Jonathan Milner, CEO of antibodies hothouse Abcam, has joined other angels in backing an exciting new stem cell company in Cambridge UK. DefiniGEN is one of the first commercial opportunities to arise in the area of stem cells. The ability to generate stem cells by reprogramming cells from patients skin has revolutionised this area of research. These cells, known as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hIPSC), can be differentiated into almost any cell type, allowing the opportunity to have a ready source of human cells for testing new therapies. DefiniGEN has been formed to supply hIPSC-derived cells to the drug discovery and regenerative medicine sectors. The company is based on the research of Dr Ludovic Vallier, Dr Tamir Rashid and Professor Roger Pedersen of the Anne McLaren Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine. The hIPSC-derived cells produced by DefiniGEN show many of the functional characteristics of primary cells, are highly reproducible and can be made in large quantities, making them ideal for liver toxicity testing, which is a major cause of drug candidate failure. The universitys enterprise fund has also invested 50k in Inotec AMD a spin-out from the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, specialising in the treatment of chronic wounds. … Continue reading →

New research conducted at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Institute suggests that lung cancer stem cells can be successfully isolated and grown in a preclinical model. Such a process could provide a new method for investigating immunotherapy treatment options that target lung cancer stem cells. Increasing evidence supports the idea that cancerous tumors have a population of stem cells, also called cancer-initiating cells, that continually regenerate and fuel cancer growth, explains Dr. John Morris, lead author of the study and professor at the UC College of Medicine. These cancer stem cells may also have the highest potential to spread to other organs. The researchers stated that current research models provide limited information in the interaction between cancer stem cells and the immune system. They claim this makes it virtually impossible to study therapies that utilize the bodys immune system to fight off cancer. The new study, published this week in PLOS One, successfully isolated lung cancer stem cells that can be used in a mouse model with full immune system function. The researchers used a tumorsphere assay test to accomplish this feat, allowing them to enrich their samples to isolate cancer stem cells. The research team now hopes to … Continue reading →

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX) and its recently formed subsidiary BioTime Acquisition Corporation (BAC) jointly announced today that they have entered into a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with Geron Corporation. The LOI contains broad terms of a potential transaction through which Geron would contribute to BAC its intellectual property and other assets related to Gerons discontinued human embryonic stem cell programs. BioTime would contribute to BAC $5 million in cash, $30 million of BioTime common shares, warrants to purchase eight (8) million common shares of BioTime at a pre-specified price, rights to use certain human embryonic stem cell lines, and minority stakes in two of BioTimes subsidiaries. In addition, a private investor would invest $5 million in cash in BAC. Following consummation of the potential transaction, Geron stockholders would receive shares representing 21.4% of the common stock of BAC as well as warrants to purchase 8 million shares of BioTime common stock at a pre-specified price. BioTime would own approximately 71.6%, and a private investor would own approximately 7.0% of the outstanding BAC common stock for their $5 million investment. BioTime would also receive warrants that would enable it to increase its ownership in BAC by … Continue reading →