Argentina is working on a new seed law to protect intellectual property rights for agricultural biotechnology in a bid to lure Monsanto Co. (MON) to bring its second generation of transgenic-soybean seeds into the country.

"We've decide to move forward on a seed law draft, as corresponds in a country that aspires to be a leader in food production," agriculture minister Norberto Yauhar said in a press release Tuesday.

"We're looking to protect intellectual property in the development process," Mr. Yauhar said, adding that the bill will be sent to congress for debate in the coming months.

Argentina is the world's top soymeal and soyoil exporter, and ranks third behind the U.S. and Brazil in soybean exports.

Agricultural-biotech-company Monsanto is planning on selling its second-generation of transgenic-soybean seeds in Argentina in 2014 despite struggling for years to collect royalties on the first-generation seeds.

The U.S. patent for those first-generation soybean seeds, which are genetically modified to resist the herbicide glyphosate, runs out in 2014. The new seeds, will add insect resistance as well.

Monsanto failed to obtain a local patent for the genetically modified soybean seeds it introduced in Argentina 15 years ago and its efforts to collect royalties have been foiled by local regulations.

However, Monsanto says it is making progress in reaching an agreement with growers to pay royalties before introducing the new, improved strain of soybean seeds.

Monsanto has a patent for the new seeds in Argentina, but under current local law, farmers aren't required to pay royalties on the seeds they hold back for the next planting season.

Virtually all of the soybeans grown in Argentina are based on Monsanto's technology and the company is hoping that the potential yield increase for the second generation seeds will entice Argentina to get serious on ensuring it can collect royalties.

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Argentina Plans New Biotechnology Law in Bid to Tempt Monsanto

WASHINGTON & MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announces the initial selection of presenting companies for the 3rd Annual BIO India International Conference, September 12-13 at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, India. Through company presentations and partnering opportunities available at the BIO India event, attendees will be able to connect with other industry leaders to discuss potential collaborations and deals.

BIO brings to India more than ten years experience and expertise in biotechnology and pharmaceutical partnering. BIO is renowned for its successful partnering meetings held around the globe, including the industrys largest partnering event the BIO Business Forum at the BIO International Convention.

BIO India is a unique event that allows biotech and pharmaceutical leaders from around the world to gather and explore potential partnerships and collaborations with Indias life science companies. It is our hope that attendees and presenters alike capitalize on the exceptional opportunities available only at this event, said Alan Eisenberg, Executive Vice President of Emerging Companies and Business Development at BIO.

BIO India will once again feature company presentations by biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Last year's conference attracted over 320 attendees representing 200 companies from 15 countries around the world. Presenting companies receive increased visibility prior to and during the conference to BIO members and event attendees, as well as access to the One-on-One Partnering system. To apply to present at BIO India, click here.

As of today, the following companies are scheduled to present at this years event:

Indias biotech and pharmaceutical space is world class, and the number and type of collaborations between Indian and US or EU companies has grown rapidly in the past few years. Event attendees will have the opportunity to connect with industry leaders through BIOs One-on-One Partnering system to 30-minute meetings in private rooms provided by BIO onsite at the conference. This industry-specific, web-based interactive software enables participants to move efficiently from the identification of prospective partners to discussion and negotiations. To learn more about the system, including its evolution, read here.

Through this conference and ongoing advocacy efforts, BIO aims to help the industry flourish within India's borders and help patients and citizens benefit from the promise of biotech. BIO has partnered with the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE), which represents Indian and Asian biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, as well as leading investment banks and Venture Capital firms.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the worlds largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtechNOW, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling innovations transforming our world.

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BIO India to Spur Cross-Border Collaborations and Partnership Deals

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organizations (BIO) 2012 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy will feature four breakout tracks with 24 sessions, designed to keep you on the cutting edge of industrial biotech. The Summit will bring together industry leaders, university researchers and venture capitalists to facilitate networking and business partnerships this October 10-12 at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, Canada.

Breakout tracks include Advanced Biofuels and Biorefinery Platforms; Biomass Production and Utilization; Renewable Chemical Production; and Technical and Research Presentations. Featured sessions will focus on financing and continued commercialization of biorefineries for advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals.

A growing biobased economy can strengthen the nations economic security and enhance energy security, said Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIOs Industrial & Environmental Section. Our outstanding line-up of breakout sessions will highlight the growing biobased economy and showcase how vital capital and financing are to continued development. Building a biobased economy will generate good jobs in manufacturing, agricultural production and forestry, transportation and distribution, and construction.

Breakout sessions include:

Creating an Acceptable Supply of Biomass Feedstock to Satisfy Project Financing Requirements Wednesday, October 10, 8:30 - 10am

Financing Biorefinery Projects Wednesday, October 10, 10:30am - 12pm

Advances in the Commercial Production of Biobased Products Thursday, October 11, 2 - 3:30pm

Microalgae: Advancing to Commercial Applications Thursday, October 11, 4 - 5:30pm

Biorefinery Platforms: Perspectives from Leading Commercial Developers Friday, October 12, 8:30 - 10am

The rest is here:
BIO Pacific Rim Summit to Address Commercialization and Capital in Industrial Biotechnology

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Avere Systems today announced that Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, has implemented its FXT Series Edge filers into its existing storage infrastructure. The Avere Edge filers were chosen to reduce latency and improve performance of applications critical in Concert's mission.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090914/LA74693LOGO)

Lexington, Mass.-based Concert is dedicated to creating new medicines through its proprietary DCE Platform that utilizes the naturally occurring element deuterium a safe and stable form of the element hydrogen. Concert uses deuterium to improve upon the metabolic properties of a drug while making little or no change to its intrinsic effectiveness. Concert has executed on this approach with its lead program, CTP-499, in Phase 2 clinical testing for chronic kidney disease.

Concert operates in a nearly 100 percent virtualized environment, including Exchange and application servers, with a Core filer from NetApp. With the NetApp filer nearing its end of life and issues of unpredictable traffic spikes, Concert began looking at new storage options that would minimize disruption to its production environment and allow it to keep its existing filer. The organization decided to implement a pair of Avere FXT Series Edge filers to optimize its environment and run all of its VMware traffic through.

"Basically, what drove me to Avere was a 'bursty' pattern of storage use that required me to schedule and plan the clock cycles throughout the day," said K. Mitch Goldenberg, associate director of IT/IS at Concert Pharmaceuticals. "I put Avere in front of everything to flatten out the spikes. And it works beautifully. It absorbs the 'burstiness' and gives low latency, predictable ops per second to my Core filer. So, now I can go and speed up what I was already doing."

Avere recently introduced its innovative Edge-Core architecture for NAS that ensures enterprise IT is best positioned to leverage the performance benefits of Flash, the consolidation benefits of virtualization and the collaborative and economic benefits of the cloud. The new architecture for NAS puts the fastest media and the intelligence to manage it closest to the user, boosting performance and removing storage bottlenecks created by legacy NAS architectures.

"For a company like Concert Pharmaceuticals that wants to simultaneously leverage its existing infrastructure and solve a storage performance problem, Avere is a perfect fit," said Ron Bianchini, co-founder and CEO of Avere Systems. "Avere FXT Series Edge filers are an ideal storage solution for virtualized environments because of their ability to provide the simplicity and familiarity of NAS with the ability to handle the write-centric workloads that virtualization generates."

About Avere Systems Avere Systems brings to the market NAS Optimization solutions designed specifically to scale performance and capacity separately and take advantage of new storage media using real-time tiering. Avere's FXT Series Edge filers allow organizations to achieve unlimited application performance scaling, free applications from the confines of the data center by eliminating latency and cut storage costs by more than half. Learn more at http://www.averesystems.com, and you can follow the company on Twitter.com/averesystems.

CONTACT AGENCY:

CONTACT CLIENT:

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Avere Systems Solves VMware Storage Problem at Clinical Stage Biotechnology Company

Background:
Lignin is an integral component of the plant cell wall matrix but impedes the conversion of biomass into biofuels. The plasticity of lignin biosynthesis should permit the inclusion of new compatible phenolic monomers such as flavonoids into cell wall lignins that are consequently less recalcitrant to biomass processing. In the present study, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) was evaluated as a potential lignin bioengineering target for rendering biomass more amenable to processing for biofuel production.
Results:
In vitro peroxidase-catalyzed polymerization experiments revealed that both gallate and pyrogallyl (B-ring) moieties in EGCG underwent radical cross-coupling with monolignols mainly by beta--O--4-type cross-coupling, producing benzodioxane units following rearomatization reactions. Biomimetic lignification of maize cell walls with a 3:1 molar ratio of monolignols and EGCG permitted extensive alkaline delignification of cell walls (72 to 92 %) that far exceeded that for lignified controls (44 to 62 %). Alkali-insoluble residues from EGCG-lignified walls yielded up to 34 % more glucose and total sugars following enzymatic saccharification than lignified controls.
Conclusions:
It was found that EGCG readily copolymerized with monolignols to become integrally cross-coupled into cell wall lignins, where it greatly enhanced alkaline delignification and subsequent enzymatic saccharification. Improved delignification may be attributed to internal trapping of quinone-methide intermediates to prevent benzyl ether cross-linking of lignin to structural polysaccharides during lignification, and to the cleavage of ester intra-unit linkages within EGCG during pretreatment. Overall, our results suggest that apoplastic deposition of EGCG for incorporation into lignin would be a promising plant genetic engineering target for improving the delignification and saccharification of biomass crops.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Background:
Historically, acid pretreatment technology for the production of bio-ethanol from corn stover has required severe conditions to overcome biomass recalcitrance. However, the high usage of acid and steam at severe pretreatment conditions hinders the economic feasibility of the ethanol production from biomass. In addition, the amount of acetate and furfural produced during harsh pretreatment is in the range that strongly inhibits cell growth and impedes ethanol fermentation. The current work addresses these issues through pretreatment with lower acid concentrations and temperatures incorporated with deacetylation and mechanical refining.
Results:
The results showed that deacetylation with 0.1 M NaOH before acid pretreatment improved the monomeric xylose yield in pretreatment by up to 20 % while keeping the furfural yield under 2 %. Deacetylation also improved the glucose yield by 10 % and the xylose yield by 20 % during low solids enzymatic hydrolysis. Mechanical refining using a PFI mill further improved sugar yields during both low- and high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis. Mechanical refining also allowed enzyme loadings to be reduced while maintaining high yields. Deacetylation and mechanical refining are shown to assist in achieving 90 % cellulose yield in high-solids (20 %) enzymatic hydrolysis. When fermentations were performed under pH control to evaluate the effect of deacetylation and mechanical refining on the ethanol yields, glucose and xylose utilizations over 90 % and ethanol yields over 90 % were achieved. Overall ethanol yields were calculated based on experimental results for the base case and modified cases. One modified case that integrated deacetylation, mechanical refining, and washing was estimated to produce 88 gallons of ethanol per ton of biomass.
Conclusion:
The current work developed a novel bio-ethanol process that features pretreatment with lower acid concentrations and temperatures incorporated with deacetylation and mechanical refining. The new process shows improved overall ethanol yields compared to traditional dilute acid pretreatment. The experimental results from this work support the techno-economic analysis and calculation of Minimum Ethanol Selling Price (MESP) detailed in our companion paper.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announced more than 100 speakers covering the latest in industrial biotechnology at the 2012 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. The Summit will present four plenary sessions featuring international executives and academic leaders in industrial biotechnology October 10-12 at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, Canada.

Vancouver is an ideal location for this years conference with its fast-growing and successful life sciences and biotech industries and a robust forest biomass supply, said Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIOs Industrial & Environmental Section. Our outstanding line-up of plenary sessions will highlight the growing biobased economy as we learn about advances in biofuels, renewable chemicals and synthetic biology. Industrial biotechnology can reduce dependence on foreign oil and also benefits consumers by revitalizing manufacturing and creating new opportunities for agriculture, generating jobs, making greener products and cleaner processes.

Plenary sessions include:

Status Report: The Synthetic Biology Pathway to Innovation in Fuels and Chemicals Wednesday, October 10, 12 2:15PM

Flying green: Why Airlines See a Bright Future in Biofuels Thursday, October 11, 8 9:30AM

Overcoming Regional Biomass Feedstock Supply Challenges with Public Policy and Science Thursday, October 11, 11:30AM 1:45PM

Biotechnology and Renewable Chemicals: The Future is Now Friday, October 12, 10AM 12PM

Now in its seventh year, the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy will address the latest issues in industrial biotechnology, including algae, advanced biofuels, biopolymers and bioplastics, dedicated energy crops, green chemistry, and synthetic biology. The annual Pacific Rim Summit is the original conference dedicated solely to growth of the industrial biotechnology sector in Asia and the Americas. Visit http://bio.org/pacrim.

About BIO BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the worlds largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtechNOW, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling innovations transforming our world. Subscribe to BIOtechNOW.

Source: BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization)

More here:
2012 Pacific Rim Summit On Industrial Biotechnology And Bioenergy

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announces that registration is now available for the 11th Annual BIO Investor Forum, an international biotech investor conference focused on investment strategies for early stage and established private companies as well as emerging public companies. The event will take place October 9-10, 2012 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif.

The BIO Investor Forum is the ideal venue for investors and business development leaders to discuss financial and strategic business issues affecting investment in biotech companies, and explore potential partnerships and business collaborations to fuel research and development for promising innovation, said Alan Eisenberg, executive vice president, Emerging Companies & Business Developmentat BIO.

The 2011 BIO Investor Forum scheduled almost 900 meetings, 88% of which were between biotech companies and investors. Furthermore, the event hosted nearly 120 late-stage private and emerging public company presentations.

This years event will assemble public and venture-stage growth companies, as well as top public and private equity investors, to explore investment trends and opportunities in life sciences. In addition to panel discussions led by clinical thought leaders focusing on industry trends, the conference features business roundtables focused on financing, investment and the latest M&A trends. BIO One-on-One Partnering will also provide an opportunity to arrange meetings between investors; companies; and industry business development, licensing and therapeutic franchise heads.

The BIO Investor Forum is a must attend event forpublic and private market investors, research analysts, investment bankers, and industry executives focused on investment and business development opportunities in the life sciences.

The meeting attracts healthcare venture capital and public market investors and research analysts. In addition, the BIO Investor Forum draws business development executives from leading global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

BIO and the BIO Investor Forum Advisory Committee set the event agenda and program. Advisory Committee members include:

To learn more about the BIO Investor Forum, including registration and program information, please visit here.

BIO is pleased to recognize the leadership provided by the BIO Investor Forum Conference sponsors including Supporting Banks Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, and Roth Capital. BIO Double Helix and Helix Sponsors include Abbott Biotech Ventures, Amgen Ventures, Baxter Ventures, J&J Development Corporation, MedImmune Ventures, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Pfizer.

Link:
11th Annual BIO Investor Forum to Highlight Venture-Stage Growth and Emerging Public Companies

An exchange traded fund indexed to biotechnology stocks has pulled back about 10% from its all-time reached last month as the sector cools after leading the market higher through much of 2012.

Biotech ETFs have been successful in 2012, with some funds returning more than 30% year to date.

However, SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is down 9.5% from the record high set in July.

Given the jarring pace of change, single-product liability, regulatory uncertainties, and intellectual property rights, picking biotech-sector stocksis a high-risk/high-reward proposition. As such, we think investing in the industry via an exchange-traded fund makes a lot of sense; its an extremely low-cost way to gain exposure to the industry in one trade, Robert Goldsborough wrote for Morningstar. [Biotech ETFs for an M&A Boom]

The biotech industry has been susceptible to the patent cliff that began expiring big pharmaceutical companies patents on major drugs. Health care reform has also been an ongoing issue, and industry tax is another weight. Come 2014, Medicare should be covering more people, which should boost volumes and the drug industry. [Follow the Breakthrough Drug Makers with Biotech ETFs]

The biotechnology industry has benefitted from the merger and acquisition activity that has been rapidly taking place within the sector. Many speculate there is more activity to come as Big Pharma looks for cash-hungry biotech companies, reports Goldsborough. [Biotech ETF in Stealth Bull Market]

ETFs are one of the best ways to gain exposure to this volatile industry. The biotech companies are still relatively new, making investment in a single company ultra risky. By investing in a basket of bioetch companies, the risk is mitigated and the chances of investing in a successful company is greater. This illustrates the need to look at the underlying holdings in such ETFs.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

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Biotech ETFs Cool After Strong Run

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/13/12)- The Biotechnology Industry has been soaring in 2012 as companies -- both large and small -- have shown impressive growth. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index ETF (FBT) are up roughly 30 percent for the year, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Amarin Corporation plc (AMRN) and Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL).

Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.ParagonReport.com/AMRN

http://www.ParagonReport.com/EXEL

Despite having to negotiate a more challenging regulation process biotech companies have continued to show investors strong gains in 2012. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 forced regulators to increase standards for approvals of new drugs, introducing mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. According to a Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report from IMAP, several pharmaceutical firms have altered their drug portfolios from primary care driven blockbusters towards specialties such as oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the medical need is "so high that prices are more easily accepted by the regulators."

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Biotechnology Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Amarin is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health. Shares of the company soared nearly 14 percent last Thursday after reported their second quarter 2012 results and provided and operational update on recently FDA-approved drug Vascepa.

Exelixis, Inc. is a biotechnology company committed to developing small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer. Exelixis is focusing its proprietary resources and development efforts exclusively on cabozantinib (XL184), its most advanced product candidate, in order to maximize the therapeutic and commercial potential of this compound.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at: http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

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Biotech Industry Showing Impressive Growth in 2012 Despite Navigating a More Challenging Regulation Process

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (PBYI), a development stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Puma reported a net loss applicable to common stock of $14.8 million, or $0.74 per share. Net loss applicable to common stock for the six months ended June 30, 2012, was $26.6 million, or $1.33 per share.

Net cash used in operating activities for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, was $8.8 million. Net cash used in operating activities for the six months ended June 30, 2012, was $11.6 million. As of June 30, 2012, Puma had cash and cash equivalents of $41.0 million, compared to $53.4 million at December 31, 2011.

Total operating expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 were $14.8 million. Total operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2012, were $26.6 million. The operating expenses in the quarter were primarily driven by clinical development expenses for our lead product candidate, PB272 (neratinib), the transition of the PB272 clinical trial program to Puma from the drugs licensor, hiring staff and building out our corporate infrastructure.

General and administrative expenses for the second quarter of 2012 were $1.7 million. Total general and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2012, were $2.9 million.

Research and development expenses for the second quarter of 2012 were $13.0 million. Total research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2012, were $23.6 million. Included in the research and development expenses for the second quarter of 2012 are outside clinical development expenses of $10.3 million related to the transition of the ongoing PB272 clinical trials to Puma from the licensor, approximately $3 million of which represented duplicate costs incurred for the licensors services in connection with these trials. The Company anticipates that as this transition has largely been completed, these costs will decrease significantly in future quarters.

The second quarter of 2012 brought many significant achievements and advancements for Puma as we continued to make progress with the clinical development of our drug candidate PB272 and continued to build our corporate infrastructure, said Alan H. Auerbach, Chief Executive Officer and President. We will continue to move forward aggressively with the clinical development of PB272 during 2012. Our clinical development plan includes (i) initiating our Phase III clinical trial of PB272 in combination with chemotherapy in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer patients who have failed previous HER2 directed therapy, which we anticipate will occur later this year; (ii) completing the ongoing Phase II trial of neratinib in combination with temsirolimus in fourth line HER2+ metastatic breast cancer, which we anticipate reporting additional data from later in 2012, and subsequently initiating the Phase III trial of the combination of neratinib plus temsirolimus; (iii) completing the ongoing Phase II trial of PB272 in patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer that has metastasized to the brain, which we also anticipate reporting data from in 2012, (iv) completing our ongoing Phase II trial of PB272 as a neoadjuvant treatment for patients with HER2+ breast cancer, which we expect to report data from in 2013; (v) initiating a Phase II trial of PB272 in patients with HER2 mutated non-small cell lung cancer, which we expect will occur later this year; and (vi) initiating a Phase II trial of PB272 in breast cancer patients with a newly identified genetic mutation, which we also expect will occur later this year.

About Puma Biotechnology

Puma Biotechnology, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company that acquires and develops innovative products for the treatment of various forms of cancer. The Company focuses on in-licensing drug candidates that are undergoing or have already completed initial clinical testing for the treatment of cancer and then seeks to further develop those drug candidates for commercial use. The Company is initially focused on the development of PB272 (oral neratinib), a potent irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer.

View original post here:
Puma Biotechnology Reports Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Background:
Lignocellulose is the most abundant biomass on earth. However, biomass recalcitrance has become a major factor affecting biofuel production. Although cellulose crystallinity significantly influences biomass saccharification, little is known about the impact of three major wall polymers on cellulose crystallization. In this study, we selected six typical pairs of Miscanthus samples that presented different cell wall compositions, and then compared their cellulose crystallinity and biomass digestibility after various chemical pretreatments.
Results:
A Miscanthus sample with a high hemicelluloses level was determined to have a relatively low cellulose crystallinity index (CrI) and enhanced biomass digestibility at similar rates after pretreatments of NaOH and H2SO4 with three concentrations. By contrast, a Miscanthus sample with a high cellulose or lignin level showed increased CrI and low biomass saccharification, particularly after H2SO4 pretreatment. Correlation analysis revealed that the cellulose CrI negatively affected biomass digestion. Increased hemicelluloses level by 25% or decreased cellulose and lignin contents by 31% and 37% were also found to result in increased hexose yields by 1.3-times to 2.2-times released from enzymatic hydrolysis after NaOH or H2SO4 pretreatments. The findings indicated that hemicelluloses were the dominant and positive factor, whereas cellulose and lignin had synergistic and negative effects on biomass digestibility.
Conclusions:
Using six pairs of Miscanthus samples with different cell wall compositions, hemicelluloses were revealed to be the dominant factor that positively determined biomass digestibility after pretreatments with NaOH or H2SO4 by negatively affecting cellulose crystallinity. The results suggested potential approaches to the genetic modifications of bioenergy crops.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/13/12)- The Biotechnology Industry has been soaring in 2012 as companies -- both large and small -- have shown impressive growth. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index ETF (FBT) are up roughly 30 percent for the year, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Complete Genomics, Inc. (GNOM) and ImmunoGen, Inc. (IMGN).

Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.ParagonReport.com/GNOM

http://www.ParagonReport.com/IMGN

Despite having to negotiate a more challenging regulation process biotech companies have continued to show investors strong gains in 2012. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 forced regulators to increase standards for approvals of new drugs, introducing mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. According to a Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report from IMAP, several pharmaceutical firms have altered their drug portfolios from primary care driven blockbusters towards specialties such as oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the medical need is "so high that prices are more easily accepted by the regulators."

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Biotechnology Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Complete Genomics shares soared over 15 percent last Thursday after reporting strong second quarter 2012 results. The company's backlog as of June 30, 2012 was approximately 4,600 revenue generating genomes, including approximately 1,000 genomes booked in the second quarter, representing an aggregate revenue potential of approximately $22 million.

ImmunoGen develops targeted anticancer therapeutics using the Company's expertise in tumor biology, monoclonal antibodies, potent cancer-cell killing agents and engineered linkers. The Company's Targeted Antibody Payload (TAP) technology uses monoclonal antibodies to deliver one of ImmunoGen's proprietary cancer-cell killing agents specifically to tumor cells.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at: http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

Excerpt from:
Biotechnology Industry Continues to Show Investors Strong Gains in 2012 -- Complete Genomics Soars on Strong Results

Background:
A common trend in the research on 2nd generation bioethanol is the focus on intensifying the process and increasing the concentration of water insoluble solids (WIS) throughout the process. However, increasing the WIS content is not without problems. For example, the viscosity of pretreated lignocellulosic materials is known to increase drastically with increasing WIS content. Further, at elevated viscosities, problems arise related to poor mixing of the material, such as poor distribution of the enzymes and/or difficulties with temperature and pH control, which results in possible yield reduction. Achieving good mixing is unfortunately not without cost, since the power requirements needed to operate the impeller at high viscosities can be substantial. This highly important scale-up problem can easily be overlooked.
Results:
In this work, we monitor the impeller torque (and hence power input) in a stirred tank reactor throughout high solid enzymatic hydrolysis (< 20% WIS) of steam-pretreated Arundo donax and spruce. Two different process modes were evaluated, where either the impeller speed or the impeller power input was kept constant. Results from hydrolysis experiments at a fixed impeller speed of 10 rpm show that a very rapid decrease in impeller torque is experienced during hydrolysis of pretreated arundo (i.e. it loses its fiber network strength), whereas the fiber strength is retained for a longer time within the spruce material. This translates into a relatively low, rather WIS independent, energy input for arundo whereas the stirring power demand for spruce is substantially larger and quite WIS dependent. By operating the impeller at a constant power input (instead of a constant impeller speed) it is shown that power input greatly affects the glucose yield of pretreated spruce whereas the hydrolysis of arundo seems unaffected.
Conclusions:
The results clearly highlight the large differences between the arundo and spruce materials, both in terms of needed energy input, and glucose yields. The impact of power input on glucose yield is furthermore shown to vary significantly between the materials, with spruce being very affected while arundo is not. These findings emphasize the need for substrate specific process solutions, where a short pre-hydrolysis (or viscosity reduction) might be favorable for arundo whereas fed-batch might be a better solution for spruce.
Results:
In this work, we monitor the impeller torque (and hence power input) in a stirred tank reactor throughout high solid enzymatic hydrolysis (< 20% WIS) of steam-pretreated Arundo donax and spruce. Results from hydrolysis experiments at a stirrer speed of 10 rpm show that a very rapid decrease in impeller torque is experienced during hydrolysis of pretreated arundo (i.e. it loses its fiber network strength), whereas the fiber strength is retained for a longer time within the spruce material. This translates into a relatively low, rather WIS independent, energy input for arundo whereas the stirring power demand for spruce is substantially larger and quite WIS dependent. By operating the impeller at a constant power input (instead of a constant impeller speed) it is shown that power input greatly affects the hydrolysis yield of pretreated spruce whereas the hydrolysis of arundo seems unaffected.
Conclusions:
The results clearly highlight the large differences between the two materials, both in terms of needed energy input, and hydrolysis yields. The impact of power input is furthermore shown to vary significantly between the materials, with spruce being very affected while arundo is not. These findings emphasize the need for substrate specific process solutions, where a short pre-hydrolysis (or viscosity reduction) might be favorable for arundo whereas fed-batch might be a better solution for spruce.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/08/12)- The Biotechnology Industry has been soaring in 2012 as companies -- both large and small -- have shown impressive growth. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index ETF (FBT) are up roughly 32 percent for the year, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS) and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACHN).

Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.ParagonReport.com/ISIS

http://www.ParagonReport.com/ACHN

Despite having to negotiate a more challenging regulation process biotech companies have continued to show investors strong gains in 2012. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 forced regulators to increase standards for approvals of new drugs, introducing mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. According to a Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report from IMAP, several pharmaceutical firms have altered their drug portfolios from primary care driven blockbusters towards specialties such as oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the medical need is "so high that prices are more easily accepted by the regulators."

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Biotechnology Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Isis is exploiting its leadership position in antisense technology to discover and develop novel drugs for its product pipeline and for its partners. Isis' broad pipeline consists of 25 drugs to treat a wide variety of diseases with an emphasis on cardiovascular, metabolic, severe and rare diseases, and cancer. The company reported revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2012 were $47.3 million, nearly double the total for the same period in 2011.

Achillion is an innovative pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing important new treatments to patients with infectious disease. Achillion's proven discovery and development teams have advanced multiple product candidates with novel mechanisms of action. Achillion is focused on solutions for the most challenging problems in infectious disease including hepatitis C and resistant bacterial infections.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at:

http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

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Biotech Industry Soaring in 2012 -- ISIS Pharmaceuticals Surges on Strong Results

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/09/12)- The Biotechnology Industry has been soaring in 2012 as companies -- both large and small -- have shown impressive growth. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index ETF (FBT) are up roughly 32 percent for the year, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (HALO) and Zalicus Inc. (ZLCS).

Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.ParagonReport.com/HALO http://www.ParagonReport.com/ZLCS

Despite having to negotiate a more challenging regulation process biotech companies have continued to show investors strong gains in 2012. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 forced regulators to increase standards for approvals of new drugs, introducing mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. According to a Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report from IMAP, several pharmaceutical firms have altered their drug portfolios from primary care driven blockbusters towards specialties such as oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the medical need is "so high that prices are more easily accepted by the regulators."

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Biotechnology Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Halozyme Therapeutics' research focuses primarily on a family of human enzymes, known as hyaluronidases, which increase the absorption and dispersion of biologics, drugs and fluids. Shares of the company soared 25 percent on Tuesday reported second quarter 2012 earnings.

Zalicus is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel treatments for patients suffering from pain and immuno-inflammatory diseases. The company reported that for the second quarter 2012 revenue was $2.9 million compared to $1.8 million for the second quarter 2011. Shares of the company surged nearly 12 percent Tuesday.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at: http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

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Halozyme Therapeutics and Zalicus Recent Movers in a Booming Industry

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/10/12)- The Biotechnology Industry has been soaring in 2012 as companies -- both large and small -- have shown impressive growth. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index ETF (FBT) are up roughly 30 percent for the year, outperforming the broader market by a wide margin. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SVNT) and PDL BioPharma Inc. (PDLI).

Access to the full company reports can be found at:

http://www.ParagonReport.com/SVNT

http://www.ParagonReport.com/PDLI

Despite having to negotiate a more challenging regulation process biotech companies have continued to show investors strong gains in 2012. The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 forced regulators to increase standards for approvals of new drugs, introducing mandatory risk evaluation and mitigation strategies. According to a Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology report from IMAP, several pharmaceutical firms have altered their drug portfolios from primary care driven blockbusters towards specialties such as oncology, immunology and inflammation, where the medical need is "so high that prices are more easily accepted by the regulators."

Paragon Report releases regular market updates on the Biotechnology Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at http://www.ParagonReport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Savient Pharmaceuticals is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing KRYSTEXXA (pegloticase) for the treatment of chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy. Shares of company soared over 24 percent Wednesday after the company reported their second quarter loss decreased when compared with the year ago quarter.

PDL pioneered the humanization of monoclonal antibodies and, by doing so, enabled the discovery of a new generation of targeted treatments for cancer and immunologic diseases. Net income for the second quarter of 2012 was $73.5 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, as compared with net income of $70.0 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in the same quarter of 2011.

The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. Paragon Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at: http://www.paragonreport.com/disclaimer

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Savient Pharmaceuticals and PDL BioPharma Rise on Strong Earnings

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announced more than 100 speakers covering the latest in industrial biotechnology at the 2012 Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. The Summit will present four plenary sessions featuring international executives and academic leaders in industrial biotechnology October 10-12 at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver, Canada.

Vancouver is an ideal location for this years conference with its fast-growing and successful life sciences and biotech industries and a robust forest biomass supply, said Brent Erickson, executive vice president for BIOs Industrial & Environmental Section. Our outstanding line-up of plenary sessions will highlight the growing biobased economy as we learn about advances in biofuels, renewable chemicals and synthetic biology. Industrial biotechnology can reduce dependence on foreign oil and also benefits consumers by revitalizing manufacturing and creating new opportunities for agriculture, generating jobs, making greener products and cleaner processes.

Plenary sessions include:

Status Report: The Synthetic Biology Pathway to Innovation in Fuels and Chemicals Wednesday, October 10, 12 2:15PM

Flying green: Why Airlines See a Bright Future in Biofuels Thursday, October 11, 8 9:30AM

Overcoming Regional Biomass Feedstock Supply Challenges with Public Policy and Science Thursday, October 11, 11:30AM 1:45PM

Biotechnology and Renewable Chemicals: The Future is Now Friday, October 12, 10AM 12PM

Now in its seventh year, the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy will address the latest issues in industrial biotechnology, including algae, advanced biofuels, biopolymers and bioplastics, dedicated energy crops, green chemistry, and synthetic biology. The annual Pacific Rim Summit is the original conference dedicated solely to growth of the industrial biotechnology sector in Asia and the Americas. Visit http://bio.org/pacrim.

In addition to the plenary sessions, the Pacific Rim Summit will bring you four breakout tracks with 24 sessions, designed to keep you on the cutting edge of industrial biotech. New in 2012- The Technical Presentations Track will feature 20 minute talks from academics, private sector scientists and researchers.

Originally posted here:
BIO Pacific Rim Summit to Address Innovation and Future of Advanced Biofuels and Biorefinery Development, Renewable ...

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announces the 2nd annual BIO Convention in China, a partnering and investor conference that will bring together executives from biotechnology, pharmaceutical companies and investment firms from North America, Europe and Asia to meet and explore business opportunities with China's emerging biotech sector. The event will take place October 24-25, 2012 in Shanghai, China.

As China positions itself as a major global player in the international biotechnology arena, it has included biotechnology as one of the seven strategic priorities for scientific and technological development in its 12th Five-year Plan, said Alan Eisenberg, Executive Vice President of Emerging Companies and Business Development at BIO. "Through distinguished speakers, exemplary programming, compelling company presentations and exhibiting and networking opportunities, BIO China allows attendees to explore the vast business opportunities afforded by Chinas emerging biotech sector.

Dr. Michael Rosenblatt, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer for Merck, will provide one of two keynote addresses on October 25th. Directly following Dr. Rosenblatts keynote, Peng Wang, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Simcere will deliver his remarks. Governor Jon Huntsman, former U.S. Ambassador to China and Governor of Utah, will provide the third keynote address. Additional keynote speakers will be announced at a later date.

Panel sessions will highlight the latest issues and trends related to doing business in China. Preliminary program topics include the globalization of Chinese companies; innovation in generics and biosimilars; comparative legal systems in U.S., Europe and China; R&D trends in China; trends in cancer research and regulatory review in China.

BIO and the BIO China Advisory Committee set the event agenda and program. Advisory Committee members include:

BIO brings to China more than 15 years of experience in organizing international conferences for the biotech industry, including the BIO International Convention the global event for biotechnology. BIO is renowned for its successful business development, partnering and investor meetings in North America, Europe and Asia. Partnering at this conference will be powered by BIO One-on-One Partnering, an interactive environment to intelligently search, contact and schedule private meetings with potential partners and investors.

For more information on the BIO Convention in China, please visit here.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the worlds largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtechNOW, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling innovations transforming our world. Subscribe to BIOtechNOW.

Excerpt from:
BIO Unveils Preliminary Program for the 2012 BIO Convention in China

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (PBYI), a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that Alan H. Auerbach, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Founder of Puma, will present an overview of the Company at 12:45 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 14, at the Wedbush PacGrow 2012 Life Sciences Management Access Conference in New York.

A live webcast will be available on the Companys website at http://www.pumabiotechnology.com. The presentation will be archived on the website and available for 30 days.

About Puma Biotechnology

Puma Biotechnology, Inc. is a development stage biopharmaceutical company that acquires and develops innovative products for the treatment of various forms of cancer. The Company focuses on in-licensing drug candidates that are undergoing or have already completed initial clinical testing for the treatment of cancer and then seeks to further develop those drug candidates for commercial use. The Company is initially focused on the development of PB272 (oral neratinib), a potent irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer.

Further information about Puma Biotechnology can be found at http://www.pumabiotechnology.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and actual outcomes and results could differ materially from these statements due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, the risk factors disclosed in the periodic reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

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Puma Biotechnology to Present at Wedbush PacGrow Life Sciences Conference