Worcester, MA (PRWEB) August 28, 2013 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $1.94 million grant to a biomedical research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) working at the forefront of cell therapies for healing cardiac muscle damaged by heart attack or chronic disease. Funded through the NIH's premiere Research Project Grant (R01) program, the project will be led by Glenn Gaudette, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, working in close collaboration with George Pins, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, and Michael Laflamme, MD, PhD, associate professor of pathology at the University of Washington. "We are grateful for the support of the National Institutes of Health and we hope that this intensive program of research will advance cell therapies for people who suffer from heart disease," Gaudette said. The multifaceted research program funded by the NIH grant is based on the use of biopolymer microthreads to deliver adult stem cells into damaged hearts to promote muscle regeneration. The microthreads, each about the width of a human hair, can be braided into cable-like structures that mimic natural connective tissues. First developed in Pins's lab as a potential tool for repairing torn anterior cruciate … Continue reading →

LAST week, I did an introduction on the use of and how stem cells can be beneficial in the treatment of illnesses, and how, this breakthrough in medical science should be handled with caution as well. It is good to bear in mind that, one treatment modality may be good for one patient, and may not be so for another patient. It is not uncommon for patients to feel well after a given treatment: one?s mind set and positive outlook and optimism can do wonders in one?s response to a given treatment. It may also be that at that time when the patient claimed to have felt better, that the natural fluctuations of the disease itself may be in occurrence; thus, the caution on the use of testimonials as a means of promoting something as a tool to advertise. Stem cell therapy, just like other discoveries in medicine and science, takes years to become perfected, for it to become ready for actual use in human beings. Research and studies and clinical trials don?t produce results overnight. As a general rule, the process involved is long and tedious, and requires animal models before it is administered to humans. The sad fact … Continue reading →

Newswise Four prominent researchers from UCLAs Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have received Early Translational research awards totaling approximately $13 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) the state stem cell agency. The UCLA researchers received four of the 12 total awards; no other applicant institution received more than one award. Dr. Jerome Zack professor of medicine and microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics; Dr. Robert Reiter, Bing professor of urologic research; Dr. Donald Kohn professor of pediatrics and microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the life sciences; and Dr. Gerald Lipshutz, associate professor-in-residence of surgery, urology and medicine each received grants that were announced at the meeting of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, CIRMs governing body, in La Jolla, CA on August 28, 2013. The grants are part of CIRMs Early Translational Research Initiative, which aims to fund and advance promising, innovative discoveries using stem cells. In this early translation phase, scientists are expected to do research that will result in the development of drugs or cellular therapies to be used in FDA-approved clinical trials; translating discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. Our CIRM grants highlight … Continue reading →

Manila, Philippines -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the government will not regulate the prices and fees for stem cell therapies in the country as the discussion about the new and contentious form of treatment continues to heat up in the Philippine medical community. ''We don't regulate price and we will probably never do that,'' said Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, FDA director, at a recent public hearing in Alabang, Muntinlupa, conducted by the FDA and Department of Health (DOH) on stem cell therapy regulation. Earlier this month, 22 medical professional organizations in the country including the Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine College of Surgeons and Philippine College of Chest Physicians issued a declaration that denounced false claims, misinformation and exorbitant fees imposed for unproven stem cell treatments in the country. At the public hearing, Go and Dr. Cynthia Rosuman of the DOH's Bureau of Health Facilities and Services (BHFS) discussed the DOH's Administrative Order 2013-0012, which set the rules and regulations governing accreditation of health facilities engaging in human stem cell, cell and cell-based therapies in the country. The FDA's regulations on stem cell products and facilities were also discussed at the forum attended mostly by medical professionals. Stem … Continue reading →

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) today announced that it has received approval from The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) to begin human clinical trials of Renevia, a unique biomaterial used as a delivery matrix for autologous adipose derived cells to treat the loss of subcutaneous adipose tissue (lipoatrophies) arising from trauma, surgical resection, and congenital defects and disease. This AEMPS approval follows the earlier approval this year from the Balearic Island Ethics Committee Approval for the first of a multiphase clinical investigation of Renevia. The clinical studies will be conducted at The Stem Center in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, an innovative patient therapy center, laboratory, and professional research facility located within the Clinica USP Palma Planas hospital in Palma. The Medical Director of The Stem Center and Principal Investigator for the Renevia studies, Ramon Lull, MD, PhD, is a leading expert on advanced regenerative therapies based on adipose technology. The Stem Center is owned and operated by the GID Group, Inc., Louisville, CO, USA. BioTime expects that the first clinical investigation, a study in 10 volunteers to demonstrate the safety of Renevia in humans, will be completed before the end of the year. Subsequent … Continue reading →