SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cellerant Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel hematopoietic stem cell-based cellular and antibody therapies for blood disorders and cancer, announced today that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 contract and a Phase 2 option from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) valued up to $1,683,503. The SBIR Contract funds the development of CLT-009, a first-in-class, human allogeneic Megakaryocyte Progenitor Cell therapy for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in cancer patients and allows the Company to conduct studies to enable an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application to be filed with the FDA in the next two years. Thrombocytopenia is characterized as a significant reduction in the concentration of circulating platelets. Platelets are crucial in the process of coagulation to stop bleeding, and thrombocytopenia can increase the risk of severe bleeding in patients. It is becoming an increasingly common problem among oncology patients and a significant dose-limiting toxicity, especially in the treatment of hematological malignancies. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most common causes of thrombocytopenia because the platelet-producing cells, megakaryocytes, and their precursors are highly sensitive to myelosuppressive cytotoxics and ionizing radiation. Thrombocytopenia typically occurs during the initial cycles of high-dose chemotherapy … Continue reading →

British researcher John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka from Japan have shared the Nobel prize for medicine or physiology. The two pioneers of stem cell research were awarded the prize for transforming specialised cells into stem cells, which can become any other type of cell in the body. John Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the specialisation of cells is reversible. In a classic experiment, he replaced the immature cell nucleus in an egg cell of a frog with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. This modified egg cell developed into a normal tadpole. The DNA of the mature cell still had all the information needed to develop all cells in the frog. Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Surprisingly, by introducing only a few genes, he could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells, i.e. immature cells that are able to develop into all types of cells in the body. These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and cellular specialisation. By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis … Continue reading →

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Shinya Yamanaka of Japan and John Gurdon of Britain won the Nobel Prize on Monday for work in cell programming, a frontier that has raised dreams of replacement tissue for people crippled by disease. The two scientists found that adult cells can be transformed back to an infant state called stem cells, the the key ingredient in the vision of regenerative medicine. "Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop," the Nobel jury declared. "By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy." Among those who acclaimed the award were Britain's Royal Society, Ian Wilmut, "father" of Dolly the cloned sheep, and a leading ethicist, who said it eased a storm about the use of embryonic cells. Stem cells are precursor cells which differentiate into the various organs of the body. They have stirred huge excitement, with hopes that they can be coaxed into growing into replacement tissue for victims of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases. Gurdon, 79, said he was grateful but also surprised by the honour, since his main research was done more than 40 years ago. In 1962, he discovered … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS), an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy market, announced today that data from its collaborative studies with the University of Michigan School of Dentistry further expands the therapeutic potential of its proprietary regenerative cell therapy product, "VSELSTM" (very small embryonic-like stem cells), by demonstrating bone regeneration capabilities in a study published online ahead of print1 in the journal Stem Cells and Development (DOI: 10.1089/scd.2012.0327). The paper highlights that human VSEL stem cells form human bone when implanted in the bone tissue of SCID mice. VSELs are a population of stem cells found in adult bone marrow with potential regenerative properties similar to those of embryonic stem cells. NeoStem has shown that these cells can be mobilized into the peripheral blood, enabling a minimally invasive means for collecting what NeoStem believes to be a population of stem cells that have the potential to achieve the positive benefits associated with embryonic stem cells without the ethical or moral dilemmas or the potential negative effects known to be associated with embryonic stem cells. This published controlled study, funded by NIH and led by Dr. Russell Taichman, Major Ash Collegiate … Continue reading →

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY--(Marketwire - Oct 8, 2012) - Genetic Immunity (OTCBB: PWRV) is pleased to announce the GMP approval of its manufacturing facility. The development of the GMP manufacturing process and the facility was financed from a $4 million grant received from the Hungarian Office for Innovation and Technology. "To establish a GMP manufacturing facility is a major milestone for Genetic Immunity. Initially, it will serve our need to produce high quality ingredients to our nanomedicine products tested in clinical trials. We developed our GMP manufacturing technology and processes to be suitable to upgrade them to a commercial scale. This approval demonstrates the capability of our team to advance our DermaVir HIV-specific immunotherapy to the market, and our new candidate products from the bench to the bedside,"said Dr. Julianna Lisziewicz, CEO of Genetic Immunity. The GMP status is provided for the manufacturing and the validated quality control processes of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient of our immunotherapeutic nanomedicine products.Genetic Immunity has a state of the art R&D laboratory that includes a dedicated GMP facility. Due to the platform feature of our plasmid DNA based nanomedicine technology, only the nucleotide sequence of the DNA is specific for the target disease. Consequently, the manufacturing … Continue reading →

Regenerative medicine, a field that didn't exist 20 years ago and contains techniques seemingly straight out of science fiction, could be the next big thing in Virginia's biotechnology sector. That's the opinion of Roy Ogle, an expert in the field who works at Old Dominion University as head of its new school of Medical Diagnostic and Translational Sciences. So what is regenerative medicine? Simply put, it's the process of re-growing human cells to repair damaged tissues and organs. In a meeting Thursday hosted by the Virginia Biotechnology Association, Ogle and Brian Pollok, principal of Rapidan BioAdvisors, discussed one of the field's newest developments: induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs. Let's go back to high school biology: Perhaps you remember embryonic stem cells. These cells can differentiate into different types of cells skin, blood, bone, muscle before a baby is born. But their use in scientific research has become controversial and difficult. So scientists needed a new way to develop stem cells. iPSCs are already formatted cells that are "induced," or returned, to their original state as a stem cell. Then that stem cell can be reprogrammed to become a different type of cell. For example, a researcher can take a … Continue reading →