PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - There's no treatment and no cure, but a local man battling a rare, neuro-muscular disease called Friedreich's Ataxia hopes to change that. Sam Bridgman, 22, was one of more than 150 people who participated in Ride Ataxia Portland on Saturday. Bridgman graduated from college in the spring and recently started a new job at Nike. Bridgman's hope is that by raising awareness about Friedreich's Ataxia, it'll save lives and eventually lead to a cure. During Saturday's ride around Sauvie Island, Bridgman was all smiles. It hasn't always been that way. Especially when he was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia at the age of 15, he said. "When you get diagnosed with something like F.A., you No. 1 ... feel like you're all alone," Bridgman said. "And No. 2 ... you really don't want to realize what's going to happen with your body." Bridgman's mindset changed when he met Kyle Bryant during a ride from Sacramento to Las Vegas in 2008, he said. Bridgman saw how Bryant refused to let the disease, which affects all muscle coordination from his toes to his fingertips, control him. He realized he had an opportunity to make a difference. "He's just turned … Continue reading →

St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) September 23, 2013 Appistry, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance computing and analytics solutions for next-generation medicine and the authorized distributor of select genetic analysis tools from the Broad Institute, today announced its chief scientific officer, Dr. Richard Mazzarella, will deliver a presentation titled Clinical Best Practices for Cancer Genetic Analysis Pipelines, at Cambridge HealthTech Institutes inaugural Clinical Genomics for Cancer Diagnostics Conference in Boston Sept. 23-24 at the Seaport Hotel. In his presentation, which will kick off the Data Interpretation conference track on Sept. 24, Mazzarella will illustrate how the use of de facto standard genetic analysis tools enables labs to commit more bioinformatics resources to more challenging and less well-understood pipeline development tasks. Genetic analysis is a rapidly changing field, but certain tools are emerging as best practices because they have been used in a wide range of studies and in large-scale efforts such as The Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium, Mazzarella said. Running pipelines based on these validated tools conserves development effort for those analysis tasks that require truly innovative approaches and more extensive evaluation. Appistry, a sponsor of the conference, will also exhibit its software solutions geared toward … Continue reading →

Tech Report | Stem Cells Stem cell therapy is a growing arm of medical science, which carries as much controversy as it does promise... It's long been theorized that stem cells could... By: eNCATechReport … Continue reading →

SUNRISE, FL--(Marketwired - Sep 23, 2013) - Bioheart, Inc. (OTCQB: BHRT), a biotech company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of autologous cell therapies for the treatment of chronic and acute heart damage as well as severe peripheral vascular disease announces that it has entered into an agreement with Invitrx Therapeutics to license their adipose derived stem cell products.The license agreement term sheet for adipose derived cells is for use in all indications in both human and animal medicine. Invitrx Therapeutics is a biotechnology company specializing in the culture and engineering of adult stem cells, innovative products and therapies that are used in aesthetics, wound closure, and healing, as well as, plastic and reconstructive surgery.The team at Invitrx has been working with adipose derived stem cells for over 10 years and this experience can contribute to the development and commercialization of AdipoCell (Bioheart's adipose stem cell product). Bioheart has recently completed enrollment in the Phase I Angel Trial using adipose derived stem cells.Preliminary 3 month follow up results will be released later this quarter. "Combining the experience and expertise of the team at Invitrx with the currently available Bioheart products will strengthen our program.We are looking forward to expanding … Continue reading →

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading developer of innovative products that rapidly and effectively penetrate the mucosal barrier to treat ocular diseases, announced today that Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., Kalas President and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present at the Targeting Ocular Disorders Conference being held September 26-27, 2013 in Boston, MA. The presentation, entitled Breakthrough Solutions for Ocular Disease will take place on Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 3:30 p.m. ET during the Science for Success session. During his presentation, Dr. Pfefer will discuss the significant unmet need for improved therapeutic approaches to address the rapidly growing ocular disease market. He will highlight Kalas Mucus Penetrating Particles (MPPs) which are designed to treat both front and back of the eye disease with improved therapeutic profiles. About Kala Pharmaceuticals Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is advancing innovative treatments for ocular diseases addressing significant unmet needs in both front and back of the eye based on the Companys proprietary Mucus Penetrating Particle (MPP) technology. Kalas topical ocular MPP formulations enhance penetration of diverse therapeutic agents into ocular tissue, including those in the back of the eye, by facilitating penetration through the mucus layer of tear film. Kalas product development pipeline includes: … Continue reading →

Small but heading for a big time Appointment of Philippe MAUBERNA, CFO of Nanobiotix (since May 2013) to the Executive Board and creation of a Communications and Public Affairs Department headed by Sarah Gaubert PARIS, Sept. 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NANOBIOTIX (NANO), a clinical-stage nanomedicine company pioneering novel approaches for the local treatment of cancer, announces today the strengthening of its management team to support the company's growth within its business strategy. 1. Appointment of Philippe MAUBERNA, CFO of Nanobiotix since the end of May 2013 to the Executive Board by the Supervisory Board effective from August 28, 2013 As expert in management and development of financial and operational projects for the pharmaceutical industry, Philippe MAUBERNA (ISG-INSEAD), has been involved in several international projects (UK, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Indonesia). Dedicated to the Life Sciences industry for more than 10 years, he has held senior Financial and Operations positions at Astellas Pharma Europe participating in the reinforcement of EMEA commercial effectiveness in Africa and in Europe, most notably this was supporting market authorization for several healthcare products. He has also been heavily involved in financial projects for start-up launches and innovative SME development. As a consultant, he has … Continue reading →

Public release date: 20-Sep-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Herb Booth hbooth@uta.edu 817-272-7075 University of Texas at Arlington A UT Arlington associate professor is working with the American Heart Association on a new method that could use injected nanoparticles to recruit stem cells from the patient's own blood to build needed stents in a patient's failing blood vessels. Kytai Nguyen, a bioengineering associate professor, is working on the two-year, $140,000 grant to develop ways to more effectively treat peripheral artery disease, a malady that affects about 8 million Americans. "It's a narrowing of the arteries that affects so many people. There isn't a lot of research being done on it right now," Nguyen said. "Many times people with this disease are faced with amputation or death." About 30 percent of people with peripheral artery disease must have their affected leg amputated within two years and about 50 percent die within five years. Peripheral artery disease happens when plaque builds up in a person's arteries, which carry blood to all parts of the body. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances in the blood. The disease usually affects the legs but it can have consequences … Continue reading →