RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- To help biopharmaceutical companies dramatically improve drug development productivity and deliver greater value, Quintiles today announced the acquisition of Expression Analysis, Inc. (EA), a premier provider of genomics testing and analysis to biopharma, academic, government and non-profit customers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This is the latest in a series of acquisitions and alliances designed to help Quintiles customers leverage the power of genomics to better understand diseases; develop diagnostic tools; and deliver safer, more effective therapies based on the genetic makeup of the disease and the patient. The addition of EAs Genomic Know-How to Quintiles is another step forward in our efforts to bring personalized medicine into mainstream drug development, said Thomas Wollman, Senior Vice President, Quintiles Global Laboratories. Its expertise in genetic sequencing and advanced bioinformatics is essential to understanding diseases and drugs at the molecular level. Thats a huge step in creating more value across the healthcare spectrum. EA has about 77 employees, most based in its offices near Research Triangle Park. Steve McPhail, EA President and Chief Executive Officer, said: The combination of Quintiles Global Laboratories and EA genomic technology excellence will facilitate worldwide access to resources and expertise … Continue reading →

WEST HAVEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC) (the "Company") announced today that an anti-influenza drug candidate under its FluCide program is effective when given orally. The Company has received information that a FluCide drug candidate designed for oral administration has shown very strong efficacy in corresponding animal studies. This information was received from the contract laboratory that performed the studies, namely, KARD Scientific, Inc. The studies involved the same highly lethal animal model the Company has continued to use for its influenza drug development program. The Company is awaiting data from the studies and intends to release additional information as the data are analyzed and studied. We are pleasantly surprised that the modifications that we have been studying for the development of a nanoviricide that can be orally effective have indeed succeeded, said Anil R. Diwan, PhD, President of the Company. Molecules that nanomedicines are comprised of are notoriously difficult to develop into orally available drugs. This is indeed a coup for our nanomedicine technologies, he further explained. We are very excited by the success of this oral administration study and look forward to the data, said Randall W. Barton, Chief Scientific Officer of the Company, adding An … Continue reading →

NEW YORK & PETACH TIKVAH, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and CNS therapeutics, announced that Rasheda Ali Walsh, daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali, visited the Companys laboratories as well as its cleanrooms at Hadassah Medical Center, where she received a briefing on the companys clinical trial conducted there. Ms. Ali Walsh, an internationally known advocate for promoting research and awareness of neurodegenerative diseases, is a member of the Advisory Board of BrainStorm. BrainStorms President, Mr. Chaim Lebovits, and CEO Dr. Adrian Harel accompanied Ms. Ali Walsh for a meeting with Prof. Dimitrios Karussis, Principal Investigator of the Companys ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial at Hadassah, and Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur, Head of the Neurology Department. The group discussed the latest innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and BrainStorms leading role in this area. Having heard so much about the recent positive interim safety report and the outstanding progress being made by BrainStorm at Hadassah, I felt the need to actually meet the team in person, commented Ms. Ali. The amazing work being done here gives a ray of hope to patients and families worldwide that autologous stem cell transplants may be the … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2012) Duke researchers may have found a promising stem cell therapy for preventing osteoarthritis after a joint injury. Injuring a joint greatly raises the odds of getting a form of osteoarthritis called post-traumatic arthritis, or PTA. There are no therapies yet that modify or slow the progression of arthritis after injury. Researchers at Duke University Health System have found a very promising therapeutic approach to PTA using a type of stem cell, called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), in mice with fractures that typically would lead to them developing arthritis. Their findings could lead to a therapy that would be used after joint injury and before signs of significant osteoarthritis. The scientists thought the stem cells would work to prevent PTA by altering the balance of inflammation and regeneration in knee joints, because these stem cells have beneficial properties in other regions of the body. "The stem cells were able to prevent post-traumatic arthritis," said Farshid Guilak, Ph.D., director of orthopaedic research at Duke and senior author of the study. The study was published on August 10 in Cell Transplantation. The researchers also thought that a type of mice bred for their super-healing properties would probably fare better … Continue reading →

TORONTO To arthritis patients, they still seem like wonders of modern medicine: artificial hip and knee implants that curb chronic pain. In fact, 14,000 Canadians a year receive hip replacements and more than 21,000 undergo knee replacements, the numbers soaring over the last decade. If Dr. Nizar Mahomed and colleagues at the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto succeed with fascinating new research, however, such surgery will eventually become a thing of the past. The operations are, in fact, anything but panaceas, never really restoring people to their healthiest state, and often requiring replacement when the implant wears out, acknowledges Dr. Mahomed, head of orthopedics at the UHNs Toronto Western Hospital. With those limitations in mind, the UHN is pursuing research that aims to find a biological cure for joints decimated by osteo-arthritis, the most common form of the disease. Most dazzling among several experiments is a project that uses stem cells to create bone and cartilage, which researchers hope can be turned into a sort of organic joint implant that would fuse with existing tissue and regenerate diseased knees and hips. Theoretically, the limits imposed on artificial joint-replacement patients would be forgotten. If we can find biological repair options, … Continue reading →