New Pumpkin, Calabaza Breeds Make Headway at UF
Pumpkin’s popularity for holiday decor, healthy snacking and recipes during fall and winter months, has given rise to innovative research led by Geoffrey Meru, an assistant professor of vegetable breeding, genetics and genomics at the Tropical Research and Education Center of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The goal is to develop varieties of […]
Study Helps Hepatitis C Patients, Shows Path for Accelerating Research and Potential for Drug Approvals
In a new kind of real-world study, a “pragmatic” clinical trial, UF researchers found that hepatitis C patients who previously did not respond to oral drug therapy were cured by a recently approved drug regimen. The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology’s December issue (available online) showed that the fixed-dose combination of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir, marketed as […]
Curing Mosquitoes, Eliminating Malaria
A new study authored by UF Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI) researcher Rhoel Dinglasan, Ph.D., and colleagues, twists the narrative in the fight against malaria by treating mosquitoes. His team showed that feeding a known antimalarial drug — intended for humans — to infected Anopheles mosquitoes rendered them unable to transmit malaria parasites to new hosts. […]
Algernon Pharmaceuticals Provides Update on Its Planned Phase II Clinical Trial
UF startup Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc., formerly known as Breathtec Biomedical, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical development company, provided an update to the market on its planned phase II clinical trial and its additional plans for 2020. The company is focused on developing repurposed therapeutic drugs. Drug repurposing (also known as re-profiling, re-tasking or therapeutic switching) […]
DNAtrix Presents Positive Results From Study at the 2019 SNO Annual Meeting
UF startup DNAtrix, a leader in the development of oncolytic viruses for cancer therapy, presented updated safety and efficacy data from the fully-enrolled Phase 2 CAPTIVE / KEYNOTE-192 study of DNX-2401 (tasadenoturev), DNAtrix’s oncolytic adenovirus, followed by pembrolizumab for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. The data demonstrate that the therapy elicits durable clinical activity and has a […]
$6 Million Expansion for Gene Therapy Facility Completed at Alachua’s Progress Park
Local and state officials gathered in Alachua to commemorate a $6 million expansion at Progress Park. Representatives of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., a global science company involved with research and biotechnology product development, presented the company’s expanded gene therapy and viral vector services site. The day included tours of the 95,000-square-foot facility. University of Florida’s […]
Exactech Acquires Italian Distributor
UF startup Exactech, a developer and producer of innovative implants, instrumentation and computer-assisted technologies for joint replacement surgery, announced that it acquired its independent distribution partner, Exactech Italia, creating a new corporate subsidiary. The acquisition includes all shares of the Brescia, Italy-based importer and distributor of Gainesville-based Exactech’s orthopedic implants, instrumentation, and advanced surgical technologies. […]
SharpSpring Announces Acquisition of Perfect Audience From Marin Software
UF startup SharpSpring, Inc., a leading cloud-based marketing automation platform for digital marketing agencies, announced it has acquired the digital advertising platform Perfect Audience from Marin Software, for a net cash consideration of $4.6 million. The acquisition introduces an entirely new suite of tools and revenue streams for SharpSpring agency partners. “This new offering pairs […]
Immunomic Therapeutics’ Collaborator, a University of Florida Researcher, Presents New Clinical Data at the 2019 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting
Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the study of nucleic acid immunotherapy platforms, announced that Duane Mitchell, MD, Ph.D., a University of Florida professor of neurosurgery and co-director of the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy and his team, will present new clinical data at the 2019 Society for […]
Unlocking Chlamydia’s Persistent State
New research from the Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI) and UF’s College of Public Health & Health Professions found that exposing the sexually-transmitted bacterial pathogen Chlamydia to fosmidomycin — an antibiotic which is usually lethal to bacteria — causes Chlamydia to enter a protective bunker-like “persistent” state. The findings could bolster future efforts to intentionally disrupt […]