News & Comment

Academic tech transfer keeps on spinning out startups, but the pool of capital to sustain such ventures is dwindling.

Nine experts discuss the challenges in translating current research on the human microbiome into strategies for disease prediction, diagnosis and therapy.

Five years after the launch of the Human Microbiome Project, several ventures are seeking to capitalize on the clinical promise of microbiome modulation. Commercialization of drugs that influence the human flora poses some unique scientific, translational and regulatory challenges.

Sales in the biologics sector show modest but healthy growth rates for the fourth consecutive year, with cancer drugs garnering the greatest revenues. As the diabetes epidemic grows and innovation of insulins continues, drug companies in that space are moving up in the ranks.

DNA profiling is playing a growing role in solving crimes, identifying victims of natural and unnatural disasters and even tracking diplomats. Some forensic experts are looking to advances in genome technologies to gain further ground against criminals.

There was a time when academia viewed industry simply as a cash cow; today, it's all about sharing common goals and mutual respect for cultural differences.

The financial performance of the public biotech sector was remarkably buoyant last year, but a few worrying clouds hover on the horizon.

Despite impressive clinical activity in B-cell lymphoma and melanoma, questions remain about the immunobiology of adoptive T-cell therapies.

A panel of five experts discuss the implications of cancer heterogeneity for diagnostics and therapy.

An examination of the private biotech industry reveals shrinking financial resources and higher hurdles to obtain funding, but new models are evolving to meet the challenge.

The first crops obtained through new plant breeding techniques are close to commercialization. Regulatory issues will determine the adoption of the techniques by breeders.

As R&D costs spiral for drug developers, disruptive approaches to clinical trial design and management are gaining traction. Get ready for electronic data capture, precompetitive data sharing, virtual trials and a variety of bold new paradigms.

In the past year, biologics sector sales grew by single digits, driven by monoclonal antibodies and insulin products. New product launches are showing mixed results and are facing rising challenges from changes to reimbursement policies.

The biotech sector has bounced back, though the figures can be somewhat misleading.

Authors of the past five years' most highly cited research articles discuss their work and new directions in their respective areas.

Gene therapy is finally poised to make a contribution to the treatment of debilitating, highly penetrant genetic diseases that have proved intractable to other regimens.

Interviews with leading scientists highlight several notable breakthroughs in computational biology from the past year and suggest areas where computation may drive biological discovery.