Category Archives: Cell Therapy

Advancellssays its stem cell-based therapy completely reversed multiple sclerosis (MS) in an Indian pilot trial with only one MS patient. The patient, Rahul Gupta, was diagnosed with MS seven years ago and has since suffered multiple relapses. His disease was progressing fast and he was quickly losing his ability to walk. Gupta, who lives in New Zealand, approached Advancells a company based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh that specializes in the use of stem cells for therapeutic purposes. After my last relapse, I became determined to look for alternative treatments for multiple sclerosis,Gupta said in a press release. I started looking on the net and found that stem-cell therapy [offers] hope for people suffering with MS [and] that it is safe and would not harm me in any way. I was determined to undergo stem-cell treatment, as my illness was progressing very quickly. Gupta enrolled inAdvancells adult stem-cell therapy program as the trials single patient. In the procedure carried outin June at a New Delhi clinic doctors isolated stem cells from his bone marrow and re-infused them back into the patientat specific points. Apart from this procedure, Gupta underwent only physiotherapy and a dietary routine. Straight after the … Continue reading →

PHILADELPHIA When doctors saw the report on Bill Ludwigs bone-marrow biopsy, they thought it was a mistake and ordered the test repeated. But the results came back the same: His lethal leukemia had been wiped out by an experimental treatment never before used in humans. We were hoping for a little improvement, remembered the 72-year-old retired New Jersey corrections officer, who had battled the disease for a decade. He and his oncologist both broke down when she delivered the good news in 2010. Nobody was hoping for zero cancer. The pioneering therapy administered to Ludwig and a few other adults at the University of Pennsylvania hospital paved the way for clinical trials with children. Six-year-old Emily Whitehead, who was near death, became the first pediatric recipient in 2012. Like Ludwig, she remains cancer-free. Such results are why the treatment is on track to become the first gene therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration. An FDA advisory committee will decide Wednesday whether to recommend approval of the approach, which uses patients own genetically altered immune cells to fight blood cancers. If the panel gives the nod, the agency probably will follow suit by the end of September. That would … Continue reading →

According to recent study, advancements in materials from this study could potentially help patients requiring stem cell therapies for spinal cord injuries, stroke, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, arthritic joints or any other condition requiring tissue regeneration. Earlier research revolved around the role of autoimmunity in terms of a treatment. Its important in the context of cell therapies for people to cure these diseases or regenerate tissues that are no longer functional, shared Samuel I. Stupp, director of Northwesterns Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology and Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering. Cells in our bodies are constantly being signalled with many types of instructions coming from proteins and other molecules present in the matrices that surround them. For example, these can be cues for cells to express specific genes so they can proliferate or differentiate into several types of cells leading to growth or regeneration of tissues. One of the marvels of this signalling machinery is the built-in capacity in living organisms to make signals stop and restart as needed, or to switch off one signal and activate a different one to orchestrate very complex processes. Building artificial materials with this type of … Continue reading →

TheAmerican Medical Associationis adding descriptions ofCytori Therapeuticscell-based therapy for scleroderma of the hands to its authoritative database of medical procedures, services and technology. Because so many players in the American healthcare system use the database as a reference, the addition of thedescriptions will help Cytori spread the word in the medical community about the HabeoCell Therapyit is developing. The company said the descriptions will also help it continue to advance the therapy through the clinical trial process. A code accompanies each of the descriptions in the AMAsCurrent Procedural Terminology database. The code-based descriptions provide information about medical procedures and services to doctors, patients, government healthcare agencies, medical accreditation associations, health insurance companies and others. The AMAsCurrent Procedural Terminology Editorial Panel approved Cytoris request to add the descriptions to the databases Category III listings, which cover emerging healthcare technology, procedures and services. The AMA has published the two codes and the descriptions that they cover on its website. They will become effective on Jan. 1, 2018. Cytori worked with the American College of Rheumatology, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the American Society for Surgery of the Handon its application request to the AMA. We applaud the Editorial Panels approval … Continue reading →

SINGAPORE - The use of stem cells to reverse liver cirrhosis - or the hardening of the liver - is being explored in a clinical trial. Conducted by a multi-centre team led by the National University Hospital (NUH), doctors aim to determine if stem cell therapy can improve liver function. Previously, liver cirrhosis, caused by various diseases such as chronic hepatitis B and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, was thought to be irreversible. A liver transplant provides a definitive cure to end-stage cirrhosis. However, in Singapore, less than 5 per cent of end-stage liver cirrhosis patients receive a liver transplant. The number of people on the waiting list for a liver transplant has been increasing over the years, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health. In 2007, there were nine on the waiting list, compared with 57 last year. There are around 50 waiting for a liver transplant this year. Also, many patients do not fulfil the eligibility criteria to receive a liver transplant due to other health complications or being above the age limit of 70 years. The $2.6 million study, which was launched on Tuesday (July 11),is funded by the National Medical Research Counciland 46 patients will be … Continue reading →

How do veterinarians help a giraffe ease its arthritis pain? Well, it takes a little more than an aspirin and a gulp of water. Recently, Colorado State University veterinarians traveled to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to help Mahali, a 14-year-old giraffe, with arthritis pain in his front left hoof. Arthritis is a common problem for giraffes, especially geriatric giraffes like Mahali. Who can blame them? Weighing in at 2,000 pounds on average, their four feet support more than one ton of weight. Thats like carrying two grand pianos on your back all day. With its 17-giraffe herd trained for voluntary husbandry, including hoof trims, blood draws and radiographs, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is uniquely suited to help find better arthritis treatments for giraffes. Dr. Amanda Morphet, who is training to specialize in exotic and zoo animal medicine at CSU, believes stem-cell therapy can help alleviate arthritis pain. Currently, arthritis in these megavertebrates is managed through corrective hoof trims, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, cold-laser therapy and pain medications. But, these practices are not always enough to keep giraffes, which can live up to 30 years, comfortable as they age. CSU veterinarians Dr. Val Johnson and Dr. Amanda Morphet, and the zoos lead veterinarian Dr. Liza … Continue reading →

LONDON (Reuters) - Novartis has signed a major contract with Oxford BioMedica that could earn the British company more than $100 million over three years for supplying the Swiss drugmaker with material for its novel cell therapy CTL019. The deal, announced by Oxford BioMedica on Thursday, could help put the veteran biotech firm on a path to sustainable profitability. The contract is for the supply of lentiviral vectors used to generate CTL019, a new kind of treatment for hard-to-treat leukemia that is expected to reach the market this year. A U.S. advisory panel will discuss the case for approving CTL019 at a meeting on July 12 and Novartis has already designated the treatment as a potential blockbuster. Oxford BioMedica will received $10 million from Novartis upfront, as well as payments for various performance incentives and bioprocessing and development services. It will also get a royalty on future sales of CTL-019. Jefferies analysts said this could earn Oxford BioMedica between 65 million and 75 million pounds ($84-97 million) a year, assuming CTL019 peak sales of at least $1 billion. The agreement also covers the supply of vectors for other undisclosed Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CART) products. Reporting by Ben Hirschler; … Continue reading →

An FDA greenlight for sickle cell disease therapy Endari has catapulted its developer, Emmaus Medical, into the spotlight, but commercializing the new drug could be challenging. The approval means the privately-held biotech has ended a 20-year drought in new therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited disease in which red blood cells are abnormally shaped and can't deliver oxygen as effectively to body tissues. Prior to this, the only other drug approved for the disease in the U.S. was hydroxyurea. Most of the 100,000 people in the U.S. with SCD are covered by Medicare and Medicaid, so the company will need to pitch the price of the drug at a level that will ensure access to patients is not obstructed by payer resistance. Its job is made harder by the fact that the active ingredient is already widely used as a dietary supplement. For now, the Californiabiotech, led by Yutaka Niihara M.D., is playing its cards pretty close to its chest. It said it wasplanning a launch in the fourth quarter of the year, but isn't showing its hand on pricing just yet, limiting itself to a statement that it will price Endari at a "reasonable" level to ensure … Continue reading →

Stem cells and stroke The past decade has seena rise in the number of stem cell-derived therapies targeting ischemic stroke in preclinical and early clinical studies. Corroborated by numerous scientific reports, the therapeutic benefits of stem cells include an extension of the time window for drug intervention, improvement of neurological deficits, reduction of infarct volume, pro-regenerative cerebral reorganization, mitigation of poststroke neuro-inflammation, and tissue restoration, all of which depend on the time after infarct, cell type used, and route of administration13. The wide range of effects observed for stem cell therapies demonstrates that functional recovery after stroke occurs via multiple mechanisms rather than a single target46. Research indicates that the mode of action may depend on the stem cell type and other key factors, including infarct size and location, mode of intervention, and timing poststroke68. Thus, some understanding of the cellular, molecular, and biochemical events that are involved in the mode of action of a stem cell type is a prerequisite to improving and optimizing its therapeutic benefits. Our 2012 review of cell therapy in stroke showed the wide variety of cell types used preclinically and clinically in stroke treatment research1. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) of multiple origins and phenotypes … Continue reading →

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will ask a panel of advisors to focus on the safety of Novartis AG's experimental gene therapy drug when it meets to review the product on Wednesday. The keenly anticipated preliminary review of the leukemia treatment, posted on the FDA's website on Monday, comes two days ahead of the advisory panel meeting, which will discuss the drug and vote on whether the benefits exceed the risks. If approved, the drug, tisagenlecleucel, would be the first gene therapy to be approved in the United States. The FDA is not obliged to follow the recommendations of its advisors but typically does so. The panel's decision could have significant implications not only for Novartis but for companies making similar drugs, including Kite Pharma Inc. Juno Therapeutics Inc and bluebird bio Inc. The drugs use a new technology known as CAR-T, or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, which harnesses the body's own immune cells to recognize and attack malignant cells. If approved they are expected to cost up to $500,000 and generate billions of dollars for their developers. Success would also help advance a cancer-fighting technique that scientists have been trying to perfect for decades. Novartis is applying … Continue reading →