Monthly Archives: May 2012

Scotland opens stem cell research center and bio-medical incubator

Posted: Published on May 30th, 2012

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from multi-million dollar stem cell research and life sciences facilities opened yesterday by HRH, the Princess Royal. The Princess Royal is to unveil plaques this afternoon at the $85 million Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) and $38 million bio-incubator facility, Nine, in Edinburgh. The University of Edinburgh's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine will carry out cutting-edge stem cell research to help find therapies for patients with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, and heart and liver diseases. The centre is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists. The centre, funded by the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, was opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of the University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies. Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and … Continue reading →

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16th-century Korean mummy provides clue to hepatitis B virus genetic code

Posted: Published on May 30th, 2012

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2012) The discovery of a mummified Korean child with relatively preserved organs enabled an Israeli-South Korean scientific team to conduct a genetic analysis on a liver biopsy which revealed a unique hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C2 sequence common in Southeast Asia. Additional analysis of the ancient HBV genomes may be used as a model to study the evolution of chronic hepatitis B and help understand the spread of the virus, possibly from Africa to East-Asia. It also may shed further light on the migratory pathway of hepatitis B in the Far East from China and Japan to Korea as well as to other regions in Asia and Australia where it is a major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. The reconstruction of the ancient hepatitis B virus genetic code is the oldest full viral genome described in the scientific literature to date. It was reported in the May 21 edition of the scientific journal Hepathology by a research team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment; the Hebrew University's Faculty of Medicine, the Hadassah Medical Center's Liver Unit; Dankook University and Seoul … Continue reading →

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Safeguards Against Misuse of Genetic Data Urged

Posted: Published on May 30th, 2012

Statement Highlights: EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 pm CT/4 pm ET, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 DALLAS, May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rapid advancements in genetic disease research necessitate innovative safeguards for patients, according to new American Heart Association policy recommendations published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal. Recent scientific progress includes the mapping of the entire human genetic code, or genome, which was completed in 2003, and new accelerated gene-sequencing techniques. These discoveries have led to cheaper, more readily available genetic tests, but regulations have lagged behind. "The potential of the new technologies is incredible," said Euan A. Ashley, M.R.C.P., D.Phil., chair of the policy statement writing group and assistant professor of medicine in the Cardiovascular Division and director of the Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease at Stanford University School of Medicine, in Stanford, California. "Genetic testing provides a tremendous opportunity but also a challenge in being responsible with that information," Ashley said. "If the information is available, how best do we use it to really improve care for individual patients?" Focusing on heart and blood vessel diseases, the policy statement recommends: In the modern era, gene sequencing simply involves observation of the natural world and not invention, therefore genes … Continue reading →

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CHOC Children’s Research Project Awarded $5.5 Million Grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Posted: Published on May 30th, 2012

ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A CHOC Childrens research project, under the direction of Philip H. Schwartz, Ph.D., senior scientist at the CHOC Childrens Research Institute and managing director of the facilitys National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource, has been awarded a $5.5 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The grant will be used to develop a stem cell-based therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS I), a fatal metabolic disease that causes neurodegeneration, as well as defects in other major organ systems. Based on a number of medical and experimental observations, children with inherited degenerative diseases of the brain are expected to be among the first to benefit from novel approaches based on stem cell therapy (SCT). Dr. Schwartz explains, While uncommon, pediatric genetic neurodegenerative diseases account for a large burden of mortality and morbidity in young children. Hematopoietic (bone marrow) stem cell transplant (HSCT) can improve some non-neural symptoms of these diseases, but does not treat the deadly neurodegenerative process. Our approach targeting the effects of the disease on organs besides the brain with HSCT and neurodegeneration with a second stem cell therapy specifically designed to treat the brain is a strategy for whole-body treatment of … Continue reading →

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Bioheart and Ageless Regenerative Partner to Advance Stem Cell Field With New Laboratory Training Program on June 23 …

Posted: Published on May 30th, 2012

SUNRISE, Fla., May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bioheart, Inc. (OTCBB:BHRT.OB - News) announced today that it will offer another laboratory training course in partnership with the Ageless Regenerative Institute, an organization dedicated to the standardization of cell regenerative medicine, on Saturday/Sunday June 23-24, 2012. Attendees will participate in hands on, in depth training in laboratory practices in stem cell science at Bioheart, Inc.'s corporate headquarters and clean room in Sunrise, Florida. The course was designed for Laboratory technicians, Students, Physicians and Physician Assistants. "Attendees will graduate from this one-of-a-kind course with an extensive understanding of stem cell science laboratory practices," said Kristin Comella, Chief Scientific Officer, Bioheart, Inc. "Previous attendees described the course as incredibly well orchestrated providing comprehensive know how for laboratory start up." An emerging field with tremendous opportunities, adult stem cell research has been shown to regenerate and repair injured or diseased structures via the release of bioactive tissue growth factors and cytokines. This is the second time that The Ageless Regenerative Institute has partnered with Bioheart, Inc. to provide hands-on training in a stem cell laboratory. This course provides instruction regarding how to grow stem cells and perform quality control testing in an actual cGMP … Continue reading →

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Owner:Attempted thieves made holes

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - A couple of would-be burglars got creative when they tried to break through a cinder block wall of a Chesapeake pharmacy. It isn't the first time someone has broken into Irwin's Pharmacy on Indian River Road. Owner Larry Barlow says it happens about once a year. This latest attempt, he told WAVY.com, shows the bad guys are getting smarter but are just not smart enough. "They've cut the telephone lines, I guess for the purpose of disabling the security alarm," Barlow said. He showed WAVY.com where someone broke through two cinder blocks, presumably using a sledge hammer. "Apparently one got in through there and realized he was stuck, couldn't get in any farther so he came back out." Barlow went on to say police were waiting because when they cut the phone line, an internet back up line immediately notified police. Even if they had gotten in, Barlow said they wouldn't have gotten far. The holes they made led to a storage room and that room is secured from the rest of the store with locks and a heavy bar. Barlow told us police caught one of the guys and the other got away. Police have … Continue reading →

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Emmaus Medical’s Sickle Cell Treatment Receives Positive Opinion for Orphan Drug Status from European Medicines Agency

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

TORRANCE, Calif., May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Emmaus Medical, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing a new treatment for sickle cell disease, and subsidiary of Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc., announced today that its investigational L-glutamine treatment for sickle cell disease has received a positive opinion recommending orphan medicinal product designation by the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP). The designation allows Emmaus ten years of marketing exclusivity in EU member countries after the product obtains marketing authorization, as well as streamlined regulatory review processes and registration and other fee reductions. "We are very pleased with the EMA's recognition of our L-glutamine therapy as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of sickle cell disease in Europe," said Yutaka Niihara, M.D., MPH, founder and CEO of Emmaus. "This designation is an important milestone in our effort to make this treatment available to millions of patients around the world who currently have very few therapies available to them." Emmaus Medical has already received orphan drug and fast track designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its patented L-glutamine drug, and is seeking FDA approval for L-glutamine as a treatment of sickle cell disease.The drug was originally developed … Continue reading →

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Emmaus Medical's Sickle Cell Treatment Receives Positive Opinion for Orphan Drug Status from European Medicines Agency

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

TORRANCE, Calif., May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Emmaus Medical, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing a new treatment for sickle cell disease, and subsidiary of Emmaus Life Sciences, Inc., announced today that its investigational L-glutamine treatment for sickle cell disease has received a positive opinion recommending orphan medicinal product designation by the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP). The designation allows Emmaus ten years of marketing exclusivity in EU member countries after the product obtains marketing authorization, as well as streamlined regulatory review processes and registration and other fee reductions. "We are very pleased with the EMA's recognition of our L-glutamine therapy as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of sickle cell disease in Europe," said Yutaka Niihara, M.D., MPH, founder and CEO of Emmaus. "This designation is an important milestone in our effort to make this treatment available to millions of patients around the world who currently have very few therapies available to them." Emmaus Medical has already received orphan drug and fast track designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its patented L-glutamine drug, and is seeking FDA approval for L-glutamine as a treatment of sickle cell disease.The drug was originally developed … Continue reading →

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Princess opens stem cell centre

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

28 May 2012 Last updated at 09:14 ET A 54m cutting-edge stem cell research centre in Edinburgh has been officially opened by the Princess Royal. The Royal opened the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine as well as the 24m bio-incubator facility, Nine, in the Edinburgh BioQuarter. Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from the new facilities in Little France. The Princess Royal unveiled plaques at the centres. Edinburgh University's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists. The centre, funded by Edinburgh University, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, is being opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of Edinburgh University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies. Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the UK government's department for business, innovation and skills, has 85,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space for both established biotechnology companies and … Continue reading →

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Biostem Appoints Philip A. Lowry, MD as Chairman of Its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

More Topics: Choose a Sector Accounting Firms Advertising/Media/Communications Capital CEO/Board General Business Health/Biotech Internet/Technology Investment Firms Law Firms Mergers & Acquisitions Money Managers People Private Companies Public Companies Venture Capital Posted May 29, 2012 Philip A. Lowry Highly Recognized Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Specialist Added to Existing Member Expertise in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Cardiology, and Pathology CLEARWATER, FL -- Biostem U.S., Corporation, (OTCQB: HAIR) (PINKSHEETS: HAIR) a stem cell regenerative medicine sciences company, announced that Philip A. Lowry, MD, has been appointed as the Chairman of its Scientific and Medical Board of Advisors (SAMBA). According to Biostem CEO, Dwight Brunoehler, "As Chairman, Dr. Lowry will work with a team drawn from a cross-section of medical specialties. His combination of research, academic and community practice experience make him the perfect individual to coordinate and lead the outstanding group of physicians that makes up our SAMBA. As a group, The SAMBA will guide the company to maintain the highest ethical standards in every effort, while seeking and developing new cutting edge technology based on stem cell use. I am privileged to work with Dr. Lowry, once again." Dr. Lowry stated, "Dwight is an innovative businessman with an eye on cutting-edge stem … Continue reading →

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