biotech companies

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After Settlement Over Henrietta Lacks' Cells, a New Complaint

Family of Black woman whose cells advanced science file another suit, now against Ultragenyx

(Newser) - Just over a week after Henrietta Lacks' descendants settled a lawsuit against a biotech company they accused of unjustly profiting off her cells for generations, the family's attorneys have filed another claim against a different corporation. The new lawsuit, which targets California-based biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx, was filed Thursday in...

Henrietta Lacks' Family Finally Gets Its Due

Family of Black woman whose cells advanced medical science reaches settlement, 70 years later

(Newser) - More than 70 years after doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took Henrietta Lacks' cervical cells without her knowledge, the AP reports that a lawyer for her descendants said they've reached a settlement with a biotechnology company they sued in 2021, accusing its leaders of reaping billions of dollars from...

US Nobelist Knew About Gene-Edited Babies

Craig Mello was on board of He Jiankui's biotech company

(Newser) - Long before the claim of the world's first gene-edited babies became public , Chinese researcher He Jiankui shared the news with a US Nobel laureate who objected to the experiment yet remained an adviser to He's biotech company. The revelation that another prominent scientist knew of the work, which...

Lab-Grown Shrimp Are Here to Save the World

They apparently taste and feel like the real thing

(Newser) - A San Francisco biotech company is about eight months away from unleashing lab-grown popcorn shrimp into the marketplace with the modest goal of ending slavery and saving the planet, the Atlantic reports. According to Popular Science , Americans eat 4 billion pounds of seafood annually; a full quarter of that is...

Farmers Souring on Genetically-Modified Seeds
 Farmers Sour on 
 Genetically Modified Seeds
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 9, 2010 9:07 AM CDT

Farmers Sour on Genetically Modified Seeds

But 86% of America's farm acres are planted with biotech crops

(Newser) - Genetically-modified crops are pervasive—last year 86% of America's farm acres were planted with biotech crops—but some farmers are beginning to sour on the technology. They say that the advantages are not worth the soaring prices charged by seed giants like Monsanto: The cost of corn seed jumped 32%...

Drug Makers' Big Spending Pays Off on Hill

Biologics debate shows how lobbyists shape health debate

(Newser) - Drugmakers could get quite a gift from the health care reform bill. Senate and House amendments passed this summer give the makers of biologics—next-generation wonder drugs derived from living matter—12 years of exclusivity on their hyperexpensive products. That’s 7 more years than normal drugs get, and critics...

Roche Gets Genentech in $46.8B Biotech Deal

(Newser) - Swiss drug giant Roche has succeeded in its quest to own biotech firm Genentech outright, and will purchase the 44% of shares it does not already own for $95 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reports today. The $46.8 billion deal comes after months of haggling, wherein Roche offered as...

Ailing Biotech Firms Need Shot in the Arm

Flatlining economy threatens breakthrough medical research

(Newser) - For the first time in years, the biotech industry is in desperate need of a lifeline, Bloomberg reports, as the economic crisis threatens to shove companies into bankruptcy and derail the development of potentially life-saving drugs. “I’m looking down the barrel of a gun,” admitted one CEO....

Millionaire Pays Firm to Map His Genetic Code

Personal genome readouts now on shopping list for super-rich

(Newser) - A Switzerland-based millionaire is paying to have his personal genetic code mapped out, the New York Times reports. He is only the second person to ever have done so, but genetics companies say interest is high despite the $350,000 price tag for decoding all 6 billion units in an...

Cloned Meat, Milk Near Nod
Cloned Meat, Milk Near Nod
Jan 4, 2008 6:45 AM CST

Cloned Meat, Milk Near Nod

FDA is about to approve clones, despite industry opposition

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration is expected to clear the way for milk and meat from cloned animals to be sold in US supermarkets by declaring the products safe as early as next week, reports the Wall Street Journal. Cloning companies are poised to begin churning out animals once a...

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