MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced treatment of the final patient in the first patient cohort in its Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Stargardts macular dystrophy (SMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The surgery was performed on Friday, July 27 at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, the same site as the first two treatments, by a team of surgeons led by Professor James Bainbridge, consultant surgeon at Moorfields and Chair of Retinal Studies at University College London. The outpatient transplant surgery was performed successfully without any complications, and the patient is recovering uneventfully. This is the tenth patient overall to now be treated with the RPE cell therapy developed by the company. Our European trial is making very steady progress, having now completed enrollment of the first patient cohort, commented Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO. We are very encouraged and look forward to receiving clearance to initiate the treatment of the second patient cohort in the coming weeks. The Phase 1/2 trial is designed to determine the safety and tolerability of hESC-derived RPE cells following sub-retinal transplantation in … Continue reading →

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) -- Osiris Therapeutics Inc. said Monday it took a loss in the second quarter, but the company received the first two marketing approvals for its stem cell therapy Prochymal. The company reported greater sales of its biosurgery products in the second quarter. However in the second quarter of 2011, Osiris turned a profit after recognizing more than $10 million in royalty payments and revenue from collaborative research and development agreements. Osiris said it took a loss of $4.3 million, or 13 cents per share. A year ago it reported net income of $1.8 million, or 5 cents per share. Product revenue rose to $1.6 million from $130,000, but revenue from royalty payments and research and development collaborations declined to $98,000 from $10.2 million. Analysts expected Osiris to report a loss of 15 cents per share and revenue of $1.6 million, according to FactSet. Osiris said in May that Canadian regulators granted conditional approval to Prochymal. The therapy is used to treat graft vs. host disease, a condition in which transplanted bone marrow cells attack the body of the patient. Regulators in New Zealand gave full approval to Prochymal in June. The Food and Drug Administration has not … Continue reading →

(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Six-year-old Logan Hilton, who is autistic, plays on his parents' bed while watching a kid's video, Friday July 27, 2012. Logan's mother, Michelle Hilton, qualifies for a new pilot program to treat Logan. The problem is she needs to contribute $6,000 to fully benefit. Health Families must pay $6,000 per year toward treatment. The adorable little boy wearing the backpack is 6 years old, but Logan Hilton cant hold a conversation and doesnt understand how to make friends. A website designed to raise $12,000 for two years of Applied Behavior Analysis autism treatment for him explains that without help, "Logan would require constant costly care for the rest of his life." Utahs two-year autism treatment pilot, which launched this year, is intended to help kids like Logan. His mom works for the Department of Corrections, and as the child of a public employee, he can now receive up to $30,000 worth of behavioral treatment each year. The problem is that families covered by the Public Employees Health Program still need to contribute $6,000 annually to take advantage of the maximum state benefit. "Im grateful for it, but at the same time its not … Continue reading →

The era of genomic sequencing has generated an unparalleled wealth of information on the complexity of genetic changes that occur as cancer develops and progresses. "Many genetic changes arise in cancer cells and changes continue to accumulate during the progression of disease to metastatic cancer[1]. The current challenge is to understand which of the many genetic changes are important drivers of disease progression" said Dr. Stephen Cohen, Principal Investigator at IMCB and team leader of this paper. Though very different in many ways, fruit flies and humans share similarities in a remarkable two-thirds of their genomes. That is to say, many of the genes found in humans are also present in the flies. Similarly, various signalling pathways involved in tumour formation are also well conserved from fruit flies to humans. In fact, previous studies have shown that about 75 percent of known human disease genes have a recognisable match in the genome of fruit flies[2]. Leveraging on their genetic similarities, Dr Hector Herranz, a post-doctorate from the Dr Cohen's team developed an innovative strategy to genetically screen the whole fly genome for "cooperating" cancer genes. On their own, these are the genes that appear to be harmless and have little … Continue reading →

Scientific Media Release 30 July 2012 FRUIT FLIES LIGHT THE WAY FOR A*STAR SCIENTISTS TO PINPOINT GENETIC CHANGES THAT SPELL CANCER 1. By studying fruit flies, scientists at A*STARs Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have successfully devised a fast and cost-saving way to uncover genetic changes that have a higher potential to cause cancer. With this new approach, researchers will now be able to rapidly distinguish the range of genetic changes that are causally linked to cancer (i.e. driver mutations) versus those with limited impact on cancer progression. This research paves the way for doctors to design more targeted treatment against the different cancer types, based on the specific cancer-linked mutations present in the patient. This study published in the prestigious journal Genes & Development could help advance the development of personalised medicine in cancer care and treatment. 2. The era of genomic sequencing has generated an unparalleled wealth of information on the complexity of genetic changes that occur as cancer develops and progresses. Many genetic changes arise in cancer cells and changes continue to accumulate during the progression of disease to metastatic cancer[1]. The current challenge is to understand which of the many genetic changes are important … Continue reading →