SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) today announced that it has funded nine new PCF Challenge Awards in an effort to accelerate scientific discovery and new treatments for prostate cancer patients. These nine awards represent a $9 million investment over a two-year period and were chosen from a pool of 96 applications received from researchers in 10 countries. Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Awards are designed to support cross-disciplinary teams of investigators in strategic areas of prostate cancer research and highly-innovative research projects with potential near-term patient benefits. These awards are given to projects not yet funded by any government or foundation program. The awards were announced after an extensive peer review process. These projects represent a range of focus and expertise that will address the most challenging problems in basic or translational research in prostate cancer. Two of the nine awards were made possible by a disbursement of unclaimed settlement funds for a class-action lawsuit in the state of Massachusetts, honoring the late Judge A. David Mazzone who passed away from prostate cancer in 2004. Mazzone was a famous Massachusetts litigator who was responsible for suits resulting in the clean-up of the Boston Harbor. In 2011, the … Continue reading →

Interim results from three patients in an early-stage trial of StemCells Inc's experimental cell treatment for chronic spinal cord injury show that two of them experienced gains in "sensory function," the company said. StemCells is using neural stem cells, technically adult stem cells, taken from the partly developed brains of fetuses and tested for qualities showing they are destined to form particular types of nerve cells. The company said that six months after being infused with the cells all three patients have tolerated the transplantation well and there are no safety concerns. "We clearly need to collect more data to establish efficacy, but we are encouraged," Stephen Huhn, vice president at StemCells, said in a statement. He also said the company is pushing ahead with plans to dose patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The initial phase of the trial involved patients with complete injuries and no neurological function below the level of the spinal injury. Changes in sensitivity to touch, heat and electrical stimuli were observed in areas below the level of injury in two of the patients, while no changes were seen in the third patient, the company said. See the rest here: 2 of 3 spinal injury … Continue reading →

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 $36.4 million under an option exercised by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the Department of Health and Human Services, for the advanced development of CLT-008, a first-in-class, allogeneic, cell-based therapy for the treatment of Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS). This third year of funding is in addition to the $80 million committed under the two-year base period and is part of a five-year award valued at up to $169.9 million. This additional funding will continue to support Cellerants CLT-008 development strategy by providing funds for its ongoing clinical trials, process development and manufacturing activities and the nonclinical studies required for approval in ARS. If licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal government could buy CLT-008 for the Strategic National Stockpile under Project Bioshield. Project Bioshield is designed to accelerate the research, development, purchase and availability of effective medical countermeasures for the Strategic National Stockpile. We are pleased that the federal government … Continue reading →

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AlloCure, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a phase 2 clinical trial of AC607, the companys mesenchymal stem cell therapy, as a potential treatment for acute kidney injury (AKI). The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial, designated ACT-AKI (AC607 Trial in Acute Kidney Injury) (NCT01602328), will enroll 200 cardiac surgery subjects at leading tertiary care centers in the United States. ACT-AKI follows the positive results from a phase 1 AC607 trial in cardiac surgery subjects, which showed an excellent safety profile and encouraging data on the incidence of AKI and hospital length of stay, said Robert M. Brenner, M.D., AlloCure President and Chief Executive Officer. We have worked closely with leaders in the field on the design of ACT-AKI, and trial initiation represents an important milestone for AlloCure and the patients we collectively serve. AC607 is a promising therapeutic candidate for AKI, for which effective therapies are greatly needed, said Richard J. Glassock, M.D., Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. The initiation of ACT-AKI represents a critical step in the development of an innovative therapy for this all-too-common, serious and costly medical condition, for which no … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc. (SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative diagnostic testing and genetic analysis solutions, today announced the appointment of Myla Lai-Goldman, M.D., to its Board of Directors, effective September 11, 2012. Dr. Lai-Goldman has also been appointed to the Science Committee of the Company's Board of Directors. Dr. Lai-Goldman is a managing partner at Personalized Science, LLC, and Chief Executive Officer of GeneCentric Diagnostics, Inc. and a Venture Partner with Hatteras Venture Partners. She previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Laboratory Corporation of America. She is a recognized author and speaker on clinical diagnostics, including factors that lead to successful adoption of novel technologies. "We welcome Dr. Lai-Goldman to our board, and look forward to her contributions as a renowned voice in the pathology community to add strategic counsel to our short-term and long-term growth efforts in the diagnostics market," said Harry F. Hixson, Jr., Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, Sequenom, Inc. Dr. Lai-Goldman received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from Columbia University. She completed a pathology residency and surgical pathology fellowship at UCLA in Los … Continue reading →

Professor Armin Curt, leading the study, described the result as fundamental. He said: To find something that can repair the spinal cord is a huge breakthrough. If we can show that something has changed for the better [as a result of stem cell therapy] thats fundamental. He presented the findings at the annual conference of the International Spinal Cord Society in London on Monday. Prof Curt was working in partnership with StemCells Inc., a Californian company which also has a base in Cambridge. Dr Stephen Huhn, from the firm, said: We think these stem cells are one of the first tools we have for actually repairing the central nervous system. "To see this kind of change in patients who truly have the worst-of-the-worst type of injury to the spinal cord is very exciting." The three patients, who all had complete spinal injury where they could feel nothing below the break, were each given a dose of 20 million adult neural stem cells about six months ago. This was primarily a safety trial, and Prof Curt said monitoring had shown a very good safety profile. But detailed questioning and objective tests also showed signals were passing up the injured spine to … Continue reading →