Sphere Medical’s Pelorus 1000 blood monitor has the potential to “significantly improve” the accuracy of dosing patients receiving the anaesthetic propofol, according to a study carried out at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

Biopharmaceutical firm Medgenics is poised to announce major progress for its novel protein delivery system, the Biopump, according to chief executive and president Dr Andrew Pearlman.

We have a line-up that offers something for everyone at the Proactive Investors One2One Forum in London next Thursday (February 9). We have ImmuPharma and Oxford Pharmascience presenting alongside Seeing Machines and Probability.

Landing the patent means that ValiRx can start marketing the product to the oncology research industry and fellow drug developers, while planning a larger product launch into the wider market.

Sphere Medical enjoyed a successful IPO in November and the company is now set fair for a dazzling future. But this is after years of uncertainty, and even just a few months ago the company was within days of running out of money. Jenny Chapman of Cambridge Business went to see founder and chief executive Stuart Hendry to hear the gory details.

ReNeuron said that its lead CTX neural stem cell line held up well under large-scale manufacturing conditions. The stress tests were carried out by professor Mike Hoare and his team at University College London.

This year is predicted to be one of mixed fortunes for the life sciences sector, according to Merchant Securities. Many of the larger pharmaceuticals companies such as Pfizer, Novartis and AstraZeneca are now facing what is known as the patent cliff. This is where blockbuster drugs lose their patent protection and come under heavy competition.

Shares in ReNeuron opened 9 per cent higher today after the group unveiled encouraging pre-clinical data on the use of neural stem cells in stroke.

ReNeuron this morning unveiled encouraging pre-clinical data on its CTX neural stem cell line in stroke which is to be included in the scientific journal Stem Cell.

The pharmaceutical firm is defensive and cash generative, says the broker, while the implications of lost sales from its Deltacortril product are not understood by investors

The world’s population has just hit seven billion and is predicted to reach nine billion by 2050 with the question of how all of these additional people are going to be fed becoming ever more pressing. Preston-based Plant Impact is one company aiming to solve some of these potential problems.

Threatened by patent expiries and dwindling healthcare budgets, the pharmaceuticals industry has long been portrayed as being in terminal decline. However reports of its demise would appear to have been greatly exaggerated if the latest research from Citigroup is anything to go by.

The company announced this morning that its BioSeek subsidiary has achieved a research milestone in a drug discovery collaboration with Japan’s Ono Pharmaceutical

Canada and the United States can provide over a third of the potential world market for ECO Animal Health’s products, according to analysts at City broker Cenkos.

Merchant Securities continues to rate the stem cell firm as a ‘buy’ with a 33 pence per share price target

Merchant Securities today initiated coverage of ImmuPharma with a ‘buy’ recommendation and 323 pence share price target. The valuation is based mainly on the potential of the company’s Lupuzor treatment for the auto-immune disease lupus, which has been given the regulatory green light to go into phase III clinical trials.

The broker says that the life sciences firm demonstrates solid underlying revenue growth with strong cash generation and a progressive dividend policy

Investment Bank Espirito Santo has given a bullish assessment of the prospects for ImmuPharma and its lead drug Lupuzor as it has come up with a 200 pence valuation for the shares.

ReNeuron said this morning that the first ever stroke patient to be treated with its stem cell therapy remains well with no “cell-related adverse events reported”.

We have an exciting line-up of companies at the Proactive Investors One2One Forum in London on Tuesday (November 8), which has attracted an incredible amount of interest. So this is a call to arms. If you haven't signed up now do so soon to avoid disappointment. Appearing are Xenetic Biosciences, African Medical Investments and e-Therapeutics.

ImmuPharma chief executive Dimitri Dimitriou said he is very “optimistic about the future” as the company looks to seal a new licensing deal for Lupuzor, its flagship product. He revealed the group had “rekindled discussions” with big pharmaceuticals companies, and he is hopeful a deal can be struck.

After Epistem released its final results a few weeks ago, we decided to catch up with its chief executive Matthew Walls. Here we reveal what he had to say, while we take a closer look at the firm

Any lingering doubts over Immupharma’s lead drug, Lupuzor, were dispelled this morning when the group announced it would enter phase III clinical trials.

News that Oxford Pharma is conducting a £1.1 million share placing pushed the share price lower this morning, but broker HB Markets believes that the firm is well on its way to delivering value for its investors

The drug discovery firm’s chief executive expects more interest from big pharma in its Lupus drug candidate now than when it signed its original deal with Cephalon in 2008

A period of relative calm on the markets has allowed Sphere Medical to press the go button on plans for an AIM listing. The countdown began yesterday with the official announcement of its intention to raise around £15 million.

The broker says that ImmuPharma partner Cephalon has a “moral obligation” in the eyes of the US Food and Drug Administration to complete the clinical trial of the Lupus drug candidate 

Regenerative medicine promises to significantly increase life spans and dramatically improve human health. In a research note on the sector that was published earlier this week, broker Daniel Stewart has highlighted three UK-based firms as ‘buys’ while giving two other companies in the sector honourable mentions

The firm is looking to generate a flow of data from four drugs that it is putting through Phase I and Phase II trials next year and in 2013