Archive for December, 2019

Global Soy Isoflavones Market report is the new addition announced by CMFE Insights, which offers qualitative insights into factors that impact the growth of the global market. It offers a wide-ranging study of the competitive landscape of the market and also considers the share of the market key players in each region as well as the overall market by estimating their revenue and sales.

The demand for the global Soy Isoflavones market is rising significantly as it proves to give a better quality of experience and due to this, the market is displaying high growth in its size. The upsurge in its technological progression is anticipated to propel substantially in the coming years.

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Product Type Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Major Company of Product Type etc.):

Demand Coverage (Market Size & Forecast, Consumer Distribution):

Company Coverage (Sales data, Main Products & Services etc.):

Major Region Market

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Table of Contents:

Chapter 1:Soy Isoflavones Market Overview

Chapter 2: Global Economic Impact on Industry

Chapter 3:Soy Isoflavones Market Competition by Manufacturers

Chapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by Region

Chapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions

Chapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

Chapter 7: Global Market Analysis by Application

Chapter 8: Manufacturing Cost Analysis

Chapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 11: Soy Isoflavones Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 12: GlobalSoy Isoflavones Market Forecast

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Best Informative Report on Soy Isoflavones Market 2019 to 2025 | Leading Companies- NOW Foods, InVite Health, ADM, DHC, GNC and Life Extension -...

Heathrow Airport is a massive employer in London.

Not only do you have four terminals each requiring their own teams of security, cleaning and ground crew staff, but you've also got the many shops, bars and restaurants.

It's always busy at the West London airport, meaning it's all hands on deck.

Have you ever fancied a behind the scenes look at Heathrow? Well, now might be your chance.

Heathrow Airport is currently hiring a total of 21 positiions.

Here is everything you need to know.

Closing date: December 19, 2019

The role involves being responsible for implementing a quality assurance function at the airport.

Basically - you need to make sure everything runs smoothly and well. From reviewing activities in the supply chain and dealing with members of the public, you will be first on hand.

For more information, click here.

Closing date: January 5, 2020

The control room operative works in the engineering maintenance department.

You will be monitoring the system and ensuring trains and planes are running smoothly and making sure any delays are dealt with appropriately.

It's also important to work safely at all times and follow procedures as well as spot any hazards.

Click here for more information.

Closing date: December 19, 2019

In this role, you will act as Data Steward for the Property Team under the General Data Protection Regulations and ensure the airport complies with all Heathrow standards associated with GDPR and Data Protection.

To apply, click here.

Closing date: December 13, 2019

You'll be participating in all movements of trolleys across Heathrow, clearing all areas of trolleys, pushing them back into the areas where our passengers need them and making sure passengers do not use any broken trolleys.

What's more, the job would pay you more than 21,000 a year.

Click here for more information.

Closing date: December 24, 2019

One responsibility for this role is acting as the airport contact with the statutory authorities, Highways Agency and Local borough councils for engineering works associated with airport-based utilities.

Click here to apply.

Closing date: December 24, 2019

You will be managing the development and upkeep of asset plans and asset standards that reflect asset systems strategies.

To apply, click here.

Closing date: December 24, 2019

For this role, you will be providing technical knowledge and support to operational teams within the function and wider organisation to ensure a robust asset management strategy.

For more information, click here.

Closing date: December 18, 2019

This role is all about developing asset plans and asset standards that reflect the asset system strategies, with detailed maintenance strategies, renewal plans, refurbishment and life extension plans.

You can apply here.

Closing date: December 13, 2019

This is the role for you if you are able to drive revenue and merchandise and trading for our key service products including Car parking, VIP lounges, Meet and Assist, Fast track and porters.

Click here for more information.

Closing date: December 24, 2019

You'll be responsible for content managing product information for non-automated retailers as well as managing key retail partner online relationships in conjunction with existing offline account management team.

You can apply for the role here.

Closing date: January 5, 2020

You'll undertake planned and reactive maintenance tasks on assets in accordance with allocated target dates to maximise availability and service levels.

As well as this, you'll complete working orders and accurately capturing maintenance history.

For more information, click here.

Closing date: January 5, 2020

As a rail systems engineer you'll be designing and delivering solutions to system and component obsolescence for HAL Rail assets and designing and delivering system upgrades to improve system safety and reliability.

Click here for more information.

Closing date: January 5, 2020

Developing performance improvement plans for rail assets, to deliver continuous improvements and meet stakeholders requirements is what you'll be doing in this role.

More information can be found here.

Closing date: December 19, 2019

For this role, you'll be part of the Heathrow expansion team ensuring the successful delivery and implementation of the services.

Click here to apply.

Closing date: December 20, 2019

In this role, you'll be making sure everyone sticks to the health and safety procedures, as well as updating them.

You can apply for the role here.

Closing date: December 13, 2019

You'll be leading and driving a data driven strategy on omnichannel personalisation across the customer journey and driving optimisation ROI within digital estates across Heathrow.

Click here for more information.

Closing date: January 5, 2020

The job involves ensuring systems, assets and components perform at optimum levels against design standards, making sure any changes are effectively communicated.

Apply here.

Closing date: January 21, 2020

You will provide support to the IT Supplier Relationship Manager in managing the relationship and governance across all IT suppliers.

Click here for more information.

Closing date: January 21, 2020

Your role will be to champion GDPR compliance within IT on behalf of CIO, providing assurance to ITLT, Deputy General Counsel and Data Protection Officer.

If you'd like to apply for this role, click here.

Closing date: December 24, 2019

You'll be providing technical steering to asset systems strategies including the asset management plan.

Another responsibility is developing asset intervention plans including method statements to support the achievement of the long-term business plans.

Click here to apply.

To keep up to date with all the latest breaking news, stories and events happening across West London, give the My West London Facebook page a like.

We will provide you with the latest traffic and travel updates, including updates on train and London Underground services, in areas including Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith, Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Uxbridge and Richmond upon Thames.

The latest breaking news will be brought straight to your news feed including updates from the police, ambulance and fire brigade. We will also bring you updates from our courts and councils, as well as more lighthearted long reads.

We also publish your pictures and videos, so do message us with your stories.

Like the My West London Facebook page here.

You can also follow us on Twitter here.

Closing date: December 11, 2019

Your role will be to provide leadership and line management to a team of technicians, ensuring they are offering great quality and reliable service for Heathrow whilst also adhering to company policies.

Click here for more information.

Originally posted here:
21 Heathrow Airport jobs that are currently on offer - MyLondon

Investors gravitate towards Canadian banks, and with good reason. As few of the most stable banks in the world and generous dividend providers, they make for excellent long-term stocks stocks you can bank on. And, of course, the first stock that draws the eyes of the investors is the king itself: Royal Bank of Canada a bank that possesses every significant attribute that makes the countrys banking sector stand out.

But if you want to explore more investment options, there are other stable and attractive ones in the market Dividend Aristocrats with juicier yields than Royal Banks 3.86%. TC Energy, Emera (TSX:EMA), and Exchange Incomeare three stocks to consider for higher yields.

TC Energy owns and operates one of the largest natural gas pipeline networks in North America, spanning 92,600 kilometres. The company has a 4,900-kilometre liquid pipelines and electricity production capacity of 6,000 MW. TC Energy has steady cash flows, and its banking on its ongoing projects for better future profitability projects like Keystone XL, NGTL, and Bruce Power Life extension.

The company is stable, relative to the market, with a beta of 1.04. TC Energys operating margin of 45% is better compared to the overall sector. This year has been especially fruitful for the companys growth, with the market value up by 38%. Currently, the company is trading at $67.2 per share. The yield of 4.43% is also an attractive attribute to consider TC Energy as a potential investment.

Emera is an energy company with a focus on clean electricity production. It focuses on zero-emission renewables like wind, hydro, and solar, as well as low-emission sources like natural gas. With its eye on a cleaner and sustainable future, the companys growth potential seems high. Emera operates in Canada, the U.S., and four Caribbean countries.

The company has well earned its title of a Dividend Aristocrat by increasing dividends for 12 consecutive years. The current yield of 4.45% is also a significant scale up from Royal Bank. But the dividend yield isnt the only factor that makes Emera an attractive investment. Its impressive history of growth is also worth considering. In the past five years, the company has grown its market value by 40%, including this years sizeable increase of 22%.

But even at a conservative estimate, the company stands at a chance 8% growth a year, all the while handing out increasingly generous payouts.

If you are thinking about diversifying your portfolio, the adequately diversified company, Exchange Income, might prove to be a fantastic stock. Exchange income focuses on acquiring aerospace and aviation-based businesses, and it has created a well-balanced portfolio of many such companies. This acquisition policy has played out very well for the company and investors.

The companys five-year growth is a whopping 92%. Even if the company underperforms a bit, it stands at a chance of doubling its investors money in the next seven years. And the cherry on top is the yield of 5.15%, with a prestigious payout history of increasing dividends for nine consecutive years.

Stability, growth, and dividends payouts three common attributes that almost every long investor should consider before choosing stocks. The stocks mentioned above provide the right mix of all three traits, maybe even an edge better than the Royal Bank.

Fool contributor Adam Othman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

View post:
3 Stocks That Will Pay You More Dividends Than RBC (TSX:RY) - The Motley Fool Canada

The value of a bull is a variable equation to variable producers. But much like a piece of machinery or a tract of land, it is relatable to return on investment. A basic requirement of the cow-calf business is to make sure each female has a healthy calf that weighs to its full potential every calendar year.

But before that can happen, a calculated investment in a well-managed virile bull and the infrastructure and management to maintain him properly and safely through the offseason is necessary. This is nothing new or earth shattering, but if the bull is defective, becomes damaged goods or is otherwise mishandled, there can be large financial consequences.

Related: We must account hidden losses from subfertile bulls

Winter can be a stressful time for cattle. In colder areas of the country, it is essential to provide protection from extreme and volatile weather as the opportunity for frost-bitten testicles is always high. Brett Andrews of Burwell Nebraska Veterinary Hospital encourages producers to keep bulls where shelter, trees or man-made windbreaks are available to block the north winds that can cause frost or freeze damaged scrotums.

Provide bedding during the severest cold or blizzard conditions so the scrotums wont be on the bare, cold ground. The producers who do this have very few permanent testicular injuries due to extreme cold. However, I have seen bulls that were left out with no or minimal shelter and they suffered permanent testicular injury.

Related: So many bulls, so little time

Hypothetically, consider that a single herd bull sires 120 calves in his working life over the course of four years, improving the weight yield of calves sold at weaning by a 15-pound average at $1.50 per pound. This scenario will increase the bottom line by $2,700 over the bulls productive lifetime. On top of this is the value of any females kept as replacements during the four years.

If a third of the approximately 60 heifers are kept from a 100-head female herd, the derivative economic effect of the bull buying ability is 20% of the annual profit and loss statement. Not to be forgotten, of course, an average salvage value for a mature bull should yield in the $2,000 range.

On the negative side, if the bull is the cause of one cow going un-bred through her first cycle and becoming pregnant during her next estrus cycle, on an average year, it can cost the producer close to $100 on lost weaning weight of that calf alone. Factored over numerous cows, the losses become exponentially large. When running the numbers, it is undeniable that the management of this bull is a vital component of the operations overall health.

With bulls that are held over, it is extremely important to complete the normal procedures of the breeding soundness exam (BSE), vaccination, feet trimming and a trichomoniasis test. Pencil out the bull power needed per cow and beyond that, the focus should be on body conditioning.

Tom Troxel Ph.D., at the University of Arkansas, states it is important to divide bulls into management groups in order to more effectively meet dietary needs. Separating younger and older bulls may be particularly important in preventing injuries and meeting nutritional requirements.

Younger bulls are growing rapidly and will need a different diet to compensate their growth rate and to replace the condition they lost during a previous breeding season. He suggests that herd bulls be kept in a separate location away from cows, heifers and younger bulls, with plenty of exercise room, clean water and mineral supplements.

A body conditioning score of 5 or slightly higher is optimal before bulls are turned out, as during the breeding season, bulls can lose up to 3 pounds per day. Thus it is essential for all ages to enter this period in peak physical condition.

As winter retreats and spring approaches, the smell of females in the air can once again destroy the tentative peace and confrontations may begin. The readiness to rearrange existing bulls by ages, size or personalities, along with the facilities to accommodate this, are vital.

Bulls that will later be combined in multi-sire breeding pastures should be penned together for several weeks before the season begins to allow the inevitable re-establishment of the social pecking order. This will create a large enough cushion of time should injuries occur and a replacement bull be required. Bulls WILL establish and re-establish social order, but a producer can manipulate the process to avoid a damaged goods situation.

Unfortunately, no system is perfect, so it is important to have a Plan B, but it should never be the unknown hold-over bull dumped at the local auction barn. The negatives of this mystery bull could be very costly.

If possible, having an extra suitable bull is wise, or pencil in a potential quality replacement that might be available at short notice. These days there is no reason to purchase inferior and unknown bulls.

For all involved, it is the goal to have fit and healthy bulls ensuring pregnant females as early in the breeding season as possible, plus have these bulls in optimal condition throughout the off season, ensuring their readiness when called upon in the upcoming year.

Derksen is a freelance writer and feedyard pen rider in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada.

Originally posted here:
Maintaining the value of bulls through the off-season - Beef Magazine

A Campus meeting in November reviewed the arguments for and against donor conception, and the sometimes difficult ethical arguments raised by the prospect of a donor-conceived child. About the latter, opinion now seems universally in favour of early disclosure of biological origins.

Defining 'success' as a single healthy birth delivered at term, ESHRE's senior research specialist Nathalie Vermeulen presented indisputable evidence (from SART and ESHRE registries) that success rates decline terminally with age; by contrast, LBR with donor eggs at 35 years and over is almost 30%, and continues at this steady rate to age 40 and beyond, while the rate with non-donor eggs declines to below 5%. Although this considerably improved outcome in women over 35 should be balanced by an added risk of maternal hypertension during pregnancy, such risk rates do little to explain the continuing attraction of autologous cycles.

Is it simply that patients are not adequately informed? Consultant Meena Choudhary from Newcastle, UK, was quite categorical about what patients should be told: that the risk of birth defects increases with rising female age; IVF treatment cannot reverse the effect of ageing; the chance of having a healthy baby becomes much lower as mothers age; and PGTA will not increase the chance of live birth. Moreover, de novo mutations are more common with paternal than maternal ageing (although paternal age on its own does not affect the chance of success), and, as with PGT-A, there is no robust evidence to suggest that DNA fragmentation testing will improve results. And echoing Nathalie Vermeulen, Choudhary reaffirmed that egg donation 'surpasses' the effect of female age in live birth rate (while sperm donors up to age 45 have not been shown to reduce that chance in older women).

This Campus meeting was jointly organised by the SIGs Andrology and Psychology & Counselling and it was clear from many presentations that psychological factors - what Mariana Martins of the latter SIG described as 'concerns' - explain the value of genetic parenthood for many couples, especially those faced with the option of third-party donation. However, said Martins, many of the concerns associated with third-party donation, or more accurately the wish for a fully genetically related child, are the result of misconceptions about the importance of genetics. For example, disposition to a range of psychological traits cited by Martins - from depression to hyperactivity - can be clearly attributed to experience and the environment. There is also strong evidence that, while heritability of personality traits decreases over the life-span, environmental influence increases. Martins also suggested, particularly with reference to poor prognosis patients, that, in assuming option one is always IVF with your own genes and gametes, years may actually pass by before option two (donor gametes) is even considered. 'We may unintentionally be delaying a live birth, or even promoting dropout,' said Martins, 'so leaving patients with an unfulfilled child wish.'

However, Kirkman-Brown named disclosure to the future child about their origin of conception as 'probably the most studied and controversial subject' governing decisions about donor treatment. Despite the 'harms' associated with secrecy and non-disclosure, fewer than half the parents of 10-year and older children reported disclosure to them in one 2016 study. Petra Thorn, a former co-ordinator of the SIG Psychology & Counselling, listed several commonly cited reservations about third-party donation, including 'abnormal' family composition, the possibility of stigmatisation, the contrast between 'social' and biological parenthood, and of course disclosure and access to information. These, said Thorn, were important concerns for many couples, which makes counselling at the earliest stage - and certainly before any treatment begins - imperative. 'We must ensure that both partners fully support the type of treatment,' she insisted, 'and avoid any risk of ambivalences during pregnancy.' This might be achieved through exploring the new family boundaries implied by donation, disclosure, the role of the donor, and legal implications. Moreover, said Thorn, all the evidence suggests that, if children are informed of their conception early with the opportunity to access their biological origins, if parents feel comfortable with the idea of third-party conception and if donors are well informed and prepared for offspring to contact them, the children, parents and donors will do well.

Direct-to-consumer DNA testingNear the surface of this presentation was a view shared by all speakers at this meeting, that donor children should be informed of their origins at an early stage. 'No-one should go into treatment with a view that they will not tell their children,' said Marilyn Crawshaw from the University of York, UK, after describing the implications of direct-to-consumer DNA testing. As Focus on Reproduction has already reported, the huge DNA databanks now assembled by genealogy discovery companies have already rendered donor anonymity an unsustainably impossible concept. Our reporta few months ago noted DNA samples in storage of around 30 million people, with traceability going back three or four generations. However, this burgeoning increase, said Crawshaw, is likely to reach 100 million samples by 2021, with countless internet-based forums and support groups for donor-conceived individuals, their donors and their parents. 'Everything will change,' said Crawshaw. Or has changed already? Indeed, 37% of donor-conceived children in one recent study said they found out about their origins from results of a commercial DNA test (against 51% from their parents when a child or adult).

The shift in attitude towards donor anonymity - and reflected in more relaxed attitudes to fertility treatment in single and lesbian women with donor sperm - was already evident in so many jurisdictions switching their policies from anonymity to formal information release mechanisms. Even France, which has long protected the anonymity of sperm donors in its CECOS system, will with new legislation switch to an identity release system.

Of course, for those discovering unexpected information about their biological origins, the consequences can be devastating. Citing one parent quoted in BioNews, Crawshaw reported: 'More support is needed, urgently, as the tidal wave of unanticipated disclosure is only beginning. The future for social justice in donor conception leads towards openness and support, not bans and anonymity. And where will that 'support' come from? From the fertility clinics, the ancestry industry, the state?

The vulnerability of donor-conceived people to such surprises has prompted calls for greater openness and inclusivity, argued Eric Blyth, a veteran researcher in gamete donation and families. He too saw a shift in the narrative - from an exclusively medical perspective (treatment for infertility/childlessness) to a broader familybuilding paradigm, reflected in more widespread disclosure legislation, greater use of sperm donation treating singles and lesbians, in increasing number of jurisdictions, and in direct-to-consumer genetic testing. And he too looked to the 'family-building' approach to donor conception as the way forward in accommodating a child's genetic heritage and integrating donor relationships within existing family ties.

1. Much of the content of this Campus meeting has now been summarised. See when published: Kirkman-Brown J, Martins MV. 'Genes versus children': If the goal is parenthood, are we using the optimal approach? Hum Reprod 2019; doi:10.1093/humrep/dez256.

See more here:
CAMPUS: EGG DONATION - Biological or donor parenthood in the treatment of infertility - ESHRE

Commercial surrogacy, the practice of paying a woman to carry and birth a child whom she will not parent, is largely unregulated in America. Its illegal, with rare exceptions, in three states: New York, Louisiana, and Michigan. But, most states have no surrogacy laws at all. Though the technology was invented in 1986, the concept still seems, for many, a bit sci-fi, and support for it does not follow obvious political fault lines. It is typically championed by the gay-rights community, who see it as the only reproductive technology that allows gay men to have biological children, and condemned by some feminists, who see it as yet another business that exploits the female body. In June, when the New York State Assembly considered a bill that would legalize paid surrogacy, Gloria Steinem vigorously opposed it. Under this bill, women in economic need become commercialized vessels for rent, and the fetuses they carry become the property of others, Steinem wrote in a statement.

In a new book, Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against the Family, the author Sophie Lewis makes a forceful argument for legalization. Lewis takes little interest in the parents. Its the surrogates who concern her. Regulation, she says, is the only way for them to avoid exploitation. Lewis frequently, if reluctantly, compares surrogacy to sex work, another industry that persists despite being illegal. Banning these jobs is pointless, Lewis says, aside from giving privileged feminists something to do, and making the work more dangerous. Surrogacy bans uproot, isolate, and criminalize gestational workers, driving them underground and often into foreign lands, where they risk prosecution, she writes. As with sex work, the question of being for or against surrogacy is largely irrelevant. The question is, why is it assumed that one should be more against surrogacy than other risky jobs.

Lewis does not offer straightforward policy suggestions. Her approach to the material is theoretical, devious, a mix of manifesto and memoir. Early in the book, she struggles to understand why anyone would want to get pregnant in the first place, and later she questions whether continuing the human race is a good idea. But she is solemn and unsparing in her assessment of the status quo. A portion of the book studies the Akanksha Fertility Clinic, in India, a surrogacy center that, according to Lewis, severely underpays and mistreats its workers. (Nayana Patel, who runs the clinic, has argued that Akanksha pays surrogates more than they would make at other jobs.) All of the Akanksha surrogates are required to have children of their own already, ostensibly because they know how difficult it is to raise a child and are therefore less likely to want to keep the ones theyre carrying.

According to Lewis, Akanksha surrogates have to live at the clinic and leave their children in the care of family. Its unclear how much money the surrogates take home afterwardespecially once the scouts take their cut. What especially frustrates Lewis is that, despite the obvious sacrifices of pregnancy and of being away from family, the Akanksha clinicians and clients are still skittish about referring to surrogacy as work. Akanksha offers surrogates classes in embroidery and candle-making, and its promotional literature assures prospective parents that surrogacy is more than a jobits a ladder to a new life. According to Lewis, the surrogates usually deliver via C-section when they are thirty-six weeks pregnant, shaving five weeks or so off production time, delivering the baby just-in-time for collection. These clinics are factories, Lewis writeswhy pretend otherwise?

Lewiss occasionally blithe humor belies a surprisingly earnest argument. She wants to legitimate surrogacy in order to legitimate a more communal way of raising children. One could say that shes ready to cancel the family unit. Unabashedly interested in family abolition, I want us to look to waged gestational assistance specifically insofar as it illuminates the possibilities of its imminent destruction by something completely different, she writes. Gestational surrogacy makes it more difficult to name the biological mother with complete certainty, and this sort of murkiness strikes Lewis as the best possible world in which to raise children. The polymaternal ideal, Lewis argues, already exists for rich children, whose parents are able to purchase full surrogacy by hiring wet nurses, nannies, ayahs, and mammies. Lewis thinks that such a childhood should be available to all.

Lewis fantasizes about replacing the modern family with a classless commune, where children dont belong to anyonea commune that would eventually render commercial surrogacy obsolete. Another surrogacy is possible, she writes. India recently banned commercial surrogacy; now all surrogacy in the country must be unpaid, or altruistic. Volunteer surrogacy may sound like a perfect way to encourage communal child-rearing, but Lewis says that, in practice, altruistic surrogacy usually has the same dynamic as commercial surrogacy, insofar as a woman still gets pregnant with a wealthier womans baby. (She writes that unpaid surrogacy should concern those who understand how Indian class society works.) And, for Lewis, even in the most open-minded arrangement, where the surrogate remains in the childs life, the basic family structure remains the same. The surrogate is an appendage of the nuclear family, relegated to the fringe.

Lewis wants something else, something far more sweeping. Lets prefigure a way of manufacturing one another noncompetitively. Lets hold one another hospitably, explode notion of hereditary parentage, and multiply real, loving solidarities. Let us build a care commune based on comradeship, a world sustained by kith and kind more than by kin, she writes. In other words, if it takes a village to raise a child, then why dont we will such a village into existence? Why are we so committed to the traditional biological family when so many children feel stymied and exhausted by their parents, and so many parents feel stymied and exhausted by their children? Lewis blames capitalism, a system in which, she argues, everyone needs a home teampeople to root for, and to fall back on when things go south. She implores her reader not just to redraw the teams but to reinvent the game entirely: We are the makers of one another. And we could learn collectively to act like it. It is those truths that I wish to call real surrogacy, full surrogacy. Nowhere in her book does she mention maternity leave or affordable child care. These are merely concessions to a systema system that she hopes to uproot.

Lewis rigorously argues for the world she wants to create, but her book is too polemical to rigorously imagine it. That task is handled, in part, by Joanne Ramoss dbut novel, The Farm. The Farm is a largely naturalistic book set in a modern-day New York, where the immigrants live in Flushing and the rich live on Park Avenue. But theres one speculative twist: surrogacy is legal, and the Hosts, as Ramos calls them, have no regulatory protections. The books premise appears to be loosely based on Gloria Steinems nightmares.

Most of the story takes place at Golden Oaks, an upscale surrogacy clinic in upstate New York where the Hosts, most of them black or Filipina, live in seclusion while they attend to the fetuses growing inside them. Gestation is considered a full-time job; the days at Golden Oaks have the same intense orderliness of a factory floor. Many of the women are former domestic workers or nannies or health aides, and have found that caring for a fetus is more lucrative than caring for a person. They have little, if any, interaction with the clients. A client may be a war lord or a Nobel Prize winner; she may be perfectly capable of getting pregnant but would rather have someone else do it. The Hosts are not allowed to care. They must deliver a healthy baby if they want to receive their bonusthe big money, as the women call it.

Like the surrogates at Akanksha, most Hosts at Golden Oaks have only signed on because they need that money to support families of their own, whom they are not allowed to see for the duration of their contract. The Farm is an ensemble book, told from the perspective of four different characters, but its hero is Jane, a Filipina-American woman in her early twenties, who turns to Golden Oaks after shes fired from her baby-nurse job and can find no better way to support her infant daughter.

For a novel about the ruthlessness of capitalism, Ramos demonstrates remarkable tenderness for her characters. In another writers hands, Mae, the director of Golden Oaks, would be wholly diabolical, but in Ramoss depiction she is only moderately soa perky middle manager obsessed with earning the trust of her bosses and the respect of the rich white kids she met at Harvard Business School, where she was among the minority of students who paid their own tuition. Mae is biracial (her father is Chinese), and she sees the Hosts as co-travellers on her journey of upward mobility. When she describes a job at Golden Oaks as a gateway to a better life, she appears to mostly believe what shes saying. She sees surrogacy as work, but, unlike Lewis, who believes that work is inherently oppressive, Mae thinks that work can set you free. Its isnt like we force our Hosts to be Hosts, she tells a prospective surrogate in an early scene. They choose to work for us freelyId argue: happily.

The prospect, Reagan, is something of a special case. In Golden Oaks parlance, Reagan is a Premium Hostcollege-educated and white. But it doesnt take much to get her onboard. She could use the moneyher father is too conventional to pay for an M.F.A. in photographyand shes a restless spirit, desperate for moral clarity and the knowledge that she is doing something inarguably worthwhile. Shes drawn to the purity of being a Host. Life, the very act of it, is blindingly, stupendously courageous, Reagan thinks. Lewis, of course, would disagree with the idea that creating new life is inherently valuable. The fact that gestation makes an economic contribution or makes the world go round is nothing much to be proud of, given the state of the world, she writes. Im more impressed by contributions gestating might make to this worlds destruction.

Reagan is the only character in the book who insists on the sanctity of her job. We never meet her clientor, indeed, any of the clients. We get only their rsums: fashion tycoon, tech giant, the richest woman in China. They could be decent people, and even remarkable parents. Ramoss richly ambivalent novel leaves the possibility open, even as she details how the Hosts at Golden Oaks are denied basic rights. At one point, a Catholic surrogate is forced to have an abortion after a doctor discovers that the fetus has a possible birth defect. (The reader does not witness the procedure; Ramos is almost too devoted to her characters to linger on their pain, and the novel skips over any childbirth scenes.) Whats apparent at the novels end is that, while a life-altering thinga baby!has entered the clients lives, their surrogates, even after earning the big money, are in similar circumstances to those they were in at the storys beginning. The Farm does not take a clear stance on the ethics of surrogacy itself, but, like Lewiss book, it makes a mockery of Maes claim that such a job is a gateway to a better life. For the Hosts at Golden Oaks, surrogacy is merely a new way to tread water.

In her 2002 memoir, Love Works Like This, the writer and psychologist Lauren Slater discovers that she is pregnant and decides to list the pros and cons of parenthood. Under cons, she writes: Less time for friends, less time for work, less money, famous women writers who had children? The list goes on. Under pros, she has just one item: Learning a new kind of love. She ends up keeping the baby.

The pull of this mysterious variety of love is not something Lewis contends with in her book. For the sake of her argument, she focusses on the system, rather than the people who compose it. Parental love is many things: devotional, magnificent, demented, myopic. Its a love that motivates terrific sacrifice and heroism, as well as terrible acts of greed. It drives otherwise prudent people to discard caution, whether by emigrating to another country or by bribing a childs way into college.

While Lewis would like to replace this inherited love with a more logical kind of affection, one based on earned affinity or kith and kind, Ramoss novel explores the warped devotion of parents. One character in The Farm, Ate, tirelessly works as a cook, a maid, and a baby nurse to support her disabled adult son in the Philippines, whom she hasnt seen for more than twenty years. Everything Ate did was for him, Jane observes. Jane is quarantined at Golden Oaks when her one-year-old, Mali, takes her first steps and speaks her first words. She, too, would do anything for Mali. And the clients, of course, are willing to do anything for their unborn childrenthats why theyve come to Golden Oaks in the first place.

But the question, for both Ramos and Lewis, isnt about what wed do for our children. Its about what wed do for other peoples children. At one point in Full Surrogacy Now, Lewis recalls a memory from her own childhood. One afternoon, driving in the car with her father, she insouciantly asked how he would feel if it turned out that she wasnt histhat they werent biologically related after all. There was a stony, awkward silence that made clear to me I was not going to get the answer I needed, Lewis writes. I felt so devastated that, for the rest of the drive, I could not speak. Her fathers love, she realized, was contingent on their shared genetics. This was a profound betrayal. Her book, like Ramoss, tries to depict a new conception of lovea love freed from structures of biology or circumstance, a love that recognizes that children belong to everyone.

Originally posted here:
Can Surrogacy Remake the World? - The New Yorker

Editor's note: Among this week's top stories were four powerful female Houston innovators, a generous donation to the University of Houston, and more. Scroll through to see what Houston innovation stories trended this week.

This week's set of who's who include a startup founder trying to change the world, a passionate PhD with a story of failure to tell, and a biomedical engineer enhancing health tech in Houston. Courtesy photos

Another set of female innovation leaders are making headlines as we move into another week of innovators to know.

This week's set of who's who include a startup founder trying to change the world, a passionate PhD with a story of failure to tell, and a biomedical engineer enhancing health tech in Houston. Continue reading.

UH has maintained its spot on the top 100 global universities for number of patents issued. Photo courtesy of University of Houston

University of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business has received its second largest donation to benefit its entrepreneurship program.

The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, which was recently ranked the top undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the country, received the $13 million gift from its namesake foundation The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Family Foundation and the state of Texas is expected to match an additional $2 million, bringing the total impact to $15 million.

"Our family is deeply committed to the ideals of entrepreneurship," says Cyvia Wolff in a news release. "Our business personified everything that it means to be an entrepreneur. The skills, the thinking, the mindset are fundamental to success for business leaders today and in the future. On behalf of my late husband, we are truly honored to ensure the entrepreneurial legacy not only endures but remains accessible for students. We are truly honored to be part of this program and university." Continue reading.

Houston-based Roovy Technologies has created a mobile app where people can control their dining experience completely from their phones. Photo via roovy.io

Imagine going into a popular restaurant, sitting down at an open table and controlling the entire dining experience from a smartphone. That's food, drinks, and even dessert all ordered and paid for on a phone.

Prolific Houston-area restaurateur Ken Bridge had the vision to converge dining with technology by creating a digital solution to combat chronic wait times in restaurants. That vision became the Roovy Technologies mobile app, a platform designed to create the ultimate convenience for gastronauts everywhere. Continue reading.

Houston, home to the largest medical center in the world, was ranked the second in the nation for emerging life science clusters. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Editor's note: As 2019 comes to a close, InnovationMap is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston innovation. Within the health category, top stories included new details from the Texas Medical Center's ongoing TMC3 project, health tech and medical device startups in Houston, and more. Continue reading.

Roberta Schwartz is leading the innovation initiative at Houston Methodist. Courtesy of Houston Methodist

It may come as no surprise to anyone who's met Roberta Schwartz that she's a self starter. Schwartz, who is the executive vice president and chief innovation officer for Houston Methodist, was among the group that organized to create what is now the Center for Innovation within the hospital system.

But one of her earlier moments of innovation leadership came when she was diagnosed with cancer at a young age. She co-founded the Young Survival Coalition to help connect young breast cancer patients like herself.

"I was 27 when I was unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer I have no family history, no cancer in the family. It certainly was a shock to my system," Schwartz says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "Once I was diagnosed, and through some of the original surgery and care I had to do, I knew that I wanted to reach out and find a larger community of young women." Continue reading.

More:
5 most popular innovation stories in Houston this week - InnovationMap

We are still in an overall bull market and many stocks that smart money investors were piling into surged through the end of November. Among them, Facebook and Microsoft ranked among the top 3 picks and these stocks gained 54% and 51% respectively. Hedge funds' top 3 stock picks returned 41.7% this year and beat the S&P 500 ETFs by 14 percentage points. Investing in index funds guarantees you average returns, not superior returns. We are looking to generate superior returns for our readers. That's why we believe it isn't a waste of time to check out hedge fund sentiment before you invest in a stock likeCRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP).

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was in 16 hedge funds' portfolios at the end of September. CRSP investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with CRSP positions at the end of the previous quarter. Our calculations also showed that CRSP isn't among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds (click for Q3 rankings and see the video below for Q2 rankings). Video: Click the image to watch our video about the top 5 most popular hedge fund stocks.

5 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds

So, why do we pay attention to hedge fund sentiment before making any investment decisions? Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. Nevertheless, we were still able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the Russell 2000 ETFs by 40 percentage points since May 2014 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that underperformed the market by 10 percentage points annually between 2006 and 2017. Interestingly the margin of underperformance of these stocks has been increasing in recent years. Investors who are long the market and short these stocks would have returned more than 27% annually between 2015 and 2017. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 in our quarterly newsletter. Even if you aren't comfortable with shorting stocks, you should at least avoid initiating long positions in stocks that are in our short portfolio.

We leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example Europe is set to become the world's largest cannabis market, so we check out this European marijuana stock pitch. One of the most bullish analysts in America just put his money where his mouth is. He says, "I'm investing more today than I did back in early 2009." So we check out his pitch. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. We also rely on the best performing hedge funds' buy/sell signals. We're going to take a glance at the fresh hedge fund action surrounding CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP).

At Q3's end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 23% from one quarter earlier. On the other hand, there were a total of 16 hedge funds with a bullish position in CRSP a year ago. So, let's examine which hedge funds were among the top holders of the stock and which hedge funds were making big moves.

Story continues

Is CRSP A Good Stock To Buy?

More specifically, Cormorant Asset Management was the largest shareholder of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP), with a stake worth $44.4 million reported as of the end of September. Trailing Cormorant Asset Management was Farallon Capital, which amassed a stake valued at $23 million. OrbiMed Advisors, Clough Capital Partners, and Valiant Capital were also very fond of the stock, becoming one of the largest hedge fund holders of the company. In terms of the portfolio weights assigned to each position Cormorant Asset Management allocated the biggest weight to CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP), around 2.71% of its 13F portfolio. Clough Capital Partners is also relatively very bullish on the stock, dishing out 1.63 percent of its 13F equity portfolio to CRSP.

Now, key hedge funds were leading the bulls' herd. OrbiMed Advisors, managed by Samuel Isaly, assembled the largest position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP). OrbiMed Advisors had $21.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Boyd's Armistice Capital also made a $10.8 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are William Harnisch's Peconic Partners, Israel Englander's Millennium Management, and Sculptor Capital.

Let's check out hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP). We will take a look at Fastly, Inc. (NYSE:FSLY), The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN), TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEC), and Chart Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLS). This group of stocks' market caps match CRSP's market cap.

[table] Ticker, No of HFs with positions, Total Value of HF Positions (x1000), Change in HF Position FSLY,16,126686,3 HAIN,19,545805,2 TTEC,14,41238,-3 GTLS,19,261236,-5 Average,17,243741,-0.75 [/table]

View table hereif you experience formatting issues.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $244 million. That figure was $150 million in CRSP's case. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEC) is the least popular one with only 14 bullish hedge fund positions. CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) is not the least popular stock in this group but hedge fund interest is still below average. Our calculations showed that top 20 most popular stocks among hedge funds returned 37.4% in 2019 through the end of November and outperformed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by 9.9 percentage points. A small number of hedge funds were also right about betting on CRSP as the stock returned 74.8% during the first two months of Q4 and outperformed the market by an even larger margin.

Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.

Related Content

Continue reading here:
Did Hedge Funds Drop The Ball On CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) ? - Yahoo Finance

by Tyler English | published Dec. 11th, 2019

illustration by Darius Serebrova

Ever wonder where those neon yellow, green, blue and pink fish came from? You know, the ones that have all the matching accessories: tanks, decorations, rocks and their own special ultraviolet light? Well, as it turns out, a team ofscientists in Singapore were the first ones to genetically modify fish to glow in such a way.

Genetic editing in small animals and plants has been aroundsince the 1970s, according to Synthego, a company that providesgeneticallyedited stem cells. Starting with plants and bacteria, scientists began to explore the realm of DNA and genetics. As their understanding of the proteins grew, so did their curiosity.

When scientists learned how to modify the genes of small, simple organisms, they began to wonder, "How could this be applied to humans?"

The scientific community is stirring with the emergence of CRISPR DNA,more specifically known as the CRISPR-Cas9 protein.CRISPR stands forClustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.CRISPR is a faster, cheaper and more accurate way of editing the genome, according to theNational Institute of Health.By sending in two different pieces of CRISPR DNA,scientists are able to modify genes. To do so, theycutout areas of genes that aren'tperforming how they should be or as they're expected to.

Dr. Sandi Connelly, a principallecturer in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, explained how DNA works and what the CRISPRCas-9 protein actually does. Connelly compared DNA to a street of houses each person has different foundations that sprout out different and unique homes.

CRISPR is a piece of DNA, and we [scientists] attach to it an enzyme ...it cuts the DNA at a very specific place like a pair of scissors, Connelly said. When we look at CRISPR, typically we look at CRISPR Cas-9."

Whereas CRISPR is the DNA itself, Cas-9 is the enzyme, a specialized protein that splits the DNA.Connelly said that this allows for both the CRISPR DNA and the original DNA to stick together like magnets. However, due to the specificity of this technique, scientists need to know where in the DNA they'relooking.

Using those same enzymes, we can cut [and] place back inthe good gene, Connelly said.

Now, this technique would not be doneby injecting the CRISPR DNA directlyinto a fully grown adult. Instead,scientists would take a sample of a persons bone marrow and alter the genes of those cells. Since bone marrow is responsible for producing red blood cells, the new altered bone marrow will produce cells with the new DNA.

Connelly saidthechangeswouldnot be instantaneous.The human body replaces a majority of its cells within 13 days, soit would take around two weeks for the newly edited gene to be present in the human body.

The ability to now alter genes of morecomplexorganisms brings with it a variety of applications. Plants can be changed to increase nutritional value and pesticidal properties,whereas bacteria can be used to generate hormones and medicines.

Dr. David Holtzman,an adjunct professor in the College of Science, understands how gene editing is used and what it could be used for.

Most people are familiar with it [gene editing] for things like modifying plants ...[but] there is a lot of misunderstanding about gene editing, Holtzman said.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about gene editing.

CRISPR has begun to work its way into at-home kits, where those with some scientificexpertise can genetically modify their own plants to glow or be a different color. This is fairly simple in the world of gene editing as it is changing a simple expressed trait one that isbiologically shown.

Genes decide what traits a person has, but that persons environment and what happens to their body determines how those traits are expressed. As gene editing becomes more and more innovative, Holtzman said that there are limitations to what gene editing can and cannot do.

It turns out most traits are more than one gene, Holtzman said.

Holtzman used hair color as an example. Numerous genes and sections of DNA code for what an individual's hair colorwill be. Itcan behard and time-consuming to find the right area of the DNA to target for modification.

Connelly talked about the idea of changing hair coloras well,but took it a few steps further. Shesuggestedthat we may start wanting to create offspring that all have blonde hair and blue eyes, which realistically we could accomplish. This then opens parents up to the ideas of having all male children or all female children.

In recent years, science has progressed faster than we could have thought.What appeared to be science fiction in the past is inching ever closer to our scientific reality.

The ability to do [new]things happens a lot faster than our understanding of what we are doing, Holtzman said.

Regardless of the potential scientific progress that could be made, Holtzman, Connelly and other members of the scientific community are having conversations about what should be done with this technology. Where should the limits lie, and how far should humans gowith genetic technology?

"Where should the limits lie, and how far should humansgowith genetic technology?"

If our parents changed our genes, they would also be changing the genes of all of our descendants by extension. Did they consent to something like that?

Some might argue, whether we gene edit or not, we dont really have control over what our parents did, Holtzman said. There is the possibility that if we changed [certain genes]then we can change them back.

Reversal isn't a guarantee, though.

Holtzman mentioned ways in which gene editing could greatly improve the quality of life for all humankind, such as curing Alzheimers disease. Connelly brought up how easy it would be to reduce the effects of aging using genetic modification.

The consequences of the choices made nowmay not affect the generation making them. As the movement to improve the genetic composition of the human race pushes forward,plots in sci-finovelsmay no longer be abstract, distant futures. Rather, for better or worse, they could bethe reality we are setting up for generations to come.

Read more:
Science Fiction Becoming Reality - Reporter Magazine

On the 12th of December, the United Kingdom will hold a general election. With the UKs exit from the European Union (Brexit) remaining unresolved, tensions are as high as ever. Once out of the EU, though, the UK could regain full control over its laws and regulations.

Though the election debate has centered around immigration, security and healthcare, the question of what direction the UK should take in terms of science policy persists. Will the UK manage to unleash the potential of its biotechnological sector and become a global advocate for innovation and consumer choice, or will it retain the EUs antiquated approach?

In a manifesto released in November, the Conservatives pledged to take the path of science-led, evidence-based policy to improve the quality of food, agriculture and land management. Previously, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to liberate the UKs biotech sector from the EUs anti-genetic modification rules.

The laws that concern genetically modified organisms in the UK are primarily based on European Union regulations. For years, the EU has backpedaled on agricultural innovation, preventing European consumers from accessing biologically enhanced food. This can be seen in the very limited number of genetically modified crops authorized for cultivation in the EU, and a very cumbersome and expensive process of importing genetically modified crops from other countries. In July 2018, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that gene-edited plants should be regulated the same way that genetically modified organisms are regulated, rendering them practically illegal and hindering innovation even further.

If the UK chooses to move away from these EU-based regulations as a consequence of Brexit, it could become a forward-looking global biotech powerhouse.

The first step would be to replace fear-based skepticism of genetic modification with an evidence-based, pro-innovation approach. Despite popular rhetoric, there is no substantial scientific evidence behind the alleged health and environmental risks ascribed to GM products. Abandoning these baseless assertions and creating and sustaining the conditions under which UK farmers could innovate, lower their production costs, and use fewer chemicals would be an enterprising move on the part of the UK government.

Approving GM pest-resistant crops, for instance, could save about 60 million ($79 million) a year in pesticide use in the UK. Moreover, 60 million in savings would mean more leeway for competitive food pricing in a country where prices at the grocery store are rising 2 percent annually.

Once restrictive genetic modification laws are relaxed, it would be necessary to enable easy market access for GM foods. Under current EU legislation, products containing GMOs need to be labeled as such, and the requirements also apply to non-prepacked foods. It is legally established that such products (soy, for example) not only require written documentation but also should have an easily readable notice about their origin. No such rule exists with regards to foods that are 100% GMO-free, meaning there is explicit discrimination in place giving GMO-free food an unfair advantage on the market.

The EUs strict regulations on the use of GM technology have been, first and foremost, harmful to consumers, depriving them access to innovative options such as Impossible Foods plant-based burger, which so closely mimics meat thanks to an ingredient produced with the help of genetically engineered yeast. Vastly popular in the US and now expanding to Asia, vegan burgers using plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy products, are absent from the European market due to backwards-looking anti-GM rules.

The United Kingdom should strive for the smartest regulation in the field of approval and market access to GMOs. Relaxed regulations on gene-editing methods like CRISPR-Cas9 could also attract massive investment and lead to wide-reaching biotech innovation in the UK.

Enabling gene-editing is an essential part of unleashing scientific innovation in the United Kingdom after Brexit. Skepticism of gene-editing centers around the potential but largely exaggerated adverse effects of the technology and ignores the astonishing benefits that could accrue to both farmers and consumers.

If the UK manages to replace the EUs overly cautious biotech rules with a pro-innovation and prosperity-fostering regulatory scheme, it could become a true global biotech powerhouse. This is an ambitious, exciting, and above all, achievable future.

Maria Chaplia is a European Affairs Associate at the Consumer Choice Center. Visit her website and follow her on Twitter @mchapliaa

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Viewpoint: Conservatives say UK could break from 'outdated' EU GMO, CRISPR regulations if they sweep 'Brexit election' - Genetic Literacy Project

An effective andinnovative way to treat people with sickle cell anemia using gene therapy may soon be available thanks to efforts by several pharmaceutical companies, a Bloomberg report says.

Sickle cell anemia, a genetic defect that causes red blood cells to form in theshape ofa sickle, hinders the bodys ability to adequately distribute oxygen. This is due to atypical hemoglobin molecules, which is the protein in blood that transports oxygen. Sickle cell disease can be extremely painful, causing blood cells to get trapped in blood vessels and lead to heart failure, debilitating fatigue, strokes and blood clots.About 100,000 people suffer from sickle cell anemia in the U.S,with African Americansbeing disproportionately affected by this condition.

New developments with gene therapy, however, could work to have a positive impact on these symptoms. One of the innovative manufacturers, Bluebird Bio, stole the show at the annual conference of the American Society of Hematology in Florida. Its product, LentiGlobin, debuted positive results; in 17 patients treated with LentiGlobin,more than 40 percent of the hemoglobin in patients' red blood cells appearedin a healthier form thanks to gene therapy, per the article.

Bluebird isnt the only biotechnology making strides in gene therapies. Another potential treatment being researched is based on the technology called CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), a gene-editing tool that is being used for a wide range of biomedical applications.

Documented in an NPR report, sickle cell patient Victoria Gray recently became the first person in the U.S. to have billions of her own cells genetically edited with CRISPR and reintroduced into her body. These cells will hopefully produce fetal hemoglobin to compensate for the faulty hemoglobin in Grays red blood cells. The trial is being expanded to include more patients and is being conducted by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics of the Boston area.

Current treatments for sickle cell include blood and bone marrow transfusions and medication. Studies on gene therapy treatments have been encouraging so far, but there is more testing to be done before either CRISPR or LentiGlobin hits the market.

Read the original here:
Gene therapy could be a revolutionary new treatment for sickle cell disease - The Hill

New York City, NY: Dec 12, 2019 Published via (Wired Release) The CRISPR Technology Market Report characterizes and briefs perusers about its items, applications, and particulars. The examination records key organizations working in the market and furthermore features the key changing course received by the organizations to keep up their quality. By utilizing SWOT investigation and Porters five power examination instruments, the qualities, shortcomings, openings, and malediction of key organizations are out and out referenced in the report. Each and every driving player in this worldwide market is profiled with subtleties, for example, item types, business outline, deals, fabricating base, candidate, applications, and particulars.

Key players inside the CRISPR Technology market are known through auxiliary investigation, and their pieces of the pie are resolved through essential and optional examination. All action shares split, and breakdowns are fearless exploitation auxiliary sources and checked essential sources. The CRISPR Technology Market report starts with a fundamental rundown of the exchange lifecycle, definitions, characterizations, applications, and exchange chain structure and each one these along can encourage driving players to see the extent of the Market, what attributes it offers and the manner in which itll satisfy clients needs.

Want a free sample report?

Click Here, And Download Free Sample Copy OfCRISPR Technology Market ResearchReport @https://marketresearch.biz/report/crispr-technology-market/request-sample

Our Free sample report provides a brief introduction to the research report overview, TOC, list of tables and figures, an overview of major market players and key regions included.

Major Players:

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.Merck KGaAGenScript CorporationIntegrated DNA Technologies, Inc.Horizon Discovery GroupAgilent Technologies, Inc.Cellecta, Inc.GeneCopoeia, Inc.New England Biolabs, Inc.Origene Technologies, Inc.

CRISPR Technology Market Research Methodology:

This investigation gauges it gives a point by point subjective and quantitative examination of the CRISPR Technology market. Essential sources, for example, specialists from related enterprises and providers of CRISPR Technology were met to acquire and confirm basic data and survey possibilities of the CRISPR Technology market.

Get upto 25% off on this report:https://marketresearch.biz/report/crispr-technology-market/#inquiry

The research provides explanations to the accompanying key queries of CRISPR Technology industry:

1. What will be the market size and improvement pace of the CRISPR Technology market for the assessed time period 2020 2029 transversely over different regions?

2. What are the key primary purposes expected to shape the destiny of the CRISPR Technology business around the globe?

3. What procedures are the unquestionable traders changing in accordance with stay before their CRISPR Technology contenders?

4. Which critical examples are influencing the improvement of the CRISPR Technology market worldwide?

5. Which factors can avoid, challenge or even cutoff the improvement of the CRISPR Technology market the world over?

6. What are the odds or future conceivable outcomes for the business visionaries working in the industry for the measure time allotment, 2020 2029?

Table of Contents:

1. CRISPR Technology Market Survey.

2. Executive Synopsis.

3. Global CRISPR Technology Market Race by Manufacturers.

4. Global CRISPR Technology Production Market Share by Regions.

5. Global CRISPR Technology Consumption by Regions.

6. Global CRISPR Technology Production, Revenue, Price Trend by Type.

7. Global CRISPR Technology Market Analysis by Applications.

8. CRISPR Technology Manufacturing Cost Examination.

9. Advertising Channel, Suppliers, and Clienteles.

10. Market Dynamics

11. Global CRISPR Technology, Market Estimate.

12. Investigations and Conclusion.

13. Important Findings in the Global CRISPR Technology Study.

14. Appendixes.

15. company Profile.

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CRISPR Technology Market: 2020 With Top Competitors Analysis And Insights - Sound On Sound Fest

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GenEdit, Inc., a developer of a novel polymer nanoparticle technology platform for non-viral- and non-lipid-based delivery of gene therapies, today announced that it has entered into a worldwide, exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Editas Medicine, Inc., a leading genome editing company. GenEdit has developed a comprehensive delivery system for CRISPR-based therapeutics, including gene knockout and gene repair therapies, to enable safer delivery options with improved efficiency.

"This license and collaboration agreement further validates the strength of our intellectual property portfolio and the potential of GenEdits technology," said Kunwoo Lee, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of GenEdit. "We are pleased to establish our relationship with Editas Medicine as they leverage our technology to develop potential genomic medicines."

Under the terms of the agreement, GenEdit has granted Editas Medicine an exclusive worldwide license, with rights to sublicense, to GenEdits Cpf1-based technologies. In return for these rights, GenEdit will receive undisclosed upfront and development milestone payments, including royalties on net sales of products incorporating the licensed intellectual property. In addition, GenEdit and Editas Medicine will collaborate on evaluating delivery of Cpf1-based technologies with GenEdits nanoparticle platform. Editas Medicine will provide research funding and have an option to continue development after the initial collaboration period.

GenEdits nanoparticle platform consists of a proprietary non-viral, non-lipid library of polymers that efficiently encapsulate and deliver cargo [RNA, DNA, protein and/or ribonucleic acid-protein complexes (RNP)] to specific tissues. The company screens the library to identify initial hits and then uses computational analysis and medicinal chemistry for iterative lead optimization. The company has used this platform to identify multiple candidate polymers for efficient and specific delivery of gene editing to a range of tissues.

"Compared to viral vectors and lipid-based nanoparticles, our approach has the potential for better targeting, more cargo, and lower manufacturing cost," said Timothy Fong, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of GenEdit. "In particular, our approach has the potential to enable in vivo gene editing of multiple tissues with CRISPR and expand the potential of gene therapies to treat more diverse sets of diseases."

About GenEdit

GenEdit was founded to transform the delivery of gene and gene editing therapies. We have synthesized the NanoGalaxy library of polymers that can encapsulate RNA, DNA, protein and/or RNP. Through advanced screening methods, computational analysis and iterative medicinal chemistry, we have demonstrated efficient delivery of gene editing cargo to specific tissues. We seek development partnerships for specific tissues and/or gene targets while advancing our internal pipeline of gene editing therapies.

For more information, please visit http://www.genedit.com.

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GenEdit and Editas Medicine Enter into Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement for Nanoparticle Gene Therapy Delivery - Business Wire

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Global Cryonics Technology Market 2019 by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025 - Industry News Releases

Dec. 12, 2019 06:05 UTC

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), today announced new data from the Phase III FeDeriCa study which showed the investigational fixed-dose combination (FDC) of Perjeta (pertuzumab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab) with hyaluronidase, administered by subcutaneous (SC) injection in combination with intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, demonstrated non-inferior levels of Perjeta in the blood (pharmacokinetics) and comparable efficacy and safety to standard IV infusions of Perjeta plus Herceptin and chemotherapy in eligible people with HER2-positive early breast cancer (EBC).

These new data, from a primary analysis of the FeDeriCa study, will be presented in a spotlight session (Abstract #PD4-07) at 7:00 a.m. CST today at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

SC administration of the FDC takes approximately eight minutes for the initial loading dose and approximately five minutes for each subsequent maintenance dose. This is compared to approximately 150 minutes for infusion of a loading dose of Perjeta and Herceptin using the standard IV formulations, and between 60-150 minutes for subsequent maintenance infusions of the two medicines.

This fixed-dose subcutaneous combination has the potential to provide a quicker and less invasive method of administration for people with HER2-positive breast cancer being treated with Perjeta and Herceptin, said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. This is the first time that we have brought together two of our targeted antibodies as a single subcutaneous injection that can be administered in just minutes.

The FeDeriCa study met its primary endpoint, with SC administration of the FDC showing non-inferior levels of Perjeta in the blood during a given dosing interval (Ctrough) when compared to IV administration of Perjeta. The geometric mean ratio (GMR, a type of average used when assessing pharmacokinetics) for the primary endpoint was 1.22 (90% CI 1.14-1.31) with the lower limit of the 90% CI of the GMR=1.140.80 (the pre-specified non-inferiority margin). A secondary endpoint of non-inferior Ctrough of Herceptin was also met, with blood concentrations for people receiving the FDC non-inferior to those receiving IV Herceptin (GMR=1.33 [90% CI 1.24-1.43]; lower limit of 90% CI of GMR=1.240.80). A non-inferiority endpoint was chosen for the study to ensure that people were receiving sufficient dosing with Perjeta and Herceptin as compared to the established IV doses at the same treatment intervals. In addition, rates of total pathological complete response (pCR), a secondary endpoint, were comparable between the treatment arms, with 59.7% of patients receiving the FDC and 59.5% of patients treated with IV Perjeta and Herceptin achieving a total pCR a difference of 0.15% (95% CI -8.67-8.97).

The safety profile of the FDC in combination with chemotherapy was comparable to that of IV administration of Perjeta plus Herceptin and chemotherapy, and no new safety signals were identified, including no meaningful difference in cardiac toxicity. The most common adverse events in both arms were alopecia, nausea, diarrhea and anemia.

In previous studies, SC administration has been shown to be strongly preferred by the majority of patients compared to IV administration of the same medicine, with the most common reason being that administration required less time in the clinic. In the PHranceSCa study, Genentech is currently investigating patient preference for SC administration of the FDC compared to standard IV administration of Perjeta and Herceptin in people with HER2-positive EBC. Interim results of this Phase II study will be presented at a future medical meeting.

About the FeDeriCa study

FeDeriCa is an international, multicenter, two-arm, randomized, open-label, Phase III study evaluating the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of SC injection of the FDC of Perjeta and Herceptin in combination with chemotherapy, compared with standard IV infusions of Perjeta and Herceptin in combination with chemotherapy in 500 people with HER2-positive EBC who are being treated in the neoadjuvant (before surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery) settings. The primary endpoint of the study is minimum levels of Perjeta in the blood during a given dosing interval (Ctrough). Secondary endpoints include safety; minimum levels of Herceptin in the blood during a given dosing interval (Ctrough); and total pCR, meaning there is no tumor tissue detectable in the tissue removed at the time of surgery. The safety profile of Perjeta and Herceptin FDC was comparable with that of Perjeta and Herceptin administered intravenously.

About HER2-positive breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 271,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 42,000 will die from the disease in 2019. Breast cancer is not one, but many diseases based on the biology of each tumor. In HER2-positive breast cancer, there is excess HER2 protein on the surface of tumor cells. Approximately 15-20% of breast cancers are HER2-positive based on the result of a diagnostic test.

About the FDC of Perjeta and Herceptin

The FDC of Perjeta and Herceptin is a new SC formulation that combines Perjeta and Herceptin with Halozyme Therapeutics Enhanze drug delivery technology.

Trastuzumab in the FDC is the same monoclonal antibody as in IV Herceptin and pertuzumab in the FDC is the same monoclonal antibody as in IV Perjeta. The mechanisms of action of Perjeta and Herceptin are believed to complement each other as both bind to the HER2 receptor, but in different locations. The combination of Perjeta and Herceptin is thought to provide a more comprehensive, dual blockade of the HER signaling pathways.

Halozymes Enhanze drug delivery technology may enable and optimize SC drug delivery for appropriate co-administered therapeutics. The technology is based on a proprietary recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (rHuPH20), an enzyme that temporarily degrades hyaluronan a glycosaminoglycan or chain of natural sugars in the body, to aid in the dispersion and absorption of other injected therapeutic drugs.

Current Perjeta and Herceptin IV Indication Statements and Important Safety Information

Perjeta Indication Statements

Perjeta (pertuzumab) is a prescription medicine approved for use in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and chemotherapy for:

Perjeta (pertuzumab) is a prescription medicine approved for use in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and docetaxel in people who have HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to different parts of the body (metastatic) and who have not received anti-HER2 therapy or chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer.

Important Safety Information

Side effects with Perjeta

Most serious side effects of Perjeta

Perjeta may cause heart problems, including those without symptoms (such as reduced heart function) and those with symptoms (such as congestive heart failure).

Receiving Perjeta during pregnancy can result in the death of an unborn baby and birth defects.

Other possible serious side effects

Most common side effects

The most common side effects of Perjeta when given with Herceptin and chemotherapy as part of an early breast cancer regimen before surgery are:

Side effects may vary based on chemotherapy regimen.

The most common side effects of Perjeta when given with Herceptin and chemotherapy as part of an early breast cancer regimen after surgery are:

The most common side effects of Perjeta when given with Herceptin and docetaxel for treatment of breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic) are:

Patients are encouraged to report side effects to Genentech and the FDA. Report side effects to the FDA at (800) FDA-1088 or http://www.fda.gov/medwatch. Report side effects to Genentech at (888) 835-2555.

Patients should talk to a healthcare professional for more information about the benefits and risks of Perjeta.

Please see the Perjeta full Prescribing Information for additional Important Safety Information, including most serious side effects, at http://www.perjeta.com.

Herceptin Indication Statements

Adjuvant Breast Cancer

Herceptin is approved for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer that is Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2-positive (HER2+) and has spread into the lymph nodes or is HER2-positive and has not spread into the lymph nodes. If it has not spread into the lymph nodes, the cancer needs to be estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor (ER/PR)-negative or have one high-risk feature.* Herceptin can be used in several different ways:

Patients are selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved test for Herceptin.

*High risk is defined as ER/PR-positive with one of the following features: tumor size greater than 2 cm, age less than 35 years, or tumor grade 2 or 3.

Metastatic Breast Cancer

Herceptin has two approved uses in metastatic breast cancer:

Patients are selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved test for Herceptin.

Important Safety Information

Possible serious side effects with Herceptin

Not all people have serious side effects, but side effects with Herceptin therapy are common.

Although some people may have a life-threatening side effect, most do not.

A patients doctor will stop treatment if any serious side effects occur.

Herceptin is not for everyone. A patient should be sure to contact their doctor if they are experiencing any of the following:

HEART PROBLEMS

These include heart problemssuch as congestive heart failure or reduced heart functionwith or without symptoms. The risk for and seriousness of these heart problems were highest in people who received both Herceptin and a certain type of chemotherapy (anthracycline). In a study of adjuvant (early) breast cancer, one patient died of significantly weakened heart muscle. A patients doctor will check for signs of heart problems before, during, and after treatment with Herceptin.

INFUSION REACTIONS, including:

These signs usually happen within 24 hours after receiving Herceptin.

A patient should be sure to contact their doctor if they:

Are a woman who could become pregnant, or may be pregnant

Herceptin may result in the death of an unborn baby or birth defects. Contraception should be used while receiving Herceptin and for seven months after a patient's last dose of Herceptin. If a patient is or becomes pregnant while receiving Herceptin or within seven months after their last dose of Herceptin, the patient should immediately report Herceptin exposure to Genentech at (888) 835-2555.

Have any signs of SEVERE LUNG PROBLEMS, including:

A patients doctor may check for signs of severe lung problems when he or she examines the patient.

Have LOW WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNTS

Low white blood cell counts can be life threatening. Low white blood cell counts were seen more often in patients receiving Herceptin plus chemotherapy than in patients receiving chemotherapy alone.

A patients doctor may check for signs of low white blood cell counts when he or she examines the patient.

Side effects seen most often with Herceptin

Some patients receiving Herceptin for breast cancer had the following side effects:

A patient should contact their doctor immediately if they have any of the side effects listed above.

Patients are encouraged to report side effects to Genentech and the FDA. Report side effects to the FDA at (800) FDA-1088 or http://www.fda.gov/medwatch. Report side effects to Genentech at (888) 835-2555.

Patients should talk to a healthcare professional for more information about the benefits and risks of Herceptin.

Please see the Herceptin full Prescribing Information for additional Important Safety Information, including most serious side effects, at http://www.herceptin.com.

About Genentech in breast cancer

Genentech has been advancing breast cancer research for more than 30 years with the goal of helping as many people with the disease as possible. Our medicines, along with companion diagnostic tests, have substantially improved outcomes for HER2-positive breast cancer. As our understanding of breast cancer biology rapidly improves, we are working to identify new biomarkers and approaches to treatment for other subtypes of the disease, including triple-negative and hormone receptor-positive.

About Genentech

Founded more than 40 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious and life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.gene.com.

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Genentech's Fixed-dose Subcutaneous Combination of Perjeta and Herceptin Comparable to Intravenous Formulations in People With HER2-positive Breast...

By Michele Munz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Amy Chastain didnt think she would be able to be a mom. She didnt think her child would be born with the same debilitating disease as her.

She didnt think she would live long enough to see this day, when a drug could change her life and most importantly, her sons.

At age 40, Chastain is pushing the limits. The average life expectancy for someone with cystic fibrosis is 41. Chastain had a serious scare two years ago, when she spent more than a month in the hospital because she got so ill. She needed a feeding tube and oxygen tank. She faced the need for a lung transplant.

A breakthrough drug was approved Oct. 21 for 90% of teen and adult patients with cystic fibrosis, a genetic life-threatening disease that causes thick mucus to build up in the lungs and other organs. The drug Trikafta is the first therapy to show dramatic improvement in lung function for a majority of those with the disease.

Knowing the drug showed promising results in studies, families had been waiting anxiously for months for approval by the federal government, which came faster than expected.

Today marks a tremendous breakthrough and exciting news for people with cystic fibrosis, said Dr. Preston Campbell, president of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This milestone is the result of an extraordinary community coming together against great odds, and we are overjoyed that this will mean more people will have effective treatments for their disease.

Chastain began taking the pill a few weeks after it was approved, and within three days, she said she already felt better. After her morning treatments to clear the mucus that settles in her lungs overnight, she had little to cough up.

She has more energy. Shes able to make her bed, keep her wood floors clean and walk to her car without getting winded and having to take breaks.

I read that it takes effect that quickly, but I didnt believe it, Chastain said. But it is. Its been amazing.

Her son, Kyler, is now 14. Having religiously spent his life doing the breathing treatments that can take two to three hours every day, his lungs are still strong.

At his next appointment with a specialist at St. Louis Childrens Hospital in January, they will begin the process of getting Trikafta for him, too.

While the long-term effects are unknown, the hope is that the drug will help slow the progressive damage of the disease.

Its very exciting to think that he hopefully wont ever get as sick as I am, Chastain said. As a mother, you just cant put in to words what that means to me, that he wont have to go through everything that I have. Hopefully, hell just be able to live a long, healthy life.

But theres more to her story, she says. She might not have become a mom if not for a mistake in her husbands genetic test. Because of the mistake, they falsely believed their child would not be born with cystic fibrosis.

I dont know what happened or why, but Im thankful because, while it took a while to get over my anger, I cant imagine not having Kyler, Chastain said. For whatever reason, he is meant to be here, he is meant to have CF.

Her anger turned to thankfulness, she said, and now its turned to hope.

A verty different time

More than 30,000 people suffer from CF in the United States, with 70,000 affected worldwide according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In Missouri and Illinois, newborn screening tests show about one in 3,500 babies are born with CF, said Dr. Thomas Ferkol, pediatrics professor at Washington University School of Medicine.

Its considered to be a rare or orphan disease, but its one of the more common inherited diseases, Ferkol said.

In people with CF, mutations in a regulator gene cause a defect in the cells covering surfaces of the body the skin, airways, blood vessels and organs. The cells cant maintain their balance of salt and water, causing mucus in various organs to become thick and sticky.

It leads to damage and ultimately, the destruction of organs, Ferkol said.

In the lungs, mucus clogs the airways and traps germs, leading to infections and other complications. Other problems include decreased sweating, digestive problems, poor growth, diabetes and infertility.

Doctors have treated the disease by addressing the symptoms taking drugs to loosen the mucus, using airway clearing devices several times a day and taking supplements to replace pancreatic enzymes.

Trikafta directly addresses the salt-water imbalance by improving the function of defective proteins. It is the first drug to do so in CF patients with the most common gene mutation 90% have at least one copy of the mutation.

A similar drug, Kalydeco, was approved eight years ago, but it worked in only 8% of patients; and the improvements are not as dramatic.

A study of 403 patients for six months (some taking the drug and some taking a placebo) showed Trifakta normalized chloride levels in sweat, improved lung function by 14% and increased body mass.

A small number of patients participated in the study through Washington University, and though doctors did not know who was receiving the drug or placebo, it was obvious, said pulmonary disease specialist Dr. Daniel Rosenbluth. Other severely ill patients have been able to get early access to the drug.

They feel like they are totally different people, Rosenbluth said. I had a man whose wife kept waking him up at night because he was sleeping soundly and his wife thought he was dead.

Because results were so swift and dramatic, doctors have for nearly a year been telling their patients that a promising drug was coming.

We would tell families, OK, get ready, because we are entering a very different time, Ferkol said.

The Food and Drug Administration reviewed and approved Trifakta in just three months.

Doctors attribute the success to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which over 20 years ago began working with a network of academic centers and organized patients for research studies. This made it quicker and easier for pharmaceutical companies to test drugs in development.

Other rare diseases have been trying to duplicate this model, Rosenbluth said.

The drug, made by Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals, comes with a hefty price tag $311,000 a year. Patients are now wading through the process of seeking coverage through their public or private health insurance.

Keeping up hope

Patients still must continue their daily treatment regimens while taking the new pill, Ferkol stressed. The drug has been studied for only a short time, but the hope is that the drug greatly slows the progression of the disease over ones lifetime.

When Ferkol was a resident doctor in 1985, the life expectancy for a patient with CF was just 23 years old, he said.

This drug is opening up all kinds of possibilities I never dreamed to imagine when I was much younger, Ferkol said. If you can intervene early, before damage has occurred, can that profoundly change the trajectory of the disease? Its going to be a very exciting time.

While its not a cure, it is a drug families and doctors have long been waiting for. Studies are already underway in children ages 6 to 11.

Many families have hoped for a day that we could have something we could do for their children that is going to have the effect that this drug has, Ferkol said.

Hannah Krumrey, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri, is waiting on her insurance to approve her application for the drug; while her older sister, Kayla Krumrey, 21, was able to get the drug early and has already been able to sleep through the night and have more energy to get through the day.

The sisters recently went to Greece, and they hope to be able to travel more together.

Their father died a year ago. Hannah Krumrey wishes she could celebrate the drugs approval with him.

We know how happy he would be. This was like, his dream. This was all he ever wanted, she said. He will still be happy from up there, but I wish he was here to experience it with us.

Hes a blessing

Because Chastains symptoms were not yet severe when she was in her 20s, doctors thought she could safely have a child. But she feared passing on her disease.

A person with CF inherits a faulty gene from both mom and dad. If a person inherits one faulty gene and one normal gene, the person will not have symptoms but is a carrier.

Chastain and her husband decided he would get tested to see if he was a carrier. They were overjoyed when it came back negative, she said.

After two miscarriages, Kyler was born. His newborn screening, which is not always accurate, did not show he had CF.

His bowels were greasy, however, which is a sign of the disease. Chastains concerns grew, and when Kyler was 2 years old, tests confirmed he had CF. Chastain said she was devastated.

I thought I had done everything I was supposed to do to prevent the possibility, she said. I was really mad.

Chastain had watched others in her family suffer worse than she did from the disease, and it frightened her.

I was scared for him. I didnt want that life for him, she said. I didnt know what his disease would be like.

Chastain tried to figure out why her husbands test was negative. She asked to see the results. The hospital, however, said the system showed the couple was a no show the day of the test.

She did not want to identify the hospital.

God couldve stepped in. I dont know, she said. I just know hes a miracle. Hes a blessing. No one is to blame.

Chastain calls her son an outdoor kid. He loves playing basketball, hunting, fishing and riding four-wheelers. At 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 150 pounds, no one would know hes sick.

Chastain says he doesnt talk about stuff, but she can tell he gets worried when shes sick.

After seeing her do better on the new drug, Chastain said Kyler asked her if he would feel different too when he starts taking it.

Hopefully, she told him, it will just keep you feeling the way you do now.

Kyler then asked if she could go hunting with them when she feels better.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is not resting. Just nine days after the new drug was approved, the foundation unveiled its Path to a Cure plan challenging scientists around the world to submit proposals that would accelerate finding a cure and allocating half a billion dollars to fund the research through 2025.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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New drug appears to slow effects of cystic fibrosis, offering hope to long-suffering patients - Pocono Record

Then there are intralipids, an emulsion of soybean oil, egg phospholipids and glycerin administered intravenously and described as a way to decrease natural killer cell activation in the immune system and ostensibly aid in embryo implantation. This emulsion is priced around $400 per infusion; typically several are recommended. Side effects include headache, dizziness, flushing, nausea and the possibility of clotting or infection. A meta-analysis last year found that intralipids and other forms of immunotherapy should not be used in routine clinical practice.

Such procedures are often presented to patients in the form of a stack of papers, written in legalese or medical jargon. Resourceful patients might take to the internet to learn more, where searches might deliver densely written scientific articles, and ads might direct them to companies or clinics eager to promote their own brands of add-ons.

Why is all this happening? Its because IVF remains an under-regulated arena, and entrepreneurial doctors and pharmaceutical and life science companies are eager to find new ways to cash in on a growing global market that is projected to be as large as $40 billion by 2024.

It has been 41 years since the first successful birth through IVF, and for the past three decades or so, the multistage IVF procedure and core drug protocols have remained fundamentally unchanged (though, to be sure, the laboratory equipment involved has become more sophisticated).

But clinics know competition for patients is fierce. Before they found add-ons as a way to differentiate themselves, clinics frequently marketed themselves by emphasizing their superior performance (not always with veracity) and by offering to make peoples dreams come true, as we wrote in our paper. Now they boast expanded menus advanced treatments, cutting-edge labs, custom service packages and special financing options.

Under-regulation of IVF dates to before the procedure first became commercially available. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, the government has done its best to avoid funding anything associated with embryo research, including IVF. As a result, its a field that since its earliest days was shaped by commercial considerations, with early practitioners lobbying for self-policing. The Food and Drug Administration requires a rigorous assessment of safety and efficacy of procedures that manipulate human cells more than minimally, yet no fertility procedure has been deemed to do so.

We are not alone here in the United States. In 2016, the BBC looked at common add-on procedures sold in Britain and uncovered many unsubstantiated claims. Australian media have done similar reporting. Only one Australian state, Victoria, requires IVF clinics to provide their patients with the evidence, or lack of it, behind add-on treatments.

Read the original here:
The Big IVF Add-On Racket - The New York Times

Lets face it, my days of trampolining are well and truly over. Elspeth, (my best friend) is on the phone to me, close to tears. It seems that since turning 50, she cannot so much as cough, laugh, or jump on a trampoline, without how can I put this delicately? Peeing her pants or stress incontinence as it's more formally known. I had no idea trampolining was so important to you, I say, in a feeble attempt to console her, while simultaneously going on-line to book a check-up with a specialist pelvic physiotherapist, Kate Walsh. This is not going to happen to me. And who knows, if Walshs advice rings true, perhaps she can prevent it happening to Elspeth. Prevention is better than cure and all that.

A few days later, legs akimbo on the couch in the clinic, Walsh, a friendly Liverpudlian whose work for the NHS and in private practice has led her to treat tens of thousands of women over the years with mild incontinence brought on by the peri-menopause, examines my pelvic wall, with what I quickly come to understand is typical candour. I wish I had a Go-Pro on my fingers sometimes, she says, people would be fascinated by what you can tell from inside the pelvis! Hmm. But would they want to see it? I wonder, squeamishly.

Read more: These Second-Skin Foundations Prove Texture Is Just As Important As The Perfect Shade

Walsh has no such qualms. People stop me in shops in the Wirral where I live and theyll whisper, My mum needs to see you, she has a prolapse! And Ill think, Why are you whispering?! Her concern is that our silence around the subject means that so many women are unaware that you can treat stress incontinence and go for years suffering from shame and embarrassment, when often there are simple solutions to hand. I once had an 80 year old woman tell me she keeps pads under her pillow; waits until her husband falls asleep, and then puts them in her underwear. She doesnt want him to know that this is what she has to do now. I find this story terribly sad, and also slightly scary is this the future? until Walsh continues, But we can do things for women who are 80! We can do things whatever your age - we just need to talk about it more.

The reason its more common around our mid forties onwards is because our hormone levels are changing. Oestrogen in particular is very important for the integrity of the soft tissues, and the support it gives, so once your oestrogen levels drop, the tissue of the vagina becomes more papery, she explains. Thats when vaginal atrophy sets in, the thinness sets in, and problems take hold.

Sounds like hell, I say. What can we do to make sure This Does Not Happen? Firstly the front wall of the vagina, which doesnt support the bladder as well as it should because of the change of hormones, needs to be strengthened. We should all be doing pelvic floor exercises, either with the help of a device like Elvie or without - theyre easily mastered but require regular practice if youre going to see improvements. When we laugh, cough or sneeze, we generate pressure in the abdomen, says Walsh, And this squeezes the bladder. Normally the vaginal wall supports the fascia and the muscles come up, suppress the urethra and keep you continent, without you even knowing it. But with stress incontinence, in the case of your friend, you lack the ability to tighten up.

Read more: Feeling Low? Here Are 7 Ways To Ease Seasonal Affective Disorder

To strengthen the fascia, a treatment like ThermiVas, which Walsh performs regularly, via the insertion of a warm wand which emits radio frequency technology to tighten the internal walls of the vagina, is great, as theres no down time and most see an instant improvement.

There are now so many options, says Walsh, from injecting a filler into the urethral sphincter, to meche, where a tape is added to the neck of the bladder so it has additional support. At the first hint of a problem, you should see a doctor. And be prepared to be told to put the work in yourself. Recently I attended a conference in Scotland where they debated the complications surrounding meche, says Walsh. And what it boils down to is, we all need to try the more sustainable solutions first treatments like radiofrequency, and exercising at home.

Get ready to start squeezing.

Try: If youre worried about losing control of your bladder and find yourself going more often to the loo as a precautionary measure, try not to. Walsh says youre just creating a sense of panic, and making the situation worse by creating an overactive bladder. Never go just in case and never leave it until youre bursting - aim for something in between. You need to show your bladder whos boss and for most of us that means six to eight times within 24 hours.

Buy: My Pelviva is a new pelvic floor muscle trainer that you insert like a tampon into your vagina. It then sends electric pulses to stimulate and strengthen the muscles. 84% of women reported improved bladder control after 12 months of use.

Do: If you get the chance to book in with Kate Walsh, do! You can find her in clinics across Merseyside and in London at Mallucci London.

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How To Deal With Stress Incontinence Because It's More Common Than You Might Think - British Vogue

Have you been dreaming of getting pregnant, without success? Have you gone through several hormone injections or in vitro fertilization cycles? Or do you have any period problems? Do you complain of night sweats, hot flushes, mood swings, pain during intercourse, increased anxiety or irritability, or other menopause-related symptoms? Are you feeling stressed or anxious during the onset of menopause?

If your answer is yes to any of the above questions, you may consider fertility enhancement or relief of menopause-related symptoms with traditional Chinese medicine treatments, including acupuncture and herbs, which can improve your potential for pregnancy or alleviate your distress when menopausal symptoms occur.

Based on the Western and traditional Chinese medical principles of female health and the family medicinal traditions of Dr Xian-Yang Lai, the Chinese Medical Clinic can precisely tailor personal Chinese medication that is specific to your individual circumstances. The treatment will optimise your fertility potential or rebalance your body, mind, and energy from your imbalanced conditions caused by menopause and/or other external factors.

The Chinese Medical Clinic has successfully treated fertility problems by enhancing the growth and development of ovarian follicles, and improving ovulation or menopausal conditions by rebalancing hormone levels. For more information contact the Chinese Medical Clinic, 1 Nile Lodge, Lower Salthill, Galway, phone 087 799 7866 or visit http://www.CMCgalway.com

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Fertility enhancement and menopausal relief with acupuncture and herbs - Galway Advertiser

Led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, a study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell reveals a new mechanism that contributes to adult bone maintenance and repair and opens the possibility of developing therapeutic strategies for improving bone healing.

Adult bone repair relies on the activation of bone stem cells, which still remain poorly characterized, said corresponding author Dr. Dongsu Park, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics and of pathology and immunology at Baylor. Bone stem cells have been found both in the bone marrow inside the bone and also in the periosteum the outer layer of tissue that envelopes the bone. Previous studies have shown that these two populations of stem cells, although they share many characteristics, also have unique functions and specific regulatory mechanisms.

Of the two, periosteum stem cells are the least understood. It is known that they comprise a heterogeneous population of cells that can contribute to bone thickness, shaping and fracture repair, but scientists had not been able to distinguish between different subtypes of bone stem cells to study how their different functions are regulated.

In the current study, Park and his colleagues developed a method to identify different subpopulations of periosteum stem cells, define their contribution to bone fracture repair in live mouse models and identify specific factors that regulate their migration and proliferation under physiological conditions.

Periosteal stem cells are major contributors to bone healing

The researchers discovered specific markers for periosteum stem cells in mouse models. The markers identified a distinct subset of stem cells that contributes to life-long adult bone regeneration.

We also found that periosteum stem cells respond to mechanical injury by engaging in bone healing, Park said. They are important for healing bone fractures in the adult mice and, interestingly, their contribution to bone regeneration is higher than that of bone marrow stem cells.

In addition, the researchers found that periosteal stem cells also respond to inflammatory molecules called chemokines, which are usually produced during bone injury. In particular, they responded to chemokine CCL5.

Periosteal stem cells have receptors molecules on their cell surface that bind to CCL5, which sends a signal to the cells to migrate toward the injured bone and repair it. Deleting the CCL5 gene in mouse models resulted in marked defects in bone repair or delayed healing. When the researchers supplied CCL5 to CCL5-deficient mice, bone healing was accelerated.

The findings suggested potential therapeutic applications. For instance, in individuals with diabetes or osteoporosis in which bone healing is slow and may lead to other complications resulting from limited mobility, accelerating bone healing may reduce hospital stay and improve prognosis.

Our findings contribute to a better understanding of how adult bones heal. We think this is one of the first studies to show that bone stem cells are heterogeneous and that different subtypes have unique properties regulated by specific mechanisms, Park said. We have identified markers that enable us to tell bone stem cell subtypes apart and studied what each subtype contributes to bone health. Understanding how bone stem cell functions are regulated offers the possibility to develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat adult bone injuries.

Reference

Ortinau et al. (2019) Identification of Functionally Distinct Mx1+SMA+ Periosteal Skeletal Stem Cells. Cell Stem Cell. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2019.11.003

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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New Mechanism of Bone Maintenance and Repair Discovered - Technology Networks

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Size, Market Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2019 to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global blood and bone marrow cancer treatment market was valued at US$ 38.8 Bn in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 74.9 Bn by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2019 to 2027.

Market Insights

Blood cancer begins in the bone marrow which is the integral source of stem cells which later are differentiated in different types of blood cells in the human body. Researchers at Bristol Myers Squibb Company have stated that approximately 1.85 million new cases of blood cancer will be diagnosed by 2040 throughout the globe.

Lymphoma is the largest indication segment for blood and bone marrow cancer treatment market. It is prevalent in 2 types Hodgkin lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma throughout the globe. The chief variables responsible for its rising prevalence worldwide are increasing prescription of immunosuppressant drugs for treating chronic infections and genetic mutations. Leukemia occurs when the DNA of immature white blood cells gets damaged due to exposure to ionizing radiation, hazardous chemicals, smoking, etc. The prevalence rate of leukemia is highly variable across different ethnic groups with men to women ratio of 1.4.

Chemotherapy is reigning the therapy segment for blood and bone marrow cancer treatment market. The key parameter hold responsible for its increasing demand is the availability of its generic version at affordable cost, drastically reducing the healthcare burden on ailing patients. Oncologists prefer to use them in combination therapy either with radiotherapy or immunotherapy to treat patients showing resistance to first-line drug therapy. Immunotherapy will be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period owing to its promising drug pipeline for the treatment of blood cancer.

North America representing a market share of 34.6% is dominating the regional segment for blood and bone marrow cancer treatment market. The chief contributing factor for its market supremacy is a growing incidence of blood cancer. As per the research citings of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (CDC) figures after every 3 minutes, 1 person in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer. In 2019, approximately 176,200 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with blood cancer in the United States. Europe holds a market share of 30.8% owing to the supportive regulatory framework provided by the European Medical Agency for the development and sale of medication for the treatment of blood cancer. The Asia Pacific accounts for 18.4% market share on account of rising public health awareness related to blood cancer & its treatment and developing healthcare infrastructure.

Key Market Movements:

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1. Preface

1.1. Report Scope and Description

1.1.1. Purpose of the Report

1.1.2. Target Audience

1.1.3. USP and Key Offerings

1.2. Research Scope

1.3. Research Methodology

1.3.1. Phase I-Secondary Research

1.3.2. Phase II-Primary Research

1.3.3. Approach Adopted

1.3.4. Top-down Approach

1.3.5. Bottom-up Approach

1.3.6. Phase III-Expert Panel Review

1.3.7. Assumptions

1.4. Market Segmentation

Chapter 2. Executive Summary

2.1. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Portraiture

2.2. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Indication, 2018 (US$ Bn)

2.3. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Therapy, 2018 (US$ Bn)

2.4. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Geography, 2018 (US$ Bn)

Chapter 3. Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market: Dynamics and Future Outlook

3.1. Market Overview

3.2. Drivers

3.3. Challenges

3.4. Opportunities

3.5. Attractive Investment Proposition, by Geography, 2018

3.6. Competitive Analysis: Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Key Players, 2018

Chapter 4. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Indication

4.1. Overview

4.2. Multiple Myeloma

4.3. Leukemia

4.4. Lymphoma

4.5. Others

Chapter 5. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Therapy

5.1. Chemotherapy

5.2. Immunotherapy

5.3. Stem Cell Transplant

5.4. Radiotherapy

5.5. Pipeline Analysis

5.5.1. Phase III Drug

5.5.1.1. Eltrombopag

5.5.1.2. Avatrombopag

5.5.1.3. Hetrombopag

5.5.1.4. Omidubicel

5.5.1.5. Fedratinib

5.5.1.6. ATIR101

5.5.1.7. Pegylated Proline Interferon Alpha-2b

5.5.2. Tabular Representation of Phase II and I Pipeline Drugs

Chapter 6. Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market, by Geography

6.1. Overview

6.2. North America Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Analysis, 2017- 2027

6.3. Europe Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Analysis, 2017 - 2027

6.4. Asia Pacific Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Analysis, 2017 - 2027

6.5. Latin America Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Analysis, 2017 - 2027

6.6. Middle East and Africa Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Analysis, 2017 - 2027

Chapter 7. Company Profiles

7.1. AstraZeneca, Plc.

7.1.1. Business Description

7.1.2. Financial Information (Subject to data availability)

7.1.3. Product Portfolio

7.1.4. News Coverage

7.2. Celgene, Inc.

7.3. Bristol Myers Squibb & Company

7.4. Eli Lilly & Company

7.5. Johnson & Johnson Company

7.6. F.Hoffman La-Roche Ltd.

7.7. Merck & Co., Inc.

7.8. Novartis AG

7.9. Pfizer, Inc.

7.10. Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pi0qoz

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Global Blood and Bone Marrow Cancer Treatment Market Trends & Analysis During the Forecast Period, 2019-2027 - ResearchAndMarkets.com - Business...

JSP191, a humanized antibody targeting CD117, is designed to replace or reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy and radiation therapy as a conditioning regimen to prepare patients for hematopoietic cell transplantation. The Phase 1 clinical trial is evaluating JSP191 as a conditioning agent to enable stem cell transplantation in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) who received a prior stem cell transplant that had poor outcomes.

Life-threatening disorders such as SCID, and other conditions including autoimmune diseases and hematologic cancers, can be cured by hematopoietic cell transplantation, and those with certain genetic diseases can be cured with stem cell-directed gene therapies. However, the number of patients who can benefit from these approaches is limited because of the severe toxicity of the chemotherapy used for pre-transplant conditioning that is needed to allow room in the bone marrow for the stem cells to engraft, said Judith Shizuru, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Jasper Therapeutics. We are encouraged by the initial Phase 1 study results of JSP191 in these fragile patients with SCID and plan to expand clinical development of this antibody beyond patients with SCID. We expect to initiate clinical trials of JSP191 in 2020 to evaluate it as a conditioning agent in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell therapy for acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and Fanconi anemia, and IND-enabling studies for sickle cell disease and autoimmune indications.

Details of the oral presentation follow:

Abstract Title: Non-Genotoxic Anti-CD117 Antibody Conditioning Results in Successful Hematopoietic Stem Cell Engraftment in Patients with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (abstract #800) Session Name: 721. Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Conditioning Regimens, Engraftment, and Acute Transplant Toxicities: Innovative Approaches in Allogeneic Transplantation for Pediatric or Nonmalignant DisordersPresenter: Rajni Agarwal, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Stem Cell Transplantation, the Stanford University School of MedicineTime: 3:00 p.m. ETLocation: W311EFGH, Level 3, Orange County Convention Center

About Stem Cell Transplantation

Blood-forming, or hematopoietic, stem cells are cells that reside in the bone marrow and are responsible for the generation and maintenance of all blood and immune cells. These stem cells can harbor inherited or acquired abnormalities that lead to a variety of disease states, including immune deficiencies, blood disorders or hematologic cancers. Successful transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells is the only cure for most of these life-threatening conditions. Replacement of the defective or malignant hematopoietic stem cells in the patients bone marrow is currently achieved by subjecting patients to toxic treatment with radiation and/or chemotherapy that cause DNA damage and lead to short- and long-term toxicities, including immune suppression and prolonged hospitalization. As a result, many patients who could benefit from a stem cell transplant are not eligible. New approaches that are effective but have minimal to no toxicity are urgently needed so more patients who could benefit from a curative stem cell transplant could receive the procedure.

Safer and more effective hematopoietic cell transplantation regimens could overcome these limitations and enable the broader application of hematopoietic cell transplants in the cure of many disorders. These disorders include hematologic cancers (e.g., myelodysplastic syndrome [MDS] and acute myeloid leukemia [AML]), autoimmune diseases (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes), and genetic diseases that could be cured with genetically-corrected autologous stem cells (e.g., severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome [SCID], sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, Fanconi anemia and other monogenic diseases).

About JSP191

JSP191 (formerly AMG191) is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody in clinical development as a conditioning agent that clears hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow. JSP191 binds to human CD117, a receptor for stem cell factor (SCF) that is expressed on the surface of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. The interaction of SCF and CD117 is required for stem cells to survive. JSP191 blocks SCF from binding to CD117 and disrupts critical survival signals, causing the stem cells to undergo cell death and creating an empty space in the bone marrow for donor or gene-corrected transplanted cells to engraft.

Preclinical studies have shown that JSP191 as a single agent safely depletes normal and diseased hematopoietic stem cells, including in an animal model of MDS. This creates the space needed for transplanted normal donor or gene-corrected hematopoietic stem cells to successfully engraft in the host bone marrow. To date, JSP191 has been evaluated in more than 80 healthy volunteers and patients. It is currently being evaluated as a sole conditioning agent in a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial to achieve donor stem cell engraftment in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplant for SCID, which is curable only by this type of treatment. For more information about the design of the clinical trial, visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02963064). Clinical development of JSP191 will be expanded to also study patients with AML or MDS who are receiving hematopoietic cell transplant.

About Jasper Therapeutics

Jasper Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on enabling safer conditioning and therapeutic agents that expand the application of curative hematopoietic stem cell transplants and gene therapies. Jasper Therapeutics lead compound, JSP191, is in clinical development as a conditioning antibody that clears hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow in patients undergoing a stem cell transplant. For more information, please visit us at http://www.jaspertherapeutics.com.

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Jasper Therapeutics Announces Upcoming Data Presentation on Lead Program, JSP191, at 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting &...

DetailsCategory: DNA RNA and CellsPublished on Tuesday, 10 December 2019 10:25Hits: 254

GDA-201 demonstrated early evidence of clinical activity in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with multiple complete responses observed

Research on mechanism of action for the NAM technology platform provides further scientific rationale for stem cell engraftment and patient outcomes reported in previous Phase 1/2 clinical study of omidubicel

BOSTON, MA, USA I December 9, 2019 I Gamida Cell Ltd. (Nasdaq: GMDA), an advanced cell therapy company committed to finding cures for blood cancers and serious blood diseases, today announced updated results from a Phase 1 clinical study of GDA-201, an investigational, natural killer (NK) cell-based cancer immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma (MM), at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), which is being held December 710 in Orlando, FL. Data from 22 patients in the ongoing study showed GDA-201 in combination with monoclonal antibodies was generally well tolerated and demonstrated early evidence of clinical activity in heavily pre-treated patients, including five complete responses observed among nine patients with NHL. Gamida Cell plans to initiate a Phase 1/2 multi-dose, multi-center study of GDA-201 in patients with NHL in 2020.

NK cells are increasingly recognized as a potential breakthrough approach in immunotherapy, and the data reported today provide early evidence that GDA-201 has the potential to be an important new treatment option, said Veronica Bachanova, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation at the University of Minnesota and principal investigator of the study through the Masonic Cancer Center. Given the population of heavily pre-treated patients with advanced disease, its particularly encouraging to witness multiple complete responses. I look forward to the continued development of this investigational therapy.

New research was also presented today on the mechanism of action of Gamida Cells NAM-based cell expansion platform, which is designed to enhance the number and functionality of allogeneic donor cells. These data provide further scientific rationale for the favorable stem cell engraftment and patient outcomes observed in the Phase 1/2 clinical study of omidubicel, the companys advanced cell therapy currently in Phase 3 clinical development as a potential life-saving treatment option for patients in need of an allogeneic bone marrow transplant.

These mechanism of action data reinforce the transformative potential of our NAM therapeutic platform, which can be used to expand multiple cell types. Specifically for omidubicel, this research suggests that NAM modulates certain gene expression pathways that, collectively, mimic the hypoxic environment of the bone marrow to help preserve stem cell function and long-term engraftment ability, said Tracey Lodie, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Gamida Cell. We expect to build on our findings by characterizing the metabolites produced when we expand stem cells to make omidubicel, and we are also beginning to conduct similar mechanism of action studies with GDA-201.

GDA-201 Phase 1 Clinical Data Presented at ASH

The oral presentation, Results of a Phase 1 Trial of GDA-201, Nicotinamide-Expanded Allogeneic Natural Killer Cells (NAM-NK) in Patients with Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and Multiple Myeloma (MM) (Abstract #777), described data from the Phase 1 clinical study of GDA-201 in heavily pre-treated patients with advanced NHL and MM. Twenty-two patients were enrolled in the study, including nine patients with NHL and 13 patients with MM. Of these 22 patients, all were evaluable for safety and 21 were evaluable for response (NHL = 9; MM = 12).

In the study, cell therapy using GDA-201 with monoclonal antibodies was generally well tolerated and demonstrated early evidence of clinical activity. Of the nine patients with NHL, five achieved a complete response and one achieved a partial response. Among the patients with MM, one patient achieved a complete response, and five patients achieved stable disease.

GDA-201 was generally well tolerated, with no graft vs. host disease (GvHD), no tumor lysis syndrome, no neurotoxicity and no marrow aplasia observed. No dose limiting toxicities were observed. Hypertension and hematologic events were the most common Grade 3/4 adverse events observed. Most non-hematologic toxicities were attributed to cyclophosphamide/fludarabine, which was used as a pre-conditioning treatment.

NAM Therapeutic Platform Mechanism of Action Data Presented at ASH

The poster presentation, Nicotinamide (NAM) Modulates Transcriptional Signature of Ex Vivo Cultured UCB CD34+ Cells (Omidubicel) and Preserves Their Stemness and Engraftment Potential (Abstract #3718), included transcriptome, transcription factor, and pathway analysis to elucidate the pathways leading to the preservation of engraftment after ex vivo expansion of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood (the starting point for omidubicel) compared to CD34+ cells grown in the absence of NAM.

Analyses showed that the presence of NAM reduced the expression of genes involved in the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, suggesting that cell stress was minimized during expansion. In addition, NAM also decreased growth factor pathways responsible for activation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells, suggesting NAM expanded cells while keeping them in an undifferentiated state. The presence of NAM also led to a decrease in the expression of genes responsible for matrix-metallo proteinase secretion, simulating the microenvironment of the bone marrow. Additionally, NAM led to an increased expression of telomerase genes, which is believed to enable cells to remain in a more quiescent, stem-like state. These data provide further scientific rationale for the favorable stem cell engraftment and patient outcomes that were observed in the Phase 1/2 clinical study of omidubicel.

About GDA-201 GDA-201 (formerly known as NAM-NK) is being developed as an innate natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumors in combination with standard-of-care antibody therapies. NK cells have the ability to kill tumor cells, representing a novel immunotherapeutic approach to cancer treatment. GDA-201 is designed to address key limitations of NK cells by increasing the cytotoxicity and in vivo retention and proliferation in the bone marrow and lymphoid organs of NK cells expanded in culture. GDA-201 is in Phase 1 development in patients with refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma.1 For more information on the clinical study of GDA-201, please visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Omidubicel Omidubicel (formerly known as NiCord), the companys lead clinical program, is an advanced cell therapy under development as a potential life-saving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (bone marrow) transplant solution for patients with hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). Omidubicel is the first bone marrow transplant product to receive Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has also received Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and EU. In a Phase 1/2 clinical study, omidubicel demonstrated rapid and durable time to engraftment and was generally well tolerated.2 A Phase 3 study evaluating omidubicel in patients with leukemia and lymphoma is ongoing in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia.3 Omidubicel is also being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical study in patients with severe aplastic anemia.4 The aplastic anemia investigational new drug application is currently filed with the FDA under the brand name CordIn, which is the same investigational development candidate as omidubicel. For more information on clinical trials of omidubicel, please visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

GDA-201 and omidubicel are investigational therapies, and their safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other health authority.

About the NAM Therapeutic Platform Gamida Cells proprietary NAM-based cell expansion platform is designed to enhance the number and functionality of donor cells in culture, enabling the creation of potentially transformative therapies that move beyond what is possible with existing approaches. The NAM therapeutic platform leverages the unique properties of nicotinamide to enable the expansion of multiple cell types including stem cells and natural killer (NK) cells with appropriate growth factors to maintain the cells original phenotype and potency. This can enable the administration of a therapeutic dose of cells with the potential to improve patient outcomes.

About Gamida Cell Gamida Cell is an advanced cell therapy company committed to finding cures for patients with blood cancers and serious blood diseases. We harness our cell expansion platform to create therapies with the potential to redefine standards of care in areas of serious medical need. For additional information, please visit http://www.gamida-cell.com.

1ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03019666. 2 Horwitz M.E., Wease S., Blackwell B., Valcarcel D. et al. Phase I/II study of stem-cell transplantation using a single cord blood unit expanded ex vivo with nicotinamide. J Clin Oncol. 2019 Feb 10;37(5):367-374. 3 ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02730299 4 ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03173937

SOURCE: Gamida Cell

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Gamida Cell Announces Results from Phase 1 Study of GDA-201 and New Mechanism of Action Data at ASH 2019 Annual Meeting | DNA RNA and Cells | News...

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jasper Therapeutics, Inc., a new biotechnology company focused on enabling safer conditioning and therapeutic agents that expand the application of curative hematopoietic stem cell transplants and gene therapies, today announced the launch of the company with a $35 million total Series A financing. Abingworth LLP and Qiming Venture Partners USA served as lead investors, with further investment from Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and participation from Alexandria Venture Investments, LLC. The proceeds will be used to advance the clinical development of the companys lead product candidate, JSP191, which is designed to replace or reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy and radiation therapy as a conditioning regimen to prepare patients for hematopoietic cell transplant.

Jaspers development of JSP191 is also supported by a collaboration with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which has been funding the program and is committed to providing a total of $23 million in grant support. As part of the Series A financing, Amgen, which discovered JSP191 (formerly AMG191), has licensed worldwide rights to Jasper that also include translational science and materials from Stanford University.

Jasper was co-founded by Judith Shizuru, M.D., Ph.D., a hematopoietic stem cell transplant expert at Stanford University, and Susan Prohaska, Ph.D., a Stanford University-trained immunologist, stem cell biologist and early-stage drug development professional. Dr Shizurus CIRM-funded lab advanced the understanding of the ability of anti-CD117 to impact hematopoietic stem cells and, together with the Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital Stanford and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) pediatric transplant teams, was the first to study an anti-CD117 antibody in the clinic as a conditioning agent. That humanized antibody, now called JSP191, was first studied for conditioning for transplant in immune-deficient patients in collaboration with Amgen, UCSF and CIRM.

Stem cell transplantation is a potential curative therapy for people with hematologic cancers, autoimmune diseases, and debilitating genetic diseases. However, the pre-transplant conditioning required to prepare patients for transplant involves highly toxic chemotherapy, which can be life-threatening and limits the number of people who are able to benefit, said Dr. Shizuru, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Jasper Therapeutics. JSP191 is the only anti-CD117 antibody to demonstrate safety and efficacy in severely ill patients receiving stem cell transplant in the clinic. We plan to expand clinical development to patients receiving transplants for acute myeloid leukemia/ myelodysplastic syndrome or autoimmune diseases and to patients receiving stem cell-directed gene therapies.

Dr. Shizuru added, With an experienced executive team of biotech veterans and a strong syndicate of healthcare-focused investors, Jasper Therapeutics is well positioned to achieve our vision of building a leading biotech company starting with JSP191 and expanding to other novel therapies for immune modulation, graft engineering and cell and gene therapies.

JSP191 is currently being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial as a conditioning agent to enable stem cell transplantation in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) who received a prior stem cell transplant that failed. This severe genetic immune disorder leaves patients without a functioning immune system. Interim results of the study will be presented in an oral presentation (abstract #800) on Monday, December 9, at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando, Fla. Clinical studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of JSP191 as a conditioning agent in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell therapy for hematologic cancers are planned for 2020.

Founding Management Team

Dr. Shizuru and Mr. Lis are joined on the Jasper Therapeutics Board of Directors by Kurt von Emster, Managing Partner of Abingworth LLP, and Anna French, Ph.D., Principal at Qiming Venture Partners USA. Dr. Prohaska is a Board observer.

With our investment in this program, were able to realize our mission of fast-tracking stem cell treatments by helping academic researchers rapidly advance the most promising discoveries in the lab into the clinics and to drug development with commercialization partners, said Maria T. Millan, M.D., President and CEO of CIRM. Jaspers two co-founders took a novel antibody with unique properties and moved it from the bench to the bedside relatively quickly, and were thrilled to partner with this talented team to potentially impact a broad group of people who could benefit from stem cell therapy.

About Stem Cell Transplantation

Blood-forming, or hematopoietic, stem cells are cells that reside in the bone marrow and are responsible for the generation and maintenance of all blood and immune cells. These stem cells can harbor inherited or acquired abnormalities that lead to a variety of disease states, including immune deficiencies, blood disorders or hematologic cancers. Successful transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells is the only cure for most of these life-threatening conditions. Replacement of the defective or malignant hematopoietic stem cells in the patients bone marrow is currently achieved by subjecting patients to toxic doses of radiation and/or chemotherapy that cause DNA damage and lead to short- and long-term toxicities, including immune suppression and prolonged hospitalization. As a result, many patients who could benefit from a stem cell transplant are not eligible. New approaches that are effective but have minimal to no toxicity are urgently needed so more patients who could benefit from a curative stem cell transplant could receive the procedure.

Safer and more effective hematopoietic cell transplantation regimens could overcome these limitations and enable the broader application of hematopoietic cell transplants in the cure of many disorders. These disorders include hematologic cancers (e.g., myelodysplastic syndrome [MDS] and acute myeloid leukemia [AML]), autoimmune diseases (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes), and genetic diseases that could be cured with genetically-corrected autologous stem cells (e.g., severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome [SCID], sickle cell disease, beta thalassemia, Fanconi anemia and other monogenic diseases).

About JSP191

JSP191 (formerly AMG191) is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody in clinical development as a conditioning agent that clears hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow. JSP191 binds to human CD117, a receptor for stem cell factor (SCF) that is expressed on the surface of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. The interaction of SCF and CD117 is required for stem cells to survive. JSP191 blocks SCF from binding to CD117 and disrupts critical survival signals, causing the stem cells to undergo cell death and creating an empty space in the bone marrow for donor or gene-corrected transplanted cells to engraft.

Preclinical studies have shown that JSP191 as a single agent safely depletes normal and diseased hematopoietic stem cells, including in an animal model of MDS. This creates the space needed for transplanted normal donor or gene-corrected hematopoietic stem cells to successfully engraft in the host bone marrow. To date, JSP191 has been evaluated in more than 80 healthy volunteers and patients. It is currently being evaluated as a sole conditioning agent in a Phase 1 dose-escalation trial to achieve donor stem cell engraftment in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplant for SCID, which is curable only by this type of treatment. For more information about the design of the clinical trial, visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02963064). Clinical development of JSP191 will be expanded to also study patients with AML or MDS who are receiving hematopoietic cell transplant.

About Jasper Therapeutics

Jasper Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on enabling safer conditioning and therapeutic agents that expand the application of curative hematopoietic stem cell transplants and gene therapies. Jasper Therapeutics lead compound, JSP191, is in clinical development as a conditioning antibody that clears hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow in patients undergoing a stem cell transplant. For more information, please visit us at http://www.jaspertherapeutics.com.

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Jasper Therapeutics Launches with $35 Million Series A Financing to Develop and Commercialize Innovative Conditioning Agents and Therapies to...

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jasper Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on enabling safer conditioning agents and therapeutics to allow for expanded use of curative hematopoietic stem cell transplants and gene therapies. Jasper Therapeutics lead compound, JSP191, is in clinical development as a conditioning antibody that clears hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow in patients undergoing a stem cell transplant. For more information, please visit us at http://www.jaspertherapeutics.com.

Company:

Jasper Therapeutics, Inc

Headquarters Address:

3000 Sand Hill Road B1-145

Menlo Park, CA

Main Telephone:

1-650-254-6687

Website:

https://jaspertherapeutics.com/

Type of Organization:

Private

Industry:

Biotechnology

Key Executives:

Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer: William Lis

Chief Business Officer, Chief Financial Officer: Jeet Mahal

Company Contact

Contact:

Jeet Mahal

Phone:

1-650-254-6687

Email:

jmahal@jaspertherapeutics.com

Public Relations

Contact:

Julie Normart

Phone:

1-415-946-1087

Email:

jnormart@w2ogroup.com

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Company Profile for Jasper Therapeutics, Inc - Business Wire