(Phys.org) -- The purple sea urchin could help develop cures for diseases such as Alzheimers and cancer, scientists at the University of St Andrews have discovered. Creatures, such as the sea urchin and sponge, have been discovered to have a special genetic sequence previously only thought to be used by certain viruses. Now these sea creatures could inform scientists how to produce a therapeutic response in our own cells. This latest finding builds on the earlier discovery of a short genetic sequence (2A) caused by viruses which can be used to return cells to a stem-cell like state allowing them to be manipulated and used for special treatments. Martin Ryan, Professor of Translational Virology at the University of St Andrews, was the key researcher in that discovery. He said: You could put two or more different genes into one cell, but each individual gene would be expressed at very different levels. This process allows you to daisy-chain multiple genes into a single gene, but the different proteins made from each part of the new gene are expressed at the same level and within the same cell - which is a massive step forward. This sequence was first discovered in Foot-and-Mouth … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Knome Inc., the human genome interpretation company, announced today that a leading clinical geneticist, Heidi Rehm, PhD, has joined the companys scientific advisory board. Dr. Rehm is highly respected and influential figure in clinical genomics, said Martin Tolar, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Knome. We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Rehm to our scientific advisory board and look forward to her guidance as we deploy our informatics and interpretation technology into the clinic. Dr. Rehm is a board-certified clinical geneticist who is currently Chief Laboratory Director of theLaboratory for Molecular Medicine at Partners HealthCare Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine as well as Assistant Professor of Pathology and Director of the Clinical Molecular Genetics Training Program at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the rapid translation of new genetic discoveries into clinical tests and on bringing novel technologies and software systems into molecular diagnostics to support the integration of genetics into clinical use. Dr. Rehm also conducts research on hearing loss, Usher syndrome, cardiomyopathy and the use of information technology in enabling personalized medicine. She received a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral work in Neurobiology, followed by a fellowship at Harvard … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Capricor, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved initiation of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the ALLSTAR study, which will use allogeneic cardiac-derived stem cells (CDCs) to treat patients following large myocardial infarctions (MI). ALLSTAR will study the use of CAP-1002 delivered directly into a coronary artery from thirty days to one year following a heart attack. The trial will have a 14 patient lead in phase and is planned as a 260 patient, twenty center randomized controlled trial. ALLSTAR will study a variety of safety and effectiveness endpoints with the goal of demonstrating sufficiently strong data to permit an eventual Phase III trial as a path to commercialization of CAP-1002. ALLSTAR is predicated on the positive results of the landmark CADUCEUS trial that showed approximately 50 percent reduction of scar size and 50 percent more viable muscle in the infarction zones of patients studied one year after a heart attack. ALLSTAR will use donor cells whereas CADUCEUS used each patients own CDCs. The shift from autologous to allogeneic cells is supported by extensive pre-clinical evidence of safety and effectiveness and … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Capricor, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved initiation of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the ALLSTAR study, which will use allogeneic cardiac-derived stem cells (CDCs) to treat patients following large myocardial infarctions (MI). ALLSTAR will study the use of CAP-1002 delivered directly into a coronary artery from thirty days to one year following a heart attack. The trial will have a 14 patient lead in phase and is planned as a 260 patient, twenty center randomized controlled trial. ALLSTAR will study a variety of safety and effectiveness endpoints with the goal of demonstrating sufficiently strong data to permit an eventual Phase III trial as a path to commercialization of CAP-1002. ALLSTAR is predicated on the positive results of the landmark CADUCEUS trial that showed approximately 50 percent reduction of scar size and 50 percent more viable muscle in the infarction zones of patients studied one year after a heart attack. ALLSTAR will use donor cells whereas CADUCEUS used each patients own CDCs. The shift from autologous to allogeneic cells is supported by extensive pre-clinical evidence of safety and effectiveness and … Continue reading →