Staatssecretaris Blokhuis is niet de enige die zoveel mogelijk gezondheidswinst met vaccinatie wil verzilveren. Ook elders in Europa houdt vaccinatie de gemoederen bezig. Het magazine voor Europese instanties en beleidsmakers, “The European Files”, wijdt daarom een special aan vaccinaties. Effectief beleid, zowel op nationaal als Europees niveau staat hierin centraal. Diverse partijen, waaronder Europese en nationale Ministers, EMA, ECDC, WHO, IMI, EPF, CPME, PGEU en industrie geven een kijkje in eigen keuken, of reflecteren op mogelijke verbeteringen op Europees niveau. Een absolute leestip als het vaccinatiedossier je na aan het hart gaat!
MSD, het grootste geneesmiddelenbedrijf in Nederland, verdubbelt de komende jaren haar capaciteit voor biotechproductie in Oss. De uitbreiding is nodig vanwege de wereldwijd groeiende vraag naar behandelingen tegen diverse soorten kanker. Met de vergroting van de capaciteit en de nieuwe faciliteiten kan MSD vanuit Oss geneesmiddelen leveren aan de rest van de wereld.
Nederlands tintje aan wereldwijde kankerbestrijding
Kanker is één van de grootste uitdagingen van onze tijd. In Nederland krijgen elk jaar ongeveer 116.000 mensen kanker (1). Wereldwijd overlijden ongeveer 1 op de 6 mensen aan de ziekte (2). Er zijn verschillende soorten behandelingen voor verschillende vormen van kanker, zoals doelgerichte therapie, chemotherapie en immuuntherapie. MSD richt zich vooral op immuuntherapie. MSD Nederland is – vooral in Oss – nauw betrokken geweest bij de ontwikkeling van immuuntherapie en speelt daar dus nog steeds een belangrijke rol in met biotechnologische productie.
16 miljard dollar
De investeringen in Oss maken deel uit van een meerjarenprogramma waarmee MSD 16 miljard dollar investeert om productiecapaciteit en -faciliteiten over de hele wereld uit te breiden. Binnen Nederland wordt op dit moment op de locaties van MSD in Haarlem, in Oss en in Boxmeer (diergezondheid) volop gebouwd.
Passie en trots
“Met nieuwe high tech faciliteiten en meer productiecapaciteit gaat Nederland een belangrijke bijdrage leveren aan de bestrijding van kanker. Met deze uitbreiding tonen we onze betrokkenheid bij de behandeling van kanker en dat doen we uiteindelijk voor al die patiënten”, vertelt John Glavas, directeur van MSD Oss Biotech. “Ik ben trots op onze medewerkers die elke dag met passie en trots aan deze behandelingen werken.” De uitbreiding is daarnaast goed voor de BV Nederland. MSD heeft momenteel 6.000 medewerkers in Nederland en is actief op het gebied van ontwikkeling, klinisch onderzoek, productie, verpakking en distributie.
1) KWF Kankerbestrijding https://www.kwf.nl/kanker In Nederland krijgen jaarlijks ongeveer 116.000 mensen kanker. 2) WHO, factsheets, key facts cancer, 12 september 2018 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and is responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Globally, about 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer.
On 20 November 2019, for World Children’s Day, Novo Nordisk and UNICEF announced an ambitious and collaborative multi-million-dollar global partnership to address the global childhood obesity crisis.
UNICEF is broadening its programmatic focus on the prevention of childhood overweight and obesity in children and adolescents and early life prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with an ambition to defeat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases, recognizing prevention as a key building block to help build healthier environments to enable improved health.
UNICEF and Novo Nordisk aim to combine their expertise, reach and convening power to make a significant contribution to the global agenda to prevent childhood overweight and obesity, reaching more than half a million children in Latin America by 2023. The long-term goal is to support governments and decision makers to act and change public policy on this issue.
Child overweight has far reaching consequences
This partnership responds to UNICEF’s 2019 State of the World’s Children Report, focusing on children, food and nutrition, which provides a stark warning that childhood overweight and obesity is increasing across all continents. Today, 40 million children under the age of 5 are overweight, while the proportion of children and adolescents aged 5 -19 years old who are overweight has nearly doubled in the past 15 years.
Children affected by overweight and obesity may face challenges in thriving and reaching their full potential. Being overweight can contribute to stigmatization, poor socialization and emotional difficulties and in some cases reduced educational attainment. The Report of the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (WHO 2016) also states that child overweight can lead to a higher risk of developing health problems, including musculoskeletal, orthopedic complications and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
A complex issue where early prevention is key
The drivers of the recent increase in overweight are multiple. Changes to the modern food supply appear to be one of the dominant drivers of weight gain. This includes inappropriate marketing and advertising, the abundance of ultra-processed foods in cities but also in remote areas and increasing access to fast food and highly sweetened beverages. Other factors contributing to increasing rates of overweight include; poverty and urbanization, as well as declines in physical activity, active transport and active play time due to insufficient access to safe exercise spaces in cities and increased screen time.
The most efficient solution is to prevent overweight and obesity from developing at an early age.
An ambitious partnership building on the respective strengths of both organizations
The partnership builds on the respective strengths of both organizations.
Novo Nordisk comes with a significant financial and technical commitment to support UNICEF’s efforts on prevention of childhood overweight and obesity. The company has 95 years of knowledge and experience of working with innovation and leadership on non-communicable diseases, with success in multi-stakeholder platforms and partnership programmes in response to the urgent urban diabetes challenge. Their ‘Changing Obesity’ strategy, with an ambition to reduce global obesity by 25% by 2045 underlines their focus on building healthier environments.
UNICEF is the leading global advocate for children’s rights, including their right to good nutrition and health.
Preventing through three focus areas
Towards a societal and collaborative approach
Novo Nordisk and UNICEF agree that effective prevention lies in the involvement of the society and multiple stakeholders.
“With partners like Novo Nordisk, we want to ensure that preventing childhood obesity and overweight becomes a broader societal responsibility, involving governments, civil society, the private sector, communities and families,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“There is no doubt that childhood overweight and obesity is a public health crisis that requires immediate attention. Childhood overweight and obesity is more than an individual choice, this is everybody’s business. Together with UNICEF, we hope to help millions of children lead healthy lives and at the same time ease the burden of obesity to society,” says Novo Nordisk President and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2019-11-20 15:53:432019-12-09 16:11:50Novo Nordisk and UNICEF partner to prevent childhood overweight and obesity← #nieuws
Wistar’s VP of Institutional Advancement Dr. Anita Pepper met with Dutch dignitaries and scientific and academic leaders in the Netherlands to formally endorse the Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship in partnership with Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), to bring recent Ph.D. graduates trained at LUMC to Wistar to advance their research education.
This program will expand the Institute’s international partnerships in research and education and promote scientific exchange between investigators in the Netherlands and the United States, opening new opportunities for global collaboration.
The Wistar-Schoemaker Fellowship honors the legacy and accomplishments of the late Dr. Hubert J.P. Schoemaker, a visionary pioneer in biotechnology and a native of the Netherlands, who was the co-founder of Centocor, now Janssen Biologics, with Dr. Hilary Koprowski, Dr. Vincent Zurawski, and Michael Wall. Centocor was located in the Philadelphia suburbs and advanced the Institute’s seminal research in monoclonal antibodies into a commercial platform, becoming one of the most exciting biotechnology companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.
Schoemaker also built Centocor facilities in the Netherlands in what is now the Leiden Bio Science Park, one of the top five science parks in Europe that today hosts LUMC.
The Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship is set to reprise the historical collaboration between Wistar and the Dutch biomedical research arena, and was inspired by Schoemaker’s passion for mentoring the next generation of scientific leaders.
In a homecoming of sorts, Dr. Schoemaker’s wife Anne accompanied Dr. Pepper during the visit to Leiden. Mrs. Schoemaker was instrumental in the process of establishing the Wistar-LUMC partnership and the Fellowship.
Caption: Dr. Pancras Hogendoorn, dean of the Leiden University Medical Center, and Wistar’s Dr. Pepper at the official ceremony to sign off on the Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2019-11-20 09:53:322019-11-20 09:53:33Wistar Collaboration with LUMC to Advance Research Education← #nieuws
Het eerste bedrijf uit de innovatieve Nederlandse veredelingssector kiest voor de overstap naar Canada door de knellende en achterhaalde Europese wet- en regelgeving. Aardappelveredelaar HZPC kan buiten Europa sneller en beter nieuwe aardappelrassen ontwikkelen met hulp van moderne veredelingsmethodes zoals CRISPR-Cas. De maatschappelijke voordelen zijn groot: aardappelen die een hogere opbrengst hebben, tot minder verspilling leiden en verminderde inzet van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen mogelijk maken.
In een uitgebreid interview in het Financieele Dagblad doen directeuren
Robert Graveland en Gerard Backx hun verhaal. De aanleiding voor de oversteek
naar Canada is de uitspraak van het Europese Hof van Justitie in de zomer van
2018. Die bestempelde moderne veredelingsmethodes zoals gene editing als
genetische modificatie, zonder de uitzonderingspositie die klassieke vormen van
mutagenese hebben. Toepassingen op basis van deze methodes moeten daardoor een
lang, zeer kostbaar en onzeker Europees goedkeurings- en toelatingstraject
doorlopen.
HollandBIO en veel andere organisaties in Nederland en Europa zagen de
uitspraak als grote domper. Want hoe gaan we tegemoetkomen aan de ambitieuze
doelstellingen voor een duurzame landbouw en voedselproductie, als je de
instrumenten voor het sneller en preciezer veredelen van gewassen onbereikbaar
maakt? Bij HZPC is deze uitdaging nog groter dan bij andere veredelaars, omdat
het ontwikkelen van een nieuw aardappelras zo’n 10 tot 15 jaar duurt terwijl
dit bij tomaten in 5 jaar kan.
De keuze die HZPC maakt voor Canada is logisch verklaarbaar. Want waar
de EU kijkt naar de techniek die je als veredelaar toepast, stelt Canada de
eigenschappen van een nieuw ras centraal in haar beoordelingsprocedure. Dit
stelt bedrijven als HZPC in staat om een relatief korte tijdsspanne van 8 jaar te
hanteren voor de marktintroductie van een nieuwe fritesaardappel. Een nieuw ras
dat niet te onderscheiden valt van een ‘traditioneel veredeld’ aardappelras en
dat bovendien leidt tot een 10% hogere opbrengst, 40% minder verspilling en het
terugbrengen van de inzet van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen.
HollandBIO werkt samen met andere partijen aan het zo snel mogelijk
agenderen van wijziging van de Europese wet- en regelgeving voor genetische
modificatie zodat we alle veredelaars de ruimte geven voor verantwoorde,
versnelde en verbeterde innovatie. Alleen op die manier geven we hen de
instrumenten in handen om bij te dragen aan de grote uitdagingen op het gebied
van landbouw, klimaat en duurzaamheid.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2019-11-19 15:04:382019-11-19 15:04:39Meer friet per vierkante aardappel: HZPC wijkt uit naar Canada voor snellere en betere veredeling← #nieuws
Door betere inzet van in vitro-testen
kunnen wereldwijd veel dierproeven worden voorkomen. Dit kondigt het College
ter Beoordeling van Geneesmiddelen deze week aan. De reden hiervoor is dat de
internationale richtlijn voor het testen van de schadelijkheid van medicijnen
tijdens de zwangerschap voor het eerst in 25 jaar wordt aangepast.
Op dit moment moeten geneesmiddelenbedrijven
nog in twee verschillende diermodellen (bv. konijn en rat) aantonen dat een
medicijn niet schadelijk is voor de foetus. Volgens de nieuwe richtlijn zijn
tijdens fase 1 en 2 van het geneesmiddelenontwikkelingstraject straks minder
grote studiepopulaties nodig en mag een in vitro-test één van de twee diermodellen vervangen. Dit voorkomt onnodige dierproeven
voor medicijnen die in veel gevallen de eindstreep niet halen. Daarnaast zullen
in vitro-testen in bepaalde gevallen afdoende zijn, bijvoorbeeld als het
gaat om een stof uit een medicijngroep waarvan bekend is dat ze schadelijk zijn
tijdens zwangerschap.
Hoewel de aanpassing van de internationale
richtlijn een mooie eerste stap is op weg naar snellere en betere
geneesmiddelenontwikkeling, zijn we er nog lang niet. Zo blijft voor fase 3
onderzoek de dubbele dierproef vereist. Waarom? Wat staat er nog in de weg om
de transitie naar het proefdiervrij ontwikkelen van nieuwe geneesmiddelen
mogelijk te maken? Steeds meer bedrijven in onze achterban ontwikkelen
innovatieve technologieën die hier een rol in kunnen spelen, zoals organoids of
organs-on-a-chip. HollandBIO inventariseert momenteel de knelpunten op weg naar
snellere en betere inzet van dit soort “slimmer meten” technologieën.
Wil je meer weten of over ons “Slimmer meten”
project? Neem contact op met HollandBIO’s Marit.
Last week, nearly 4500
attendees from all over the world gathered in Hamburg for BIO-Europe, the
premier partnering conference for the biotech industry. This conference’s
edition welcomed a strong delegation of almost 190 Dutch biotech entrepreneurs.
The well-visited
Health~Holland Pavilion was one of the eye-catchers of the exhibition floor – a
not-to-miss landmark featuring the Netherlands as Europe’s most attractive and
innovative biopharmaceutical environment. The Pavilion served as the central
information point for international visitors with questions regarding the Dutch
business and innovation climate and life sciences & health sector. At the
Hospitality Reception on Tuesday, the Health~Holland Pavilion formed the
exhibition’s epicenter. During the best-visited happy hour of the conference,
the Dutch Loyens & Loeff bike was raffled.
With this successful edition behind us, we already look forward to BIO-Europe in Paris, March 23 – 26 2020. More information will follow soon.
DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, has reached agreement with the shareholders of specialty dairy solutions provider CSK for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the company for a cash consideration of about €150 million. Subject to customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
Dairy is DSM’s single largest segment in food
and beverages, and customers are increasingly looking for solution providers
with a broad portfolio of offerings and deep expertise, to support them in
delivering differentiating, delicious and sustainable end products to
consumers. The combination of DSM’s dairy business and CSK will be even better
able to serve those needs, and well-placed to address the fast-growing and
attractive dairy cultures markets.
With the acquisition of CSK, DSM will further
strengthen its product portfolio and application know-how and expertise in food
& beverage, in particular in the complementary area of taste, texture and
bio-preservation solutions for semi-hard cheeses such as Dutch heritage cheeses
Gouda and Edam. The transaction will include CSK’s state-of-the-art dairy
application center in the heart of Food Valley, Wageningen (the Netherlands).
In addition, it will bring its high-tech fermentation facility in Leeuwarden
(the Netherlands) into DSM’s global manufacturing network, providing additional
production capacity for a range of products, located in the strategically
important European region. CSK generated in 2018 net sales of €65 million with
approximately 180 employees, around 150 of whom based in the Netherlands.
Patrick Niels, DSM Food Specialties President,
commented: “We are very
much looking forward to welcoming Royal CSK to DSM. Our companies have a great
fit together, with shared passion for dairy, skilled and dedicated people, and
complementary solution portfolios. This is also a testament to DSM’s commitment
to the dairy industry, which we support throughout our Nutrition businesses.
Today’s dairy needs are constantly changing, and DSM continues to invest in
enabling customers to keep satisfying consumer demand, helping them grow their
business, while we grow ours in line with our purpose-led, performance-driven
strategy. The acquisition of CSK will greatly strengthen our ability to do
so.”
Sanne Melles, CEO of Royal CSK, said: “In DSM, we recognize the opportunity
for CSK to make the leap forward that we were looking for. Our combined
capabilities will accelerate our international growth ambition and enhance our
innovative offerings to the dairy industry”.
The two companies share a long history of serving food and beverage markets, with deep roots in the Netherlands. CSK has a track record of Dutch heritage semi-hard cheese cultures of more than 100 years since its foundation in 1905, while in 2019 DSM celebrates 150 years of fermentation and biotechnology innovation at its site in Delft.
As consumers continue to watch their calorie intake and strive to live a healthier lifestyle, food and beverage manufacturers are in need of great-tasting, zero-calorie sweeteners to help them achieve these goals. To meet this demand, Avansya, the joint venture between Cargill and Royal DSM, has today started production at the first commercial-scale fermentation facility for stevia sweeteners in the U.S. The facility is producing EverSweet™, a non-artificial, zero-calorie stevia sweetener.
The $50 million fermentation facility is located in Blair, Nebraska, and is operated by Cargill. It produces highly sought-after, sweet-tasting molecules, such as Reb M and Reb D used to make EverSweet, and gives food and beverage manufacturers an even more scalable, sustainable and low cost-in-use solution than if these molecules were extracted from the stevia leaf. The market for high-intensity sweeteners produced by fermentation is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2025.
Speaking at the opening, Cargill managing director and chairman of the Board of Avansya, Mike Wagner said: “Building this first-of-its-kind, stevia sweetener fermentation facility on the existing Cargill Blair campus reaffirms our pledge to helping food and beverage manufacturers meet the sharply rising consumer demand for great-tasting, zero-calorie products to meet their dietary needs and goals. It also reaffirms our commitment to strengthening the business community and Nebraska as a biotechnology mecca.”
“The need for effective solutions for advanced sugar reduction on a global scale has never been clearer or more urgent. With today’s opening, we are showing that, as an industry, we can do more, and faster, to innovate and provide consumers around the world with reduced- and zero-calorie food and beverage products, with no compromise on taste, and so help support good health and well-being in our societies,” said Patrick Niels, President of DSM Food Specialties and Avansya Board Member.
EverSweet’s clean taste profile is well-suited for use in products such as yogurt, chocolate milk, soft drinks, ice cream, cereal, bars and confections. Avansya has commercial volumes available and is already supplying EverSweet to various customers. Further consumer products will launch in the coming months across multiple market segments. Over 300 customer trials and product development projects are currently in progress.
EverSweet is GRAS and FEMA GRAS approved for use in food and beverage products in the U.S. and Mexico and additional regulatory approvals for use in other countries are underway.
Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska Mike Foley took part in the opening ceremony: “We are very pleased to see Cargill and Royal DSM once again selecting the Blair Campus to invest in the production of innovative solutions that are going to make a difference to people’s lives. We have a great tradition of supporting the food and beverage industry with strong partnerships, skilled workers and high-quality products, and I’m proud to continue that tradition today.”
The 10,000 square-foot, stevia sweetener fermentation facility at the Blair Campus took approximately 225,000 hours to build and features 6 miles of new piping and 2,000 new instruments, in addition to the fermenters and evaporators that were installed.
BiosanaPharma and A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have signed a research collaboration to bring continuous biomanufacturing to the next level. Biosana’s proprietary 3C process will be used as the model for:
Downscaling of continuous processing to facilitate fast-track process development for innovator and biosimilar monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)
In-line and at-line process analytical monitoring of continuous process to bring parametric release closer to reality
Modelling of continuous processing for easy scale up and
High throughput process development of Biosana’s mAb antibody candidates to validate the achievements
The parties will establish a Joint Laboratory for Continuous
Biomanufacturing located at the Centros building in Biopolis, Singapore, where
staff from both parties will collaborate to mature and optimize the continuous process.
Biosana will incorporate a local entity to support the collaboration.
To address the current challenges of diverse product
pipelines and competition from biosimilars, companies are looking for highly
flexible and cost effective manufacturing processes, traits that continuous
biomanufacturing can offer. Continuous biomanufacturing can directly lower the
costs of mAb therapeutics to benefit patients and reimbursement bodies.
Ard Tijsterman, CEO of BiosanaPharma commented “We are very
happy to start this Joint Laboratory in collaboration with BTI. In the past
years we’ve been working with BTI, we are impressed by their dedication,
expertise and enthusiasm for our joint process development activities. We look
forward to mature our 3C technology in order to increase accessibility and
affordability of mAb medicines”.
“We are pleased to be a partner in setting up this Joint Laboratory, leveraging BTI’s expertise in bioprocessing science and engineering. This affirms our commitment to work with international enterprises to develop innovative biomanufacturing solutions, meet the demands of the global biopharmaceutical industry, and add to the vibrancy of Singapore’s R&D ecosystem”, said Professor Lam Kong-Peng, Executive Director, Bioprocessing Technology Institute, A*STAR.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svghollandbio2019-11-15 15:43:112019-11-19 15:49:33Biosana and A*STAR to advance continuous biomanufacturing
Effectief vaccinbeleid centraal in Europees beleidsmagazine
Gezondheid op maat, GezondheidStaatssecretaris Blokhuis is niet de enige die zoveel mogelijk gezondheidswinst met vaccinatie wil verzilveren. Ook elders in Europa houdt vaccinatie de gemoederen bezig. Het magazine voor Europese instanties en beleidsmakers, “The European Files”, wijdt daarom een special aan vaccinaties. Effectief beleid, zowel op nationaal als Europees niveau staat hierin centraal. Diverse partijen, waaronder Europese en nationale Ministers, EMA, ECDC, WHO, IMI, EPF, CPME, PGEU en industrie geven een kijkje in eigen keuken, of reflecteren op mogelijke verbeteringen op Europees niveau. Een absolute leestip als het vaccinatiedossier je na aan het hart gaat!
MSD verdubbelt biotechproductie in Oss
Gezondheid op maat, IJzersterk innovatieklimaat, Gezondheid, InnovatieklimaatMSD, het grootste geneesmiddelenbedrijf in Nederland, verdubbelt de komende jaren haar capaciteit voor biotechproductie in Oss. De uitbreiding is nodig vanwege de wereldwijd groeiende vraag naar behandelingen tegen diverse soorten kanker. Met de vergroting van de capaciteit en de nieuwe faciliteiten kan MSD vanuit Oss geneesmiddelen leveren aan de rest van de wereld.
Nederlands tintje aan wereldwijde kankerbestrijding
Kanker is één van de grootste uitdagingen van onze tijd. In Nederland krijgen elk jaar ongeveer 116.000 mensen kanker (1). Wereldwijd overlijden ongeveer 1 op de 6 mensen aan de ziekte (2). Er zijn verschillende soorten behandelingen voor verschillende vormen van kanker, zoals doelgerichte therapie, chemotherapie en immuuntherapie. MSD richt zich vooral op immuuntherapie. MSD Nederland is – vooral in Oss – nauw betrokken geweest bij de ontwikkeling van immuuntherapie en speelt daar dus nog steeds een belangrijke rol in met biotechnologische productie.
16 miljard dollar
De investeringen in Oss maken deel uit van een meerjarenprogramma waarmee MSD 16 miljard dollar investeert om productiecapaciteit en -faciliteiten over de hele wereld uit te breiden. Binnen Nederland wordt op dit moment op de locaties van MSD in Haarlem, in Oss en in Boxmeer (diergezondheid) volop gebouwd.
Passie en trots
“Met nieuwe high tech faciliteiten en meer productiecapaciteit gaat Nederland een belangrijke bijdrage leveren aan de bestrijding van kanker. Met deze uitbreiding tonen we onze betrokkenheid bij de behandeling van kanker en dat doen we uiteindelijk voor al die patiënten”, vertelt John Glavas, directeur van MSD Oss Biotech. “Ik ben trots op onze medewerkers die elke dag met passie en trots aan deze behandelingen werken.” De uitbreiding is daarnaast goed voor de BV Nederland. MSD heeft momenteel 6.000 medewerkers in Nederland en is actief op het gebied van ontwikkeling, klinisch onderzoek, productie, verpakking en distributie.
1) KWF Kankerbestrijding https://www.kwf.nl/kanker In Nederland krijgen jaarlijks ongeveer 116.000 mensen kanker.
2) WHO, factsheets, key facts cancer, 12 september 2018 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and is responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Globally, about 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer.
Bron: https://msd.nl/msd-verdubbelt-biotechproductie-in-oss/
Novo Nordisk and UNICEF partner to prevent childhood overweight and obesity
GezondheidOn 20 November 2019, for World Children’s Day, Novo Nordisk and UNICEF announced an ambitious and collaborative multi-million-dollar global partnership to address the global childhood obesity crisis.
UNICEF is broadening its programmatic focus on the prevention of childhood overweight and obesity in children and adolescents and early life prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with an ambition to defeat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases, recognizing prevention as a key building block to help build healthier environments to enable improved health.
UNICEF and Novo Nordisk aim to combine their expertise, reach and convening power to make a significant contribution to the global agenda to prevent childhood overweight and obesity, reaching more than half a million children in Latin America by 2023. The long-term goal is to support governments and decision makers to act and change public policy on this issue.
Child overweight has far reaching consequences
This partnership responds to UNICEF’s 2019 State of the World’s Children Report, focusing on children, food and nutrition, which provides a stark warning that childhood overweight and obesity is increasing across all continents. Today, 40 million children under the age of 5 are overweight, while the proportion of children and adolescents aged 5 -19 years old who are overweight has nearly doubled in the past 15 years.
Children affected by overweight and obesity may face challenges in thriving and reaching their full potential. Being overweight can contribute to stigmatization, poor socialization and emotional difficulties and in some cases reduced educational attainment. The Report of the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (WHO 2016) also states that child overweight can lead to a higher risk of developing health problems, including musculoskeletal, orthopedic complications and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
A complex issue where early prevention is key
The drivers of the recent increase in overweight are multiple. Changes to the modern food supply appear to be one of the dominant drivers of weight gain. This includes inappropriate marketing and advertising, the abundance of ultra-processed foods in cities but also in remote areas and increasing access to fast food and highly sweetened beverages. Other factors contributing to increasing rates of overweight include; poverty and urbanization, as well as declines in physical activity, active transport and active play time due to insufficient access to safe exercise spaces in cities and increased screen time.
The most efficient solution is to prevent overweight and obesity from developing at an early age.
An ambitious partnership building on the respective strengths of both organizations
The partnership builds on the respective strengths of both organizations.
Novo Nordisk comes with a significant financial and technical commitment to support UNICEF’s efforts on prevention of childhood overweight and obesity. The company has 95 years of knowledge and experience of working with innovation and leadership on non-communicable diseases, with success in multi-stakeholder platforms and partnership programmes in response to the urgent urban diabetes challenge. Their ‘Changing Obesity’ strategy, with an ambition to reduce global obesity by 25% by 2045 underlines their focus on building healthier environments.
UNICEF is the leading global advocate for children’s rights, including their right to good nutrition and health.
Preventing through three focus areas
Towards a societal and collaborative approach
Novo Nordisk and UNICEF agree that effective prevention lies in the involvement of the society and multiple stakeholders.
“With partners like Novo Nordisk, we want to ensure that preventing childhood obesity and overweight becomes a broader societal responsibility, involving governments, civil society, the private sector, communities and families,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
“There is no doubt that childhood overweight and obesity is a public health crisis that requires immediate attention. Childhood overweight and obesity is more than an individual choice, this is everybody’s business. Together with UNICEF, we hope to help millions of children lead healthy lives and at the same time ease the burden of obesity to society,” says Novo Nordisk President and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.
For more information:
The partnership focuses on prevention, not treatment UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, service or product.
Source: UNICEF (press release)
Wistar Collaboration with LUMC to Advance Research Education
InnovatieklimaatWistar’s VP of Institutional Advancement Dr. Anita Pepper met with Dutch dignitaries and scientific and academic leaders in the Netherlands to formally endorse the Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship in partnership with Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), to bring recent Ph.D. graduates trained at LUMC to Wistar to advance their research education.
This program will expand the Institute’s international partnerships in research and education and promote scientific exchange between investigators in the Netherlands and the United States, opening new opportunities for global collaboration.
The Wistar-Schoemaker Fellowship honors the legacy and accomplishments of the late Dr. Hubert J.P. Schoemaker, a visionary pioneer in biotechnology and a native of the Netherlands, who was the co-founder of Centocor, now Janssen Biologics, with Dr. Hilary Koprowski, Dr. Vincent Zurawski, and Michael Wall. Centocor was located in the Philadelphia suburbs and advanced the Institute’s seminal research in monoclonal antibodies into a commercial platform, becoming one of the most exciting biotechnology companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.
Schoemaker also built Centocor facilities in the Netherlands in what is now the Leiden Bio Science Park, one of the top five science parks in Europe that today hosts LUMC.
The Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship is set to reprise the historical collaboration between Wistar and the Dutch biomedical research arena, and was inspired by Schoemaker’s passion for mentoring the next generation of scientific leaders.
In a homecoming of sorts, Dr. Schoemaker’s wife Anne accompanied Dr. Pepper during the visit to Leiden. Mrs. Schoemaker was instrumental in the process of establishing the Wistar-LUMC partnership and the Fellowship.
Caption: Dr. Pancras Hogendoorn, dean of the Leiden University Medical Center, and Wistar’s Dr. Pepper at the official ceremony to sign off on the Wistar-Schoemaker International Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Source: Wistar
Meer friet per vierkante aardappel: HZPC wijkt uit naar Canada voor snellere en betere veredeling
Wereld mét toekomst, Hollandbio, Voedsel en materialen, UitgelichtHet eerste bedrijf uit de innovatieve Nederlandse veredelingssector kiest voor de overstap naar Canada door de knellende en achterhaalde Europese wet- en regelgeving. Aardappelveredelaar HZPC kan buiten Europa sneller en beter nieuwe aardappelrassen ontwikkelen met hulp van moderne veredelingsmethodes zoals CRISPR-Cas. De maatschappelijke voordelen zijn groot: aardappelen die een hogere opbrengst hebben, tot minder verspilling leiden en verminderde inzet van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen mogelijk maken.
In een uitgebreid interview in het Financieele Dagblad doen directeuren Robert Graveland en Gerard Backx hun verhaal. De aanleiding voor de oversteek naar Canada is de uitspraak van het Europese Hof van Justitie in de zomer van 2018. Die bestempelde moderne veredelingsmethodes zoals gene editing als genetische modificatie, zonder de uitzonderingspositie die klassieke vormen van mutagenese hebben. Toepassingen op basis van deze methodes moeten daardoor een lang, zeer kostbaar en onzeker Europees goedkeurings- en toelatingstraject doorlopen.
HollandBIO en veel andere organisaties in Nederland en Europa zagen de uitspraak als grote domper. Want hoe gaan we tegemoetkomen aan de ambitieuze doelstellingen voor een duurzame landbouw en voedselproductie, als je de instrumenten voor het sneller en preciezer veredelen van gewassen onbereikbaar maakt? Bij HZPC is deze uitdaging nog groter dan bij andere veredelaars, omdat het ontwikkelen van een nieuw aardappelras zo’n 10 tot 15 jaar duurt terwijl dit bij tomaten in 5 jaar kan.
De keuze die HZPC maakt voor Canada is logisch verklaarbaar. Want waar de EU kijkt naar de techniek die je als veredelaar toepast, stelt Canada de eigenschappen van een nieuw ras centraal in haar beoordelingsprocedure. Dit stelt bedrijven als HZPC in staat om een relatief korte tijdsspanne van 8 jaar te hanteren voor de marktintroductie van een nieuwe fritesaardappel. Een nieuw ras dat niet te onderscheiden valt van een ‘traditioneel veredeld’ aardappelras en dat bovendien leidt tot een 10% hogere opbrengst, 40% minder verspilling en het terugbrengen van de inzet van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen.
HollandBIO werkt samen met andere partijen aan het zo snel mogelijk agenderen van wijziging van de Europese wet- en regelgeving voor genetische modificatie zodat we alle veredelaars de ruimte geven voor verantwoorde, versnelde en verbeterde innovatie. Alleen op die manier geven we hen de instrumenten in handen om bij te dragen aan de grote uitdagingen op het gebied van landbouw, klimaat en duurzaamheid.
Benieuwd naar het hele artikel? Lees hier het artikel in het FD (log in verplicht).
Kansen voor slimmer meten: internationale richtlijn medicijnonderzoek aangepast
Gezondheid op maat, Hollandbio, GezondheidDoor betere inzet van in vitro-testen kunnen wereldwijd veel dierproeven worden voorkomen. Dit kondigt het College ter Beoordeling van Geneesmiddelen deze week aan. De reden hiervoor is dat de internationale richtlijn voor het testen van de schadelijkheid van medicijnen tijdens de zwangerschap voor het eerst in 25 jaar wordt aangepast.
Op dit moment moeten geneesmiddelenbedrijven nog in twee verschillende diermodellen (bv. konijn en rat) aantonen dat een medicijn niet schadelijk is voor de foetus. Volgens de nieuwe richtlijn zijn tijdens fase 1 en 2 van het geneesmiddelenontwikkelingstraject straks minder grote studiepopulaties nodig en mag een in vitro-test één van de twee diermodellen vervangen. Dit voorkomt onnodige dierproeven voor medicijnen die in veel gevallen de eindstreep niet halen. Daarnaast zullen in vitro-testen in bepaalde gevallen afdoende zijn, bijvoorbeeld als het gaat om een stof uit een medicijngroep waarvan bekend is dat ze schadelijk zijn tijdens zwangerschap.
Hoewel de aanpassing van de internationale richtlijn een mooie eerste stap is op weg naar snellere en betere geneesmiddelenontwikkeling, zijn we er nog lang niet. Zo blijft voor fase 3 onderzoek de dubbele dierproef vereist. Waarom? Wat staat er nog in de weg om de transitie naar het proefdiervrij ontwikkelen van nieuwe geneesmiddelen mogelijk te maken? Steeds meer bedrijven in onze achterban ontwikkelen innovatieve technologieën die hier een rol in kunnen spelen, zoals organoids of organs-on-a-chip. HollandBIO inventariseert momenteel de knelpunten op weg naar snellere en betere inzet van dit soort “slimmer meten” technologieën.
Wil je meer weten of over ons “Slimmer meten” project? Neem contact op met HollandBIO’s Marit.
Bronnen:
A bustling BIO-Europe for the Dutch Biotech community
Hollandbio, Innovatieklimaat, UitgelichtLast week, nearly 4500 attendees from all over the world gathered in Hamburg for BIO-Europe, the premier partnering conference for the biotech industry. This conference’s edition welcomed a strong delegation of almost 190 Dutch biotech entrepreneurs.
The well-visited Health~Holland Pavilion was one of the eye-catchers of the exhibition floor – a not-to-miss landmark featuring the Netherlands as Europe’s most attractive and innovative biopharmaceutical environment. The Pavilion served as the central information point for international visitors with questions regarding the Dutch business and innovation climate and life sciences & health sector. At the Hospitality Reception on Tuesday, the Health~Holland Pavilion formed the exhibition’s epicenter. During the best-visited happy hour of the conference, the Dutch Loyens & Loeff bike was raffled.
With this successful edition behind us, we already look forward to BIO-Europe in Paris, March 23 – 26 2020. More information will follow soon.
DSM to acquire CSK
Voedsel en materialenDSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, has reached agreement with the shareholders of specialty dairy solutions provider CSK for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the company for a cash consideration of about €150 million. Subject to customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
Dairy is DSM’s single largest segment in food and beverages, and customers are increasingly looking for solution providers with a broad portfolio of offerings and deep expertise, to support them in delivering differentiating, delicious and sustainable end products to consumers. The combination of DSM’s dairy business and CSK will be even better able to serve those needs, and well-placed to address the fast-growing and attractive dairy cultures markets.
With the acquisition of CSK, DSM will further strengthen its product portfolio and application know-how and expertise in food & beverage, in particular in the complementary area of taste, texture and bio-preservation solutions for semi-hard cheeses such as Dutch heritage cheeses Gouda and Edam. The transaction will include CSK’s state-of-the-art dairy application center in the heart of Food Valley, Wageningen (the Netherlands). In addition, it will bring its high-tech fermentation facility in Leeuwarden (the Netherlands) into DSM’s global manufacturing network, providing additional production capacity for a range of products, located in the strategically important European region. CSK generated in 2018 net sales of €65 million with approximately 180 employees, around 150 of whom based in the Netherlands.
Patrick Niels, DSM Food Specialties President, commented: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming Royal CSK to DSM. Our companies have a great fit together, with shared passion for dairy, skilled and dedicated people, and complementary solution portfolios. This is also a testament to DSM’s commitment to the dairy industry, which we support throughout our Nutrition businesses. Today’s dairy needs are constantly changing, and DSM continues to invest in enabling customers to keep satisfying consumer demand, helping them grow their business, while we grow ours in line with our purpose-led, performance-driven strategy. The acquisition of CSK will greatly strengthen our ability to do so.”
Sanne Melles, CEO of Royal CSK, said: “In DSM, we recognize the opportunity for CSK to make the leap forward that we were looking for. Our combined capabilities will accelerate our international growth ambition and enhance our innovative offerings to the dairy industry”.
The two companies share a long history of serving food and beverage markets, with deep roots in the Netherlands. CSK has a track record of Dutch heritage semi-hard cheese cultures of more than 100 years since its foundation in 1905, while in 2019 DSM celebrates 150 years of fermentation and biotechnology innovation at its site in Delft.
Source: DSM
Avansya starts commercial-scale production of EverSweet™ stevia sweetener
Voedsel en materialenAs consumers continue to watch their calorie intake and strive to live a healthier lifestyle, food and beverage manufacturers are in need of great-tasting, zero-calorie sweeteners to help them achieve these goals. To meet this demand, Avansya, the joint venture between Cargill and Royal DSM, has today started production at the first commercial-scale fermentation facility for stevia sweeteners in the U.S. The facility is producing EverSweet™, a non-artificial, zero-calorie stevia sweetener.
The $50 million fermentation facility is located in Blair, Nebraska, and is operated by Cargill. It produces highly sought-after, sweet-tasting molecules, such as Reb M and Reb D used to make EverSweet, and gives food and beverage manufacturers an even more scalable, sustainable and low cost-in-use solution than if these molecules were extracted from the stevia leaf. The market for high-intensity sweeteners produced by fermentation is expected to exceed $3 billion by 2025.
Speaking at the opening, Cargill managing director and chairman of the Board of Avansya, Mike Wagner said: “Building this first-of-its-kind, stevia sweetener fermentation facility on the existing Cargill Blair campus reaffirms our pledge to helping food and beverage manufacturers meet the sharply rising consumer demand for great-tasting, zero-calorie products to meet their dietary needs and goals. It also reaffirms our commitment to strengthening the business community and Nebraska as a biotechnology mecca.”
“The need for effective solutions for advanced sugar reduction on a global scale has never been clearer or more urgent. With today’s opening, we are showing that, as an industry, we can do more, and faster, to innovate and provide consumers around the world with reduced- and zero-calorie food and beverage products, with no compromise on taste, and so help support good health and well-being in our societies,” said Patrick Niels, President of DSM Food Specialties and Avansya Board Member.
EverSweet’s clean taste profile is well-suited for use in products such as yogurt, chocolate milk, soft drinks, ice cream, cereal, bars and confections. Avansya has commercial volumes available and is already supplying EverSweet to various customers. Further consumer products will launch in the coming months across multiple market segments. Over 300 customer trials and product development projects are currently in progress.
EverSweet is GRAS and FEMA GRAS approved for use in food and beverage products in the U.S. and Mexico and additional regulatory approvals for use in other countries are underway.
Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska Mike Foley took part in the opening ceremony: “We are very pleased to see Cargill and Royal DSM once again selecting the Blair Campus to invest in the production of innovative solutions that are going to make a difference to people’s lives. We have a great tradition of supporting the food and beverage industry with strong partnerships, skilled workers and high-quality products, and I’m proud to continue that tradition today.”
The 10,000 square-foot, stevia sweetener fermentation facility at the Blair Campus took approximately 225,000 hours to build and features 6 miles of new piping and 2,000 new instruments, in addition to the fermenters and evaporators that were installed.
Source: DSM
Biosana and A*STAR to advance continuous biomanufacturing
InnovatieklimaatBiosanaPharma and A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have signed a research collaboration to bring continuous biomanufacturing to the next level. Biosana’s proprietary 3C process will be used as the model for:
The parties will establish a Joint Laboratory for Continuous Biomanufacturing located at the Centros building in Biopolis, Singapore, where staff from both parties will collaborate to mature and optimize the continuous process. Biosana will incorporate a local entity to support the collaboration.
To address the current challenges of diverse product pipelines and competition from biosimilars, companies are looking for highly flexible and cost effective manufacturing processes, traits that continuous biomanufacturing can offer. Continuous biomanufacturing can directly lower the costs of mAb therapeutics to benefit patients and reimbursement bodies.
Ard Tijsterman, CEO of BiosanaPharma commented “We are very happy to start this Joint Laboratory in collaboration with BTI. In the past years we’ve been working with BTI, we are impressed by their dedication, expertise and enthusiasm for our joint process development activities. We look forward to mature our 3C technology in order to increase accessibility and affordability of mAb medicines”.
“We are pleased to be a partner in setting up this Joint Laboratory, leveraging BTI’s expertise in bioprocessing science and engineering. This affirms our commitment to work with international enterprises to develop innovative biomanufacturing solutions, meet the demands of the global biopharmaceutical industry, and add to the vibrancy of Singapore’s R&D ecosystem”, said Professor Lam Kong-Peng, Executive Director, Bioprocessing Technology Institute, A*STAR.
Source: BiosanaPharma