Jim Durgeloh, 59, was desperate to avoid surgery. After a career as a construction contractor and hours of leisure time spent on a motorcycle around his Longview, Wash., home, he was facing an operation to replace his left hip. Thats pretty invasive, he said, nervous about a surgery that would require being cut open and implanted with an artificial hip; Jims brother had died from complications after a similar operation. In the search for an alternative, he and his wife, Janet, happened upon the website for La Jolla-based StemGenex Medical Group, which touts itself as the worlds first and only Stem Cell Center of Excellence. But what caught the Durgelohs attention were the words of Rita Alexander, its chief administrative officer and a founder. Alexander wrote that she had suffered debilitating rheumatoid arthritis until a stem cell treatment sent her into remission. Today it remains my passion to advocate for those diagnosed with debilitating illnesses to have access to cutting edge stem cell treatment, she wrote. Rita was very inspiring, Janet Durgeloh says. Durgelohs doctor in Washington was skeptical about the therapy offered by StemGenex. He didnt think it was going to work, Durgeloh says. The therapy isnt approved by … Continue reading →

ZURICH Novartis AG on Wednesday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to accelerate its review of the Swiss drugmaker's CTL019 therapy for young patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The move would keep Novartis on track with the development of its so-called chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, or CAR-T, in partnership with University of Pennsylvania researchers. ZARA FOUNDER TO SPEND $344M ON BREAST CANCER-SCREENING FOR SPANISH HOSPITALS The therapy involves a patient's own T-cells being altered in the lab to help the immune system find and kill cancer cells before being re-infused into the patient. Basel-based Novartis' first CAR-T therapy license application with the FDA has put the company in pole position with regulators as it pushes for approval alongside rivals including biotech Kite Pharma Inc that are developing similar therapies. "With CTL019, Novartis is at the forefront of the science and development of immunocellular therapy as a potential new innovative approach to treating certain cancers where there are limited options," Vas Narasimhan, Novartis head of drug development, said in a statement. CTL019 will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient if approved, and Novartis counts it among drugs it believes will eventually … Continue reading →

March 28, 2017 10:55 ET | Source: Research and Markets Dublin, March 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cell Therapy Manufacturing Market, 2017-2027" report to their offering. During the course of our study, we identified over 110 organizations that are actively involved in the manufacturing of cell therapies. The scope of this report primarily includes manufacturing of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) that involve the use of immune cells such as T-cells, Tregs, dendritic cells, tumor cells and NK cells, and stem cells such as adult stem cells, human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Several players, including cell therapy developers, research institutes, contract manufacturing organizations, and government and non-profit organizations, are playing a critical role in the development and manufacturing of these cell therapies. In fact, a number of these players have made heavy investments to expand their existing capabilities and establish new facilities for cell therapy products in order to meet the increasing demand. Additionally, stakeholders have received significant support from governments worldwide, in terms of funding and establishment of consortiums to accelerate the transition of these therapies from laboratories to clinics. It is important to … Continue reading →

A new study has found that stem cell therapy can reduce lung inflammation in an animal model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis. Although, still at a pre-clinical stage, these findings have important potential implications for the future treatment of patients. The findings were presented in Estoril, Portugal today (25 March, 2017) at the European Respiratory Society's Lung Science Conference. Lung damage caused by chronic inflammation in conditions such as COPD and cystic fibrosis, leads to reduced lung function and eventually respiratory failure. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is currently being investigated as a promising therapeutic approach for a number of incurable, degenerative lung diseases. However, there is still limited data on the short and long-term effects of administering stem cell therapy in chronic respiratory disease. The new research investigated the effectiveness of MSC therapy in a mouse model of chronic inflammatory lung disease, which reflects some of the essential features of diseases such as COPD and cystic fibrosis. Researchers delivered stem cells intravenously to b-ENaC overexpressing mice at 4 and 6 weeks of age, before collecting samples tissue and cells from the lungs at 8 weeks. They compared these findings to a control group that did … Continue reading →

All causes of the most common form of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), are not yet known, but the risk of getting it is increased by hepatitis B or C, cirrhosis, obesity, diabetes, a buildup of iron in the liver, or a family of toxins called aflatoxins produced by fungi on some types of food. Typical treatments for HCC include radiation, chemotherapy, cryo- or radiofrequency ablation, resection, and liver transplant. Unfortunately, the mortality rate is still quite high, with the American Cancer Society giving a 5-year survival rate for localized liver cancer at 31%. Hoping to improve primary liver cancer including HCC and metastatic liver cancer therapies, researchers from Japan began studying induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived immune cells that produced the protein interferon-? (IFN-). IFN- exhibits antiviral effects related to immune response, and two different antitumor activities, the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and p53 protein expression. IFN- has been used for some forms of cancer but problems like rapid inactivation, poor tissue penetration, and toxicity have kept it from being used extensively. To get over that hurdle, Kumamoto University researchers used iPS cell-derived proliferating myelomonocytic (iPS-ML) cells, which they developed in a previous research project. These cells were found to … Continue reading →