Laura Howes

Heidelberg

European Correspondent at C&EN

Interim Team Lead at C&EN

Journo for @cenmag with a taste for biomolecules; All opinions are mine, all mine. She/her. DMs open. I say my name like this: https://t.co/a8q204f3Xh

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Articles

Merck KGaA to buy cancer biotech SpringWorks for $3.9 billion

2 weeks ago | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

Seeking to enhance its presence in cancer drugs and the US, the German drug company Merck KGaA is buying the oncology biotech SpringWorks Therapeutics for $3.9 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Antiviral unveiled that goes after multiple coronaviruses

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

At the American Chemical Society Spring 2025 meeting on Tuesday, Ed Griffen of MedChemica disclosed the structure of a pancoronavirus antiviral that targets the main protease (M pro ) of the two different coronaviruses that cause Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and COVID-19. The antiviral, ASAP-0017445, was presented as part of a digital session titled "Developing Countermeasures for Viruses of Pandemic Potential" organized by the Division of Medicinal Chemistry of the ACS.
This Norwegian biotech is developing next-gen fibrosis treatments

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

Oslo-based Tribune Therapeutics has raised $40 million to advance its way of inhibiting the formation of scar tissue in disease. The cash from investors including LifeArc Ventures, Novo Holdings, and HealthCap will allow the biotechnology firm to start toxicology work on its pan-antifibrotic lead candidate and to advance other potential treatments.
Jet fuel in the North Sea 'not going to persist' after collision

2 months ago | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes |Prachi Patel

On Monday, a cargo ship en route to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands crashed into a US military-chartered oil tanker anchored in the North Sea off the British coast. The Stena Immaculate was carrying roughly 50 million L of jet fuel. The force of the collision resulted in jet fuel being released and "multiple explosions onboard," according to a statement by the logistics firm Crowley, which manages the tanker.
How a carbohydrate-rich mesh protects our brain

2 months ago | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

As we age, things don't quite work the way they used to. Now Stanford researchers have identified how the breakdown of a sugary layer in the blood vessels that feed the brain could result in aging related cognitive decline ( Nature 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08589-9). The body has numerous ways to protect itself against harm. One of those, the blood brain barrier (BBB), controls how molecules pass from the bloodstream to the brain.
FDA approves new nonopioid pain medication, hailed a 'triumph'

Jan 31, 2025 | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new, nonopioid pain medication for treating moderate to severe acute pain. Vertex Pharmaceuticals' suzetrigine, which will be marketed under the name Journavx, targets specific sodium channels that help pass signals on from the site of pain. With the medicine's approval, "we have the opportunity to change the paradigm of acute pain management and establish a new standard of care," Vertex CEO Reshma Kewalramani said in a news announcement.
Pharma firms team up to study UK proteomics data

Jan 9, 2025 | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

In a large freezer in the north of England sit hundreds of thousands of blood samples, stored there by an organization called the UK Biobank. A consortium of 14 pharmaceutical companies will now use those samples and start the largest proteomics study to date. Speaking to journalists before the start of the project, UK Biobank CEO Rory Collins said the hope is that the study will result in an "explosion in discoveries" that could lead to new diagnostic tests and treatment options.
Siftr Bio will design new ADC linkers

Dec 12, 2024 | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

Chemists from Ed Tate's laboratory at Imperial College London have launched a company, Siftr Bio, that aims to improve the chemistry used to link antibodies to cancer-killing molecules in therapies known as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Siftr is led by CEO Daniel Lucy and chief scientific officer Archie Wall, who cofounded the firm along with Tate. Siftr's origins can be traced to 2019, when Lucy joined Tate's lab to work on enzyme-responsive chemistry.
C&EN Global Enterprise

Dec 8, 2024 | pubs.acs.org | Laura Howes |Sarah Braner |Bethany Halford |Rowan Walrath

Energy storage Some of the battery maker’s partners are pulling back on European projects water RECOVER program aims to deploy $36 million by September 2025 biobased chemicals Biobased chemical and fuel companies are emphasizing jobs, energy security renewables Carbon Recycling International inks a deal in China as a volcano erupts near its Iceland home base drug discovery Aizen Therapeutics develops mirror peptides, which could be stabler than traditional peptide-based drugs Instrumentation...
C&EN's Year in Pharma 2024

Dec 8, 2024 | cen.acs.org | Laura Howes

Credit: Madeline Monroe/C&EN/Shutterstock/CDC Public Health Image LibraryAnother year draws to a close, and as is traditional, C&EN reflects on what the pharmaceutical industry can learn from the past 12 months. The US Food and Drug Administration approved several long-awaited new treatment options this year, including first-in-class medicines. But the prices for those new drugs can be high, and access is unequal.