WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced today its selection of Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) as Legislator of the Year for 2011-2012. Representative Schwartz receives the award in conjunction with todays BIO Legislative Day Fly-In reception.

"As the leading House advocate for the renewal of the Therapeutic Discovery Project Tax Credit and repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, Representative Schwartz has been an ardent advocate for the growth of the life science industry, which is researching and developing new cures and treatments for debilitating diseases, and providing cutting-edge technologies to improve crop yields, and discover cleaner forms of home-grown energy," said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.

"Congresswoman Schwartz has been a strong and consistent champion of the life sciences industry. She recognizes the tremendous economic and societal benefits this industry produces and has distinguished herself as a leader for national policy that ultimately benefits people everywhere," said Pennsylvania Bio President Christopher Molineaux. "Pennsylvania companies,universities, andresearch institutesare fostering one of the most robust biotechnology sectors in the country. To continue our leadership in the biosciences, the support of our policymakers is critical, and we have a great champion in Representative Schwartz."

More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from 41 states will participate in hundreds of meetings with Members of the House and Senate during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In.Participants will discuss issues critical to the biotechnology industry including reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) V, the Transforming the Regulatory Environment to Accelerate Access to Treatments (TREAT) Act/Faster Access to Specialized Treatments (FAST) Act, adequate reimbursement for vital therapies under Medicare, and capital formation issues relevant to biotechnology companies.

Photos of the award presentation are available upon request.

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.

Continued here:
Representative Schwartz Honored as BIO Legislator of the Year

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced today its selection of Representative Jack Kingston (R-GA) as Legislator of the Year for 2011-2012. Representative Kingston receives the award in conjunction with todays BIO Legislative Day Fly-In reception.

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the Department of Agriculture, FDA, and related agencies, Representative Kingston has provided thoughtful and responsive leadership on issues vitally important to our nation, said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.As a champion of Americas biotechnology industry, he has helped to protect funding for programs essential to the survival of biotechnology companies across the United States.

The life science industry in Georgia provides a $23 billion annual economic impact and provides jobs for over 105,000 people.Representative Kingston has demonstrated his understanding of this industry's importance through his words and his actions, said Charles Craig, President of GeorgiaBio.We thank Representative Kingston for his outstanding leadership and dedication to supporting the innovative capacity and job creating potential of American life science companies, and we congratulate him on receiving this award.

More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from 41 states will participate in hundreds of meetings with Members of the House and Senate during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In.Participants will discuss issues critical to the biotechnology industry including reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the Transforming the Regulatory Environment to Accelerate Access to Treatments (TREAT) Act/Faster Access to Specialized Treatments (FAST) Act, adequate reimbursement for vital therapies under Medicare, and capital formation issues relevant to biotechnology companies.

Photos of the award presentation are available upon request.

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.

Continued here:
Representative Kingston Honored as BIO Legislator of the Year

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced today its selection of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) as Legislator of the Year for 2011-2012. Senator Menendez receives the award at todays BIO Legislative Day Fly-In reception.

The Senators long-standing service to the Finance Committee has been critically important to this nations healthcare industry and the patients it serves, said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood. Senator Menendez has been a proponent of issues critical to our nations biotech industry, as exemplified through his hard work instituting, and fighting for the reauthorization of, the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Credit.

The life sciences industry accounts for over 400,000 high-skilled, high-paying jobs in New Jersey.Senator Menendez understands the challenges facing our biotechnology industry, especially emerging companies, in the current economic environment. We thank him for his outstanding leadership on behalf of the biotechnology industry in New Jersey and throughout our country, said Debbie Hart, President of BioNJ.

More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from 41 states will participate in hundreds of meetings with Members of the House and Senate during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In.Participants will discuss issues critical to the biotechnology industry including reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the Transforming the Regulatory Environment to Accelerate Access to Treatments (TREAT) Act/Faster Access to Specialized Treatments (FAST) Act, adequate reimbursement for vital therapies under Medicare, and capital formation issues relevant to biotechnology companies.

Photos of the award presentation are available upon request.

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.

See the original post here:
Senator Bob Menendez Honored as BIO Legislator of the Year

Background:
Cellulose, which is the most abundant renewable biomass on earth, is a potential bio-resource of alternative energy. The hydrolysis of plant polysaccharides is catalyzed by microbial cellulases, including endo-beta-1,4-glucanases, cellobiohydrolases, cellodextrinases, and beta-glucosidases. Converting cellobiose by beta-glucosidases is the key factor for reducing cellobiose inhibition and enhancing the efficiency of cellulolytic enzymes for cellulosic ethanol production.
Results:
In this study, a cDNA encoding beta-glucosidase was isolated from the buffalo rumen fungus Neocallimastix patriciarum W5 and is named NpaBGS. It has a length of 2,331 bp with an open reading frame coding for a protein of 776 amino acid residues, corresponding to a theoretical molecular mass of 85.1 kDa and isoelectric point of 4.4. Two GH3 catalytic domains were found at the N and C terminals of NpaBGS by sequence analysis. The cDNA was expressed in Pichia pastoris and after protein purification, the enzyme displayed a specific activity of 34.5 U/mg against cellobiose as the substrate. Enzymatic assays showed that NpaBGS was active on short cello-oligosaccharides from various substrates. A weak activity in carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) digestion indicated that the enzyme might also have the function of an endoglucanase. The optimal activity was detected at 40oC and pH 5~6, showing that the enzyme prefers a weak acid condition. Moreover, its activity could be enhanced at 50oC by adding Mg2+ or Mn2+ ions. Interestingly, in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) experiments using Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741 or Kluyveromyces marxianus KY3 as the fermentation yeast, NpaBGS showed advantages in cell growth, glucose production, and ethanol production over the commercial enzyme Novo 188. Moreover, we showed that the KY3 strain engineered with the NpaNGS gene can utilize 2 % dry napiergrass as the sole carbon source to produce 3.32 mg/ml ethanol when Celluclast 1.5L was added to the SSF system.
Conclusion:
Our characterizations of the novel beta-glucosidase NpaBGS revealed that it has a preference of weak acidity for optimal yeast fermentation and an optimal temperature of ~40oC. Since NpaBGS performs better than Novo 188 under the living conditions of fermentation yeasts, it has the potential to be a suitable enzyme for SSF.Keywordsendoglucanase, beta-glucosidase, Neocallimastix patriciarum, rumen fungi, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Background:
Cost-effective production of lignocellulosic biofuels remains a major financial and technical challenge at the industrial scale. A critical tool in biofuels process development is the techno-economic (TE) model, which calculates biofuel production costs using a process model and an economic model. The process model solves mass and energy balances for each unit, and the economic model estimates capital and operating costs from the process model based on economic assumptions. The process model inputs include experimental data on the feedstock composition and intermediate product yields for each unit. These experimental yield data are calculated from primary measurements. Uncertainty in these primary measurements is propagated to the calculated yields, to the process model, and ultimately to the economic model. Thus, outputs of the TE model have a minimum uncertainty associated with the uncertainty in the primary measurements.
Results:
We calculate the uncertainty in the Minimum Ethanol Selling Price (MESP) estimate for lignocellulosic ethanol production via a biochemical conversion process: dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of corn stover followed by enzymatic hydrolysis and co-fermentation of the resulting sugars to ethanol. We perform a sensitivity analysis on the TE model and identify the feedstock composition and conversion yields from three unit operations (xylose from pretreatment, glucose from enzymatic hydrolysis, and ethanol from fermentation) as the most important variables. The uncertainty in the pretreatment xylose yield arises from multiple measurements, whereas the glucose and ethanol yields from enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation, respectively, are dominated by a single measurement: the fraction of insoluble solids (fIS) in the biomass slurries.
Conclusions:
We calculate a $0.15/gal uncertainty in MESP from the TE model due to uncertainties in primary measurements. This result sets a lower bound on the error bars of the TE model predictions. This analysis highlights the primary measurements that merit further development to reduce the uncertainty associated with their use in TE models. While we develop and apply this mathematical framework to a specific biorefinery scenario here, this analysis can be readily adapted to other types of biorefining processes and provides a general framework for propagating uncertainty due to analytical measurements through a TE model.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Some relief for people having problems with their hip joints!! Duke University researchers have developed a method which enables specific measurement of biomechanical properties of hip joints in the case of mice. They have found out that lubricin which is a joint fluid has an important role to play in keeping joints agile. This has helped to come to a conclusion that treatments designed for increasing lubricin levels could aid in stopping the deterioration of arthritic joints. Tests conducted on mice showed that arthritic joints of mice lacked the gene which controlled production of lubricin showed greater friction as compared to joints of other animals and even at molecular level it demonstrated that joint cartilage of mutant animals appeared less stiff and rougher. This has suggested to the researchers that there can be a loss of cartilage mechanical integrity without requiring lubricin. Stefan Zauscher, Professor, Pratt School said: Lubricin has been considered important, but the experiments had not been done. This is the first look at the effects on biomechanics of lubricin’s presence or absence All this has opened a new window of hope for joint patients.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/rss.xml

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -04/20/12)- Mergers and Acquisitions have been a hot topic in the Biotechnology Industry recently. According to a recent report by Dealogic, pharmaceutical deals totaled $18.5 billion globally this year, an increase of 5% from the same period last year. The Paragon Report examines investing opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI - News) and Complete Genomics, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNOM - News).

Access to full reports can be found at:

http://www.ParagonReport.com/HGSI http://www.ParagonReport.com/GNOM

As larger companies reduce spending on research and development they are looking at smaller biotech companies to diversify their product lines. M&A allows bigger companies to acquire products and technology that are already proven in the market place, avoiding the many risks associated with research and development.

On Thursday Biotechnology Company Human Genome Sciences rejected a $2.59 billion takeover bid from GlaxoSmithKline. The announcement comes just a day after Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced that it was abandoning its bid for U.S. biotech firm Illumina.

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.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. recently announced that it will sponsor a conference call to discuss its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. These results are expected to be disclosed on Wednesday, April 25, 2012, before the capital markets open. The conference call will be hosted by senior management and will be held on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Complete Genomics is the whole human genome sequencing company that has developed and commercialized an innovative DNA sequencing service. The Complete Genomics Analysis Platform (CGA Platform) combines Complete Genomics' proprietary human genome sequencing technology with advanced informatics and data management software.

Paragon Report provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. The Paragon Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as 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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Mergers and Acquisitions Continue to Grow in the Biotechnology Industry

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is pleased to announce that Governor Jon Huntsman, former U.S. Ambassador to China and Governor of Utah, will provide a keynote address at the BIO Convention in China to be held October 24-25, 2012 in Shanghai. The event will bring together a global audience of biotechnology executives, pharmaceutical companies and investment firms to meet and explore business opportunities within Chinas emerging biotech sector.

Governor Huntsmans vast experience with international policy and business, specifically in China, will allow him to provide a unique perspective on best practices in business development between eastern and western companies, said Alan Eisenberg, executive vice president of Emerging Companies and Business Development at BIO.

From 2009 through April 2011, Governor Huntsman served as an Ambassador to China when he stepped down to run for the 2012 Republican nomination for President of the United States. Prior to serving as Ambassador to China, Huntsman was twice elected as Governor of Utah. During his tenure as Governor, Utah was named by the Pew Center as the Best Managed State in America.

Governor Huntsman began his public service career as a White House staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan and enjoyed such appointments as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. As a U.S. Trade Ambassador, Governor Huntsman has successfully negotiated free trade and investment agreements for the United States with China, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, India, Vietnam, West Africa, South Africa and other Sian and African nations.

He is a founding director of the Pacific Council on International Policy and has served on such boards as the Brookings Institute Asia Policy Board, the Center for Strategic and International Studies Pacific Forum, the Asia Society in New York and the National Bureau of Asian Research.

The BIO Convention in China will feature plenary sessions and workshops on health and regulatory issues, intellectual property, business development and vaccines, and global health. The conference also will feature company presentations, partnering meeting opportunities, and an Exhibition. The convention will include biopharmaceutical industry leaders from North America, Europe and Asia.

BIO brings to China more than 16 years of experience in organizing international conferences for the biotech industry, including the BIO International Convention, the worlds largest annual biotech conference. 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.

BIO China is organized by BIO and co-organized by Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park. For more information on BIO China, please visit here.

Upcoming BIO Events

Read more here:
BIO Announces Governor Jon Huntsman as Keynote Speaker for the BIO Convention in China

A better hope for thousands of women suffering from the ‘often resistant to chemotherapy’ ovarian cancer at its advanced stage. A new cancer vaccine therapy is on its way to launch expanding treatment options to such women. Thanks to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The vaccine is developed by AVAX Technologies, Inc. Dr. Edgar Staren, Chief Medical Officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America said, Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s number one priority is to help our patients win the battle against cancer. This vaccine therapy represents a promising new chapter in the fight against this devastating disease and brings hope to women everywhere. Interestingly, this treatment method creates a patient-specific vaccine, using the patient’s own tumor tissues. The method also combines chemotherapy delivered directly into the abdominal cavity along with it. Dr. Staren said, To win the fight against cancer, it is absolutely vital we do everything we can to make innovative new treatments like this available to patients as soon as possible. It’s inconceivable that treatments like these – that give hope to patients – are often left on the laboratory bench, while cancer patients are told there is nothing more that can be done for them.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/rss.xml

America is making efforts for increasing the domestic production of biofuels so that it could lead to the creation of more jobs in this sector. For this purpose President Bush is making whole hearted efforts and is undertaking panel discussions on advancements in industrial biotechnology so that it could aid in increasing the production of ethanol. Jim Greenwood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization stated: We appreciate the personal interest that President Bush has taken in boosting domestic biofuels production. The President’s recent statements underline his commitment to developing new biofuels technologies. We believe President Bush’s visit to Novozymes sends the world a strong message about the importance of the work that industrial biotechnology companies are doing to provide a key enabling technology for large-scale production of ethanol This is expected to act as a booster for the U.S based biotechnology jobs as the U.S government is making efforts for reducing the dependence on petroleum based energy fuels and is looking towards industrial biotechnology for offering cheap forms of alternate and renewable sources of energy in the form of biofuels. It is expected that it would lead to the creation of more jobs for the country.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/rss.xml

Consumers of canned beef and swine can now stay assured of the quality of the food and relish the taste without any fear of contamination courtesy ‘IdentiGEN’. IdentiGEN has developed TraceBack, the first-ever commercial DNA-fingerprinting technology for meat. The process starts at the farm or slaughterhouse, where animals are given are tested for pathogens. After receiving a clean bill of health, a worker takes a sample of the cow’s blood, meat or hair, analyzes it for genetic identifiers known as single-nucleotide polymorphisms, and stores the information in a central database. Before packaging is done at supermarket, the butchers take another DNA sample and checks it with the database to be sure of a 100% healthy packaged meat. And if there is trace of any errant pathogen found, the source can be traced back within hours thus making it possible for food-safety officials to nail down the source of the outbreak. According to Ronan Loftus, IdentiGEN’s director of business development: Each product has its own inherent label. It’s like nature’s bar code. Once this system is in place, you can pull a package of meat off the shelves and access its entire history. And the consumers have to pay a negligible premium to get 100% healthy meat.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/rss.xml

Background:
Bioethanol produced from the lignocellulosic fractions of sugar cane (bagasse and leaves), i.e. second generation (2G) bioethanol, has a promising market potential as an automotive fuel; however, the process is still under investigation on pilot/demonstration scale. From a process perspective, improvements in plant design can lower the production cost, providing better profitability and competitiveness if the conversion of the whole sugar cane is considered. Simulations have been performed with AspenPlus to investigate how process integration can affect the minimum ethanol selling price of this 2G process (MESP-2G), as well as improve the plant energy efficiency. This is achieved by integrating the well-established sucrose-to-bioethanol process with the enzymatic process for lignocellulosic materials. Bagasse and leaves were steam pretreated using H3PO4 as catalyst and separately hydrolysed and fermented.
Results:
The addition of a steam dryer, doubling of the enzyme dosage in enzymatic hydrolysis, including leaves as raw material in the 2G process, heat integration and the use of more energy-efficient equipment led to a 37 % reduction in MESP-2G compared to the Base case. Modelling showed that the MESP for 2G ethanol was 0.97 US$/L, while in the future it could be reduced to 0.78 US$/L. In this case the overall production cost of 1G + 2G ethanol would be about 0.40 US$/L with an output of 102 L/ton dry sugar cane including 50 % leaves. Sensitivity analysis of the future scenario showed that a 50 % decrease in the cost of enzymes, electricity or leaves would lower the MESP-2G by about 20%, 10% and 4.5%, respectively.
Conclusions:
According to the simulations, the production of 2G bioethanol from sugar cane bagasse and leaves in Brazil is already competitive (without subsidies) with 1G starch-based bioethanol production in Europe. Moreover 2G bioethanol could be produced at a lower cost if subsidies were used to compensate for the opportunity cost from the sale of excess electricity and if the cost of enzymes continues to fall.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Background:
Cellulose consisting of arrays of linear beta-1,4 linked glucans, is the most abundant carbon-containing polymer present in biomass. Recalcitrance of crystalline cellulose towards enzymatic degradation is widely reported and is the result of intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds within and among the linear glucans. Cellobiohydrolases are enzymes that attack crystalline cellulose. Here we report on two forms of glycosyl hydrolase family 7 cellobiohydrolases common to all Aspergillii that attack Avicel, cotton cellulose and other forms of crystalline cellulose.
Results:
Cellobiohydrolases Cbh1 and CelD have similar catalytic domains but only Cbh1 contains a carbohydrate-binding domain (CBD) that binds to cellulose. Structural superpositioning of Cbh1 and CelD on the Talaromyces emersonii Cel7A 3-dimensional structure, identifies the typical tunnel-like catalytic active site while Cbh1 shows an additional loop that partially obstructs the substrate-fitting channel. CelD does not have a CBD and shows a four amino acid residue deletion on the tunnel-obstructing loop providing a continuous opening in the absence of a CBD. Cbh1 and CelD are catalytically functional and while specific activity against Avicel is 7.7 and 0.5 U.mg prot-1, respectively specific activity on pNPC is virtually identical. Cbh1 is slightly more stable to thermal inactivation compared to CelD and is much less sensitive to glucose inhibition suggesting that an open tunnel configuration, or absence of a CBD, alters the way the catalytic domain interacts with the substrate. Cbh1 and CelD enzyme mixtures on crystalline cellulosic substrates show a strong combinatorial effort response for mixtures where Cbh1 is present in 2:1 or 4:1 molar excess. When CelD was overrepresented the combinatorial effort could only be partially overcome. CelD appears to bind and hydrolyze only loose cellulosic chains while Cbh1 is capable of opening new cellulosic substrate molecules away from the cellulosic fiber.
Conclusion:
Cellobiohydrolases both with and without a CBD occur in most fungal genomes where both enzymes are secreted, and likely participate in cellulose degradation. The fact that only Cbh1 binds to the substrate and in combination with CelD exhibits strong synergy only when Cbh1 is present in excess, suggests that Cbh1 unties enough chains from cellulose fibers, thus enabling processive access of CelD.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Background:
Understanding the dynamics of the microbial communities that, along with their secreted enzymes, are involved in the natural process of biomass composting may hold the key to breaking the major bottleneck in biomass-to-biofuels conversion technology, which is the still-costly deconstruction of polymeric biomass carbohydrates to fermentable sugars. However, the complexity of both the structure of plant biomass and its counterpart microbial degradation communities makes it difficult to investigate the composting process.
Results:
In this study, a composter was set up with a mix of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) wood-chips and mown lawn grass clippings (85:15 in dry-weight) and used as a model system. The microbial rDNA abundance data obtained from analyzing weekly-withdrawn composted samples suggested population-shifts from bacteria-dominated to fungus-dominated communities. Further analyses by an array of optical microscopic, transcriptional and enzyme-activity techniques yielded correlated results, suggesting that such population shifts occurred along with early removal of hemicellulose followed by attack on the consequently uncovered cellulose as the composting progressed.
Conclusion:
The observed shifts in dominance by representative microbial groups, along with the observed different patterns in the gene expression and enzymatic activities between cellulases, hemicellulases, and ligninases during the composting process, provide new perspectives for biomass-derived biotechnology such as consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) and solid-state fermentation for the production of cellulolytic enzymes and biofuels.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Background:
Lipids extracted from seeds of Camelina sativa have been successfully used as a reliable source of aviation biofuels. This biofuel is environmentally friendly because the drought resistance, frost tolerance and low fertilizer requirement of Camelina sativa allow it to grow on marginal lands. Improving the species growth and seed yield by genetic engineering is therefore a target for the biofuels industry. In Arabidopsis, overexpression of purple acid phosphatase 2 encoded by Arabidopsis (AtPAP2) promotes plant growth by modulating carbon metabolism. Overexpression lines bolt earlier and produce 50% more seeds per plant than wild type. In this study, we explored the effects of overexpressing AtPAP2 in Camelina sativa.
Results:
Under controlled environmental conditions, overexpression of AtPAP2 in Camelina sativa resulted in longer hypocotyls, earlier flowering, faster growth rate, higher photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance, increased seed yield and seed size in comparison with the wild-type line and null-lines. Similar to transgenic Arabidopsis, activity of sucrose phosphate synthase in leaves of transgenic Camelina was also significantly up-regulated. Sucrose produced in photosynthetic tissues supplies the building blocks for cellulose, starch and lipids for growth and fuel for anabolic metabolism. Changes in carbon flow and sink/source activities in transgenic lines may affect floral, architectural, and reproductive traits of plants.
Conclusions:
Lipids extracted from the seeds of Camelina sativa have been used as a major constituent of aviation biofuels. The improved growth rate and seed yield of transgenic Camelina under controlled environmental conditions have the potential to boost oil yield on an area basis in field conditions and thus make Camelina-based biofuels more environmentally friendly and economically attractive.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization expressed strong support for the signing of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law today.

I was honored to witness the signing of the JOBS Act into law. This legislation will make the pathway to capital formation more attainable for small biotechnology companies, encouraging American innovation by removing bureaucratic hurdles, stated BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.

The JOBS Act creates an on-ramp to the public market for emerging growth companies, allowing them five years to focus on conducting critical research that can lead to new therapies and cures before having to divert funds to address bureaucratic hurdles that cause unnecessary delays.

Through the JOBS Act, emerging companies will be exempt for their first five years on the public market from the compliance burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Section 404(b), which studies by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) estimate cost companies up to $2 million per year. The Act will also ease private fundraising through an expansion of the eligibility requirements for SEC Regulation A offerings and broaden the investor base by reforming the SEC private shareholder limit and SEC Regulation D.

This law will incentivize and encourage capital formation for small, emerging biotechnology companies that do not yet have products on the market, Greenwood stated. By allowing companies to focus their limited funds on research rather than on compliance, it will speed the development of new cures and treatments for patients living with debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinsons, and HIV/AIDS.

The American biotechnology industry thanks the Congress and President Obama for the enactment of the JOBS Act, concluded Greenwood.

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 BIOtech Now, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling innovations transforming our world. Subscribe to BIOtech Now.

Upcoming BIO Events

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BIO Lauds Signing of JOBS Act into Law

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Georgia Bio has named two finalists and two runners up in the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge. Ten U.S. National finalists will be selected to join students from Canada and Australia to compete in the International BioGENEius Challenge. The U.S. National and International BioGENEius Challenges are competitions for high school students who demonstrate an exemplary understanding of biotechnology through science research projects.

Finalists in the Georgia statewide competition include Aprotim Bhowmik, a sophomore at Parkview High School, Lilburn, Georgia, and Julia Abelsky, a junior at North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Receiving Honorable Mention were Raja Selvakumar, a junior at Milton High School, Alpharetta, Georgia, and Tushar Mittal, a sophomore at Dutchtown High School, Stockbridge, Georgia.

The Georgia competition was organized by Georgia Bio, the states life science industry association in partnership with the Biotechnology Institute, and sponsored by UCB, Inc. It was held on March 30, 2012 at the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair in Athens, Georgia, and included 19 students from all over the state. UCB, of Smyrna, Georgia, is sponsoring the Georgia finalists participation in the U.S. National and International BioGENEius Challenges in Boston.

It is critical for the growth of the life sciences industry in Georgia that we ensure a pool of talented, skilled graduates who are enthusiastic about biotechnology and the sciences, said Greg Duncan, UCBs President of North American Operations, and a Georgia Bio board member and National BIO board member. At UCB, we are very pleased to be able to support this program that aims to encourage that scientific excellence. We wish our finalists well in the competition and look forward to seeing further development of their projects.

Judges were Ralph L. Cordell, Ph.D., Scientific Education and Professional Development Program Office, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Michael Ensslin, Ph.D., Senior Engineer, Aderans Research Institute, Inc.; and Melinda Welch, Ph.D., Medical Science Liaison II, UCB, Inc.

Mr. Bhowmiks project was entitled Arterial Hemodynamics in Atherosclerosis Patients - A Mathematical Model. In this research, a mathematical model was developed to simulate the dynamics of blood flow in coronary arteries affected by stenosis. Results of model simulation indicate that the effectiveness of stent implantation can be improved by redesigning the commonly used stent configuration. The researcher developed a novel stent design that has the potential to reduce the number of cases of post-stenting myocardial infarction.

Ms. Abelskys project, Analysis of Cylindrically Confined Diblock Copolymers and Gold Nanocomposites for Metamaterials, delved into the world of J.K. Rowling. Although her fantasy novels may not have touched on plasmonics, todays emerging technology allows for a periodic array of parallel gold nanorods to be arranged to create a negative refractive index in the optical frequency range. Using Polystyrene-B-Poly (2-vinylpyridine) under cylindrical confinement and varying the length and spacing of the nanorods, the electromagnetic response can be manipulated.

Mr. Bhowmik and Ms. Abelsky will now advance to the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge and have a chance to compete at the International BioGENEius Challenge competition, which will be held June 17 and 18 respectively in conjuction with the 2012 BIO International Convention in Boston, MA. The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry attracting between 14,000 and 20,000 attendees each year. The convention attracts the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities and provides insights and inspiration on the major trends affecting the industry. Winners of the International BioGENEius Challenge will be announced at the June 19 keynote luncheon.

The International BioGENEius Challenge is organized by the Biotechnology Institute, the national organization dedicated to biotechnology education, and sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, a leading global pharmaceutical company, and Janssen, pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson.

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Georgia Bio Selects Student Finalists in Biotechnology Research Competition

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Following on the redesign of BIO.org, the primary website for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), and the relaunch of BIOtechNOW, a multiblog platform that compiles all of the organizations blogs, BIO announced the redesign of the primary e-newsletter, Biotech NOW, which will now be called BIO Communiqu.

Through a survey of our subscribers, we found that people from all sectors of the biotechnology industry subscribe to our e-newsletter, BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood explained. With that in mind, we knew the demand and desire for an expanded array of BIO content existed which we hope to satisfy with this new endeavor.

The Communiqu compiles all of the organizations latest online content in to an electronic publication to be distributed every two weeks for the biotechnology industry.

In addition, the new brand and design encompasses the look and feel of all BIOs online properties while providing more critical information about the biotechnology industry, updating subscribers on BIO activities and events, and providing industry insights and opinions from BIO staff and industry experts.

The Communiqu is sent to over 100,000 biotechnology professionals, academics, and scientists. The previous e-newsletter, BIOtechNOW, was a monthly publication that promoted content from the organizations multiblog platform of the same name.

To subscribe or learn more about the Communiqu, please visit http://www.bio.org/enewsletter. For advertising opportunities please contact Evan Hart at ehart@bio.org or 202-962-9200.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO IP Counsels Committee Conference April 16 18, 2012 Austin, TX

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing April 29 - May 2, 2012 Orlando, FL

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The Biotechnology Industry Organization Announces e-Newsletter Redesign

Background:
Biofuel has been the focus of intensive global research over the past few years. The development of 4th generation biofuel production (algae-to-biofuels) based on metabolic engineering of algae is still in its infancy, one of the main barriers is our lacking of understanding of microalgal growth, metabolism and biofuel production. Although fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis pathway genes have been all cloned and biosynthesis pathway was built up in some higher plants, the molecular mechanism for its regulation in microalgae is far away from elucidation.
Results:
We cloned main key genes for FA biosynthesis in Haematococcus pluvialis, a green microalga as a potential biodiesel feedstock, and investigated the correlations between their expression alternation and FA composition and content detected by GC-MS under different stress treatments, such as nitrogen depletion, salinity, high or low temperature. Our results showed that high temperature, high salinity, and nitrogen depletion treatments played significant roles in promoting microalgal FA synthesis, while FA qualities were not changed much. Correlation analysis showed that acyl carrier protein (ACP), 3-ketoacyl-ACP-synthase (KAS), and acyl-ACP thioesterase (FATA) gene expression had significant correlations with monounsaturated FA (MUFA) synthesis and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) synthesis.
Conclusions:
We proposed that ACP, KAS, and FATA in H. pluvialis may play an important role in FA synthesis and may be rate limiting genes, which probably could be modified for the further study of metabolic engineering to improve microalgal biofuel quality and production.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -03/30/12)- The Biotechnology Industry's future looks very promising with the passing of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. The JOBS Act, which passed in the Senate by a vote of 73-26, contains several provisions which would make the pathway to capital formation more attainable for small biotechnology companies, clearing the way for American innovation and ingenuity by removing bureaucratic hurdles and red tape to speed cures and medical breakthroughs to patients. The Paragon Report examines the outlook for companies in the Biotechnology Industry and provides equity research on Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI - News) and Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO - News).

Access to the full company reports can be found at: http://www.paragonreport.com/HGSI http://www.paragonreport.com/HALO

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood recently made the following statement: "BIO applauds passage of the JOBS Act and all efforts to incentivize and encourage capital formation for growing companies. This legislation would make capital formation easier for small, emerging biotechnology companies, speeding the development of new cures and treatments for patients living with debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's, and HIV/AIDS. Bringing such groundbreaking cures and treatments from bench to bedside is a long and arduous road, and biotechnology companies are at the forefront of the effort."

"These reforms are especially important to innovative biotechnology companies that do not yet have product revenue and must spend investor dollars on compliance rather than the search for cures and breakthrough medicines," Greenwood explained.

The Paragon Report provides investors with an excellent first step in their due diligence by providing daily trading ideas, and consolidating the public information available on them. For more investment research on the Biotechnology Industry register with us free at http://www.paragonreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. reported for the fourth quarter, a net loss of $81 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with $87.6 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue more than doubled to $45.5 million.

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. announced the completion of an underwritten public offering of 7,820,000 shares of its common stock, including 1,020,000 shares sold pursuant to the full exercise of an over-allotment option previously granted to the underwriter. All of the shares were offered by Halozyme at a price to the public of $10.61 per share. The proceeds to Halozyme from this offering were approximately $81.8 million, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions but before expenses.

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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Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. Future Looks Promising With Senate Passing of JOBS Act