample types, including whole blood and buccal swabs. Press release.
The Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) has announced the inaugural recipients of the new Targeted Research Program on Engineered Cell Therapies for Lupus (TRP-ECT) to support the development and mechanistic understanding of safe and accessible next-generation engineered cell therapies for people with lupus. The TRP-ECT provides funding for two types of studies: preclinical studies, including discovery and translational projects, each of which will be supported with up to $300,000 over two years, and ancillary studies to ongoing or completed clinical trials, which will each receive up to $600,000 over two years. Press release.
Alvotech has acquired Xbrane Biopharma AB’s Xbrane’s R&D operations based in Campus Solna, at the Karolinska Institute outside Stockholm, Sweden, as well as the biosimilar candidate XB003, referencing Cimzia (certolizumab pegol). Xbrane retains other pre-clinical assets and will focus on the commercialization of this portfolio. Alvotech also announced that it intends to explore the possibility of a listing of Swedish Depository Receipts (SDR), equity share equivalents, on Nasdaq Stockholm, in the future. The acquisition is intended to further expand Alvotech’s development capabilities and establishing a footprint in the Swedish life science sector. Press release.
Sanofi and Dren Bio have entered into an agreement under which Sanofi has agreed to acquire DR-0201, a targeted bispecific myeloid cell engager (MCE) that has shown robust B-cell depletion in pre-clinical and early clinical studies. DR-0201 is a potential first-in-class CD20-directed bispecific antibody that targets and engages specific tissue-resident and trafficking myeloid cells to induce deep B-cell depletion via targeted phagocytosis. Recent early clinical study data in autoimmune diseases suggest that deep B-cell depletion might have the potential to reset the adaptive immune system, leading to sustained treatment-free remission in patients with refractory B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases such as lupus, where significant unmet medical needs remain. Press release.
The Pistoia Alliance launched the next phase of its project to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of clinical trials. The initiative will assess the environmental impact of digital trial delivery methods (e.g. eConsent and decentralized clinical trials) and digital health solutions (e.g. devices and apps), compared to traditional, paper-based approaches. By closing a critical gap in the understanding of whether digital technologies are more sustainable, the project will establish a standardized methodology for evaluating the use of digital tools in clinical trials. The Pistoia Alliance was recently named a winner of the Innovative Practices Award at Bio-IT World 2025 for their FAIR Maturity Matrix. Press release.
Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, an operating company of Danaher Corporation, has released the industry’s first modular solution for spectral flow cytometry: the CytoFLEX mosaic Spectral Detection Module. When connected to the CytoFLEX LX or S Flow Cytometers, the CytoFLEX mosaic Spectral Detection Module delivers fluorescence sensitivity for dim and complex multicolor experiments and can detect nanoparticles as small as 80 nm. It uniquely provides two unmixing algorithms and up to 10 autofluorescence channels, with up to 88 detection channels. The richer data resulting from spectral analysis can help untangle the complexities of biological systems and diseases faster, with a nuanced understanding of immune cell subsets, as well as their functions and interactions, due to simultaneously detecting multiple markers. Press release.
Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Institute of AI for Health at Helmholtz Munich, the University of Würzburg, and their collaborators as part of the wider Human Cell Atlas Initiative have created NicheCompass, a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI)-based neural network that can rapidly analyze and interpret millions of cells from a patient sample, predicting molecular changes in the tissue. It can potentially pinpoint where personalized treatments could be most effective for conditions such as cancer. Press release.
Salipro Biotech AB announced a research and license agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to accelerate the development of multiple drug targets. This collaboration aims to advance the discovery and development of new therapeutic solutions targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, transporters, and other integral membrane proteins in therapeutic areas, such as mental health and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases. The partnership leverages Salipro Biotech’s proprietary Salipro platform technology, which stabilizes membrane proteins in their native forms, enabling their use in drug discovery programs. Boehringer Ingelheim will conduct biophysical and structural studies, including cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM), on Boehringer pipeline targets enabled by the Salipro-technology to identify potential therapeutic candidates. Press release.
Purdue University experts in the College of Science and Rosen Center for Advanced Computing have launched Molecular Intelligence, a software company whose solutions help researchers determine the 3D structures of biomolecules imaged with cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Molecular Intelligence’s end users are research scientists in bioengineering, medical science and pharmaceutical companies who use cryo-EM to determine 3D structures of proteins, nucleic acids and other biomolecules. These biomolecular structures are intended to provide critical information for understanding how proteins function and for developing drugs, which are designed to interact with proteins and alter their activity. Press release.
The Center for Open Science (COS) has announced the launch of an innovative challenge aimed at advancing automated methods for evaluating research credibility. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Predicting Replicability Challenge seeks to accelerate the development of methods that could dramatically reduce the time and resources needed to assess research credibility. The challenge invites teams to develop algorithmic approaches that predict the likelihood of research claims being successfully replicated and encourages innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration, including partnerships between AI/ML experts and domain specialists in social-behavioral sciences. Press release.
Moffitt Cancer Center has become the first standalone cancer center in the world to open a Nikon Center of Excellence. Nikon Centers of Excellence are recognized worldwide for their advanced imaging capabilities and contributions to scientific innovation. The Nikon center will catalyze Moffitt’s role as a hub for scientific discovery, providing scientists with access to state-of-the-art imaging platforms, including live-cell and super resolution imaging systems. Press release.
Revvity announced the launch of EUROIMMUN’s CE-marked Anti-Measles Virus ELISA 2.0 (IgG) to support the diagnosis of a measles virus infection or to determine the immune status against measles virus. EUROIMMUN’s Anti-Measles Virus ELISA 2.0 (IgG) is the first of several assays in development expanding EUROIMMUN’s serological infection diagnostics portfolio with validation for dried blood spots (DBS) as sample material in addition to serum and plasma. Press release.