DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2fee68d4/progenitor_and_ste) has announced the addition of Woodhead Publishing Ltd's new book "Progenitor and Stem Cell Technologies and Therapies" to their offering.

Progenitor and stem cell technologies and therapies

Progenitor and stem cells have the ability to renew themselves and change into a variety of specialised types, making them ideal materials for therapy and regenerative medicine. "Progenitor and stem cell technologies and therapies" reviews the range of progenitor and stem cells available and their therapeutic application.

Part one reviews basic principles for the culture of stem cells before discussing technologies for particular cell types. These include human embryonic, induced pluripotent, amniotic and placental, cord and multipotent stem cells. Part two discusses wider issues such as intellectual property, regulation and commercialisation of stem cell technologies and therapies. The final part of the book considers the therapeutic use of stem and progenitor cells. Chapters review the use of adipose tissue-derived stem cells, umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells, bone marrow, auditory and oral cavity stem cells. Other chapters cover the use of stem cells in therapies in various clinical areas, including lung, cartilage, urologic, nerve and cardiac repair.

With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, "Progenitor and stem cell technologies and therapies" is a standard reference for both those researching in cell and tissue biology and engineering as well as medical practitioners investigating the therapeutic use of this important technology.

Key Features:

- Reviews the range of progenitor and stem cells available and outlines their therapeutic application

- Examines the basic principles for the culture of stem cells before discussing technologies for particular cell types, including human embryonic, induced pluripotent, amniotic and placental, cord and multipotent stem cells

- Includes a discussion of wider issues such as intellectual property, regulation and commercialisation of stem cell technologies and therapies

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2fee68d4/progenitor_and_ste

Originally posted here:
Research and Markets: Progenitor and Stem Cell Technologies and Therapies Reviews the Range Of Progenitor and Stem ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Stephen Rouse RouseS@cardiff.ac.uk 44-292-087-5596 Cardiff University

Powerful new cells created by Cardiff University scientists from cheek lining tissue could offer the answer to disorders of the immune system.

While the body's immune system protects against many diseases, it can also be harmful. Using white blood cells (lymphocytes), the system can attack insulin-producing cells, causing diabetes, or cause the body to reject transplanted organs.

A team from Cardiff's School of Dentistry led by Professor Phil Stephens, with colleagues from Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, have found a new group of cells with a powerful ability to suppress the immune system's action.

The team took oral lining cells from the insides of patients' cheeks and cloned them. Laboratory tests showed that even small doses of the cells could completely inhibit the lymphocytes.

The breakthrough suggests that the cheek cells have wide-ranging potential for future therapies for immune system-related diseases. Existing immune system research has focussed on adult stem cells, particularly those derived from bone marrow. The cheek tissue cells are much stronger in their action.

Dr Lindsay Davies, a member of the Cardiff team, said: "At this stage, these are only laboratory results. We have yet to recreate the effect outside the laboratory and any treatments will be many years away. However, these cells are extremely powerful and offer promise for combating a number of diseases. They are also easy to collect bone marrow stem cells require an invasive biopsy, whereas we just harvest a small biopsy from inside the mouth."

The findings have just been published online in Stem Cells and Development. The team has now been funded by the Medical Research Council to investigate the cloned cells further.

###

Excerpt from:
Key to immune system disease could lie inside the cheek

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The Stem Cell Transplant Program at the University of Virginia Health System recently performed the first two stem cell transplants in Virginia, using non-embryonic stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

The program offers both bone marrow and stem cell transplants, with a focus on cord blood, to treat leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkins disease and other blood diseases.

While it will take several months to know how effective the cord blood transplants were, the initial results are promising, says Mary Laughlin, MD, an internationally known stem cell expert recruited to UVA to head the program. In both patients, the stem cells began engrafting producing new cells 14 days after the transplant instead of the 24 to 28 days it normally takes.

Why cord blood stem cells? As an obstetrician once told Laughlin: Something thrown away in my OB suite saves a life in your cancer suite.

The cord blood used for these stem cell transplants comes from placentas that otherwise would be discarded following childbirth, Laughlin says. The cord blood is used with the permission of the new parents, she says. By using cord blood stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells, UVAs program sidesteps the ethical, religious and political concerns commonly associated with stem cells, she says.

Other benefits: Cord blood stem cells are also faster and easier to collect than stem cells from other sources; they are also immune tolerant.

Speed is important because there is a narrow window of opportunity to perform a transplant when a patients disease is in remission. And because the cord blood stem cells are immune tolerant meaning they will not attack other cells in the body the chances of a successful transplant are higher and the donor match doesnt have to be as exact, giving more patients the opportunity to receive a transplant.

Stem cell transplants: Part of a fast-growing program Laughlin heads up a team of 29 staff members, including four additional transplant physicians, who began seeing patients in September. The demand for transplants has already been greater than Laughlin and her team expected. The program had initially planned to do 15 transplants in its first year. Instead, it expects to do 100.

Its reflective of this unmet need, Laughlin says. Patients who otherwise would have to travel many states away to have these same procedures, now they can do a fairly short drive from Roanoke, or down from Winchester. Because of our central location, its ideal for them.

What are stem cells? Learn more about how they work.

View post:
First Stem Cell Transplants in Virginia Performed at UVA

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

By Ron Winslow

Doctors at Yale University have successfully implanted a biodegradablescaffold seeded with a four-year-old girls own bone-marrowcells to help treat a serious heart defect, as WSJs Heartbeat column describes.

The tube about three inches long is made of polyester material similar to that used in the manufacture of dissolvable sutures. Six months after Angela Irizarrys surgery, it had disappeared, replaced by a bioengineered conduit that acts like a normal blood vessel.

The vanishing act for the scaffold was expected, but what happens to the cells, including stem cells, that spawned the new vessel?

Much to the researchers surprise, says Chris Breuer, the Yale pediatric surgeon leading the experimental tissue-engineering project, the cells go away too.

Stem cells and certain other bone-marrow cells have building-block properties that make them the foundation for more specialized cells that grow into the bodys various tissues and structures. Researchers have long believed that stem cells transplanted into heart tissue, for instance, would be a primary component of whatever new tissue that grew as a result.

A lot of people think that when you put cells in, they turn into whatever cells you want them to turn into, Breuer tells the Health Blog. Weve clearly shown that doesnt happen in our graft.

Indeed, in experiments performed to learn how the tubes morphed into blood vessels, Breuer and his colleagues transplanted their scaffold seeded with human cells into mice bred with deficient immune systems to prevent rejection of the cells. Within a few days, the human cellswere gone, replaced within the scaffold by mouse cells, including cells characteristic of those that line the inner wall of blood vessels.

Initially, I refused to believe it, Breuer says. I redid the experiment three different ways and saw the same thing every time.

The upshot: Transplanted cells that have a quality of stem cells dont buildnew parts themselves, he says.They cause the body to induce regeneration.

Here is the original post:
In Treatment of Child’s Heart Defect, Doctors Find a Stem-Cell Surprise

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Scientists in SA have generated non-embryonic stem cells for the first time, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) announced on Tuesday.

These "induced adult pluripotent stem cells" were developed from adult skin cells and can be prompted to grow into any type of adult cell, such as those in the heart or brain.

The technology is important for research into regenerative medicine, but is not yet widely used.

While the technology is not novel, the development of the capacity to grow these stem cells in SA is important for researchers investigating diseases affecting Africans, said CSIR post-doctoral fellow Janine Scholefield. The CSIR had replicated techniques devised by Japanese researchers in 2007.

"Cutting-edge medical research is not useful to Africans if knowledge is being created and applied only in the developed world," said CSIR head of gene expression and biophysics Musa Mhlanga. "Given the high disease burden in Africa, our aim is to become creators of knowledge, as well as innovators and expert practitioners of the newest and best technologies," The CSIR said that adult-generated stem cells were more acceptable to people who objected to using stem cells from embryos.

"The other critical thing is the cells (that will be grown) are an exact genetic match to the person who donated the skin cells, so we can circumvent the problem of tissue rejection," Dr Scholefield said.

"We can also develop models of disease in a petri dish in the laboratory," she said, explaining that this would enable researchers to investigate rare diseases without the need for human subjects.

"We are getting closer to using stem cells as part of routine medical practice, but are still a long way off from using these cells for degenerative diseases of the central nervous system," said Michael Pepper, professor of i mmunology at the University of Pretoria.

Prof Pepper said there were several hundred clinical trials using stem cells under way around the world, but most were still at an early stage.

Read this article:
SA cracks stem cell conundrum

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCQB: ENTB.PK - News) (Pinksheets: ENTB.PK - News)

Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCQB: ENTB.PK - News) (Pinksheets: ENTB.PK - News) and RenovoCyte LLC announced they have treated 8 canine patients of a 10 dog pilot study utilizing Canine Endometrial Regenerative Cells (CERC) licensed from Medistem Inc. (Pinksheets: MEDS.PK - News) in the treatment of canine osteoarthritis.

Previously, Entest announced the treatment of the first canine patient on November 18, 2011. Since that time Entest's McDonald Animal Hospital has treated 8 dogs in its 10 Dog Pilot Study with RenovoCyte. To date, all of the dogs participating in this study have shown dramatic improvement in their mobility and apparent reduction of pain.

Dr. Greg McDonald, Chief Veterinarian at McDonald Animal Hospital, said, "50 million CERC stem cells have been injected intravenously into eight dogs. Each dog selected for this study showed signs of arthritis. Follow-up blood tests, urinalysis and physical exams are now being scheduled for the patients that have already been treated. So far, all these canine patients have shown improvement."

Entest BioMedical Chairman David Koos stated, "Osteoarthritis is considered one of the most common causes of lameness in dogs, occurring in up to 30% of all dogs. It is caused by a deterioration of joint cartilage, followed by pain and loss of range of motion of the joint. We expect this treatment to relieve these animals from the pain associated with arthritis. This has extraordinary possibilities for dogs and may lead the way for human treatment of arthritic pain."

The CERC is a "universal donor" stem cell product that does not require matching with the recipient allowing for the generation of standardized products that can be delivered to the office of the veterinarian ready for injection. This is in stark contrast to current stem cell therapies utilized in veterinary applications which require the extraction, manipulation, and subsequent implantation of tissue from the animal being treated. CERC is the canine equivalent of Medistem's Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC). Medistem was recently granted approval from the FDA to initiate a clinical trial in human patients using its ERCs.

"We are extremely pleased with our research relationship with Entest BioMedical. This study of canine pets suffering from naturally occurring osteoarthritis is a better test model than laboratory induced disease because it will give us the opportunity for long term follow up of these patients. RenovoCyte sees this study as part of the supporting documentation that will be needed to obtain FDA approval for widespread usage of this therapy," said Shelly Zacharias, DVM, Director of Veterinary Operations, RenovoCyte, LLC.

A spokesperson for Entest noted the Company is also currently conducting a 10 dog safety study on its immune-therapeutic cancer vaccine for dogs, having treated 3 dogs so far.

About Entest BioMedical Inc.:Entest BioMedical Inc. (http://www.entestbio.com) is a veterinary biotechnology company focused on developing therapies that harness the animal's own reparative / immunological mechanisms. The Company's products include an immuno-therapeutic cancer vaccine for canines (ImenVax). ImenVax is less invasive and less traumatic in treating cancer. Additionally, the Company serves as the contract research organization conducting a pilot study on a stem cell based canine osteoarthritis treatment (developed by RenovoCyte LLC) utilizing a 'universal donor' stem cell. Entest is also building a network of veterinary hospitals (with its initial location in Santa Barbara, CA and anticipates acquiring other veterinary hospitals in California) -- which serve as distribution channels for its products.

DisclaimerThis news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition and other material risks.

More here:
Entest BioMedical Excited With Progress on 10 Dog Pilot Study of "Universal Donor" Stem Cell Treatment for Canine ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC.BB: VSTA.OB - News) (OTCQB: VSTA.OB - News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, and Vala Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing and selling next-generation cell image-based instruments, reagents and analysis software tools, have entered into a strategic collaboration. Their goal is to advance drug safety screening methodologies in the most clinically relevant human in vitro bioassay systems available to researchers today.

Cardiomyocytes are the muscle cells of the heart that provide the force necessary to pump blood throughout the body, and as such are the targets of most of the drug toxicities that directly affect the heart. Many of these drug toxicities result in either arrhythmia (irregular, often fatal, beating of the heart) or reduced ability of the heart to pump the blood necessary to maintain normal health and vigor.

"Our collaboration with Vala directly supports the core drug rescue applications of our Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube platform," said Shawn K. Singh, JD, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. "Our high quality human cardiomyocytes combined with Vala's high throughput electrophysiological assessment capabilities is yet another example of how we are applying our stem cell technology platform within a strategic ecosystem of complementary leading-edge companies and technologies. We seek to drive our drug rescue programs forward and generate a pipeline of new, cardiosafe drug candidates."

Through the collaboration, Vala will use its Kinetic Image Cytometer platform to demonstrate both the suitability and utility of VistaGen's human pluripotent stem cell derived-cardiomyocytes for screening new drug candidates for potential cardiotoxicity over conventional in vitro screening systems and animal models. VistaGen's validated human cardiomyocyte-based bioassay system, CardioSafe 3D, will permit Vala to demonstrate the quality, resolution, applicability and ease of use of its new instrumentation and analysis software to make information-rich, high throughput measurements and generate fundamentally new insights into heart cell drug responses. Accurate, sensitive and reproducible measurement of electrophysiological responses of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to new drug candidates is a key element of VistaGen's CardioSafe 3D drug rescue programs. VistaGen's strategic collaboration with Vala is directed towards this goal.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen is a biotechnology company applying human pluripotent stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy. VistaGen's drug rescue activities combine its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants (Drug Rescue Variants) of once-promising small-molecule drug candidates. These are drug candidates discontinued due to heart toxicity after substantial development by pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) or university laboratories. VistaGen uses its pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates before they are ever tested in humans, bringing human biology to the front end of the drug development process.

Additionally, VistaGen's small molecule drug candidate, AV-101, is in Phase 1b development for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects approximately 1.8 million people in the U.S. alone. VistaGen is also exploring opportunities to leverage its current Phase 1 clinical program to enable additional Phase 2 clinical studies of AV-101 for epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and depression. To date, VistaGen has been awarded over $8.5 million from the NIH for development of AV-101.

About Vala Sciences

Vala Sciences is a San Diego-based biotechnology company that develops and sells cell-image-based instrumentation, reagents and analysis software tools to academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology scientists. Vala's IC 200 class of instrumentation, and CyteSeer Automated Image Cytometry software convert labor-intensive qualitative observations of biological changes that can take from days to months, into accurate measurements delivered automatically in minutes.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Read this article:
VistaGen Therapeutics Enters Strategic Drug Screening Collaboration With Vala Sciences

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, March 21, 2012Healthy individuals who carry a gene variation linked to an increased risk of autism have structural differences in their brains that may help explain how the gene affects brain function and increases vulnerability for autism. The results of this innovative brain imaging study are described in an article in the groundbreaking neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc (http://wwwliebertpub.com). The article is available free online at the Brain Connectivity (http://www.liebertpub.com/brain) website.

"This is one of the first papers demonstrating a linkage between a particular gene variant and changes in brain structure and connectivity in carriers of that gene," says Christopher Pawela, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin. "This work could lead to the creation of an exciting new line of research investigating the impact of genetics on communication between brain regions."

Although carriers of the common gene variant CNTNAP2identified as an autism risk genemay not develop autism, there is evidence of differences in brain structure that may affect connections and signaling between brain regions. These disruptions in brain connectivity can give rise to functional abnormalities characteristic of neuropsychological disorders such as autism.

###

Emily Dennis and coauthors from UCLA School of Medicine and UCLA (Los Angeles, CA) and University of Queensland and Queensland Institute of Medical Research (Brisbane, Australia), used a sophisticated imaging technique to study the brains of healthy young adults who are carriers of CNTNAP2. They report their findings in "Altered Structural Brain Connectivity in Healthy Carriers of the Autism Risk Gene, CNTNAP2." (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/brain.2011.0064)

About the Journal

Brain Connectivity (http://www.liebertpub.com/brain) is the journal of record for researchers and clinicians interested in all aspects of brain connectivity. The Journal is under the leadership of Founding and Co-Editors-in-Chief Christopher Pawela, PhD and Bharat Biswal, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. It includes original peer-reviewed papers, review articles, point-counterpoint discussions on controversies in the field, and a product/technology review section. To ensure that scientific findings are rapidly disseminated, articles are published Instant Online within 72 hours of acceptance, with fully typeset, fast-track publication within 4 weeks. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at the Brain Connectivity (http://www.liebertpub.com/brain) website.

About the Company

Read more here:
Autism risk gene linked to differences in brain structure

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

21-03-2012 13:09

Read the rest here:
Individual Rights to Genetic Information—Issues for Medicine and Government - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

WEDNESDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- Men worried about encroaching baldness, take heart: A genetic analysis of tissue taken from both bald and hairier spots on men's scalps has identified a protein involved in male pattern hair loss.

The researchers note that drugs that inhibit the protein are already in development, and it's possible those drugs could one day be used to help men preserve their head of hair.

In the study, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania did an analysis of more than 25,000 genes and honed in on one that produces an enzyme that produces a protein known as PGD2. That protein is present in much higher levels in bald spots.

When scientists placed PGD2 on hair follicles in a petri dish, they found the protein inhibited hair growth.

Researchers then tested the protein on mice genetically engineered to lack a receptor for PGD2, and found that hair growth was unaffected. But when PGD2 was applied to mice that have a different receptor (GPR44), the mice grew less hair.

PGD2 is a type of prostaglandin, or a hormone-like substance known to be involved in many body functions, including regulating the contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle tissue. Drugs that inhibit PGD2, for example, are being studied for use in preventing airway constriction in asthma.

"Several companies have compounds in development that block the receptor for PGD2. Those compounds are being studied to treat asthma," said senior study author Dr. George Cotsarelis, chair and professor of dermatology at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "We think using these compounds topically . . . could slow down and possibly reverse baldness."

The study is published in the March 21 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

About 80 percent of white men have some degree of hair loss before age 70, according to background information in the study. In balding men, hair follicles don't disappear, but they shrink and produce very small, even microscopic hairs, Cotsarelis explained.

The belief is that something is inhibiting the follicle from growing a normal hair. One of those factors seems to be PGD2, which was found near stem cells in the follicle, which are important in hair growth, Cotsarelis explained.

Read the original:
Research Spots Potential New Target in Fight Against Baldness

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Chris Gunter or Holly Ralston cgunter@hudsonalpha.org 256-327-0400 HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- When the intestines are not able to properly process our diet, a variety of disorders can develop, with chronic diarrhea as a common symptom. Chronic diarrhea can also be inherited, most commonly through conditions with genetic components such as irritable bowel syndrome. Researchers in Norway, India, and at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology have identified one heritable DNA mutation that leads to chronic diarrhea and bowel inflammation.

Shawn Levy, Ph.D., faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha said, "Based on the effects seen from this one mutation, we are hopeful that the work will aid in understanding of much more common diseases like Crohn's and irritable bowel syndrome, which also have inflammation and diarrhea as symptoms."

The Norwegian family studied for the paper published today in The New England Journal of Medicine has 32 living members with a number of related inflammatory bowel conditions. Such a large family allowed scientists in Norway to use traditional genetic linkage methods to narrow down the potential DNA mutation to one portion of chromosome 12, and then to a specific gene called GUCY2C.

The Norway group asked Levy and his group at HudsonAlpha to confirm initial findings on this mutation as well as determine if there were other mutations that could contribute to the disorder. "Our exome sequencing was able to rule out other mutations and demonstrate that the one change in the GUCY2C gene was common to the disease," commented Levy.

The protein made from the GUCY2C gene is involved in transmitting specific chemical signals from food consumed to the cells inside our bowels. But the family members with chronic diarrhea have a mutation that makes the protein constantly "on," or transmitting much more signal than it should. Based on this new understanding, the scientists are now evaluating possible drug treatments based on the function of the affected protein. They can also recommend that GUCY2C be reexamined in more common bowel inflammation syndromes, as it may contribute to pathology for thousands of people worldwide.

###

The article "Familial Diarrhea Syndrome Caused by an Activating GUCY2C Mutation," by Fiskerstrand et al. can be found at the website http://www.nejm.org.

The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama, is the cornerstone of the Cummings Research Park Biotechnology Campus. The campus hosts a synergistic cluster of life sciences talent - science, education and business professionals - that promises collaborative innovation to turn knowledge and ideas into commercial products and services for improving human health and strengthening Alabama's progressively diverse economy. The non-profit institute is housed in a state-of-the-art, 270,000 square-ft. facility strategically located in the nation's second largest research park. HudsonAlpha has a three-fold mission of genomic research, economic development and educational outreach.

Read the rest here:
Genetic mutation found in familial chronic diarrhea syndrome

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Phyllis Edelman pedelman@genetics-gsa.org 301-634-7302 Genetics Society of America

BETHESDA, MD -- The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Drosophila community are pleased to announce the nine award recipients for their poster presentations at the 53rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference held March 7-11, 2011 in Chicago, IL.

Poster awards were presented to scientists at three career stages: undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Each category offered a first prize for $500, second for $300 and third for $200.

"The poster awards are just one way that we highlight the contributions of early-career researchers, recognizing these talented individuals not only for their science, but on the effective communication of their results," said Adam Fagen, Ph.D., executive director of GSA. "We look forward to following the careers of these students and postdocs and expect great things as they continue in science."

"Winning a poster award is a true honor," said Elizabeth Gavis, Ph.D., past president of the Drosophila community's Board of Directors. "Although the poster presenters span all career stages, these awards are designated specifically for students and postdocs and recognize the intellectual and experimental contributions of the winners as well as their ability to convey their research to other scientists," she added.

The nine recipients of the awards were selected from among 500 student and postdoc posters, which represent more than half of the nearly 1,000 poster presentations at the conference. The awardees, research institution, poster titles and principal investigators (PI) who worked with them are listed below.

Undergraduate Awardees:

1st Place: Kathryn Landy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ Poster Title: Chromosome axis proteins regulate synapsis and recombination in female meiosis (#322) PI: Kim S. McKim, Ph.D.

2nd Place: Balint Z. Kacsoh, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia Poster Title: High hemocyte load is associated with increased resistance against parasitoids in Drosophila suzukii, a relative of D. melanogaster (#459) PI: Todd A. Schlenke, Ph.D.

See the rest here:
Drosophila meeting poster award recipients announced

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Response Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:RGDX - News), a company focused on the development and commercialization of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, will announce its fourth quarter and full-year 2011 financial results and an operational update in a press release to be issued before the market opens on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. The company will host a conference call that same day at 10:00 a.m. EDT to discuss its financial results.

CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

To access the conference call by phone on March 27 at 10:00 a.m. EDT, dial (800) 537-0745 or (253) 237-1142 for international participants. A telephone replay will be available beginning approximately two hours after the call through April 3, and may be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056, (404) 537-3406, or (800) 585-8367. The reply passcode is 64520370.

To access the live and archived webcast of the conference call, go to the Investor Relations section of the Company's Web site at http://investor.responsegenetics.com. It is advised that participants connect at least 15 minutes prior to the call to allow for any software downloads that might be necessary.

About Response Genetics, Inc.

Response Genetics Inc. (RGI) is a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer. RGIs principal customers include oncologist, pathologists and hospitals. In addition to diagnostic testing services, the Company generates revenue from the sales of its analytical testing services of clinical trial specimens to the pharmaceutical industry. RGI was founded in 1999 and its principal headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California. For additional information, please visit http://www.responsegenetics.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Notice

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release and the statements of representatives of RGI related thereto contain or may contain, among other things, certain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the Companys plans, objectives, projections, expectations and intentions, such as the ability of the Company to announce its financial results and provide a conference call, to continue to provide clinical testing services to the medical community, to continue to expand its sales force, to continue to build its digital pathology initiative, to attract and retain qualified management, , to continue to provide clinical trial support to pharmaceutical clients, to enter into new collaborations with pharmaceutical clients, to enter into new areas such as companion diagnostics, and to continue to execute on its business strategy and operations, to continue to analyze cancer samples, the potential for using the results of this research to develop diagnostic tests for cancer, the usefulness of genetic information to tailor treatment to patients, and other statements identified by words such as projects, may, could, would, should, believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans or similar expressions.

Excerpt from:
Response Genetics, Inc. to Release Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2011 Financial Results and Host Conference Call on ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

NEW YORK (AP) Shares of Myriad Genetics Inc. fell Wednesday after a Supreme Court ruling started a new round of concerns about the company's intellectual property, which includes patents on genetic mutations related to breast cancer.

THE SPARK: On Tuesday the Supreme Court threw out patent claims belonging to Prometheus Laboratories, a subsidiary of Nestle SA. The 9-0 ruling overturned patents that were used in a blood test that helps doctors determine the dosage of a drug used to treat autoimmune diseases.

The test involved administering the drug, called thiopurine, to patients and then determining the levels of thiopurine metabolites in the patient's red blood cells. The court ruled that the patents were based on the laws of nature, which can't be patented.

Myriad has faced challenges to some of the patents supporting its BRACAnalysis test, which looks for mutations on a gene that indicates an increased risk for inherited breast cancer. In March 2010 a New York district court ruled that genes could not be patented, but a federal appeals court reversed that decision in July.

THE BIG PICTURE: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for decades, and the federal court said the BRACAnalysis patents were valid because they concern "isolated DNA," which has a different chemical structure from DNA within the body. The case could come before the Supreme Court.

THE ANALYSIS: Analysts said Wednesday that it's not clear if the Supreme Court will accept the Myriad Genetics case or how it would rule if it did. Jefferies & Co. analyst Jon Wood said the ruling in the Prometheus Laboratories case does not contradict the federal court's findings from July. However he said that even if the Myriad Genetics patents are overturned, the BRACAnalysis test is supported by many other patents.

William Blair & Co. analyst Amanda Murphy said the decision "introduces some uncertainty related to method patents in general, particularly correlation claims in diagnostics" for Myriad Genetics and Genomic Health Inc., but she said the Prometheus Labs and the Myriad case involve different types of patents.

Genomic Health's Oncotype DX test is designed to predict the risk that a patient's breast or colon cancer will recur.

SHARE ACTION: Myriad shares lost 94 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $23.37 in afternoon trading. The stock is up 16 percent this year.

View post:
Myriad Genetics slips on patent concerns

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN - News) announced today that Nancy A. Simonian, M.D. has been appointed to the companys Board of Directors. Dr. Simonian is a biotechnology veteran with more than 16 years of global drug development experience, most recently as Chief Medical Officer at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.

Nancy brings significant experience in all aspects of clinical development, regulatory affairs and medical research, as well as program management and strategic prioritization of product portfolios, said Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Genetics. She is a valuable addition to our Board as we continue executing on our broad clinical development program for ADCETRIS and advancing our pipeline of clinical and preclinical products aimed at improving treatments for people with cancer.

This is an exciting time at Seattle Genetics, with the August 2011 FDA approval of ADCETRIS in two relapsed lymphomas, the many ongoing and planned clinical trials to evaluate ADCETRIS in a wide range of CD30-positive malignancies and a robust pipeline of other oncology assets, said Dr. Simonian. I look forward to working with the Board and the management team to maximize the potential of Seattle Genetics antibody-drug conjugate technology, collaborations and value to patients.

NancySimonian is currently an independent consultant to the biotechnology industry. From 2001 to 2011 she was at Millennium where she led clinical and regulatory activities supporting the development and product approvals for all oncology programs, including Velcade as well as drugs for inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. She also chaired the portfolio review committee responsible for all development investments. Before Millennium, she was Vice President of Clinical Research at Biogen (now Biogen Idec) where she was responsible for clinical development and medical affairs of the neurology and oncology pipeline, including Avonex and Tysabri. Dr. Simonian currently serves on the board of directors of the Personalized Medicine Coalition. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr.Simonian was on the faculty of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School as an assistant professor of neurology. She received a B.A. in Biology from Princeton University and an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

About Seattle Genetics

Seattle Genetics is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. The FDA granted accelerated approval of ADCETRIS in August 2011 for two indications. ADCETRIS is being developed in collaboration with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. In addition, Seattle Genetics has three other clinical-stage ADC programs: SGN-75, ASG-5ME and ASG-22ME. Seattle Genetics has collaborations for its ADC technology with a number of leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott, Bayer, Celldex Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Millennium, Pfizer and Progenics, as well as ADC co-development agreements with Agensys, an affiliate of Astellas, and Genmab. More information can be found at http://www.seattlegenetics.com.

Certain of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking, such as those, among others, relating to the companys plans for clinical trials with ADCETRIS and other programs. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include, among others, that adverse events adversely affect the ability to successfully conduct planned clinical trials. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Seattle Genetics is contained in the companys Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seattle Genetics disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View original post here:
Seattle Genetics Appoints Dr. Nancy Simonian to Board of Directors

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

SUNRISE, Fla., March 22, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (OTCBB:BHRT.OB - News), a company focused on developing stem cell therapies for heart disease, previously announced that they entered into an agreement with Stemlogix, LLC, a veterinary regenerative medicine company, to provide additional cellular products and services to the veterinary market. Under this agreement, the companies are offering stem cell banking for veterinary patients (pets). WPLG, channel 10 featured this exciting technology in a news segment which aired in the South Florida area. A small sample of tissue can be obtained from the animals during a routine procedure such as a spay or neuter. The stem cells are isolated and cryopreserved for future use as needed.

"We are excited to bring our expertise in stem cell therapy to the veterinary community," said Mike Tomas, Bioheart's President and CEO. "Stem cell therapies represent new opportunities for various types of patients and the ability to bank a pet's cells when they are young and healthy could be very valuable for future use."

WPLG, Channel 10 in Miami/South Florida featured this new technology in a news segment which aired March 15, 2012. Please see the link below:

http://www.local10.com/thats-life/health/Pet-stem-cells-frozen-banked-for-future-use/-/1717022/9285894/-/apcx9rz/-/index.html

About Bioheart, Inc.

Bioheart is committed to maintaining its leading position within the cardiovascular sector of the cell technology industry delivering cell therapies and biologics that help address congestive heart failure, lower limb ischemia, chronic heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and other issues. Bioheart's goals are to cause damaged tissue to be regenerated, when possible, and to improve a patient's quality of life and reduce health care costs and hospitalizations.

Specific to biotechnology, Bioheart is focused on the discovery, development and, subject to regulatory approval, commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage and peripheral vascular disease. Its leading product, MyoCell, is a clinical muscle-derived cell therapy designed to populate regions of scar tissue within a patient's heart with new living cells for the purpose of improving cardiac function in chronic heart failure patients. For more information on Bioheart, visit http://www.bioheartinc.com.

About Stemlogix, LLC

Stemlogix is an innovative veterinary regenerative medicine company committed to providing veterinarians with the ability to deliver the best possible stem cell therapy to dogs, cats and horses at the point-of-care. Stemlogix provides veterinarians with the ability to isolate regenerative stem cells from a patient's own adipose (fat) tissue directly on-site within their own clinic or where a patient is located. Regenerative stem cells isolated from adipose tissue have been shown in studies to be effective in treating animal's suffering from osteoarthritis, joint diseases, tendon injuries, heart disorders, among other conditions. Stemlogix has a highly experienced management team with experience in setting up full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facilities, stem cell product development & enhancement, developing point-of-care cell production systems, developing culture expanded stem cell production systems, FDA compliance, directing clinical & preclinical studies with multiple cell types for multiple indications, and more. For more information about veterinary regenerative medicine please visit http://www.stemlogix.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "to," "plan," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," or "continue" or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

Link:
Bioheart Labs and Stemlogix Veterinary Products Featured in Media

Recommendation and review posted by sam

SACRAMENTO (KABC) -- Eight years ago voters agreed to fund California's stem cell agency, hoping it would yield new treatments for various conditions. Now the agency is running out of funds and any practical cures are still years away.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is about to enter a crucial stage in stem cell research: going to clinical trials. The most promising experiments could cure diabetes, HIV, sickle-cell anemia and blindness in the elderly.

"You don't really get to find out whether the potential of the treatment is really going to be effective until you start to treat the patients," said Alan Trounson, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

CIRM's board is discussing how much to allocate for that trial phase. Through voter-approved bonds under Proposition 71 (The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act), it has already given out or spent half of the $3 billion, but despite the medical promise, there's little to show for it beyond basic research and several high-tech laboratories.

But the agency says the breakthroughs will come over the next few years, way ahead of the rest of the world.

"This would all be happening in California, all driven by this Proposition 71 money," said Trounson.

The bond money is expected to last only several more years. One option is to ask voters to approve more bonds, something taxpayer groups oppose.

"When people think about bond financing, they think about a bridge, a school, a canal," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. "But stem cell research is just kind of out there."

Rancher Diana Souza says it would be a shame to stop public funding of stem cell research. Through trials at UC Davis Medical Center not financed by Prop. 71 money, she says stem cells helped restore full use of her severely fractured arm.

"I hope they can continue doing this because it is a miracle. It does work. And I have a good arm to prove it," said Souza.

Excerpt from:
Proposition 71 stem cell research funds drying up

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Written by Nannette Miranda, ABC7

SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, CIRM, is about to enter a crucial stage in stem cell research: going to clinical trials.

The most promising experiments could cure: diabetes, HIV, sickle cell and blindness in the elderly.

"You don't really get to find out whether the potential of the treatment is really going to be effective until you start with patients, the human subjects," CIRM's Alan Trounson said.

CIRM's board is discussing how much to allocate for that trial phase.

Through voter-approved bonds under Proposition 71, it has already given out or spent half of the $3 billion, but despite the medical promise, there's little to show for it beyond basic research and several high-tech labs.

But the agency said the breakthroughs will come over the next few years, way ahead of the rest of the world.

"This would all be happening in California, all driven by this Proposition 71 money," Trounson said.

The bond money is expected to last only several more years.

One option is to ask voters to approve more bonds, something taxpayer groups oppose.

Read the original post:
California institute fights to continue stem cell research

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Stephen Rouse RouseS@cardiff.ac.uk 44-292-087-5596 Cardiff University

Powerful new cells created by Cardiff University scientists from cheek lining tissue could offer the answer to disorders of the immune system.

While the body's immune system protects against many diseases, it can also be harmful. Using white blood cells (lymphocytes), the system can attack insulin-producing cells, causing diabetes, or cause the body to reject transplanted organs.

A team from Cardiff's School of Dentistry led by Professor Phil Stephens, with colleagues from Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, have found a new group of cells with a powerful ability to suppress the immune system's action.

The team took oral lining cells from the insides of patients' cheeks and cloned them. Laboratory tests showed that even small doses of the cells could completely inhibit the lymphocytes.

The breakthrough suggests that the cheek cells have wide-ranging potential for future therapies for immune system-related diseases. Existing immune system research has focussed on adult stem cells, particularly those derived from bone marrow. The cheek tissue cells are much stronger in their action.

Dr Lindsay Davies, a member of the Cardiff team, said: "At this stage, these are only laboratory results. We have yet to recreate the effect outside the laboratory and any treatments will be many years away. However, these cells are extremely powerful and offer promise for combating a number of diseases. They are also easy to collect bone marrow stem cells require an invasive biopsy, whereas we just harvest a small biopsy from inside the mouth."

The findings have just been published online in Stem Cells and Development. The team has now been funded by the Medical Research Council to investigate the cloned cells further.

###

Read more from the original source:
Key to immune system disease could lie inside the cheek

Recommendation and review posted by sam

By Ron Winslow

Doctors at Yale University have successfully implanted a biodegradablescaffold seeded with a four-year-old girls own bone-marrowcells to help treat a serious heart defect, as WSJs Heartbeat column describes.

The tube about three inches long is made of polyester material similar to that used in the manufacture of dissolvable sutures. Six months after Angela Irizarrys surgery, it had disappeared, replaced by a bioengineered conduit that acts like a normal blood vessel.

The vanishing act for the scaffold was expected, but what happens to the cells, including stem cells, that spawned the new vessel?

Much to the researchers surprise, says Chris Breuer, the Yale pediatric surgeon leading the experimental tissue-engineering project, the cells go away too.

Stem cells and certain other bone-marrow cells have building-block properties that make them the foundation for more specialized cells that grow into the bodys various tissues and structures. Researchers have long believed that stem cells transplanted into heart tissue, for instance, would be a primary component of whatever new tissue that grew as a result.

A lot of people think that when you put cells in, they turn into whatever cells you want them to turn into, Breuer tells the Health Blog. Weve clearly shown that doesnt happen in our graft.

Indeed, in experiments performed to learn how the tubes morphed into blood vessels, Breuer and his colleagues transplanted their scaffold seeded with human cells into mice bred with deficient immune systems to prevent rejection of the cells. Within a few days, the human cellswere gone, replaced within the scaffold by mouse cells, including cells characteristic of those that line the inner wall of blood vessels.

Initially, I refused to believe it, Breuer says. I redid the experiment three different ways and saw the same thing every time.

The upshot: Transplanted cells that have a quality of stem cells dont buildnew parts themselves, he says.They cause the body to induce regeneration.

Originally posted here:
In Treatment of Child’s Heart Defect, Doctors Find a Stem-Cell Surprise

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Public release date: 21-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Steele Williams mwilliams@amp.org 301-634-7321 Association for Molecular Pathology

Bethesda, MD, March 21, 2012: "The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) applauds the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling today in the case of Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories as a victory for patients and for the advancement of personalized medicine," stated Iris Schrijver, MD, the Organization's President. AMP, an international professional society representing more than 2000 physicians, doctoral scientists, and medical technologists, joined 10 other medical and healthcare organizations in filing an amicus brief with the Court in support of Mayo Clinic. AMP is also the lead plaintiff in Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that challenges the validity of patents on two human genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and is currently under review by the High Court.

"Prometheus acknowledged that physicians can infringe the patent by merely thinking about the relationship between drug metabolite levels and patient response," asserted Dr. Schrijver. "It is encouraging that the Court recognized that the Prometheus patents neither promote the advancement of medical practice, nor benefit patient care".

"In Prometheus, the Court wisely recognized that overly broad patents can inhibit innovation," stated Jennifer Hunt, MD, MEd, the Organization's President-Elect. "Establishing a drug reference range is important, but standard work for laboratory physicians. Awarding monopolies over the medical use of natural, biological relationships stifles innovation in true diagnostic test methods and obstructs improvements for patient care."

AMP believes the Supreme Court's reasoning in Mayo v. Prometheus extends to patents that claim ownership over another type of natural phenomenon, the biological relationships between genetic variants and clinical disease. Such relationships are at the heart of personalized medicine. "Patients are increasingly being disadvantaged by gene correlation patents," stated Roger D. Klein, MD, JD, Chair of AMP's Professional Relations Committee. As an example, Dr. Klein cited a method patent relating to a variation in a gene known as FLT3 that is used to qualify some leukemia patients for bone marrow transplant.

Enforcement of the FLT3 patent by a private company has been forcing physicians and laboratories to split and geographically distribute irreplaceable bone marrow specimens. "Splitting samples creates an additional risk of specimen loss and delays the receipt of patient results" stated Dr. Klein. "In addition, it interferes with the ability of pathologists to provide synoptic interpretations involving multiple tests, and prevents them from implementing cost saving algorithms that limit unnecessary testing. The Supreme Court's ruling is clearly a win both for our patients and for personalized healthcare."

###

ABOUT AMP:

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) is an international medical professional association dedicated to the advancement, practice, and science of clinical molecular laboratory medicine and translational research based on the applications of molecular biology, genetics, and genomics. For more information, please visit http://www.amp.org.

Read the original post:
AMP applauds Supreme Court ruling: Sees win for patients and personalized medicine

Recommendation and review posted by sam

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

BioTime, Inc. (NYSE Amex:BTX), a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced that Chief Executive Officer, Michael D. West, Ph.D., will present a corporate overview of BioTime and its subsidiaries with an update on recent developments at the 2012 Maxim Group Growth Conference on Monday, March 26, 2012, 11:00 a.m. EDT, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. The presentation will be webcast and available online at the Investors section of the BioTime website at http://www.biotimeinc.com.

The 5th annual Maxim Group Growth Conference is designed to provide institutional clients with the opportunity to gain an in-depth perspective on the issues affecting the growth of presenting companies. The one-day event will feature more than 80 company presentations across six designated industry tracks including the healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

About BioTime, Inc.

BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is developed through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of applications. BioTime develops and markets research products in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary ACTCellerate cell lines, culture media, and differentiation kits. BioTime's wholly owned subsidiary ES Cell International Pte. Ltd. has produced clinical-grade human embryonic stem cell lines that were derived following principles of Good Manufacturing Practice and currently offers them for use in research. BioTime's therapeutic product development strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on specific organ systems and related diseases for which there is a high unmet medical need. BioTime's majority owned subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences, Ltd. is developing therapeutic products derived from stem cells for the treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. Cell Cure's minority shareholder Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has an option to clinically develop and commercialize Cell Cure's OpRegen retinal cell product for use in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. BioTime's subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapeutic applications of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and injuries. Another subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer, including the diagnostic product PanC-DxTM currently being developed for the detection of cancer in blood samples, therapeutic strategies using vascular progenitor cells engineered to destroy malignant tumors. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is developing applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells to treat cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's newest subsidiary, LifeMap Sciences, Inc., is developing an online database of the complex cell lineages arising from stem cells to guide basic research and to market BioTime's research products. In addition to its stem cell products, BioTime develops blood plasma volume expanders, blood replacement solutions for hypothermic (low-temperature) surgery, and technology for use in surgery, emergency trauma treatment and other applications. BioTime's lead product, Hextend, is a blood plasma volume expander manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corp. under exclusive licensing agreements. Additional information about BioTime, ReCyte Therapeutics, Cell Cure, OrthoCyte, OncoCyte, BioTime Asia, LifeMap Sciences, and ESI can be found on the web at http://www.biotimeinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results, future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates") should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of BioTime and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in BioTime's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

To receive ongoing BioTime corporate communications, please click on the following link to join our email alert list: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83805&p=irol-alerts

Continue reading here:
BioTime CEO Michael D. West to Present at 2012 Maxim Group Growth Conference

Recommendation and review posted by sam

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC.BB: VSTA.OB - News) (OTCQB: VSTA.OB - News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, and Vala Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing and selling next-generation cell image-based instruments, reagents and analysis software tools, have entered into a strategic collaboration. Their goal is to advance drug safety screening methodologies in the most clinically relevant human in vitro bioassay systems available to researchers today.

Cardiomyocytes are the muscle cells of the heart that provide the force necessary to pump blood throughout the body, and as such are the targets of most of the drug toxicities that directly affect the heart. Many of these drug toxicities result in either arrhythmia (irregular, often fatal, beating of the heart) or reduced ability of the heart to pump the blood necessary to maintain normal health and vigor.

"Our collaboration with Vala directly supports the core drug rescue applications of our Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube platform," said Shawn K. Singh, JD, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. "Our high quality human cardiomyocytes combined with Vala's high throughput electrophysiological assessment capabilities is yet another example of how we are applying our stem cell technology platform within a strategic ecosystem of complementary leading-edge companies and technologies. We seek to drive our drug rescue programs forward and generate a pipeline of new, cardiosafe drug candidates."

Through the collaboration, Vala will use its Kinetic Image Cytometer platform to demonstrate both the suitability and utility of VistaGen's human pluripotent stem cell derived-cardiomyocytes for screening new drug candidates for potential cardiotoxicity over conventional in vitro screening systems and animal models. VistaGen's validated human cardiomyocyte-based bioassay system, CardioSafe 3D, will permit Vala to demonstrate the quality, resolution, applicability and ease of use of its new instrumentation and analysis software to make information-rich, high throughput measurements and generate fundamentally new insights into heart cell drug responses. Accurate, sensitive and reproducible measurement of electrophysiological responses of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to new drug candidates is a key element of VistaGen's CardioSafe 3D drug rescue programs. VistaGen's strategic collaboration with Vala is directed towards this goal.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen is a biotechnology company applying human pluripotent stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy. VistaGen's drug rescue activities combine its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants (Drug Rescue Variants) of once-promising small-molecule drug candidates. These are drug candidates discontinued due to heart toxicity after substantial development by pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) or university laboratories. VistaGen uses its pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates before they are ever tested in humans, bringing human biology to the front end of the drug development process.

Additionally, VistaGen's small molecule drug candidate, AV-101, is in Phase 1b development for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects approximately 1.8 million people in the U.S. alone. VistaGen is also exploring opportunities to leverage its current Phase 1 clinical program to enable additional Phase 2 clinical studies of AV-101 for epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and depression. To date, VistaGen has been awarded over $8.5 million from the NIH for development of AV-101.

About Vala Sciences

Vala Sciences is a San Diego-based biotechnology company that develops and sells cell-image-based instrumentation, reagents and analysis software tools to academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology scientists. Vala's IC 200 class of instrumentation, and CyteSeer Automated Image Cytometry software convert labor-intensive qualitative observations of biological changes that can take from days to months, into accurate measurements delivered automatically in minutes.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

See more here:
VistaGen Therapeutics Enters Strategic Drug Screening Collaboration With Vala Sciences

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire -03/21/12)- Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCQB: ENTB.PK - News) (Pinksheets: ENTB.PK - News)

Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCQB: ENTB.PK - News) (Pinksheets: ENTB.PK - News) and RenovoCyte LLC announced they have treated 8 canine patients of a 10 dog pilot study utilizing Canine Endometrial Regenerative Cells (CERC) licensed from Medistem Inc. (Pinksheets: MEDS.PK - News) in the treatment of canine osteoarthritis.

Previously, Entest announced the treatment of the first canine patient on November 18, 2011. Since that time Entest's McDonald Animal Hospital has treated 8 dogs in its 10 Dog Pilot Study with RenovoCyte. To date, all of the dogs participating in this study have shown dramatic improvement in their mobility and apparent reduction of pain.

Dr. Greg McDonald, Chief Veterinarian at McDonald Animal Hospital, said, "50 million CERC stem cells have been injected intravenously into eight dogs. Each dog selected for this study showed signs of arthritis. Follow-up blood tests, urinalysis and physical exams are now being scheduled for the patients that have already been treated. So far, all these canine patients have shown improvement."

Entest BioMedical Chairman David Koos stated, "Osteoarthritis is considered one of the most common causes of lameness in dogs, occurring in up to 30% of all dogs. It is caused by a deterioration of joint cartilage, followed by pain and loss of range of motion of the joint. We expect this treatment to relieve these animals from the pain associated with arthritis. This has extraordinary possibilities for dogs and may lead the way for human treatment of arthritic pain."

The CERC is a "universal donor" stem cell product that does not require matching with the recipient allowing for the generation of standardized products that can be delivered to the office of the veterinarian ready for injection. This is in stark contrast to current stem cell therapies utilized in veterinary applications which require the extraction, manipulation, and subsequent implantation of tissue from the animal being treated. CERC is the canine equivalent of Medistem's Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC). Medistem was recently granted approval from the FDA to initiate a clinical trial in human patients using its ERCs.

"We are extremely pleased with our research relationship with Entest BioMedical. This study of canine pets suffering from naturally occurring osteoarthritis is a better test model than laboratory induced disease because it will give us the opportunity for long term follow up of these patients. RenovoCyte sees this study as part of the supporting documentation that will be needed to obtain FDA approval for widespread usage of this therapy," said Shelly Zacharias, DVM, Director of Veterinary Operations, RenovoCyte, LLC.

A spokesperson for Entest noted the Company is also currently conducting a 10 dog safety study on its immune-therapeutic cancer vaccine for dogs, having treated 3 dogs so far.

About Entest BioMedical Inc.:Entest BioMedical Inc. (http://www.entestbio.com) is a veterinary biotechnology company focused on developing therapies that harness the animal's own reparative / immunological mechanisms. The Company's products include an immuno-therapeutic cancer vaccine for canines (ImenVax). ImenVax is less invasive and less traumatic in treating cancer. Additionally, the Company serves as the contract research organization conducting a pilot study on a stem cell based canine osteoarthritis treatment (developed by RenovoCyte LLC) utilizing a 'universal donor' stem cell. Entest is also building a network of veterinary hospitals (with its initial location in Santa Barbara, CA and anticipates acquiring other veterinary hospitals in California) -- which serve as distribution channels for its products.

DisclaimerThis news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition and other material risks.

Here is the original post:
Entest BioMedical Excited With Progress on 10 Dog Pilot Study of "Universal Donor" Stem Cell Treatment for Canine ...

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

TUESDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- A novel technique that uses a kidney transplant recipient's own stem cells may someday replace or reduce the initial use of anti-rejection medications, new research suggests.

Six months after receiving a kidney transplant, only about 8 percent of people given their own mesenchymal stem cells experienced rejection compared with almost 22 percent of people on the standard anti-rejection drugs, according to the study.

"Mesenchymal stem cells are stem cells that can be differentiated into a variety of cells," explained Dr. Camillo Ricordi, study senior author and director of the Cell Transplant Center and Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"If you infuse mesenchymal stem cells at the time of the transplant, you could replace the use of powerful anti-rejection drugs, and maybe replace immunosuppressants altogether," he said. This technique could be used in the transplantation of islet cells (in the pancreas) for people with type 1 diabetes, and for other organ transplants, such as the liver, he added.

The people given their own stem cells also had improved kidney function earlier after transplant, Ricordi said.

Results of the study appear in the March 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

One of the biggest remaining hurdles in organ transplantation remains the need for powerful anti-rejection and immune-suppressing medications after the transplant.

"Basically, the way we prevent kidney rejections is by putting you on very powerful anti-rejection drugs and immunosuppressive agents to prevent your cells from attacking the foreign organ," said Dr. Robert Provenzano, chair of the department of nephrology, hypertension and transplantation at St. John Providence Health System in Detroit. "But, the current standard has some problems, like an increased risk of infections and the possibility of creating a cancer."

The body's immune system sends out surveillance cells to protect the body against foreign invaders, such as a bacteria, virus or, in this case, a new organ, Provenzano said. The current method of preventing these cells from attacking the new organ is essentially to destroy the surveillance cells. But mesenchymal cells can naturally suppress those surveillance cells so they don't attack, he said.

To see if this suppression would be enough to prevent rejection, Ricordi and his colleagues, including researchers from Xiamen University in China, recruited 159 people with serious kidney disease who were on dialysis. They ranged in age from 18 to 61.

Go here to see the original:
Stem Cell Therapy Could Boost Kidney Transplant Success: Study

Recommendation and review posted by simmons