Archive for March, 2012

ROCKVILLE, MD--(Marketwire -03/07/12)- MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of the new report "World Market for Personalized Medicine Diagnostics (Biomarkers, Pharmacodiagnostics, Tumor Assays, Cardiac Risk and Other Testing)," to their collection of Biotechnology market reports. For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/Kalorama-Information-v767/Personalized-Medicine-Diagnostics-Biomarkers-Pharmacodiagnostics-6837679/

A new report available on the world's largest online distributor of market research says that 'personalized medicine' may resemble medicine's version of the dot com craze of the 90s, but there are real revenues being made and real potential for earnings. The report, Personalized Medicine Diagnostics, says the market will reach $37,480 million in 2016 worldwide.

"Personalized medicine is becoming the place to be in clinical diagnostics, manufacturers extol the "personalized" nature of their tests and services even though this may be a bit of a stretch even when using the most liberal definition of personalized. It is reminiscent of the dot-com craze of the 1990s," according to Shara Rosen, author of the report.

Yet the truth is, there is and has been a lot of individualized therapy in recent decades including infectious disease tests, blood banking tests and transplant qualification tests. The phenomenon of test personalization comes under many guises -- pharmacogenomic, pharmacogenetic, companion tests, and represents one of the fastest growing segments of the diagnostics market. It has emerged fully from research into clinical practice. Instrumentation now automates many of the sample preparation and assay steps that were formerly labor intensive. New tests are being launched all the time. Some personalized medicine (PMx) tests are CE Marked and FDA-cleared and many more are in development. The result is that PMx testing is indicated in many areas of health care including: cardiology, oncology, infectious diseases, inherited diseases and disorders. PMx tests have made rapid and timely information about infectious diseases and bacterial infections a reality.

For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/Kalorama-Information-v767/Personalized-Medicine-Diagnostics-Biomarkers-Pharmacodiagnostics-6837679/

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Personalized Medicine: New Dot Com Craze?

07-03-2012 02:53 One of the world's leading researchers into spinal cord injuries says China could hold the key to a cure that he has been searching for since he met late actor Christopher Reeve in the 1990s. Duration: 01:14

Originally posted here:
Doctor looks to China for spinal injury 'cure' - Video

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/717ba1/spinal_cord_injury) has announced the addition of Global Markets Direct's new report "Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H1 2012" to their offering.

Global Markets Direct's, 'Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H1 2012', provides an overview of the Spinal Cord Injury therapeutic pipeline. This report provides information on the therapeutic development for Spinal Cord Injury, complete with latest updates, and special features on late-stage and discontinued projects. It also reviews key players involved in the therapeutic development for Spinal Cord Injury. 'Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H1 2012' is built using data and information sourced from Global Markets Direct's proprietary databases, Company/University websites, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases from company/university sites and industry-specific third party sources, put together by Global Markets Direct's team.

Scope

Reasons to buy

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/717ba1/spinal_cord_injury.

Originally posted here:
Research and Markets: Spinal Cord Injury - Pipeline Review, H1 2012

Durham, NC (PRWEB) March 07, 2012

A new type of stem cell-seeded patch has shown promising results in promoting healing after a heart attack, according to a study released today in the journal STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

Ischemic heart disease, caused by vessel blockage, is a leading cause of death in many western countries. Studies have shown the potential of stem cells in regenerating heart tissue damaged during an attack. But even as the list of candidate cells for cardiac regeneration has expanded, none has emerged as the obvious choice, possibly because several cell types are needed to regenerate both the hearts muscles and its vascular components.

Aside from the choice of the right cell source for tissue regeneration, the best way to deliver the stem cells is up for debate, too, as intravenous delivery and injections can be inefficient and possibly harmful. While embryonic stem cells have shown great promise for heart repairs due to their ability to differentiate into virtually any cell type, less than 10 percent of injected cells typically survive the engraftment and of that number generally only 2 percent actually colonize the heart.

In order for this type of treatment is to be clinically effective, researchers need to find ways to deliver large numbers of stem cells in a supportive environment that can help cells survive and differentiate.

In the current cardiopatch study, conducted by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of the Geneva University in collaboration with colleagues at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), cardiac-committed mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) were committed toward the cardiac fate using a protein growth factor called BMP2 and then embedded into a fibrin hydrogel that is both biocompatible and biodegradable. The cells were loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles so they could be tracked using magnetic resonance imaging, which also enabled the researchers to more accurately assess regional and global heart function.

The patches were engrafted onto the hearts of laboratory rats that had induced heart attacks. Six weeks later, the hearts of the animals receiving the mESC-seeded patches showed significant improvement over those receiving patches loaded with iron oxide nanoparticles alone. The patches had degraded, the cells had colonized the infarcted tissue and new blood vessels were forming in the vicinity of the transplanted patch. Improvements reached beyond the part of the heart where the patch had been applied to manifest globally.

Marisa Jaconi, PhD, of the Geneva University Department of Pathology and Immunology, and Jeffrey Hubbell, PhD, professor of bioengineering at the EPFL, were leaders on the investigative team. Their findings could make a significant impact on how heart patients are treated in the future. Altogether our data provide evidence that stem-cell based cardiopatches represent a promising therapeutic strategy to achieve efficient cell implantation and improved global and regional cardiac function after myocardial infarction, said Jaconi.

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The full article, Embryonic stem cell-based cardiopatches improve cardiac function in infarcted rats, can be accessed at: http://www.stemcellstm.com/content/early/recent.

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Stem Cell-Seeded Cardiopatch Could Deliver Results for Damaged Hearts

New approach lessens rejection of mismatched donor organs

Web edition : 5:47 pm

By giving kidney transplant patients a dose of donor bone marrow, researchers have for the second time enabled a majority of recipients to stop taking immune suppressants despite having received poorly matched organs.

The new study, in the March 7 Science Translational Medicine, accomplished the feat in five of eight transplant recipients who werent spot-on matches with their donors. The five tapered off suppressants designed to prevent organ rejection and have stayed free of the drugs for at least six months. One is nearly two years out since quitting the medicines, researchers at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago report.

Previously, a team at Harvard Medical School pulled this off in mismatched kidney transplants using a different procedure. Among 10 patients, seven recipients in that study have been able to stop immune suppression for up to nine years.

For nearly everyone living with mismatched donor kidneys, the idea of chucking antirejection medicine is a tantalizing but faint hope. Typically, all must keep up the meds for the rest of their lives.

Both new techniques harness chimerism to help engender tolerance to the transplants. In Greek mythology, a chimera was a creature with parts from several different kinds of animals. In the human immune system, chimerism requires contributions from just two people a donor and a recipient but mixing immune systems is asking for trouble. The recipient might react against the donor organ (which is what happens in rejection), or donor immune cells in the transplant might declare war on their new host (whats called graft-versus-host disease). But properly achieved, chimerism might actually prevent hostilities.

In the new study, researchers altered the normal transplant routine. They took bone marrow stem cells from the kidney donor before the transplant and processed these cells, which give rise to nascent immune cells, with what they call facilitator cells. The facilitator cells, whose exact identity and function is shielded due to patent considerations, are designed to make the marrow cells more agreeable to transplant, says study coauthor Suzanne Ildstad, a transplant surgeon at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. In recipients given the specially processed donor marrow along with their transplant, donor T-regulatory cells which apparently tone down the donor immune systems attack potential might play an enhanced role in the months post-transplant, she says.

Transplant recipients in the new study received radiation and chemotherapy beforehand to prepare for the donor bone marrow. After the transplant, the patients were gradually tapered off immune suppressants over a year. In the five who succeeded or, as the researchers put it, achieved durable chimerism the donor marrow cells had spawned a complete replacement immune system. Data show no sign of the recipients original immune cells.

Its a remarkable feat, says David Sachs, a transplant surgeon at Harvard Medical School in Boston who coauthored the earlier study. That teams strategy, which also used bone marrow stem cells, induced temporary, weeks-long immune chimerism that seemed adequate to induce long-term tolerance in the patients, says Tatsuo Kawai, a transplant surgeon at Harvard who coauthored that work.

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A dash of marrow helps kidney transplant

Donating a kidney may save a person's life - but only if the conditions are precise.

Kidney donors must be related and immunologically matched to their donors and even then, the recipient must take a lifetime of anti-rejection medications, which dont guarantee the organ won't be rejected.

But a new clinical trial from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill. has shown how stem cells can be used to trick a recipients immune system into believing the new organ has been part of that persons body all along.

The breakthrough has the potential to eliminate both the risks associated with kidney transplantation and the need for anti-rejection medications within one year after surgery.

Its the holy grail of transplantation, said lead author Dr. Joseph Leventhal, transplant surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and associate professor of surgery and director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Ill. This notion of being able to achieve tolerance through donor derived cells has been around for more than 50 years, but its translation to the clinic has been quite elusive. This article details the first successful attempt of this in mismatched and unrelated kidney recipients.

The research was published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, and it is the first study of its kind in which the donor and recipient were not related and did not have to be immunologically matched. Only 25 percent of siblings are immunologically identical, severely limiting the possibility of being a kidney donor.

The procedure worked by extracting a little bit more from the kidney donor than just their kidney. They also donated part of their immune system. About one month before surgery, bone marrow stem cells were collected from the donor and then enriched with facilitating cells becoming stem cells that will ultimately fool the donors immune system allowing the transplant to succeed.

One day after the kidney transplant occurs, the facilitating cell-enriched stem cells are also transplanted in the recipient, which then prompts the formation of stem cells in the bone marrow. This then causes specialized immune cells similar to the donors immune cells to develop, creating a dual bone marrow system environment, so both the donors immune system and the recipients immune system function inside the persons body.

Leventhal said that the ultimate goal is for the recipient to initially take anti-rejection medications but then slowly wean off of them within a year. According to Leventhal, the drugs come with their own share of negative side effects.

The foundation of clinical transplantation revolves around the use of medicines and suppressive drugs to control the immune system, Leventhal said. These drugs have been very successful in reducing the rates of loss of organs due to acute rejection where side effects include increase risk of infection and cancer, and metabolic side effects, such as the increase risk of hypertension and bone disease. But the drugs themselves are potentially harmful to the organs we transplant. Despite our ability to reduce rates of acute rejection, most individuals go on to lose organs because of chronic (long-term) rejection.

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Stem cell research allows for mismatched kidney transplants

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An experimental technique seems to be freeing some kidney transplant patients from having to take anti-rejection drugs.

Researchers transplanted certain cells from the kidney donor's bone marrow along with the new organ. Five of eight transplant recipients who tried the method so far were off immune-suppressing medication up to 2 years later, the researchers reported Wednesday.

The preliminary results were considered important enough to be published in the journal Science Translational Medicine even though the study still is under way, because the technique worked for patients who didn't have well-matched or related donors.

The idea is that if a sort of twin immune system takes root and lasts, it can allow the patient's body to accept the foreign organ and not attack it, said study co-author Dr. Suzanne Ildstad of the University of Lousville. Scientists call it chimerism.

"The most reliable indicator of really being successful at taking someone off immune-suppressing drugs is durable chimerism," says Ildstad, who teamed with doctors at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the research.

Transplant recipients usually must take multiple immune-suppressing pills for life to prevent rejection of their new organ. Those drugs cause lots of side effects, such as raising the risk of cancer and kidney damage.

Other scientists are attempting to tap bone marrow to induce immune tolerance, with varying success.

Ildstad's approach transfuses a special mix of bone marrow cells including blood-producing stem cells and another type named "facilitating cells" that are thought vital for a successful transplant. She filters out still other cells that can become too aggressive and cause a life-threatening disorder named graft-versus-host disease.

Transplant recipients had radiation and chemotherapy, not destroying their own bone marrow but tamping it down to make space for the donated cells, explained study co-author Dr. Joseph Leventhal, a Northwestern transplant surgeon. Five patients who had the dual immunity a year later were weaned off all drugs. Two others whose hybrid immunity faded are faring well using a low dose of one anti-rejection drug. One patient needed a repeat transplant after an infection and didn't get to try weaning.

Much more study is needed to find the best approach but "the results are striking," Dr. Tatsuo Kawai of Massachusetts General Hospital wrote in an accompanying editorial. He is part of a team that in 2008 reported the only other success with a small number of mismatched transplants.

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Cells may spare kidney transplant rejection drugs

Approach Could Free Organ Patients From Anti-Rejection Drugs

March 7, 2012 -- New research holds the promise of freeing many organ transplant patients from a lifetime of anti-rejection drugs.

In the first study of its kind, eight kidney transplant patients received stem cells from their kidney donors manipulated to trick their bodies into accepting the foreign organ as its own.

Transplant recipients who are not perfectly matched with their donors typically take several drugs a day for the rest of their lives to keep their bodies from rejecting the new organ and to treat the side effects of those drugs.

Lindsay Porter, who was the last of the eight patients enrolled in the new study, had her kidney transplant in the summer of 2010 and was weaned off all anti-rejection drugs within a year.

The Chicago actress and mother says she feels better than she has in 15 years and sometimes has to remind herself that she had a kidney transplant.

I was 45 when I had the surgery, and I knew I would probably need another kidney at some point, she tells WebMD. The opportunity to have a transplant that would last for the rest of my life and to avoid all of those drugs was very appealing.

The ongoing research is the culmination of many years of work by researcher Suzanne Ildstad, MD, of the University of Louisville, and other researchers, including transplant surgeon Joseph Leventhal, MD, PhD, of Chicagos Northwestern University.

The new wrinkle is that organ donors who are not a perfect genetic match with the patient donate blood as well as a kidney for the procedure.

Bone marrow stem cells collected from the blood were processed in an 18-hour procedure to remove cells associated with organ rejection, leaving behind facilitating cells that do not promote rejection, Ildstad says.

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Altered Stem Cells Limit Transplant Rejection

Kidney transplant-recipients have to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent rejection.

A. MASSEE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common and often deadly complication of bone-marrow transplantation that occurs when immune cells from an unrelated donor attack the transplant recipients tissue. Now, researchers have for the first time managed to completely replace peoples bone-marrow-derived stem cells with those from unrelated donors without causing GvHD1. And because of this, the recipients could also accept kidneys from the same donors without the need for drugs that suppress the immune system.

The outcome has been amazing, says Lindsay Porter, a 47-year-old Chicago resident with polycystic kidney disease who was one of the study subjects. She has been off immunosuppressive drugs for seven months. I feel so normal, it feels like its not a big deal.

But according to experts in the field, the findings, published today in Science Translational Medicine1, are a huge deal. Its kind of difficult to believe, says Tatsuo Kawai, a transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who wrote a commentary to accompany the paper. Its almost common sense to have GvHD in mismatched individuals.

The latest study builds off of work Kawai and his colleagues began fourteen years ago, when they launched the first clinical trial that attempted to use bone marrow to induce immune tolerance for kidney recipients, to avoid the sometimes dangerous side effects of life-long immosuppressive therapy.

Working first in people with perfectly immune-matched siblings2 and then with partially mismatched donor-recipient pairs3, the researchers showed that the majority of individuals could achieve stable kidney function and successfully wean off of their immunosuppressants with few problems in one case for up to nine years. But the study subjects only maintained noticeable levels of the foreign bone marrow for a few weeks, and the protocol didnt work for everybody. Some researchers speculated that maintaining higher levels of donor immune cells for longer could help to improve the success rate.

For the latest study, a team led by Suzanne Ildstad, director of the University of Louisvilles Institute for Cellular Therapeutics in Kentucky, found a way to avoid GvHD by using a regimen involving chemotherapy, radiation and blood stem cells manipulated to eliminate those that cause GvHD while retaining specialized bone-marrow-derived cells they called facilitating cells.

Ildstad and her colleagues report that five of eight people who underwent the treatment were able to stop all immunosuppressive therapy within a year after their kidney and stem-cell transplants, four of which came from unrelated donors. Notably, all of these patients maintained entirely donor-derived immune systems with no signs of GvHD. Ildstad and her team have since treated seven more people. We continue to see good results, she says.

It might be premature, however, to say for certain that the trial participants are in the clear. The question is: will these patients remain free of GvHD? says David Sachs, director of the Transplantation Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. You would hope that its true, but its a little early to claim that.

Continue reading here:
Drug-free organ transplants without tissue matching

(AP) An experimental technique seems to be freeing some kidney transplant patients from having to take anti-rejection drugs.

Researchers transplanted certain cells from the kidney donor's bone marrow along with the new organ. Five of eight transplant recipients who tried the method so far were off immune-suppressing medication up to 2 1/2 years later, the researchers reported Wednesday.

The preliminary results were considered important enough to be published in the journal Science Translational Medicine even though the study still is under way, because the technique worked for patients who didn't have well-matched or related donors.

The idea is that if a sort of twin immune system takes root and lasts, it can allow the patient's body to accept the foreign organ and not attack it, said study co-author Dr. Suzanne Ildstad of the University of Lousville. Scientists call it chimerism.

"The most reliable indicator of really being successful at taking someone off immune-suppressing drugs is durable chimerism," says Ildstad, who teamed with doctors at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the research.

Transplant recipients usually must take multiple immune-suppressing pills for life to prevent rejection of their new organ. Those drugs cause lots of side effects, such as raising the risk of cancer and kidney damage.

Other scientists are attempting to tap bone marrow to induce immune tolerance, with varying success.

Ildstad's approach transfuses a special mix of bone marrow cells including blood-producing stem cells and another type named "facilitating cells" that are thought vital for a successful transplant. She filters out still other cells that can become too aggressive and cause a life-threatening disorder named graft-versus-host disease.

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Transplant recipients had radiation and chemotherapy, not destroying their own bone marrow but tamping it down to make space for the donated cells, explained study co-author Dr. Joseph Leventhal, a Northwestern transplant surgeon. Five patients who had the dual immunity a year later were weaned off all drugs. Two others whose hybrid immunity faded are faring well using a low dose of one anti-rejection drug. One patient needed a repeat transplant after an infection and didn't get to try weaning.

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New treatment for kidney transplant patients may reduce need for anti-rejection drugs

Lindsay Porter knew she would eventually need a kidney transplant. She was 19 years old when her mother died from polycystic kidney disease -- a genetic condition that Porter had 50/50 odds of inheriting, and did.

"It didn't really affect me much until my early 30s," said Porter, an actress and mother living in Chicago. "And as I got into my 40s, my kidneys started getting very big with multiple cysts. They were huge."

Porter's kidneys weighed 16 pounds, causing an obvious bulge in her tiny frame.

"It was like two full-term babies inside me," she said, adding that people often mistook her for pregnant. "They had to be removed."

In May 2010, doctors removed Porter's overgrown and failing kidneys. Two months later, a friend gave her one of his. But it was no ordinary transplant. Along with the fist-size organ, doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago transplanted bone marrow stem cells -- an experimental procedure they hoped would eliminate the need for anti-rejection drugs.

"These drugs are currently an absolute necessity, but they have a downside," said Dr. Joseph Leventhal, Porter's transplant surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Anti-rejection drugs suppress the immune system, preventing it from attacking the donated organ like an infection. But suppressing the immune system makes the body vulnerable to infections and even cancer. And the drugs, which carry toxic side effects, can't ward off rejection forever. "Many individuals will still lose their transplants over time due to chronic rejection," said Leventhal.

To coax Porter's body into recognizing the new kidney as her own, Leventhal and colleagues wiped out part of her immune system and replaced it with the donor's. It took four days of chemotherapy, whole-body irradiation and a bone marrow transplant -- no walk in the park, according to Porter. But over time, the donor bone marrow stem cells gave rise to immune cells that accepted the kidney as if it was Porter's own -- a process called induced immune tolerance.

"At first I was taking 24 pills a day," said Porter, describing the "cocktail" of anti-rejection drugs needed to fend off an attack on her new kidney while the bone marrow stem cells were setting up shop. "And you really can't miss a dose. I had to set my cell phone alarm for every 12 hours every single day to remind me."

After six months, Porter started weaning herself off the drugs. And after a year, she no longer needed them at all.

Originally posted here:
New Transplant Approach Changes Lives

Lindsay Porter's kidneys weighed 16 pounds before her transplant.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- By the time Lindsay Porter had her kidneys removed two years ago, they were bulging -- covered in cysts -- and together weighed 16 pounds.

Her abdominal area was so distended, "I looked nine months pregnant, and people regularly asked when I was due," Porter said.

As she prepared for a transplant to address her polycystic kidney disease, Porter, 47, had mixed feelings -- relief to have found a donor, tinged with resignation. She was looking forward to both a new kidney, and a lifetime on immune system-suppressing drugs.

"You get this brand new shiny kidney, and then they give you drugs that eventually destroy it," said Porter.

But that scenario may eventually change, if results of a new pilot study are replicated in a larger group of patients. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes eight kidney transplant patients, including Porter, who received a stem cell therapy that allowed donor and recipient immune cells to coexist in the same body.

The effect, in a handful of those patients, was to trick the recipient's immune system into recognizing the donated kidney as its own.

When it works, patients become a sort of medical rarity called a chimera.

"Chimerism is a condition wherein two different genetic cell populations are present in the body, and both cell types are tolerated," said Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, via e-mail.

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Transplant without lifetime of drugs?

Bio-firm research jobs go

7:00pm Wednesday 7th March 2012 in News

SIXTEEN research jobs have gone at gene therapy company Oxford BioMedica, but its workforce has been boosted after it opened a new drug manufacturing plant in Cowley.

A total of 83 staff are now based at Oxford Science Park in Littlemore after two jobs went at the companys US office in San Diego and 14 in Oxford.

BioMedica, which has its headquarters at the science park, paid 1.9m last February for a building in Transport Way, Cowley, left vacant by RecipharmCobra Biologics.

Another 1.7m has been spent on recommissioning the building with clean rooms that exclude microscopic impurities.

Chief executive John Dawson said: We very much regret the redundancies, but to ensure the long-term future of the company we have had to move the culture towards manufacturing and commercialisation.

There are some areas of long-term research which we have needed to trim back on.

He added: Until we reach sustainable profitability, we continue to strike a balance between growing the company while being careful with costs.

The company raised 20m from investors to fund the Cowley plant and enough cash to last until 2013. Its newly-released half-year results showed an 11m pre-tax loss.

Excerpt from:
Bio-firm research jobs go

LONDON (Reuters) - Taking a sample or biopsy from just one part of a tumour might not give a full picture of its genetic diversity and may explain why doctors, despite using genetically targeted drugs, are often unable to save patients whose cancer has spread, scientists said.

A study by British researchers found there are more genetic differences than similarities between biopsies taken from separate areas of the same tumour, and yet further gene differences in samples taken from secondary tumours.

That might help explain why, despite recent development of a wave of highly targeted drugs designed to tackle cancers of specific genetic types, the prognosis remains poor for many patients with so-called solid-tumour disease like breast, lung, or kidney cancer that has spread to others parts of the body.

But the researchers, whose study was partly funded by charity Cancer Research UK and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said it also pointed to a way forward.

The team carried out the first ever genome-wide analysis of the genetic changes or faults in different regions of the same tumour.

They looked at four patients with cancer in their kidneys, taking samples from different regions of the primary tumour and also from other organs where the tumour had spread.

They found that the majority of gene faults, around two-thirds, were not the same in one sample as in another, even when the biopsies were taken from the same tumour.

Samples taken from secondary tumours - which are a result of the disease spreading to other parts of the body - had yet more different genetic faults, suggesting that basing treatment decisions on just one primary tumour sample is not sufficient.

"We've known for some time that tumours are a patchwork of faults, but this is the first time we've been able to use cutting-edge genome sequencing technology to map out the genetic landscape of a tumour in such exquisite detail," said Charles Swanton, of University College London's cancer institute, who led the study and presented its results at a briefing in London on Tuesday.

He said they had uncovered "an extraordinary amount of diversity" at a genetic level both within tumours and within a single patient, with more differences between biopsies from the same tumour than similarities.

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Cancer gene mutation more complex than previously thought -study

Public release date: 7-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Cathia Falvey cfalvey@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, Mar 07, 2012--More than 2 million teenagers suffer from depression in the U.S. Recent drug warnings and study results have led to increased controversy surrounding the treatment of adolescent depression. A state-of-the-art issue reporting on the latest research findings on antidepressant medications combined with appropriate therapeutic strategies has been published by Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The special issue on psychopharmacology of adolescent depression is available free on the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology website.

"There are no radically new treatments on the horizon for the treatment of depression, and so we have to do better with the treatments we have available," says Graham J. Emslie, MD, Guest Editor of the issue and Director of Child Psychiatry at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. "Few youths with depression receive adequate treatment."

The issue focuses on the controversy, the data, and the challenges and opportunities in the care of adolescents with major depressive illness. The articles cover a wide range of issues that all contribute to the goal of improving outcomes. Included in the issue, Greg Clarke, PhD et al., Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (Portland, OR), present an evaluation of new and refill antidepressant prescribing practices among physicians before and after warnings related to teen suicide risk were issued. Kenneth Wells, MD, MPH and colleagues from University of California, Los Angeles, and Stony Brook University (NY), explore the effectiveness of appropriate care delivered in a primary care setting. Dr. Emslie and colleagues from UT Southwestern Medical Center examine the common problem of insomnia in youths with depression and its impact on treatment.

"Depression is a major public health concern among young people, particularly teens, but many people have a hard time talking about it," says Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, and President, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY. "Advancing research is one way we can work to change a culture of denial that too often stands in the way of effective and sometimes life-saving treatment."

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About the Journal

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online. The journal is dedicated to child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral pediatrics, covering clinical and biological aspects of child and adolescent psychopharmacology and developmental neurobiology. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology website.

About the Company

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More effective treatments urgently needed for adolescent depression

Public release date: 7-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society

With the "Refrigerator Mother" notion about the cause of autism a distant and discredited memory, scientists are making remarkable progress in untangling the genetic roots of the condition, which affects millions of children and adults, according to an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

In the story, C&EN Associate Editor Lauren K. Wolf points out that most people in the 1960s believed autism resulted from a lack of maternal warmth and emotional attachment. It was a hypothesis popularized by Austrian-born American child psychologist and writer Bruno Bettelheim. Now scientists around the globe are focusing on genes that have been implicated in autism and related conditions, collectively termed "autism spectrum disorders." That research may solve mysteries about autism, which affects 1 in 110 children in the U.S. Among them: what causes autism, why does it affect more boys than girls and what can be done to prevent and treat it?

C&EN explains that scientists now have solidly implicated certain genes as being involved in autism. Most of those genes play a role in the transmission of signals through the junctions or "synapses" between nerve cells. Synapses are the territory where one nerve releases a chemical signal that hands off messages to an adjoining nerve. The human brain has an estimated 1,000 trillion synapses, and they are hot spots for miscommunications that underpin neurological disorders like autism. Scientists now are gleaning information on what those genes do, what brain circuits they affect and how the proteins they produce function. In doing so, they are paving the way for future medications for autism spectrum disorders.

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The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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From 'Refrigerator Mothers' to untangling the genetic roots of autism

CHESHIRE, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXN - News) today announced that asfotase alfa (formerly known as ENB-0040), a highly innovative investigational targeted enzyme replacement therapy, was shown to improve skeletal abnormalities, pulmonary and physical function, and cognitive development in a Phase 2 study of infants and young children with life-threatening hypophosphatasia (HPP). Alexion is developing asfotase alfa as a potential treatment for patients with HPP, an ultra-rare, genetic, life-threatening metabolic disease for which there are currently no approved or effective treatment options. Findings from the study are published in the March 8th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Due to a genetic enzyme deficiency, symptomatic patients with HPP face progressive damage to multiple vital organs including destruction and deformity of bones, profound muscle weakness, seizures, impaired renal function, and respiratory failure.1,2,3,4 About half of newborns with HPP do not survive past one year of age.1

This inborn error of metabolism can cause progressive skeletal deterioration and muscle weakness in severely affected infants and very young children with HPP, leading to respiratory insufficiency and significant mortality, said lead study author Michael P. Whyte, M.D., Medical-Scientific Director, Center for Metabolic Bone Disease and Molecular Research, Shriners Hospitals for Children, St. Louis. In this study of patients with severe perinatal and infantile forms of HPP, we saw in nearly all patients striking skeletal healing that included improved bone formation and reduced deformity, as well as improved pulmonary function and motor development. These findings are remarkable given the historically grim outlook for patients with life-threatening HPP.

About the Study

The multinational, open-label Phase 2 study of asfotase alfa enrolled 11 patients with HPP ages 3 years or younger whose symptoms began before the age of 6 months. Patients in the study received asfotase alfa for six months and then had the opportunity to enroll in an open-label extension study.

The primary efficacy endpoint was change in the skeletal manifestations of HPP, as assessed by radiography. Response to treatment was defined as a mean improvement of two or more points, as rated by a panel of three independent radiologists, on a seven-point scale known as the radiographic global impression of change (RGI-C). Skeletal changes were also assessed using a 10-point scale that measured skeletal abnormalities at the wrists and knees. Additional efficacy assessments included evaluations of respiratory status, gross motor function, and cognitive development (Bayley-III scale).

Ten patients completed the six-month study and nine patients are currently participating in the extension study. All patients treated with asfotase alfa demonstrated an improvement in two key biochemical indicators of HPP: blood levels of PPi (inorganic pyrophosphate) and PLP (pyridoxal 5 phosphate). For the primary efficacy endpoint, nine of 10 patients (90%) met the criterion for treatment response by week 24, and eight of nine (89%) achieved treatment response by week 48. Skeletal healing became apparent as early as week 3.

Respiratory function improved in all patients. These improvements were evident as early as week 12. Compared to the 10 of 11 patients who required respiratory support at baseline, at week 48 only three of nine patients required any respiratory support and only one patient remained on full mechanical ventilation. In addition to the improvements in bone mineralization and respiratory function, there were improvements in fine motor, gross motor and cognitive development, as assessed by the Bayley-III instrument, for seven of the eight patients who were evaluated. Whereas at baseline, no patients were able to bear weight through their legs owing to skeletal abnormalities and muscle weakness, at 48 weeks of treatment, seven of nine patients were able to bear weight through their legs.

The most common treatment-related adverse event observed in the study was mild injection-site reaction. Severe adverse events observed in the study were generally consistent with the symptoms expected of patients with severe HPP, including infection, respiratory disorders, and nervous-system complications. One patient died, and this was determined to not be related to study drug.

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New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Data from Phase 2 Study of Asfotase Alfa in Life-Threatening Hypophosphatasia

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An experimental therapy for a rare, often fatal genetic disorder appears to offer hope for infants and very young children with the condition, according to data from a small clinical trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

The enzyme-replacement drug, asfotase alfa, acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc with its $610 million purchase of Canada-based Enobia Pharma, could become the first approved treatment for the metabolic disease hypophosphatasia, or HPP.

The condition is a genetic enzyme deficiency that causes bone softening and muscle weakness and can lead to severe lung problems and damage to other vital organs. It affects about 1 in 100,000 newborns worldwide, according to the National Institutes of Health. About half of infants with a severe form of the disease do not survive beyond one year.

In the study of 11 babies and toddlers under three with life-threatening HPP, treatment with asfotase alfa resulted in "striking" improvements in skeletal problems and dramatic improvements in lung function and mobility, researchers reported.

"I'm thrilled to see babies who were really doomed responding to the treatment," Dr Michael Whyte, the study's lead investigator, said in a telephone interview.

"The therapy is proving not only life-saving but also health-restoring," added Whyte, of Shriners Hospitals for Children in St. Louis, who has been working on this ultra-rare disease for more than 30 years.

Videos accompanying the online version of the study in the New England Journal of Medicine show dramatic motor skill improvements of two of the trial subjects. In one, a three-year-old who was unable to stand prior to therapy is shown climbing the steps of a small plastic slide after 24 weeks of treatment.

Respiratory function improved in all patients, researchers said. Ten of the 11 needed breathing support before treatment. After 48 weeks of treatment, only three of the nine children who remained on therapy needed help breathing.

Breathing problems arise as the shape of the chest becomes deformed due to soft bones in the thorax, which compromises lung function, Whyte explained.

'SHE CAN STAND ON HER OWN'

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Alexion drug offers hope for rare, deadly disorder

SAN DIEGO, March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM - News), a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today reported total revenues of $15.5 million and $55.9 million for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2011, respectively. Net loss was $22.2 million, or $0.22 per share, and $74.2 million, or $0.75 per share, for the fourth quarter and full-year, respectively.

"2011 was a pivotal year for Sequenom as the Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine launched its cornerstone MaterniT21(TM) prenatal laboratory-developed test and advanced a number of other important programs," said Harry F. Hixson, Chairman and CEO of Sequenom, Inc. "The positive uptake from the launch of the MaterniT21 LDT and increasing early volumes for testing services since has set the tone for our expected growth and expansion during 2012."

Fourth Quarter 2011 Performance

Fourth quarter revenues of $15.5 million in 2011 increased 13% over revenues of $13.8 million for the comparable period in 2010. Fourth quarter 2011 revenues from the genetic analysis operating segment were essentially flat year-over-year, while revenues from the Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM) diagnostics services operating segment grew more than 130% in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the prior year period.

Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2011 was 46% as compared to gross margin of 62% for the fourth quarter of 2010. This difference reflects the increased costs associated with the nationwide launch of the MaterniT21(TM) LDT during the fourth quarter, in October of 2011.

Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $29.0 million, as compared to total operating expenses of $30.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. Research and development expenses increased $2.6 million to $13.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, a change associated primarily with higher labor costs and an increase in consumables associated with additional T21 clinical studies. Selling and marketing expenses increased by $1.1 million to $9.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, resulting primarily from higher labor costs associated with the expansion of the Sequenom CMM sales force and the CLIA laboratory. Total stock-based compensation expense was $2.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, consistent with the $2.8 million in stock-based compensation recorded for the fourth quarter of 2010.

"Our 2011 year end results are demonstrative of our commitment to delivering on the priorities set early in the year. We met the major goals of our strategic plan, managing costs while establishing the groundwork for continued commercial expansion," said Paul V. Maier, Sequenom's CFO. "We have set new goals and are focusing on accelerating our growth and expansion in a number of important areas to maintain this positive trajectory in 2012. As a result of our recent financing, we are well capitalized to implement our expansion plans."

Full-Year 2011 Performance

The Company reported revenues of $55.9 million for the full-year 2011, an increase of 18% compared to revenues of $47.5 million for the full-year 2010. The Company will continue to account for product revenue from our diagnostic testing services on a cash basis until further experience is gained and additional internal and third party controls are established that will allow a reasonable estimate of collectable amounts to be made before moving to the accrual method of accounting.

Net loss for the full-year 2011 was $74.2 million or $0.75 per share, as compared to net loss of $120.8 million, or $1.69 per share for 2010.

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Sequenom, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full-Year of 2011

WEDNESDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- The genetic makeup of cancer cells differs significantly from region to region within a single tumor, according to new research that raises questions about the true potential of personalized cancer medicine.

With this treatment approach, doctors study a tumor's genetic makeup to determine which drugs would work best in a particular patient. But if the genetic mutations driving the cancer cells vary widely, a single tissue sample won't necessarily give the full picture.

This "targeted therapy" involves "sticking a needle into the primary tumor site and taking a small sliver of a tumor, doing a gene analysis, and creating a genetic profile of the tumor to predict how the tumor will behave," explained Dr. Dan Longo, an oncologist and deputy editor at the New England Journal of Medicine.

"What this paper tells us is that is an oversimplification of the complexity of tumors and their heterogeneity," he said. "If you look at different sites of the very same tumor and the very same person, one site might tell you a gene profile associated with a good prognosis and the other site will tell you a gene profile associated with a bad prognosis."

Longo wrote an editorial accompanying the new study, published in the March 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the study, scientists from Cancer Research UK London Research Institute took 13 biopsies, or tissue samples, from a patient whose kidney cancer had spread. The biopsies were from eight regions of the kidney tumor and four tumors in the chest and lungs.

Researchers also took normal tissue, sequenced the patient's genome and compared that to what they found in the biopsies.

Genetic analysis turned up 128 mutations in the tumors. But only about one-third, or about 40 of those mutations, were present in all of the biopsies.

"The majority of mutations are not shared in every biopsy," said senior study author Charles Swanton, a professor of cancer medicine at the research institute.

Swanton and his colleagues also analyzed tumor tissue samples from another three patients with kidney cancer. From a total of 30 biopsies from all four patients, 26 tissue samples had mutations that were highly heterogenous, or varied, from one another.

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Is Cancer Outwitting 'Personalized Medicine'?

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (OTCQB: ILIU.PK - News) announced today the publication of a peer-reviewed study which found that Interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene variations are associated with increased risk of periodontal disease. The study, which appears on the Journal of Periodontologys website, in advance of appearing in the print edition, was led by Nadeem Y. Karimbux, D.M.D., Associate Professor of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

The study assessed the potential value of IL-1 genetic variations in the risk for developing severe periodontal disease. The IL-1 genetic variations in the published study are included in Interleukin Genetics PST Genetic Test, the first genetic test to analyze genes for variations that identify an individuals predisposition for over-expression of inflammation and risk for periodontal disease. Researchers reviewed 27 published studies on IL-1 genetics and periodontal disease from 1997 through June 2011 which examined Caucasian adults, 35 years or older with adult periodontal disease, to determine whether there was a significant association between the presence of the IL-1 gene variations and the severity and progression of periodontal disease. Thirteen studies qualified for the quantitative meta-analysis, which found significant effects for the two individual gene variations (IL1A OR=1.48; and IL1B OR= 1.54) and for a composite genotype that combines minor alleles at each locus (OR= 1.51). Some heterogeneity was evident, but there was no indication of publication bias.

This review and meta-analysis show that IL1A and IL1B genetic variations are significant contributors to chronic periodontitis in Caucasians, said Dr. Karimbux. Having this actionable information can assist dentists in establishing more aggressive treatment protocols for patients at increased risk.

Periodontal disease is caused by a chronic bacterial infection that activates inflammation which destroys the gums and bone supporting the teeth. If left untreated, periodontitis leads to tooth loss. Studies have shown that people with chronic and prolonged inflammatory periodontal disease are at an increased risk of several systemic conditions, such as heart disease, strokes, rheumatoid arthritis and certain chronic pulmonary diseases.

Periodontal disease is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide, but fortunately most individuals develop only a mild form of periodontitis that when caught early, can be easily treated. We now know that approximately 8 to 13 percent of the adult population will develop more destructive forms of periodontitis, and most of those at risk can be identified early based on smoking, IL-1 genetics and diabetes, said Kenneth Kornman D.D.S., PhD., study author and Chief Scientific Officer of Interleukin Genetics. While additional studies should be undertaken to look at specific periodontal conditions and additional ethnicities, this study reaffirms the role genetics plays in adult oral and overall health.

About Interleukin Genetics, Inc. Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (OTCQB: ILIU.PK - News) develops and markets a line of genetic tests under the Inherent Health and PST brands.The products empower individuals to prevent certain chronic conditions and manage their existing health and wellness through genetic-based insights with actionable guidance. Interleukin Genetics leverages its research, intellectual property and genetic panel development expertise in metabolism and inflammation to facilitate the emerging personalized healthcare market. The Company markets its tests through partnerships with health and wellness companies, healthcare professionals and other distribution channels. Interleukin Genetics flagship products include its proprietary PST genetic risk panel for periodontal disease and tooth loss susceptibility sold through dentists and the Inherent Health Weight Management Genetic Test that identifies the most effective diet and exercise program for an individual based on genetics. Interleukin Genetics is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. and operates an on-site, state-of-the-art DNA testing laboratory certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). For more information, please visit http://www.ilgenetics.com.

About PST The PST Genetic Test identifies individuals with increased risk for severe and progressive periodontal disease and significant tooth loss based on a proprietary panel of genetic variations that predispose an individual to over-express inflammation. In August 2010, Interleukin Genetics announced the initiation of a landmark clinical study on risk factors predictive of periodontal disease progression to tooth loss using a new version of the PST Genetic Test. This clinical studybeing conducted at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and led by Dr. William Giannobile, Director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Researchis designed to test whether risk factors, including genetic information, can guide more successful intervention and thus reduce the adverse outcomes of periodontal disease, such as tooth loss.

Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements, including statements that the clinical studies have the potential to expand the use of the PST Genetic Test. Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those risks and uncertainties described in the Interleukin Genetics annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Interleukin Genetics disclaims any obligation or intention to update these forward-looking statements.

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Newly Published Meta-Analysis Study Finds that IL-1 Gene Variations Contained in Interleukin Genetics’ PST Test are ...

SAN MARINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Viral Genetics (Pinksheets: VRAL.PK - News) announced today that it has submitted a pre-IND briefing document to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Lyme Disease drug candidate, VGV-L, marking important milestones for both the Company and its supporters in the Lyme community.

To our knowledge, this is the first novel drug candidate that has been proposed for study in the treatment of chronic Lyme Disease post-infection in quite some time. We are equally pleased that it represents the second drug candidate we have developed from our licensed Targeted Peptides platform, said Haig Keledjian, President of Viral Genetics. Our shareholders should be proud that our team managed to bring a drug candidate to this step of preliminary FDA review within about 30 months. Within the single Targeted Peptides platform, we are also developing candidates for treatment of sepsis, staphylococcus and streptococcus infection, multiple sclerosis and other conditions, while we continue to complete IND-enabling preclinical testing for our HIV/AIDS candidate.

The pre-IND submission provides extensive research information gathered by Viral Genetics researchers over a 2 year period of rigorous and detailed testing which resulted in positive results, to the FDA, along with a protocol for a proposed US human clinical trial designed under the guidance of a leading Lyme clinician at one of the nations top medical centers. Testing to date was conducted at the University of Colorado, Texas A&M University, Scott & White Hospital, and has been led by Viral Genetics Chief Scientist, Dr. M. Karen Newell-Rogers, with significant contributions from several clinicians.

The Company anticipates that the response to the pre-IND submission will be received in March-April 2012. While the FDAs written responses to pre-IND submissions are typically comprehensive, in some cases the need for additional clarification or discussion necessitates a meeting in person or by teleconference.

The written pre-IND response typically provides detailed insight into the FDA's concerns about available information on a particular drug being proposed for human testing in a particular patient population, and helps preempt any potential deficiencies that the FDA may find upon submission of the full IND application. This feedback acts as a kind of blueprint that guides the sponsors completion of the full IND towards attainment of FDA clearance to proceed with the proposed clinical trial. Post-submission of an IND, FDA reviewers may need clarifications or additional information before making a decision. FDA requirements for an IND include detailed information on all aspects of the proposed product such as manufacturing, preclinical and clinical testing, scientific background, proposed clinical development plan, clinical protocol, etc. This information needs to be presented in a format aimed towards clarifying the rationale of the proposed clinical trial, and for ease of review by the FDA reviewers.

Funding for some of the pre-clinical trial studies leading to the filing was initiated by Viral Genetics advisor, Richard Gerstner, former head of IBMs Asia operations and later the companys personal computer division. In April of 2011, Mr. Gerstner, who faced a long battle with Lyme during his tenure at IBM and his subsequent career in the venture capital arena, was a recipient, along with Dr. M. Karen Newell Rogers, of the Lauren F. Brooks Hope Award, given by the Time for Lyme Foundation. Since the commencement of Time for Lymes fundraising efforts in 2001, it has raised nearly $5 million and partnered with Columbia University Medical Center to create its Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Research Center. Past recipients of the award include Nobel Laureate Dr. Luc Montagnier, also an advisory board member of Viral Genetics, and world-renowned pediatrician Dr. Charles Ray Jones.

This research was further supported by grants from the Time for Lyme and the Turn the Corner Foundation who both saw the promise in Dr. Newell-Rogers approach, helping it to reach this phase of development and the pre-IND filing. The proposed therapy, like several others in Viral Genetics R&D pipeline, is based on Targeted Peptide technology (TPT) and uses synthetic peptides to "trick" cells that may be responsible for harmful symptoms, making them vulnerable to the body's natural immune response mechanism.

Emphasizing the platform nature of the TPT approach, Dr. Newell-Rogers expanded on how TPT potentially may be targeted to a number of potential diseases or indications that have proved stubbornly resistant to more traditional approaches such as, in this case, chronic Lyme Disease. The idea behind our research is that those with a genetic blueprint that does not allow certain self-peptides to be processed or removed tend to mount a chronic inflammatory immune response that is not properly controlled. In terms of drug development, we believe that many diseases and chronic illnesses may be dependent in important ways on this harmful type of inflammation, Dr. Newell stated. Her theory proposes a targeted peptide to replace or remove certain self-peptides and hopefully restore a less harmful and more specific immune response in patients. The studies conducted by Viral Genetics aim to shed light on this chronic inflammatory response and symptoms shared by a significant subset of Lyme disease patients.

Currently there is no treatment for Lyme Disease once it has developed into its chronic, long-term state, other than antibiotics regimens which, while managing the disease for some of those infected, leaves untouched some of the symptoms for a significant portion of those suffering from this debilitating condition.

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Viral Genetics Submits Pre-IND Document for Lyme Disease Drug Candidate to FDA

Yesterday, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation hosted a teleconference featuring Dr. Dan Sterman of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, who discussed the recent advances in mesothelioma gene therapy.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 07, 2012

The call was attended by nearly 100 people interested in learning more about progress recently made in mesothelioma treatment. The recording of the call is available on the Meso Foundations website, at http://www.curemeso.org/calls.

This call is part of Meso Foundations Meet the Experts series, which was created to provide mesothelioma patients, their families, and others interested with the most up-to-date mesothelioma information. Previous calls have included an interview with Dr. Lee Krug of Memorial Sloan-Kettering about using vaccines and manipulations of the immune system to prevent a mesothelioma recurrence.

Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the lining of the lung, abdomen, or heart known to be caused by exposure to asbestos. Medical experts consider it one of the most aggressive and deadly of all cancers. Approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, but accurate treatment information and help are very difficult to find.

The Meso Foundation is the leading organization dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma as a life-ending cancer by funding peer-reviewed mesothelioma research, providing patient support services and education, and advocating Congress for increased federal funding for research. Mesothelioma funding, per death, has historically been extremely low, and even as recently as 2010, the NCI reported that mesothelioma receives as little as 7 times less funding than other cancers. The Meso Foundation was founded in 2000 to address this imbalance and since then has independently funded over $7.6 million in peer-reviewed mesothelioma research. More information is available at http://www.curemeso.org.

For more information about the topics discussed in the Meet the Experts series or for information about mesothelioma treatment, patients and their loved ones are encouraged to contact Mary Hesdorffer, NP at mhesdorffer(at)curemeso(dot)org or by phone at (703) 879-3820.

Maja Belamaric Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (703) 879-3822 Email Information

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Meso Foundation Covers Recent Advances in Mesothelioma Gene Therapy in Teleconference

BOSTON - Scientists are reporting what could be very bad news for efforts to customize cancer treatment based on each person's genes.

They have discovered big differences from place to place in the same tumour as to which genes are active or mutated. They also found differences in the genetics of the main tumour and places where the cancer has spread.

This means that the single biopsies that doctors rely on to choose drugs are probably not giving a true view of the cancer's biology. It also means that treating cancer won't be as simple as many had hoped.

By analyzing tumours in unprecedented detail, "we're finding that the deeper you go, the more you find," said one study leader, Dr. Charles Swanton of the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute in England. "It's like going from a black-and-white television with four pixels to a colour television with thousands of pixels."

Yet the result is a fuzzier picture of how to treat the disease.

The study is reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

It is a reality check for "overoptimism" in the field devoted to conquering cancer with new gene-targeting drugs, Dr. Dan Longo, a deputy editor at the journal, wrote in an editorial.

About 15 of these medicines are on the market now and hundreds more are in testing, but they have had only limited success. And the new study may help explain why.

The scientists used gene sequencing to a degree that has not been done before to study primary tumours and places where they spread in four patients with advanced kidney cancer. They found that two-thirds of gene mutations they detected were not present in all areas of the same tumour. They also were stunned to see different mutations in the same gene from one part of a tumour to another.

That means a single biopsy would reveal only a minority of mutations. Still, it's not clear whether doing more biopsies would improve accuracy, or how many or how often they should be done.

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Gene study suggests treating cancer is more complex than many had hoped

Public release date: 6-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Megan Fellman fellman@northwestern.edu 847-491-3115 Northwestern University

Northwestern University scientists have developed a powerful analytical method that they have used to direct stem cell differentiation. Out of millions of possibilities, they rapidly identified the chemical and physical structures that can cue stem cells to become osteocytes, cells found in mature bone.

Researchers can use the method, called nanocombinatorics, to build enormous libraries of physical structures varying in size from a few nanometers to many micrometers for addressing problems within and outside biology.

Those in the fields of chemistry, materials engineering and nanotechnology could use this invaluable tool to assess which chemical and physical structures -- including size, shape and composition -- work best for a desired process or function.

Nanocombinatorics holds promise for screening catalysts for energy conversion, understanding properties conferred by nanostructures, identifying active molecules for drug discovery or even optimizing materials for tissue regeneration, among other applications.

Details of the method and proof of concept is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"With further development, researchers might be able to use this approach to prepare cells of any lineage on command," said Chad A. Mirkin, who led the work. "Insight into such a process is important for understanding cancer development and for developing novel cancer treatment methodologies."

Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of medicine, chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering. He also is the director of Northwestern's International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN).

The new analytical method utilizes a technique invented at Northwestern called polymer pen lithography, where basically a rubber stamp having as many as 11 million sharp pyramids is mounted on a transparent glass backing and precisely controlled by an atomic force microscope to generate desired patterns on a surface. Each pyramid -- a polymeric pen -- is coated with molecules for a particular purpose.

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Influencing stem cell fate