Désiré Collen, Biotech Pioneer relates the fascinating story of scientific discovery in a time when biotechnology was not yet a science. Although the cultivation and cross fertilization of plants were, strictly speaking, biotechnological techniques, modern biotechnology dates from the early 1970s, when pioneers such as biochemist Herbert Boyer from the university of California managed to transfer genetic material into a bacterium. Together with venture capitalist Robert Swanson, Boyer set up Genentech, one of the first genetic engineering companies. Just a few years later, on the other side of the Atlantic, in Leuven, Désiré Collen discovered t-PA, the enzyme responsible for fibrinolysis, or the dissolving of blood clots. Clogged arteries were then still one of the major causes of death. The ensuing cooperation between Collen and Genentech was the beginning of a long-lasting success story, from which not only Collen but also scientific research and the University of Leuven benefitted greatly for many years. According to a Reuters ranking, KU Leuven has been, from 2016 onwards, the most innovative university in Europe. Flanders and Belgium served as the cradle of several highly successful biotech companies. t-PA was a relatively expensive medicine, and Collen went on to develop a much cheaper clot-dissolving remedy to benefit patients in less affluent countries. He failed, however, to find the necessary finances for Phase 3 trials. Meanwhile, he had set up ThromboGenics, a company which later specialized in ophthalmology. Collen continued to stimulate and finance research in other fields, such as the cardiovascular research of Peter Carmeliet. In 2013 he left ThromboGenics, following a difference in views on the company’s focus, and in 2015 he set up Fund+, a biotech-oriented investment firm. Fund+ has meanwhile acquired a prominent place among European biotech investment funds and has scored some astonishing early successes. In June 2020, Fund+ had 13 companies in its portfolio, with several more waiting to come on board.

Biotechnology is referred to as one of the key enabling technologies of the 21st century. It has the potential to offer solutions for a number of health and resource-based problems the world is facing, such as unmet medical needs and fossil fuel dependency. Considerable effort and investment has been expended in recent years to try and improve the outcomes of technology transfer in order to fulfill this potential.This book presents seventeen best-practice case studies on the topic of effective technology transfer in biotechnology. The selected case studies focus on technology transfer offices, funding models, incubators, education and clusters. Each presents an overview of an initiative that was deployed in Europe with the aim of supporting and stimulating the transfer of biotechnology discoveries and technologies from research laboratories to society. Readers are provided with a critical assessment of each initiative and policy makers, entrepreneurs, cluster managers and research institute managers will find inspiring lessons they can draw on when developing and implementing similar initiatives elsewhere.These cases are the product of research undertaken as part of the ETTBio (Effective Technology Transfer in Biotechnology) project, co-financed by the European Union (ERDF — European Regional Development Fund) and made possible by the INTERREG IVC Programme. ETTBio commenced in January 2012 and concluded in December 2014.

Recombinant protein drugs are intimately associated with the impressive success story of the Biotech Industry during the past thirty years, some of them belonging to the most successful pharmaceutical products. More than thirty different proteins are available for a variety of clinical applications, over 300 proteins are presently being evaluated in clinical trials. In this new volume of the MDT series, historical, technical and clinical aspects of recombinant protein drug discovery and development are presented, covering past, present and future highlights. Leading scientists and co-founders of early Biotech companies describe technical breakthroughs and the fascinating story of pioneering discoveries, as well as the long way of translating them into products and business. Therefore, this book represents an exciting documentation of the beginning of a new era in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, scientists from basic research, clinic and industry actively involved in new developments discuss...

Oxygen-Ozone therapy is a complementary approach less known than homeopathy and acupuncture because it has come of age only three decades ago. This book clarifies that, in the often nebulous field of natural medicine, the biological bases of ozone therapy are totally in line with classical biochemistry, physiological and pharmacological knowledge. Ozone is an oxidizing molecule, a sort of super active oxygen, which, by reacting with blood components generates a number of chemical messengers responsible for activating crucial biological functions such as oxygen delivery, immune activation, release of hormones and induction of antioxidant enzymes, which is an exceptional property for correcting the chronic oxidative stress present in atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer. Moreover, by inducing nitric oxide synthase, ozone therapy may mobilize endogenous stem cells, which will promote regeneration of ischemic tissues. The description of these phenomena offers the first comprehensive picture for understanding how ozone works and why. When properly used as a real drug within therapeutic range, ozone therapy does not only does not procure adverse effects but yields a feeling of wellness. Half the book describes the value of ozone treatment in several diseases, particularly cutanious infection and vascular diseases where ozone really behaves as a “wonder drug”. The book has been written for clinical researchers, physicians and ozone therapists, but also for the layman or the patient interested in this therapy.

This series is intended for the rapidly increasing number of health care professionals who have rudimentary knowledge and experience in health care computing and are seeking opportunities to expand their horizons. It does not attempt to compete with the primers already on the market. Eminent international experts will edit, author, or contribute to each volume in order to provide comprehensive and current accounts of in novations and future trends in this quickly evolving field. Each book will be practical, easy to use, and weIl referenced. Our aim is for the series to encompass all of the health professions by focusing on specific professions, such as nursing, in individual volumes. However, integrated computing systems are only one tool for improving communication among members of the health care team. Therefore, it is our hope that the series will stimulate professionals to explore additional me ans of fostering interdisciplinary exchange. This se ries springs from a professional collaboration that has grown over the years into a highly valued personal friendship. Our joint values put people first. If the Computers in Health Care series lets us share those values by helping health care professionals to communicate their ideas for the benefit of patients, then our efforts will have succeeded.

This is a meticulously detailed chronological record of significant events in the history of medical informatics and their impact on direct patient care and clinical research, offering a representative sampling of published contributions to the field. The History of Medical Informatics in the United States has been restructured within this new edition, reflecting the transformation medical informatics has undergone in the years since 1990. The systems that were once exclusively institutionally driven – hospital, multihospital, and outpatient information systems – are today joined by systems that are driven by clinical subspecialties, nursing, pathology, clinical laboratory, pharmacy, imaging, and more. At the core is the person – not the clinician, not the institution – whose health all these systems are designed to serve. A group of world-renowned authors have joined forces with Dr Marion Ball to bring Dr Collen’s incredible work to press. These recognized leaders in medical informatics, many of whom are recipients of the Morris F. Collen Award in Medical Informatics and were friends of or mentored by Dr Collen, carefully reviewed, editing and updating his draft chapters. This has resulted in the most thorough history of the subject imaginable, and also provides readers with a roadmap for the subject well into later in the century.