Scientists have engineered an enzyme which can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics, providing a potential solution to one of the world’s biggest environmental problems.
The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tonnes of plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which currently persists for hundreds of years in the environment.
The research was led by teams at the University of Portsmouth and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Professor John McGeehan at the University of Portsmouth and Dr Gregg Beckham at NREL solved the crystal structure of PETase—a recently discovered enzyme that digests PET— and used this 3D information to understand how it works. During this study, they inadvertently engineered an enzyme that is even better at degrading the plastic than the one that evolved in nature.
The researchers are now working on improving the enzyme further to allow it to be used industrially to break down plastics in a fraction of the time.
Professor McGeehan, Director of the Institute of Biological and Biomedical Sciences in the School of Biological Sciences at Portsmouth, said: “Few could have predicted that since plastics became popular in the 1960s huge plastic waste patches would be found floating in oceans, or washed up on once pristine beaches all over the world.
“We can all play a significant part in dealing with the plastic problem, but the scientific community who ultimately created these ‘wonder-materials’, must now use all the technology at their disposal to develop real solutions.”
The researchers made the breakthrough when they were examining the structure of a natural enzyme which is thought to have evolved in a waste recycling centre in Japan, allowing a bacterium to degrade plastic as a food source.
PET, patented as a plastic in the 1940s, has not existed in nature for very long, so the team set out to determine how the enzyme evolved and if it might be possible to improve it.
The goal was to determine its structure, but they ended up going a step further and accidentally engineered an enzyme which was even better at breaking down PET plastics.
“Serendipity often plays a significant role in fundamental scientific research and our discovery here is no exception,” Professor McGeehan said.
“Although the improvement is modest, this unanticipated discovery suggests that there is room to further improve these enzymes, moving us closer to a recycling solution for the ever-growing mountain of discarded plastics.”
In the last few decades, with the introduction of GMOs, the agricultural industry was turned upside down. Major consolidations between companies took place, while sustainability and big data have become ever more important. BioVox had a conversation on the most important trends within the agri-biotech sector with Johan Cardoen, Managing Director of VIB, and with Arjen Van Tunen, CEO of the leading Dutch agri-biotech company Keygene.
Keeping up with the US and China
Arjen Van Tunen: “In the last years, major consolidations took place such as the potential acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer, the acquisition of Syngenta by Chinachem and the merger of Dow and Dupont. These developments have large geopolitical consequences in EU, USA and particularly also China.“
Johan Cardoen: “The far-reaching consolidations had a huge impact on the agri-biotech sector, but will create new opportunities. The few companies that are left are continuously looking for innovation that will allow them to differentiate from their competitors. This will give a push to startup biotech companies, but also to companies such as Keygene and research centers such as VIB. I haven’t experienced that companies are less willing to invest in agricultural innovations”
Arjen Van Tunen: “We do have to try to foster innovations that were developed in our countries here within local companies. We need to make the investing climate in Europe as attractive as that of the US. That’s important if we want to be able to compete with huge regions such as the US and China. Europe has great scientific facilities, but we should leverage these. We have to cherish talent. Not only scientific talent, but also entrepreneurial talent by supporting it with sufficient financial investments. That’s how Europe can continue to make a difference.”
Genome editing techniques remain top of the bill
Arjen Van Tunen: “As genome editing techniques are becoming cheaper and easier to use, they are now not only applied to major crops such as maize and soy, but also become available to genetically improve wheat, potato, cassava and other smaller crops. It will be a huge challenge to feed the ever increasing global population within the next 20 years, on top of producing other raw materials we need from agriculture, while facing climate change. To fulfill this need, we have to leverage the potential of genome editing techniques. However, the regulations in Europe concerning genome edited plants and GMOs might become or are already a pitfall.”
Johan Cardoen: “It seems that the introduction of GMOs in Europe is a lost fight. However, we see some positive evolutions concerning the evaluation of genome edited plants, resulting in crops with mutations that can be exempted from the GMO regulation. So there is hope. Europe has to learn from the past and use its common sense to make the right decisions. If Europe misses the boat on this one, the impact for agriculture could be devastating.”
Big data is indispensible
Johan Cardoen: “Next to genome editing techniques, the use of big data and the Internet Of Things are very important trends that are introduced into agriculture. The way a farmer uses data to increase their yield and adjust to climatological conditions will only intensify in the future.”
Arjen Van Tunen: “For example, in the supermarkets of Albert Heijn, every day before 11am, the stores know exactly the amount of vegetables and fruit that have been consumed. This data is sent to the suppliers, who can adapt the supply of fruits and vegetables they bring to the stores. You can analyze all this data, and forecast how much fruit and vegetable produce will be needed on a certain day. Growers can control the produced amounts by adapting the temperature or the amount of light in the greenhouse.”
Johan Cardoen: “Big data coupled to the Internet Of Things will allow for profound optimization of precision agriculture, fine-tuned to the consumer’s needs.”
Johan Cardoen: “Another import trend within agriculture is the increasing focus on sustainability. Chemical crop protection agents are become less popular, as supermarkets and consumers are paying much more attention to the minimum residue levels on crops. Therefore a new range of less aggressive crop protection agents is being developed, for example affecting the microbiome of a crop. Consumers also tend to buy more seasonal and locally grown vegetables and fruits. This also influences the market.”
Arjen Van Tunen: “The integrated results obtained by processing big data and consumer behavior cannot only be used by farmers, but also by academia and companies to make new innovative crops, tailored to the needs of consumers. So it is also the consumer and perhaps even the patient who can benefit from better and healthier crops.”
New financing initiative targets investments by private cooperatives and companies in the agriculture sector. The EIB financing amounts to €400m and is expected to back close to €1bn of investment across Europe. Agreement is guaranteed by the Juncker Plan’s European Fund for Strategic Investments.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU bank, announced the launch of a new financing initiative that aims to unlock close to €1 billion of investment in the agriculture and bio-economy sector. The bio-economy sector encompasses the value chains of production and the processing of food, material and energy using renewable biological resources from land and sea. This large EIB lending programme for agriculture and bio-economy outlines the Bank’s broader support for this sector. The operation will be guaranteed by the EU budget under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which forms a central part of the Investment Plan for Europe of the European Commission under the Juncker administration. In a new Regulation applicable from early 2018, the scope of EFSI was extended to include a specific sectorial focus on sustainable agriculture and the wider bio-economy.
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said: “Facilitating access to finance to unlock investment in the agriculture sector is crucial to maintaining Europe’s position as the global leader of high-quality, safe food products. This is where the Juncker Plan can play an important role. I am delighted to welcome this initiative which will, with the support of the Juncker Plan, provide a €1 billion boost to jobs and growth in Europe’s rural economy.”
“The agriculture and bio-economy value chains are key drivers of Europe’s economy,” said EIB President Werner Hoyer. “With this new initiative, the EIB is seeking to strengthen its support for the sector. I believe that this dedicated programme loan will enhance competitiveness and that it has the potential to create a multitude of future-oriented jobs in predominantly rural areas and smaller towns all over the continent. In this way it will contribute to mitigating rural-urban migration and, together with other measures and projects, will address the issue of rural depopulation through the promotion of rural and regional economic development.”
“This programme loan will address the market weaknesses that currently constrain many of the companies active in the agriculture and bio-economy sector by accelerating and further mobilising private investment. It will enable the EU bank to expand and diversify its financing offer and reach out to new project promoters. With this single programme loan of €400 million we can expect to support more than €850 million worth of investments in the sector across Europe. The promotion of bio-economy value chains – for example in food and forestry-based industries – is key to achieving EU and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) objectives on the environment and the low-carbon/green economy,” added the EIB Vice-President responsible for bio-economy, Andrew McDowell.
In spite of its size and importance in the overall European economy, the agriculture and bio-economy sector is mainly made up of companies and cooperatives with relatively small investments, which are difficult to target with direct lending. The EIB is already active with Multi Beneficiary Intermediated Loans to support the implementation of smaller projects by farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises active in bio-economy value chains through commercial banks across Europe. The lending programme constitutes an initial, replicable EIB pilot that will enable direct lending for private sector investments (from €15m to €200m) with a loan amount ranging from €7.5m to €50m. The programme loan is expected to further increase the Bank’s impact within this sector by strengthening the competitiveness of European companies active in bio-economy and agriculture. This will improve their long-term ability to invest in innovation and therefore to develop and market higher added-value products and services.
Projects allocated under the programme loan will be implemented in the period 2018-2022. Targeted investments will seek to promote the efficient and sustainable use of resources and the re-use of by-products, and to develop intellectual property through the support of private sector research, development and innovation.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00Hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svgHollandbio2018-04-16 11:23:092018-04-30 15:42:32New European Investment Bank loans set to mobilise €1 billion in investment for agriculture and bio-economy sectors← #nieuws
Hercules Pharmaceuticals, a Dutch biopharmaceutical company developing innovative anti-cancer drugs will present a poster, Poster LB-128, at the AACR meeting in Chicago on Monday April 16, 2018, from 8:00am-12:00pm, Poster section 45. The poster will be presented by, amongst others, prof. David Sherr, co-founder of Hercules and international key opinion leader in the field of cancer immunology at Boston University.
The results presented show that the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) is an important driver of cancer and cancer immuno suppression and that AhR inhibition could have powerful anti-cancer effects. Acting downstream of IDO inhibitors, Hercules’ AhR inhibitor HP163 promise to be more effective in blocking the tryptophan>IDO/TDO>kynurenine>AhR pathway.
The crucial role of AhR in cancer was demonstrated in a syngeneic murine cancer model, where animals received cancer cells from which the AhR was removed by Crispr Cas. Absence of AhR in tumor cells completely blocked tumor growth.
Where AhR knock-down shows the maximum achievable effect of AhR inhibition, Hercules’ AhR inhibitor HP163 already demonstrates better tumor growth reduction than IDO inhibitor epacadostat in a syngeneic murine colon cancer model.
It is Hercules’ aim to develop AhR inhibitors that have single agent efficacy in cancer patients. Furthermore, there is good scientific rationale for combining AhR inhibitors with other anticancer approaches, like anti PD-1/L1 antibodies and IDO inhibitors.
Nederlandse verzekeraars moeten hun medicijnen voortaan alleen nog inkopen bij farmaceutische bedrijven die duurzaam produceren. Doen ze dat niet, dan dragen ze bij aan een van de grootste gezondheidsbedreigingen van vandaag: antibioticaresistentie. Dat zegt DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals (DSP). Het bedrijf pleit voor meer regelgeving en strenge milieucriteria bij de productie van medicijnen. “Zowel verzekeraars als de overheid moeten hun verantwoordelijkheid nemen. Nu is prijs het enige criterium. Dat gaat ten koste van de volksgezondheid.”
Antibioticaresistentie vormt volgens de WHO een van de grootste bedreigingen voor de volksgezondheid wereldwijd. Zembla zond woensdagavond 11 april een kritische reportage uit over farmaceutische bedrijven in India die onder andere stelselmatig chemisch afval dumpen waarbij antibioticaresten in het milieu terechtkomen. Hierdoor ontstaat antibioticaresistentie.
Als reactie op de reportage kondigde zorgverzekeraar CZ aan met ingang van volgend jaar een duurzaamheidsverklaring van leveranciers te eisen. Karl Rotthier, CEO van DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals (DSP) juicht dit toe en zegt te hopen dat meer verzekeraars zullen volgen: “Verzekeraars kiezen nu voor een zo laag mogelijke prijs, vaak exorbitant laag zelfs, terwijl dat ten koste gaat van de omwonenden van die fabrieken, de mensen die de medicijnen maken én van de mondiale volksgezondheid. Zij zouden ook sociale- en milieucriteria moeten meenemen in hun beslissing.”
Keurmerk voor medicijnen
Lucas Wiarda, hoofd van het Sustainable Antibiotics programma bij DSP, pleit daarnaast voor meer transparantie, bijvoorbeeld in de vorm van een keurmerk zoals dat wordt gebruikt in de kledingindustrie. “Veel mensen weten niet dat ook hun medicijnen in lagelonenlanden worden geproduceerd. De problemen en misstanden zijn vergelijkbaar, met dat verschil dat een niet-duurzame productie van medicijnen de wereldwijde volksgezondheid bedreigt. Er bestaan al verschillende initiatieven om duurzaamheid te verstevigen in de farmaceutische industrie – zoals de Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). Ook heeft een aantal bedrijven, onder welke DSP, zich georganiseerd in de strijd tegen antibioticaresistentie via de AMR Industry Alliance. Helaas maken zorgverzekeraars onvoldoende gebruik van dit soort initiatieven als het gaat om de keuze die zij hebben in de aankoop van medicijnen.”
Duurzame antibiotica
DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals is wereldleider op het gebied van duurzame antibiotica. Het bedrijf, met fabrieken in China, India, Nederland en Mexico, strijdt al sinds 2014 voor een duurzame productie van antibiotica. Wiarda voelde zich de afgelopen jaren wel eens een roepende in de woestijn: “We zijn blij dat er steeds meer aandacht komt voor de rol die de vervuilende farmaceutische industrie speelt bij de wereldwijd toenemende antibioticaresistentie. De afgelopen jaren ging het gesprek vooral over mogelijke oplossingen gericht op het terughoudend voorschrijven van antibiotica aan patiënten, of over bewuster antibioticagebruik in de landbouw en veeteelt. Wat ons betreft is er tot nu toe te weinig focus geweest op het milieu.”
Verantwoorde productie
DSP realiseert zich dat deze oproep kan overkomen als ‘preken voor eigen parochie’. Wiarda: “Natuurlijk, wanneer antibiotica niet meer effectief zijn, zijn wij out of business. Maar daarnaast lijkt het me in het belang van de gehele samenleving dat we de verdere verspreiding van antibioticaresistentie een halt toeroepen. Aangezien er geen alternatieven voor handen zijn, moeten antibiotica niet alleen op een verantwoorde manier worden genomen, maar ook op een verantwoorde manier worden geproduceerd.”
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00Hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svgHollandbio2018-04-12 14:27:022018-04-18 11:38:28Oproep aan verzekeraars: ‘Kies voor duurzaam in de strijd tegen antibiotica resistentie’← #nieuws
Terumo and Quirem welcome an important milestone for QuiremSpheres® in the Netherlands and in Europe. QuiremSpheres® is now reimbursed for liver-dominant, non-resectable, colorectal liver metastases in the salvage setting, as concluded by the Dutch National Healthcare Institute (‘Zorginstituut’). The treatment consists of the injection of holmium-microspheres in the main liver artery with the purpose of destroying the cancer cells and is referred to as radioembolization or selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). The National Healthcare Institute concludes that this innovative treatment with holmium-166 microspheres, which has been developed in the Netherlands, meets “established medical science and medical practice” for this indication.
QuiremSpheres®, the next generation of SIRT microspheres, are the only commercially available microspheres that contain the radioactive isotope holmium-166. Recent trials have shown the safety and efficacy of holmium microspheres for the treatment of advanced liver cancer. QuiremSpheres® can be visualized by means of both SPECT and MRI. This allows clinicians to assess quantitatively the distribution of microspheres in the liver enabling the dose to tumor and dose to normal tissue to be calculated accurately. This Dutch innovation fits within a trend in the field of radiotherapy to verify the absorbed radiation dose after the treatment.
This radiotherapeutic treatment with holmium-166 microspheres has been developed in the University Medical Centre in Utrecht (UMCU) during a 20-year period. “This is very good news for the Interventional Oncology community as it expands the available options to treat patients with non-resectable colorectal liver metastases. QuiremSpheres® have the potential to further improve the outcome of the treatment. It is rewarding to see that, after 20 years of clinical research at our hospital, it is now confirmed that QuiremSpheres® are part of the standard care for the treatment of non-resectable liver metastases”, said Prof. Marnix Lam, Head of Nuclear Medicine at the University Medical Center Utrecht.
“The decision of the National Healthcare Institute to make QuiremSpheres® available for doctors and their patients is a positive development for SIRT in the Netherlands”, said Peter Coenen, President of Interventional Systems Terumo EMEA. “We strongly believe that the unique imaging capabilities of QuiremSpheres® have the potential to create a paradigm shift in the further development of this therapy. The decision to reimburse this treatment is an important milestone towards realizing its full potential”.
Jan Sigger, CEO of Quirem Medical B.V., the manufacturer of QuiremSpheres®, said: “We are most pleased that reimbursement for QuiremSpheres® is now available in the Netherlands. The decision of the National Healthcare Institute shows recognition and acknowledgement for the therapeutic value of our product”.
MIMETAS, wereldleider in organ-on-a-chipproducten en weefselmodellen, heeft 20,5 miljoen Amerikaanse dollar financiering verkregen van een internationaal syndicaat uit Azië en Europa. MIMETAS zal de opbrengst van deze serie B financieringsronde gebruiken voor commerciële expansie met het OrganoPlate organ-on-achipplatform. Daarnaast zal het bedrijf zijn productportfolio verbreden, productie van gebruiksklare, levende weefsels opzetten, nieuwe OrganoPlate-producten ontwikkelen en uitbreiden naar klinische marktsegmenten, waaronder gepersonaliseerde geneeskunde. Het bedrijf heeft vestigingen in Nederland, VS en Japan.
De investeerders zijn European Life Sciences Growth Fund (ELSGF, Singapore), Aglaia Oncology Fund II (Nederland), Korys (België), Cathay Venture (Taiwan), InnovationQuarter en Oost NL (Nederland).
Ginger Hsiao van ELSGF, optredend als woordvoerster voor het syndicaat: “We waren vanaf het begin onder de indruk van de technologie van MIMETAS en het zeer getalenteerde team. We beschouwen het bedrijf als de huidige leider in de organ-on-a-chipmarkt met een enorm groeipotentieel in de komende jaren. Het klantenbestand omvat al toonaangevende multinationals uit Europa, de VS en Azië en het platform wordt gebruikt door academische klanten tot screeningfaciliteiten van farmaceutische bedrijven. We verheugen ons erop het MIMETAS-team te ondersteunen met de commerciële expansie en het ontwikkelen van nieuwe markten.”
“Deze sterke investeerdersbasis is cruciaal voor MIMETAS in deze fase van haar ontwikkeling.”, Aldus de oprichters Jos Joore en Paul Vulto, “Korys heeft grote ervaring in de commercialisering van producten op het snijvlak van hardware en biologie, terwijl Aglaia veel klinische en oncologische expertise aandraagt. ELSGF en Cathay gaan ons ondersteunen bij uitbreiding op de Aziatische markten. Aangevuld met lokale ondersteuning van Oost NL en InnovationQuarter, kunnen wij ons geen beter uitgangspunt voorstellen voor verdere groei van MIMETAS.”
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00Hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svgHollandbio2018-04-11 14:10:362018-04-17 14:14:11MIMETAS Sluit Serie B-Financiering van 20 Miljoen Dollar← #nieuws
The BBI JU is the largest and most ambitious initiative ever launched in the EU to develop competitive and sustainable bio-based industries. The ambition that drove its creation was to bring about the systemic change needed to develop a European bio-based industry allowing investments to remain in Europe. Thereby, BBI JU makes a strong impact in creating new jobs and clear value to all EU citizens.
With a total budget of € 115 million, the 2018 Call is the fifth in a total of seven for the period between 2017 and 2020 and is built around 4 strategic orientations: Feedstock, Process, Products, and Market uptake. The current Call moves away from a strict biomass feedstock ‘push’ based on historic value chains, towards a demand for biomass that enables processing in order to respond adequately to a ‘pull’ from the end markets. A total of 21 topics are included in the 2018 Call with 11 Research and Innovation Action (RIA) topics, 3 Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and 7 Innovation Actions (5 DEMOs and 2 Flagships) while novel eligibility criteria have also been introduced.
BBI JU’s current project portfolio is well-balanced between the type of actions and across the value chains having achieved an excellent SME participation of 38% of beneficiaries. Similar to previous Calls, the one of 2018 also respects the Horizon 2020 principles of openness, transparency and excellence.
On the occasion of the 2018 Call’s opening Philippe Mengal, BBI JU Executive Director commented: ‘’All of us in BBI JU, together with our founding partners the European Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) are proud to see the development and the geographical spread of the projects covering all corners of our continent. Every Call is a step closer towards the creation of EU’s bio-based sector and it is exciting to see sectors such as the primary one to start developing such a strong interest and presence on the field. This is a clear indication that more actors see the potential, the creation of a sustainable and competitive bio-based sector has for Europe and its citizens’’.
The deadline for submission of proposals to the BBI JU 2018 Call is 6 September 2018 at 17:00 CET. More information about the 2018 Call will be provided during the BBI JU Info Day on the 17th of April in Brussels.
https://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svg00Hollandbiohttps://www.hollandbio.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HollandBIO_logo.svgHollandbio2018-04-11 14:03:342018-04-30 15:52:24BBI JU ANNOUNCES € 115 MILLION OF FUNDING TO BOOST EU’S BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES SECTOR← #nieuws
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Engineering a plastic-eating enzyme
Voedsel en materialenScientists have engineered an enzyme which can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics, providing a potential solution to one of the world’s biggest environmental problems.
The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tonnes of plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which currently persists for hundreds of years in the environment.
The research was led by teams at the University of Portsmouth and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Professor John McGeehan at the University of Portsmouth and Dr Gregg Beckham at NREL solved the crystal structure of PETase—a recently discovered enzyme that digests PET— and used this 3D information to understand how it works. During this study, they inadvertently engineered an enzyme that is even better at degrading the plastic than the one that evolved in nature.
The researchers are now working on improving the enzyme further to allow it to be used industrially to break down plastics in a fraction of the time.
Professor McGeehan, Director of the Institute of Biological and Biomedical Sciences in the School of Biological Sciences at Portsmouth, said: “Few could have predicted that since plastics became popular in the 1960s huge plastic waste patches would be found floating in oceans, or washed up on once pristine beaches all over the world.
“We can all play a significant part in dealing with the plastic problem, but the scientific community who ultimately created these ‘wonder-materials’, must now use all the technology at their disposal to develop real solutions.”
The researchers made the breakthrough when they were examining the structure of a natural enzyme which is thought to have evolved in a waste recycling centre in Japan, allowing a bacterium to degrade plastic as a food source.
PET, patented as a plastic in the 1940s, has not existed in nature for very long, so the team set out to determine how the enzyme evolved and if it might be possible to improve it.
The goal was to determine its structure, but they ended up going a step further and accidentally engineered an enzyme which was even better at breaking down PET plastics.
“Serendipity often plays a significant role in fundamental scientific research and our discovery here is no exception,” Professor McGeehan said.
“Although the improvement is modest, this unanticipated discovery suggests that there is room to further improve these enzymes, moving us closer to a recycling solution for the ever-growing mountain of discarded plastics.”
Bron: UoP News
Big Data, Big Produce
Voedsel en materialenIn the last few decades, with the introduction of GMOs, the agricultural industry was turned upside down. Major consolidations between companies took place, while sustainability and big data have become ever more important. BioVox had a conversation on the most important trends within the agri-biotech sector with Johan Cardoen, Managing Director of VIB, and with Arjen Van Tunen, CEO of the leading Dutch agri-biotech company Keygene.
Keeping up with the US and China
Arjen Van Tunen: “In the last years, major consolidations took place such as the potential acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer, the acquisition of Syngenta by Chinachem and the merger of Dow and Dupont. These developments have large geopolitical consequences in EU, USA and particularly also China.“
Johan Cardoen: “The far-reaching consolidations had a huge impact on the agri-biotech sector, but will create new opportunities. The few companies that are left are continuously looking for innovation that will allow them to differentiate from their competitors. This will give a push to startup biotech companies, but also to companies such as Keygene and research centers such as VIB. I haven’t experienced that companies are less willing to invest in agricultural innovations”
Arjen Van Tunen: “We do have to try to foster innovations that were developed in our countries here within local companies. We need to make the investing climate in Europe as attractive as that of the US. That’s important if we want to be able to compete with huge regions such as the US and China. Europe has great scientific facilities, but we should leverage these. We have to cherish talent. Not only scientific talent, but also entrepreneurial talent by supporting it with sufficient financial investments. That’s how Europe can continue to make a difference.”
Genome editing techniques remain top of the bill
Arjen Van Tunen: “As genome editing techniques are becoming cheaper and easier to use, they are now not only applied to major crops such as maize and soy, but also become available to genetically improve wheat, potato, cassava and other smaller crops. It will be a huge challenge to feed the ever increasing global population within the next 20 years, on top of producing other raw materials we need from agriculture, while facing climate change. To fulfill this need, we have to leverage the potential of genome editing techniques. However, the regulations in Europe concerning genome edited plants and GMOs might become or are already a pitfall.”
Johan Cardoen: “It seems that the introduction of GMOs in Europe is a lost fight. However, we see some positive evolutions concerning the evaluation of genome edited plants, resulting in crops with mutations that can be exempted from the GMO regulation. So there is hope. Europe has to learn from the past and use its common sense to make the right decisions. If Europe misses the boat on this one, the impact for agriculture could be devastating.”
Big data is indispensible
Johan Cardoen: “Next to genome editing techniques, the use of big data and the Internet Of Things are very important trends that are introduced into agriculture. The way a farmer uses data to increase their yield and adjust to climatological conditions will only intensify in the future.”
Arjen Van Tunen: “For example, in the supermarkets of Albert Heijn, every day before 11am, the stores know exactly the amount of vegetables and fruit that have been consumed. This data is sent to the suppliers, who can adapt the supply of fruits and vegetables they bring to the stores. You can analyze all this data, and forecast how much fruit and vegetable produce will be needed on a certain day. Growers can control the produced amounts by adapting the temperature or the amount of light in the greenhouse.”
Johan Cardoen: “Big data coupled to the Internet Of Things will allow for profound optimization of precision agriculture, fine-tuned to the consumer’s needs.”
Sustainable agriculture influences consumer behavior
Johan Cardoen: “Another import trend within agriculture is the increasing focus on sustainability. Chemical crop protection agents are become less popular, as supermarkets and consumers are paying much more attention to the minimum residue levels on crops. Therefore a new range of less aggressive crop protection agents is being developed, for example affecting the microbiome of a crop. Consumers also tend to buy more seasonal and locally grown vegetables and fruits. This also influences the market.”
Arjen Van Tunen: “The integrated results obtained by processing big data and consumer behavior cannot only be used by farmers, but also by academia and companies to make new innovative crops, tailored to the needs of consumers. So it is also the consumer and perhaps even the patient who can benefit from better and healthier crops.”
Bron: Biovox
New European Investment Bank loans set to mobilise €1 billion in investment for agriculture and bio-economy sectors
Voedsel en materialen, InnovatieklimaatNew financing initiative targets investments by private cooperatives and companies in the agriculture sector. The EIB financing amounts to €400m and is expected to back close to €1bn of investment across Europe. Agreement is guaranteed by the Juncker Plan’s European Fund for Strategic Investments.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU bank, announced the launch of a new financing initiative that aims to unlock close to €1 billion of investment in the agriculture and bio-economy sector. The bio-economy sector encompasses the value chains of production and the processing of food, material and energy using renewable biological resources from land and sea. This large EIB lending programme for agriculture and bio-economy outlines the Bank’s broader support for this sector. The operation will be guaranteed by the EU budget under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which forms a central part of the Investment Plan for Europe of the European Commission under the Juncker administration. In a new Regulation applicable from early 2018, the scope of EFSI was extended to include a specific sectorial focus on sustainable agriculture and the wider bio-economy.
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan said: “Facilitating access to finance to unlock investment in the agriculture sector is crucial to maintaining Europe’s position as the global leader of high-quality, safe food products. This is where the Juncker Plan can play an important role. I am delighted to welcome this initiative which will, with the support of the Juncker Plan, provide a €1 billion boost to jobs and growth in Europe’s rural economy.”
“The agriculture and bio-economy value chains are key drivers of Europe’s economy,” said EIB President Werner Hoyer. “With this new initiative, the EIB is seeking to strengthen its support for the sector. I believe that this dedicated programme loan will enhance competitiveness and that it has the potential to create a multitude of future-oriented jobs in predominantly rural areas and smaller towns all over the continent. In this way it will contribute to mitigating rural-urban migration and, together with other measures and projects, will address the issue of rural depopulation through the promotion of rural and regional economic development.”
“This programme loan will address the market weaknesses that currently constrain many of the companies active in the agriculture and bio-economy sector by accelerating and further mobilising private investment. It will enable the EU bank to expand and diversify its financing offer and reach out to new project promoters. With this single programme loan of €400 million we can expect to support more than €850 million worth of investments in the sector across Europe. The promotion of bio-economy value chains – for example in food and forestry-based industries – is key to achieving EU and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) objectives on the environment and the low-carbon/green economy,” added the EIB Vice-President responsible for bio-economy, Andrew McDowell.
In spite of its size and importance in the overall European economy, the agriculture and bio-economy sector is mainly made up of companies and cooperatives with relatively small investments, which are difficult to target with direct lending. The EIB is already active with Multi Beneficiary Intermediated Loans to support the implementation of smaller projects by farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises active in bio-economy value chains through commercial banks across Europe. The lending programme constitutes an initial, replicable EIB pilot that will enable direct lending for private sector investments (from €15m to €200m) with a loan amount ranging from €7.5m to €50m. The programme loan is expected to further increase the Bank’s impact within this sector by strengthening the competitiveness of European companies active in bio-economy and agriculture. This will improve their long-term ability to invest in innovation and therefore to develop and market higher added-value products and services.
Projects allocated under the programme loan will be implemented in the period 2018-2022. Targeted investments will seek to promote the efficient and sustainable use of resources and the re-use of by-products, and to develop intellectual property through the support of private sector research, development and innovation.
Bron: European Commission
Hercules Pharmaceuticals to present AhR inhibitor efficacy results at AACR
GezondheidHercules Pharmaceuticals, a Dutch biopharmaceutical company developing innovative anti-cancer drugs will present a poster, Poster LB-128, at the AACR meeting in Chicago on Monday April 16, 2018, from 8:00am-12:00pm, Poster section 45. The poster will be presented by, amongst others, prof. David Sherr, co-founder of Hercules and international key opinion leader in the field of cancer immunology at Boston University.
The results presented show that the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) is an important driver of cancer and cancer immuno suppression and that AhR inhibition could have powerful anti-cancer effects. Acting downstream of IDO inhibitors, Hercules’ AhR inhibitor HP163 promise to be more effective in blocking the tryptophan>IDO/TDO>kynurenine>AhR pathway.
The crucial role of AhR in cancer was demonstrated in a syngeneic murine cancer model, where animals received cancer cells from which the AhR was removed by Crispr Cas. Absence of AhR in tumor cells completely blocked tumor growth.
Where AhR knock-down shows the maximum achievable effect of AhR inhibition, Hercules’ AhR inhibitor HP163 already demonstrates better tumor growth reduction than IDO inhibitor epacadostat in a syngeneic murine colon cancer model.
It is Hercules’ aim to develop AhR inhibitors that have single agent efficacy in cancer patients. Furthermore, there is good scientific rationale for combining AhR inhibitors with other anticancer approaches, like anti PD-1/L1 antibodies and IDO inhibitors.
Oproep aan verzekeraars: ‘Kies voor duurzaam in de strijd tegen antibiotica resistentie’
Gezondheid, Voedsel en materialen, UitgelichtNederlandse verzekeraars moeten hun medicijnen voortaan alleen nog inkopen bij farmaceutische bedrijven die duurzaam produceren. Doen ze dat niet, dan dragen ze bij aan een van de grootste gezondheidsbedreigingen van vandaag: antibioticaresistentie. Dat zegt DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals (DSP). Het bedrijf pleit voor meer regelgeving en strenge milieucriteria bij de productie van medicijnen. “Zowel verzekeraars als de overheid moeten hun verantwoordelijkheid nemen. Nu is prijs het enige criterium. Dat gaat ten koste van de volksgezondheid.”
Antibioticaresistentie vormt volgens de WHO een van de grootste bedreigingen voor de volksgezondheid wereldwijd. Zembla zond woensdagavond 11 april een kritische reportage uit over farmaceutische bedrijven in India die onder andere stelselmatig chemisch afval dumpen waarbij antibioticaresten in het milieu terechtkomen. Hierdoor ontstaat antibioticaresistentie.
Als reactie op de reportage kondigde zorgverzekeraar CZ aan met ingang van volgend jaar een duurzaamheidsverklaring van leveranciers te eisen. Karl Rotthier, CEO van DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals (DSP) juicht dit toe en zegt te hopen dat meer verzekeraars zullen volgen: “Verzekeraars kiezen nu voor een zo laag mogelijke prijs, vaak exorbitant laag zelfs, terwijl dat ten koste gaat van de omwonenden van die fabrieken, de mensen die de medicijnen maken én van de mondiale volksgezondheid. Zij zouden ook sociale- en milieucriteria moeten meenemen in hun beslissing.”
Keurmerk voor medicijnen
Lucas Wiarda, hoofd van het Sustainable Antibiotics programma bij DSP, pleit daarnaast voor meer transparantie, bijvoorbeeld in de vorm van een keurmerk zoals dat wordt gebruikt in de kledingindustrie. “Veel mensen weten niet dat ook hun medicijnen in lagelonenlanden worden geproduceerd. De problemen en misstanden zijn vergelijkbaar, met dat verschil dat een niet-duurzame productie van medicijnen de wereldwijde volksgezondheid bedreigt. Er bestaan al verschillende initiatieven om duurzaamheid te verstevigen in de farmaceutische industrie – zoals de Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). Ook heeft een aantal bedrijven, onder welke DSP, zich georganiseerd in de strijd tegen antibioticaresistentie via de AMR Industry Alliance. Helaas maken zorgverzekeraars onvoldoende gebruik van dit soort initiatieven als het gaat om de keuze die zij hebben in de aankoop van medicijnen.”
Duurzame antibiotica
DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals is wereldleider op het gebied van duurzame antibiotica. Het bedrijf, met fabrieken in China, India, Nederland en Mexico, strijdt al sinds 2014 voor een duurzame productie van antibiotica. Wiarda voelde zich de afgelopen jaren wel eens een roepende in de woestijn: “We zijn blij dat er steeds meer aandacht komt voor de rol die de vervuilende farmaceutische industrie speelt bij de wereldwijd toenemende antibioticaresistentie. De afgelopen jaren ging het gesprek vooral over mogelijke oplossingen gericht op het terughoudend voorschrijven van antibiotica aan patiënten, of over bewuster antibioticagebruik in de landbouw en veeteelt. Wat ons betreft is er tot nu toe te weinig focus geweest op het milieu.”
Verantwoorde productie
DSP realiseert zich dat deze oproep kan overkomen als ‘preken voor eigen parochie’. Wiarda: “Natuurlijk, wanneer antibiotica niet meer effectief zijn, zijn wij out of business. Maar daarnaast lijkt het me in het belang van de gehele samenleving dat we de verdere verspreiding van antibioticaresistentie een halt toeroepen. Aangezien er geen alternatieven voor handen zijn, moeten antibiotica niet alleen op een verantwoorde manier worden genomen, maar ook op een verantwoorde manier worden geproduceerd.”
Bron: DSM Sinochem Pharmaceuticals
Galapagos announces ISABELA Phase 3 program in IPF
GezondheidTerumo and Quirem welcome Dutch positive reimbursement decision for QuiremSpheres
Voedsel en materialen, InnovatieklimaatTerumo and Quirem welcome an important milestone for QuiremSpheres® in the Netherlands and in Europe. QuiremSpheres® is now reimbursed for liver-dominant, non-resectable, colorectal liver metastases in the salvage setting, as concluded by the Dutch National Healthcare Institute (‘Zorginstituut’). The treatment consists of the injection of holmium-microspheres in the main liver artery with the purpose of destroying the cancer cells and is referred to as radioembolization or selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). The National Healthcare Institute concludes that this innovative treatment with holmium-166 microspheres, which has been developed in the Netherlands, meets “established medical science and medical practice” for this indication.
QuiremSpheres®, the next generation of SIRT microspheres, are the only commercially available microspheres that contain the radioactive isotope holmium-166. Recent trials have shown the safety and efficacy of holmium microspheres for the treatment of advanced liver cancer. QuiremSpheres® can be visualized by means of both SPECT and MRI. This allows clinicians to assess quantitatively the distribution of microspheres in the liver enabling the dose to tumor and dose to normal tissue to be calculated accurately. This Dutch innovation fits within a trend in the field of radiotherapy to verify the absorbed radiation dose after the treatment.
This radiotherapeutic treatment with holmium-166 microspheres has been developed in the University Medical Centre in Utrecht (UMCU) during a 20-year period. “This is very good news for the Interventional Oncology community as it expands the available options to treat patients with non-resectable colorectal liver metastases. QuiremSpheres® have the potential to further improve the outcome of the treatment. It is rewarding to see that, after 20 years of clinical research at our hospital, it is now confirmed that QuiremSpheres® are part of the standard care for the treatment of non-resectable liver metastases”, said Prof. Marnix Lam, Head of Nuclear Medicine at the University Medical Center Utrecht.
“The decision of the National Healthcare Institute to make QuiremSpheres® available for doctors and their patients is a positive development for SIRT in the Netherlands”, said Peter Coenen, President of Interventional Systems Terumo EMEA. “We strongly believe that the unique imaging capabilities of QuiremSpheres® have the potential to create a paradigm shift in the further development of this therapy. The decision to reimburse this treatment is an important milestone towards realizing its full potential”.
Jan Sigger, CEO of Quirem Medical B.V., the manufacturer of QuiremSpheres®, said: “We are most pleased that reimbursement for QuiremSpheres® is now available in the Netherlands. The decision of the National Healthcare Institute shows recognition and acknowledgement for the therapeutic value of our product”.
Bron: Terumo Europe
MIMETAS Sluit Serie B-Financiering van 20 Miljoen Dollar
InnovatieklimaatMIMETAS, wereldleider in organ-on-a-chipproducten en weefselmodellen, heeft 20,5 miljoen Amerikaanse dollar financiering verkregen van een internationaal syndicaat uit Azië en Europa. MIMETAS zal de opbrengst van deze serie B financieringsronde gebruiken voor commerciële expansie met het OrganoPlate organ-on-achipplatform. Daarnaast zal het bedrijf zijn productportfolio verbreden, productie van gebruiksklare, levende weefsels opzetten, nieuwe OrganoPlate-producten ontwikkelen en uitbreiden naar klinische marktsegmenten, waaronder gepersonaliseerde geneeskunde. Het bedrijf heeft vestigingen in Nederland, VS en Japan.
De investeerders zijn European Life Sciences Growth Fund (ELSGF, Singapore), Aglaia Oncology Fund II (Nederland), Korys (België), Cathay Venture (Taiwan), InnovationQuarter en Oost NL (Nederland).
Ginger Hsiao van ELSGF, optredend als woordvoerster voor het syndicaat: “We waren vanaf het begin onder de indruk van de technologie van MIMETAS en het zeer getalenteerde team. We beschouwen het bedrijf als de huidige leider in de organ-on-a-chipmarkt met een enorm groeipotentieel in de komende jaren. Het klantenbestand omvat al toonaangevende multinationals uit Europa, de VS en Azië en het platform wordt gebruikt door academische klanten tot screeningfaciliteiten van farmaceutische bedrijven. We verheugen ons erop het MIMETAS-team te ondersteunen met de commerciële expansie en het ontwikkelen van nieuwe markten.”
“Deze sterke investeerdersbasis is cruciaal voor MIMETAS in deze fase van haar ontwikkeling.”, Aldus de oprichters Jos Joore en Paul Vulto, “Korys heeft grote ervaring in de commercialisering van producten op het snijvlak van hardware en biologie, terwijl Aglaia veel klinische en oncologische expertise aandraagt. ELSGF en Cathay gaan ons ondersteunen bij uitbreiding op de Aziatische markten. Aangevuld met lokale ondersteuning van Oost NL en InnovationQuarter, kunnen wij ons geen beter uitgangspunt voorstellen voor verdere groei van MIMETAS.”
Bron: MIMETAS
BBI JU ANNOUNCES € 115 MILLION OF FUNDING TO BOOST EU’S BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES SECTOR
InnovatieklimaatThe BBI JU is the largest and most ambitious initiative ever launched in the EU to develop competitive and sustainable bio-based industries. The ambition that drove its creation was to bring about the systemic change needed to develop a European bio-based industry allowing investments to remain in Europe. Thereby, BBI JU makes a strong impact in creating new jobs and clear value to all EU citizens.
With a total budget of € 115 million, the 2018 Call is the fifth in a total of seven for the period between 2017 and 2020 and is built around 4 strategic orientations: Feedstock, Process, Products, and Market uptake. The current Call moves away from a strict biomass feedstock ‘push’ based on historic value chains, towards a demand for biomass that enables processing in order to respond adequately to a ‘pull’ from the end markets. A total of 21 topics are included in the 2018 Call with 11 Research and Innovation Action (RIA) topics, 3 Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) and 7 Innovation Actions (5 DEMOs and 2 Flagships) while novel eligibility criteria have also been introduced.
BBI JU’s current project portfolio is well-balanced between the type of actions and across the value chains having achieved an excellent SME participation of 38% of beneficiaries. Similar to previous Calls, the one of 2018 also respects the Horizon 2020 principles of openness, transparency and excellence.
On the occasion of the 2018 Call’s opening Philippe Mengal, BBI JU Executive Director commented: ‘’All of us in BBI JU, together with our founding partners the European Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) are proud to see the development and the geographical spread of the projects covering all corners of our continent. Every Call is a step closer towards the creation of EU’s bio-based sector and it is exciting to see sectors such as the primary one to start developing such a strong interest and presence on the field. This is a clear indication that more actors see the potential, the creation of a sustainable and competitive bio-based sector has for Europe and its citizens’’.
The deadline for submission of proposals to the BBI JU 2018 Call is 6 September 2018 at 17:00 CET. More information about the 2018 Call will be provided during the BBI JU Info Day on the 17th of April in Brussels.
Bron: BBI-Europe
Regering pakt door met hervorming WBSO
IJzersterk innovatieklimaat, Hollandbio, Innovatieklimaat, Uitgelicht