Monthly Archives: May 2012

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Mass. Eye and Ear) has received institutional review board (IRB) approval to be a site for the companys Phase I/II clinical trial for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD), using human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. We are delighted to announce that Mass. Eye and Ear will participate as a site for our clinical trial for dry AMD, said Gary Rabin, ACTs chairman and CEO. Dr. Dean Eliott and his team are deeply committed to finding new treatments for preventing blindness, and we very much look forward to tapping into his expertise and insight into the progression of macular degenerative disorders. The primary teaching hospital for ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Mass. Eye and Ear is ranked as among the top ophthalmology hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report and has a reputation that is unrivaled. The Phase I/II trial is a prospective, open-label study designed to determine the safety and tolerability of the hESC-derived RPE cells following sub-retinal transplantation into patients with dry AMD. The trial will … Continue reading →

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In collaboration with Fibrocell Science, Inc., (OTCBB:FCSC.OB), researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have identified two rare adult stem cell-like subpopulations in adult human skin, a discovery that may yield further ground-breaking research in the field of personalized medicine for a broad range of diseases. Using technology developed by Fibrocell Science, Inc. the researchers were able to confirm the existence of these two types of cells in human skin cell cultures, potentially providing a source of stem cell-like subpopulations from skin biopsies, which are quicker to perform, relatively painless and less invasive than bone marrow and adipose tissue extractions, which are the current methods for deriving adult stem cells for patient-specific cellular therapies. The findings, which are reported in the inaugural issue of BioResearch Open Access, pertain to two subtypes of cells: SSEA3-expressing regeneration-associated (SERA) cells, which may play a role in the regeneration of human skin in response to injury and mesenchymal adult stem cells (MSCs), which are under investigation (by many independent researchers) for their ability to differentiate into the three main types of cells: osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells) and adipocytes (fat cells). Finding these specialized cells within the skin … Continue reading →

PHILADELPHIA HIV patients treated with genetically modified T cells remain healthy up to 11 years after initial therapy, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. The results provide a framework for the use of this type of gene therapy as a powerful weapon in the treatment of HIV, cancer, and a wide variety of other diseases. "We have 43 patients and they are all healthy," says senior author Carl June, MD, a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Penn Medicine. "And out of those, 41 patients show long term persistence of the modified T cells in their bodies." Early gene therapy studies raised concern that gene transfer to cells via retroviruses might lead to leukemia in a substantial proportion of patients, due to mutations that may arise in genes when new DNA is inserted. The new long-term data, however, allay that concern in T cells, further buoying the hope generated by work June's team published in 2011 showing the eradication of tumors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia using a similar strategy. "If you have a safe way to modify cells in patients with HIV, … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2012) HIV patients treated with genetically modified T cells remain healthy up to 11 years after initial therapy, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. The results provide a framework for the use of this type of gene therapy as a powerful weapon in the treatment of HIV, cancer, and a wide variety of other diseases. "We have 43 patients and they are all healthy," says senior author Carl June, MD, a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Penn Medicine. "And out of those, 41 patients show long term persistence of the modified T cells in their bodies." Early gene therapy studies raised concern that gene transfer to cells via retroviruses might lead to leukemia in a substantial proportion of patients, due to mutations that may arise in genes when new DNA is inserted. The new long-term data, however, allay that concern in T cells, further buoying the hope generated by work June's team published in 2011 showing the eradication of tumors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia using a similar strategy. "If you have a safe way to modify cells in … Continue reading →