Category Archives: Cell Medicine

BARCELONA, Spain & AARHUS, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today European scientists are meeting to kick off the 4DCellFate project, funded by the European Commission under the FP7 program. The 4DcellFate project will tackle the question of how the Polycomb Repressive Complex (PRC) and Nucleosome Remodelling and histone Deacetylase (NuRD) complexes function across the genome and time during differentiation, by applying cutting-edge technologies, such as structural biology, microscopy, proteomics, high-throughput sequencing, and computational modeling. "Understanding how the PRC and NuRD complexes determine cell fate is a prerequisite for developing models for diseases, such as cancer, that can be used both for further research and for developing personalized medicine therapies." states Director of R&D at CLC bio, Dr. Roald Forsberg, and continues, "The 4DCellFate project is a truly interdisciplinary and innovative project that will generate a wealth of experimental data. We look forward to applying our expertise in building integrated bioinformatics frameworks for handling, visualizing, and integrating all this data and to build new computational models of diseases to help researchers better understand these mechanisms." ICREA Research Professor and group leader at the CRG in Barcelona, Luciano Di Croce, adds, "This network has brought together the optimal mix of expertise, laboratories, techniques, and resources … Continue reading →

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (“ACT”; OTCBB: ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today the dosing of third patient in its Phase 1/2 trial for Stargardt’s macular dystrophy (SMD) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The patient was treated on Monday (Feb. 6) by Steven Schwartz, M.D., Ahmanson Professor of Ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and retina division chief at UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute. The outpatient transplantation surgery was performed successfully and the patient is recovering uneventfully. “With the treatment of this third Stargardt’s patient at Jules Stein Eye Institute, we have now completed the treatment of the first cohort of patients under our clinical protocol for phase I/II of our U.S. SMD trial,” said Gary Rabin, chairman and chief executive officer of ACT. “We will continue to regularly monitor the three SMD patients in this trial, and by early spring anticipate review of their progress and safety-related data by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). With approval of the DSMB, we would then advance to the next cohort of patients and administer a … Continue reading →

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Everist Genomics, a rapidly growing personalized medicine company, today announced that world-renowned scientist and genome sequencing pioneer Dr. J. Craig Venter will be the keynote speaker for its March 26th Gala Dinner at the Field Museum in Chicago.   (Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120213/NY52008&nbsp😉 (Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110110/NY26865LOGO&nbsp😉 Dr. Venter achieved global prominence in 2001 for being the first to sequence the human genome, accomplishing this feat two years in advance of the government-sponsored Human Genome Project and at a fraction of the cost. He received acclaim again in 2010 for leading a team of scientists to create the first synthetic life form, a single-cell bacterium known as Mycoplasma laboratorium. His contributions to the field of genomics—including the decoding of his own genome—have enabled the new era of personalized medicine, in which treatment of medical conditions are tailored to individual patients. Dr. Venter, who was twice named to Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people, founded the J. Craig Venter Institute, a research organization with more than 500 scientists and staff dedicated to human, microbial, plant, synthetic and environmental genomic research and the exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics. Dr. Venter is also … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer gene analysis to routine clinical care, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today announced the Nature Medicine publication of results from their collaborative next-generation sequencing (NGS) study to assay cancer-relevant genes in 24 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. In this study, 59% of the samples were found to have genomic alterations directly associated with a clinically-available targeted therapeutic or a relevant clinical trial of a targeted therapy. Two novel gene fusions, KIF5B-RET in NSCLC and C2orf44-ALK in CRC, were discovered among the potentially druggable alterations identified in the study. Both of these findings may expand therapeutic options for a subset of cancer patients. This publication demonstrates that using targeted NGS to profile patient tumors for molecular alterations associated with therapeutic responses may have an important clinical impact in cancer treatment. “In this collaboration, we detected clinically-relevant genomic alterations in more than half of the samples profiled, and, because Foundation Medicine’s NGS assay detects all classes of alterations with clinical-grade sensitivity, this research was able to identify both expected as well as completely novel alterations,” said Maureen Cronin, Ph.D., senior vice president, research … Continue reading →

Friday, 10 February 2012, 11:06 am Press Release: University of Auckland New Zealand scientists discover how infection triggers blood stem cell growth Research at The University of Auckland has shed light on an area of medicine which has intrigued the international scientific community for decades. Scientists at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences have identified a molecular mechanism which links infection to an increase in rare blood stem cells in an animal. Their paper was published today in the prestigious Boston-based journal Cell Stem Cell. This high impact journal publishes novel results of unusual significance in the field of stem cell research. The findings show blood stem and progenitor cells can directly react to inflammatory stress by proliferating and differentiating into the required mature blood cells. The discovery opens up a field of study into stem cells and how the blood system is “fine-tuned” in response to stressors. This new understanding of exactly how microbes signal to the stem cells has important implications for the treatment of infections and many diseases that have an inflammatory component, including cancer. “The longer term impact could be significant in terms of how stem cell growth and development can be manipulated therapeutically. There … Continue reading →

RED BANK, NJ--(Marketwire -02/08/12)- American CryoStem Corporation (OTCQB: CRYO.OB - News), a commercial developer, manufacturer and marketer of clinical products and services involving adipose tissue and adipose derived adult stem cells, announced its association with the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM). ARM is a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization that promotes legislative, regulatory and reimbursement initiatives necessary to facilitate access to life-giving advances in regenerative medicine. American CryoStem's decision to join ARM was based on the alignment of its ongoing mission to offer the highest quality products and services to help accelerate the regenerative medicine industry and ARM's support of policy efforts toward safe and reliable cellular products. Morrie Ruffin, Managing Director for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, commented, "We are delighted to have American CryoStem as part of the Alliance and look forward to working together to advance the field of adipose-derived stem cells for a variety of therapeutic applications." ARM's membership is diverse, representing leading regenerative medicine companies and investors, university-based and non-profit research institutions, patient advocacy groups, pharmaceutical companies engaged in regenerative medicine research and other organizations supporting regenerative medicine. American CryoStem has created and commercialized core proprietary products and platforms for processing, storing and quality management of … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Vicki Bendure vicki@bendurepr.com 202-374-9259 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine DALLAS (February 11, 2012) ? In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting ?, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that elevated levels of cell-free DNA in the first trimester do not predict the subsequent development of preeclampsia. "I wanted to identify if elevated levels of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood early in pregnancy could identify women at risk for the subsequent development of preeclampsia. I found that there is no significant difference in levels of total or free fetal DNA in the first trimester in women who subsequently develop preeclampsia," said Bob Silver, MD, with the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and Intermountain Healthcare, Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Silver conducted the study, entitled First Trimester Free Fetal DNA in The Maternal Circulation as a Predictor of Preeclampsia. ### A copy of the abstract is available at http://www.smfmnewsroom.org/annual-meeting/2011-meeting-abstracts/. For interviews please contact Vicki Bendure at Vicki@bendurepr.com, 540-687-3360 (office) or 202-374-9259 (cell), or Jacqueline Boggess at jacqueline@bendurepr.com, 540-687-5399 (office) or 202-738-3054 (cell). The … Continue reading →

06-01-2012 11:46 pennstatehershey.org In this episode of Medicine in Blue and White: The incredible connection between one fourteen year old boy -- and the thousands of people he has helped over the past forty years. Combining aerospace engineering and medical technology to help improve health care in developing countries. Never-before-seen-behavior under the microscope that could lead to a cure for some of the most challenging diseases we face. And a new way to test for what is -- literally -- an age-old problem. See the article here: Medicine in Blue and White - Episode 3 - Penn State Hershey Medical Center - Video … Continue reading →

09-02-2012 15:56 Sonny Ray shares his experience about Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. Learn more about our Blood and Marrow Transplant Program: http://www.vanderbilthealth.com Read the original: Stem Cell Transplant: Sonny's Story - Video … Continue reading →

09-02-2012 15:56 Sonny Ray shares his experience about Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. Learn more about our Blood and Marrow Transplant Program: http://www.vanderbilthealth.com Read the original: Stem Cell Transplant: Sonny's Story - Video … Continue reading →