Posts

April 18, 2013

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12:05 AM | Pharma-Biotech: The Big Picture on where the industry needs to go

This is the sixth and final article in a series by venture capitalist Stan Fleming discussing whether mergers and acquisitions can solve Big Pharma’s problems. Read the first, second, third, fourth and fifth articles in the series for a review of how the industry has come to such an impasse and an overview of a [...]The post Pharma-Biotech: The Big Picture on where the industry needs to go appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 17, 2013

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11:26 AM | Therapeutic use of Monoclonal Antibodies: A Panel Discussion

Monoclonal antibodies have long been heralded as the drugs of the future. The first monoclonal antibody was approved by the FDA for therapeutic use in 1986 and since then there have been many more. There are a total of five dominant antibodies currently in clinical use (“Big 5”: infliximab, adalimumab, trastuzumab, bevacizumab and rituximab) and a [...]The post Therapeutic use of Monoclonal Antibodies: A Panel Discussion appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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1:47 AM | L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards: an evening with Pratibha Gai

Pratibha Gai, Professor of Chemistry and Physics at the University of York, has been recognized as an outstanding leader in her field at the 15th annual L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. The Ceremony took place on March 28, 2013, at the Sorbonne in Paris. Prof. Gai ingeniously modified her electron microscope so that she [...]The post L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards: an evening with Pratibha Gai appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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12:32 AM | Nanomedicine: Transforming Biomedical Research (Part I)

Synthetic “cells” that produce protein drugs when triggered with light (1). Virus-free vaccines administered by stick-on tattoos that yield long-lasting immunity (2). Ultra-sensitive, inexpensive biosensors to rapidly diagnose HIV infection from only a drop of blood (3). Drug cages that change shape to expose growth-arresting agents only when bound by cancer-specific combinations of cell surface [...]The post Nanomedicine: Transforming Biomedical Research (Part I) appeared first on Oxbridge […]

April 15, 2013

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6:31 PM | News of the Week, April 15th, 2013

SCIENCE Swansea epidemic continues to spread Following last week’s reports of a measles outbreak in South Wales, UK, the epidemic shows no signs of slowing and health officials have said they don’t expect it to peak for another 4 weeks. The number of people infected has risen to almost 700. Ministers have been strongly urged [...]The post News of the Week, April 15th, 2013 appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 14, 2013

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11:53 PM | How to Make a Video Abstract for Your Next Journal Article

As I’ve tried to demonstrate in this blog, video is a fantastic way to show off your research in a way that goes far beyond the traditional text-based paper. Today, I’d like to talk about a specific use of video … Continue reading →

April 12, 2013

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7:23 PM | Fixing Pharma’s problems with a new business model

This article is the fifth in a series by venture capitalist Stan Fleming discussing whether mergers and acquisitions can solve Big Pharma’s problems. The reasons why the historical model of pharma and biotech no longer works are evaluated in the first, second, third and fourth articles in the series. This article proposes a new business [...]The post Fixing Pharma’s problems with a new business model appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 11, 2013

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6:42 PM | What shall I wear today .........

Prior to becoming a careers specialist here at the RSC my background was working in HR. This involved considerable recruitment and lots and lots of interviews and it has always amazed me to see what people consider as suitable dress for an interview. As an aside I've often been tempted to write a book sharing some of the humorous and disastrous interviews I have conducted - maybe one day. According to a survey conducted by a careers management company 37% of employers decided […]

April 10, 2013

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7:00 AM | CDC to develop H7N9 vaccine

NEWSFLASH Recent cases of a new avian flu virus, dubbed H7N9, have caused renewed concerns over the potential emergence of an epidemic in China. The new virus was first isolated in wild birds, but was recently found also in pigeons in a Shanghai live bird market. Mass killing of birds at risk of becoming infected [...]The post CDC to develop H7N9 vaccine appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 09, 2013

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8:00 AM | Biology Basics: Therapeutic Antibodies: Drug of the Future?

When we think of the immune system the term ‘antibody’ immediately springs to mind. This interesting family of molecules is important in mediating the immune response to a wide range of pathogens and maladies that the innate arm of the immune system is incapable of clearing. The concept of antibodies is not new to science. The [...]The post Biology Basics: Therapeutic Antibodies: Drug of the Future? appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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8:00 AM | Science Communication and Funding – A Panel Discussion

What are scientists doing when they present their research findings in a talk or in written format? Well, they are communicating their work to their peers. Researchers thus engaging in science communication may do so to get recognized for their work in the form of a degree or a publication, to get grants from funding [...]The post Science Communication and Funding – A Panel Discussion appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 08, 2013

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5:49 PM | News of the Week, April 8th, 2013

SCIENCE Measles outbreak strikes South Wales A measles outbreak has hit South Wales, UK. Public health officials have confirmed 588 cases of the disease and approximately 60 people have been admitted to hospital. Most cases currently affect Swansea, but others have been reported in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Powys and Hywel Dda. There are calls for [...]The post News of the Week, April 8th, 2013 appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 06, 2013

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11:55 AM | Routes into Biotechnology

Manchester’s OBR chapter welcomed four leading industry figures to share experience and insight into some of the more unusual career paths at its Routes into Biotechnology seminar: Jonathan Butters from Butters Innovation Ltd., Rod Benson from Imagen Biotech, Matthew Walls from Epistem and Liam Ferguson from Vindon Healthcare plc. From Design to Development Jonathan Butters [...]The post Routes into Biotechnology appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 04, 2013

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1:16 AM | ACS Webinar: Chemists at U.S. Customs and Border Protection

A quick head’s up: tomorrow (and soon to be today), April 4, 2013, from 2:00-3:00 PM EDT, there will be an ACS Webinar regarding what might be considered a nontraditional chemistry career—working as a chemist for the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This webinar is entitled “From Lab Hoods to Front Lines: Chemists at [...]

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12:38 AM | Life Technologies auction to start next week

NEWSFLASH Life Technologies Corp, a genetic testing and medical diagnostics company based in Carlsbad, California, owner of brands such as Invitrogen, Applied Biosystems, Gibco, and TaqMan, and producer of the Ion Torrent and SOLiD sequencing machines, is going to be auctioned to potential buyers over the next couple of weeks. The bidding, which will take [...]The post Life Technologies auction to start next week appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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12:33 AM | Synthetic vaccine trialled for foot-and-mouth disease

NEWSFLASH Researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Reading, the Pirbright Institute, and the UK’s national synchrotron facility, the Diamond Light Source near Oxford, have developed a new method of vaccine production, currently being trialled for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).The prototype vaccine consists of synthetic empty viral shells designed to mimic the outer capsule of the [...]The post Synthetic vaccine trialled for foot-and-mouth disease appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 03, 2013

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2:26 PM | Myths About Giving Presentations: Never Apologize for a Bad Slide

We've all heard or read advice about how to give presentations, or more specifically, how not to screw up in front of your peers. It's sometimes worthwhile, however, to revisit sage advice to see if it is really germane or if it needs some clarification or modification.One recommendation I often hear is, "Never apologize for a bad slide." Yet many of my colleagues seem not to have ever heard this one. They continue to put up slides with long tables filled with data in font so small that it's […]

April 02, 2013

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7:00 AM | Hightable Interview with Mina Razzak, Assistant Editor at Nature Publishing Group

Mina Razzak is an assistant editor at Nature Reviews Urology and Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. She also edits technical articles for the International Society of Optics and Photonics, the Society of Plastics Engineers and Awareness Magazine. She received her PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Cambridge in 2010 and since then has developed a successful [...]The post Hightable Interview with Mina Razzak, Assistant Editor at Nature Publishing Group appeared first on Oxbridge […]

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6:10 AM | Mastering The Art Of Effective Science Writing

Recently I called a science writing consultant to discuss a writing sample that I submitted for a temporary job opening. I was hoping to get examples of the “winning” writing. I was informed that though content was the key, its presentation was critical too. Even if I had good ideas, it was important how I [...]The post Mastering The Art Of Effective Science Writing appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

April 01, 2013

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4:30 PM | News of the Week – April 1st, 2013

SCIENCE Large cancer study reveals dozens of genetic risk factors The Collaborative Oncological Gene-Environment Study (COGS) has released information about the genetic risk factors for three types of cancer for more than 200,000 people. These patients had previously been studied in other cancer projects, and were pooled together by COGS researchers to examine the connection [...]The post News of the Week – April 1st, 2013 appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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12:01 PM | PhD Career Guide PODCAST Episode 1

The wait is over: the first episode of the PhD Career Guide PODCAST is now up and available for download from iTunes, Stitcher, and many other podcast directories. You may also listen to the episode directly [...]

March 31, 2013

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7:10 PM | Why some women may choose not to enter STEM careers

The lack of women pursuing science careers has been a perennial hot topic. Unfortunately, scant progress has been observed in spite of a vast amount of effort on many fronts to address this inequality. Earlier this month, a special issue of Nature was devoted to the subject. Coincidentally, an attempt to unearth possible causes of this disparity [...]

March 29, 2013

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10:57 PM | Pharma Biotech mergers: the potential and the problems

This article is the fourth in a series by venture capitalist Stan Fleming discussing whether mergers and acquisitions can solve Big Pharma’s problems. Here Stan ponders the potential and problems associated with Biotech-Pharma mergers. Read the first, second and third articles for an overview of how the industry has gotten into the problems it currently [...]The post Pharma Biotech mergers: the potential and the problems appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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8:00 AM | How do we make Los Angeles a better Biotech Hub? – OBR LA launch event

How can we make Los Angeles a better biotech hub? The launch event of OBR Los Angeles chapter was focused on this very broad question. We were glad to have over 70 people from all over Los Angeles gathered on a sunny afternoon on the USC Health Sciences Campus. Our three panelists shared their views [...]The post How do we make Los Angeles a better Biotech Hub? – OBR LA launch event appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

March 28, 2013

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9:47 PM | UCB Postdoc Job Opportunity

OBR’s partner UCB is global biopharmaceutical company working towards cures for immune mediated and central nervous system diseases. UCB has a full time position available in Slough, UK. The ideal candidate will have a PhD and experience in immunology or cell biology and be proficient at single molecule imaging, fluorescence anisotropy, FLIM and FRET. Find [...]The post UCB Postdoc Job Opportunity appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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4:54 AM | OrganOx device preserves, repairs, and test-drives donor liver

NEWSFLASH Oxford University’s spin-off company, OrganOx, have launched their first product, the OrganOx metra, a machine capable of keeping donor livers “alive” outside of the body for up to 24 hours and specifically designed to assist in all stages of the retrieval, transport and transplant process. The device was developed over 15 years of research by Peter Friend, [...]The post OrganOx device preserves, repairs, and test-drives donor liver appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

March 27, 2013

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10:03 AM | TMT helps clear the way to improved tumour metastasis treatment

At the start of 2013, tumour metastasis remains the primary cause of death among cancer patients. 90% of fatalities associated with cancer can currently be attributed to this mechanism. But could the fight against metastasis finally be turning in our favour? A unique metastatic tumour-targeting peptide, known as TMT, may just lead the way. Broadly [...]The post TMT helps clear the way to improved tumour metastasis treatment appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

March 26, 2013

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4:17 PM | R&D 2.0: Can patients be a disruptive force in drug development?

Dave deBronkart is often found saying: “Patients are the invisible stakeholders in healthcare”. Mr. deBronkart, or e-Patient Dave as he is known in his blog, is one of the most vocal advocates for participatory medicine, or Medicine 2.0, as a game-changer in healthcare. A cancer survivor himself, e-Patient Dave promotes a model of healthcare where [...]The post R&D 2.0: Can patients be a disruptive force in drug development? appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

March 25, 2013

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9:19 PM | News of the Week – March 25th, 2013

SCIENCE Twitter communities develop unique lingos Researchers from the University of London found that, depending on which Twitter users you interact most frequently with, you become more likely to use certain terms in your “tweets” unique to your Twitter community, reports ScienceNOW. In this study, published in EPJ Data Science in February, the research team [...]The post News of the Week – March 25th, 2013 appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

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11:23 AM | OneStart Semi-Finalists Participate in Biotech Business Bootcamp: Morning Session

On Saturday, March 16th, the 35 semi-finalists in OBR’s and SR-one’s OneStart idea competition met for a Biotech Business Bootcamp at University College London. With £100 000, free lab space at Stevenage BioScience Catalyst, one year membership to networking society One Nucleus, and business and IP support on the line these finalists were given the opportunity [...]The post OneStart Semi-Finalists Participate in Biotech Business Bootcamp: Morning Session appeared first on Oxbridge […]