Hello. Welcome to BioFocus, a life science news and insights platform bringing you updates across biotech, pharma, bioprocessing, health, and sustainability. Hello. Welcome to BioFocus. Explore the latest updates from the life science industry. Read more Popular Content. PHARMA EyePoint’s DURAVYU misses first Phase 3 endpoint in wet AMD, putting focus on second trial EyePoint says an unusual imbalance in unrelated vision loss affected LUGANO results, while secondary data point to reduced treatment burden. Featured Articles. PHARMA AI, Forecasting, Insights and Analytics for Smarter Decisions in Pharma Read More BIOTECH Using Jumping Genes for Safer, More Accurate DNA Editing Read More BIOTECH Tecan Brings Agentic AI to the Lab Bench with NVIDIA-powered Introspect Upgrade Read More PHARMA Sanofi halts amlitelimab development for atopic dermatitis following pipeline review Read More HEALTH A New Device Could Improve How Progesterone is Delivered in Early Pregnancy Read More BIOTECH Moving research out of the lab is key to UK life science success Read More PHARMA How Automation is Accelerating Drug Discovery Timelines Read More BIOPROCESSING Bioreactors and Cell Culture Media: A Practical Comparison for Upstream Bioprocessing Read More PHARMA AI in Science Writing and the Imitation of Understanding Read More Latest News. 18th August, 2026 01. EyePoint’s DURAVYU misses first Phase 3 endpoint in wet AMD, putting focus on second trial EyePoint says an unusual imbalance in unrelated vision loss affected LUGANO results, while secondary data point to reduced treatment burden. Read More 17th August, 2026 02. Tagomics launches cfDNA platform for multi-organ drug safety monitoring Cambridge-based precision medicine company introduces LiquiPath to support earlier detection of treatment-related toxicity across the drug development lifecycle. Read More 16th August, 2026 03. SynGenSys expands synthetic promoter library to boost CHO cell productivity Sheffield-based biotech launches CHO.SET 2.0 to improve protein titres and streamline biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Read More 15th August, 2026 04. Calla Lily joins $50m Wellcome Leap programme to advance targeted UTI treatment London-based women’s health company will evaluate its Callavid drug delivery platform as part of a programme targeting antibiotic resistance. Read More Event Spotlight. Explore the key upcoming industry events. Discover more Editor's Selects. AI in Science Writing and the Imitation of Understanding 01. Read more First Human Egg ‘Rejuvenation’ Offers Hope for Older IVF Patients 02. Read more A Simple Pad Could Transform Cervical Cancer Screening 03. Read more A New Device Could Improve How Progesterone is Delivered in Early Pregnancy 04. Read more Stay up-to-date. Connect with BioFocus on LinkedIn or subscribe to our mailing list. Mail

Sustainability Meet the new Carbon Sinks on the Scene: Beavers A comprehensive carbon budget from a Swiss wetland suggests that Eurasian beaver activity can dramatically boost carbon sequestration compared to unmodified stream corridors. Read More Engineering Crops From the Inside Out Manchester spinout Cytotrait raises £3 million to develop organelle based genetic engineering that could boost crop yields, resilience and sustainability. Read More Life on Mars - Science Fiction, or Real-Life Science? The futuristic visions of Mars we see on our movie screens could be closer than we think - but what’s the biology that would make it a reality? Read More Hidden Contrails in Clouds Could Be Worsening Aviation’s Climate Impact New study shows contrails forming inside cirrus clouds may add significantly to aviation-driven warming. Read More Every Breath Counts: Toward Sustainable Respiratory Care New investments and next-generation inhaler technology aim to reduce the climate impact of respiratory care while maintaining treatment access and safety. Read More A Modern Day Noah's Ark? Scientists are proposing a lunar biobank to preserve the world's endangered species. Read More Load more

Pharma EyePoint’s DURAVYU misses first Phase 3 endpoint in wet AMD, putting focus on second trial EyePoint says an unusual imbalance in unrelated vision loss affected LUGANO results, while secondary data point to reduced treatment burden. Read More Tagomics launches cfDNA platform for multi-organ drug safety monitoring Cambridge-based precision medicine company introduces LiquiPath to support earlier detection of treatment-related toxicity across the drug development lifecycle. Read More AI, Forecasting, Insights and Analytics for Smarter Decisions in Pharma Advance forecasting, AI and analytics to drive strategic commercial decision-making across functions in Pharma. Read More Sanofi halts amlitelimab development for atopic dermatitis following pipeline review Despite positive long-term efficacy and safety data, the biopharma has concluded its OX40L antibody would not offer a meaningful improvement over current standards of care and will no longer pursue regulatory approval for the indication. Read More Kolon TissueGene's Knee Osteoarthritis Therapy Fails Phase 3 Trial Second late-stage study due in October will decide the fate of the cell-based gene therapy programme Read More FairJourney Bio Expands End-to-End Antibody Discovery Through New AbTherx Partnership FairJourney Bio has announced a strategic partnership with AbTherx to bring transgenic mouse-based antibody discovery capabilities in-house, creating a fully integrated antibody discovery workflow designed to accelerate therapeutic development. Read More Load more

Biotech Hummingbird Bioscience wins APAC AI Discovery Award Singapore-based Hummingbird Bioscience has been named the Asia Pacific Trailblazer Award winner at the 2026 Nebius AI Discovery Awards, recognising the company's AI-first approach to therapeutic discovery and development. Read More Tecan Brings Agentic AI to the Lab Bench with NVIDIA-powered Introspect Upgrade New capabilities aim to shift laboratories from reactive troubleshooting to proactive problem-solving, but the real test will be whether AI agents can earn scientists' trust. Read More Moving research out of the lab is key to UK life science success Professor Chris Day explores why strengthening university commercialisation and supporting spinouts will be critical to securing the UK's position as a global life sciences leader. Read More Laverock Therapeutics Advances CAR-T and Macrophage Programmes with Solid Tumour Data In-vivo results from both oncology programmes support lead candidate selection, as the UK biotech charts a path toward clinical trials. Read More UK Biotech Cyclana Bio is Trying to Understand Endometriosis From the Tissue Up Cyclana Bio's PEMP study has received NHS ethics approval and begun enrolling women at two UK hospitals. If its tissue-first approach to drug discovery pays off, it could start answering questions that have gone unanswered for decades. Read More AviadoBio Bets on Blood-Brain Barrier Technology in Push for One-Time Alzheimer's Treatment A licensing deal with Apertura Gene Therapy gives the London-based biotech a clinically validated delivery system to pair with its gene-silencing platform, but the hard work is still ahead. Read More Load more

Bioprocessing SynGenSys expands synthetic promoter library to boost CHO cell productivity Sheffield-based biotech launches CHO.SET 2.0 to improve protein titres and streamline biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Read More Bio-Rad Expands DNA Testing Kits for Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturers The Vericheck ddPCR range, now compatible with the QX700 platform, targets contamination and vector integrity checks that cell and gene therapy developers can't afford to get wrong Read More ABM secures major multi-site contract supporting Ireland’s manufacturing sector Facilities and engineering provider strengthens presence in regulated environments with technology-enabled approach to compliance and operational support Read More Bioreactors and Cell Culture Media: A Practical Comparison for Upstream Bioprocessing A comparative overview of bioreactor systems and cell culture media, exploring how technology selection impacts scalability, product quality, cost, and manufacturing strategy in modern biologics production. Read More Broughton Expands Accredited Cannabinoid Testing The introduction of ISO/IEC 17025-accredited methods for oils and tinctures reflects rising expectations for analytical robustness as cannabinoid formulations diversify and regulatory scrutiny intensifies. Read More FUJIFILM Biotechnologies Launches UK’s Largest Single-Use Biomanufacturing Facility £400 Million Expansion Strengthens the UK Life Sciences Sector, Enhances Biomanufacturing Capacity, and Supports NHS and Global Pharmaceutical Innovation. Read More Load more

< Back 2nd December, 2025 Virtual Streamline the Critical Path for Gene Therapy: Key Considerations for the AAV Analytical Lifecycle AAV vectors offer clear benefits for gene therapy, and continued advances in technology have increased target specificity, improved potency, and intensified production efficiency. Even with significant attention early in development, analytical activities for gene therapy often land on the critical path. This webinar provides considerations for phase-appropriate AAV characterization and release activities from pre-clinical to late-phase products. Early-stage analytical topics will address how to leverage platform analytics, client-specific methods and transfers, formulation verifications, tox material testing, and stability. Late-stage focus will review continued development activities, timing of method validation, IPC verifications, and data trending. We will discuss potential challenges in validation of late-stage analytics for PPQ and late-phase testing and paths for maturation of platform and product-specific analytics. Previous Register now Next

< Back LIVX 2026 8th – 10th December, 2026 Dubai, UAE Hosting the most powerful global ecosystem for longevity, biotech, and investment. ! Widget Didn’t Load Check your internet and refresh this page. If that doesn’t work, contact us. Previous Next

< Back 19th – 21st May, 2026 London, UK London Calling 2026 London Calling 2026 - where innovation meets inspiration. Connect with some of the brightest minds in the field. Explore the latest breakthroughs in Oxford Nanopore sequencing, and dive into the cutting-edge research shaping the future of science. From thought-provoking keynotes to interactive discussions, this is more than a conference, it’s where ideas ignite, collaborations spark, and the future takes shape. Previous Register now Next

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An overview of gene therapy's history, recent breakthroughs, and what it's future may look like. < Back The Future of Medicine is in Your DNA An overview of gene therapy's history, recent breakthroughs, and what it's future may look like. On September 14th, 1990, 4-year-old Ashanthi De Silva became the first person to receive gene therapy for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Her case kick- started a wave of research that spanned the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Today, De Silva is living a rich, fulfilling life and is an advocate for gene therapy within the rare disease community . With a rapidly growing, multibillion dollar market , gene therapy will change the lives of thousands of people and alter the face of personalised medicine forever. The question is, how? DNA is the material that determines our physical characteristics. Defects in our DNA, called mutations, can lead to illness, disability, or death. Gene therapy is the process of modifying genetic material to treat or prevent disease, including adding, editing, or silencing genes . Way back in the 1960s, scientists had speculated that DNA could be inserted into cells to cure genetic disorders. Ashanthi De Silva had a mutant ADA gene that caused her T-cells to die off, making her prone to bacterial infections. On that fateful day in 1990, doctors introduced a healthy gene into her body, which was successful in restoring the ADA gene’s function. After De Silva, other research continued, but doctors discovered that gene therapy can trigger severe side effects, including fatal immune responses and cancer . Side effects can occur due to the biological processes underpinning gene therapy. The easiest way to insert a gene into a person’s cells is using viral vectors. Certain viruses work by entering a cell, inserting viral or disease-causing DNA into the cell’s host DNA, which produces mRNA that can code for disease-causing proteins. Gene therapy repackages this technology in the viral vector, using the technical mechanism of viruses but replacing the disease-causing viral DNA with a healthy, disease-eliminating gene . However elegant this mechanism is, it poses a risk to the body. The body can perceive the viral vector as an actual virus and may attack the carrier, which can cause a severe reaction. Since actual viruses can target multiple types of cells, the viral vector could target the wrong cell and damage perfectly healthy cells. Another major source of risk is the possibility of cancer – viral vectors could activate oncogenes, or cancer-causing genes . These risks were seen in the 1990s as gene therapies began development, and halted the progress of gene therapy until the 2010s. In the 2010s, new viral vectors were developed that were more regulated. This technology allowed the viral vectors to be specific about which cells they were targeting, when they needed to turn off or on, and tweak genes more precisely. In addition to improved viral vectors, another form of gene therapy was developed called gene editing. Gene editing allows tools such as CRISPR/CAS9 to actually cut away the defective gene and paste in a new healthy DNA sequence. A major area of recent research is the ability to use CRISPR/CAS9 to target even smaller portions of genes or individual nucleotides . Another major area of study is stem cell research, where cells that are not yet differentiated into specific cells can be edited to carry healthy genes as they grow into their final form . Today, most gene therapies fix genes outside the body and then insert the new cells into the body (ex vivo). Research is increasing on in vivo trials, where cells are edited inside the body . Gene therapy has since become a promising new form of treatment, with more financial backing from regulatory bodies and an increasing number of clinical trials dedicated to new treatments. 2025 saw some massive wins in gene therapy, including the first-ever CAR T-cell therapy for marginal zone lymphoma (a type of rare, slow-growing lymphatic cancer that presents about 7000 new cases a year). The FDA approved Breyanzi in December 2025, a drug that genetically modifies a patient’s T-cells to destroy cancer cells. Breyanzi is recommended for patients who have failed other prior treatments or have relapsed, which previously resulted in lower survival rates. The drug is life-changing: after treatment, 62.1% of patients showed no signs of lymphoma in their scans – a complete response . Another breakthrough treatment includes Waskyra, the first gene therapy for Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS, a very rare inherited immune disorder that affects about 1 in 100,000 people, mainly boys ). Patients experience bleeding, eczema, recurrent infections, and increased immunodeficiencies. Until the FDA approved Waskyra, the only treatment for WAS was symptom management or early blood transfusions. Waskyra works by genetically correcting the patient’s blood stem cells, which are then reinfused into the patient and restore protein function. Waskyra reduced the rate of severe infections by 93% and moderate to severe bleeding events by about 60%. This life-changing treatment allows patients to participate in everyday activities with less pain and fear . That’s not all. 2025 also saw: The first cellular therapy to treat patients with severe aplastic anaemia (a rare disorder in which the bone marrow does not produce enough red blood cells ) The first gene correction for RDEB (a life-changing skin disorder ) Additional research is underway into RNA therapies and DNA therapies. Some of the most active disease areas include blood disorders like sickle-cell disease, neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and ALS, and metabolic disorders. Clinical trials are prioritizing safety after learning from historical mistakes, and diseases and cancers that were once incurable have had therapies developed that have greatly improved the lives of patients . Though gene therapy is advancing in leaps and bounds, it is costly due to the complicated nature of the biological mechanism and the custom or mass manufacturing of viral vectors. Additionally, trials are strictly regulated inside very few clinical-grade facilities, and new therapies can take years to meet safety standards. Ethical questions are also raised, as gene therapies permanently alter a person’s biology, and the question of access and patient consent looms large . Gene therapy can offer life-changing relief for those who previously had no options available. The next decade will likely see more breakthroughs that could make gene therapy a standard form of care. Ashanthi De Silva was the first to be treated with gene therapy, but by the end of her lifetime, she will be just one of many. Author Saee Risbud , freelance contributor Previous Next

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< Back 18th – 19th November, 2024 Virtual Fierce Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Forum The Fierce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Forum is back on November 18-19, 2024! We are once again partnering with the Fierce Healthcare Editorial team. Together, we look forward to addressing some of the most pressing and relevant DEI issues. This year’s theme is Embedding Equity: A Core Principle in Life Sciences and Healthcare. Our event will feature a thoughtfully designed agenda with perspectives from leaders in the biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare industries. Over 2 days we will tackle a wide variety of perspectives, strategies and models through panels, fireside chats, presentations and keynotes designed to inspire a renewed focus on health equity and what you can do to make a positive impact on your communities. Previous Register now Next