Category Archives: Stem Cell Human Trials

Brain cells of a laboratory mouse are shown glowing with multicolor fluorescent proteins. THURSDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists who reprogrammed skin cells into brain cells say their research could lay the groundwork for new ways to treat Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. The team at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco transferred a gene called Sox2 into both mouse and human skin cells. Within days, the skin cells transformed into early-stage brain stem cells called induced neural stem cells. [Read: Scientists Turn Skin Cells Into Cardiac Cells to Help Failing Hearts.] These cells began to self-renew and soon matured into neurons capable of transmitting electrical signals. Within a month, these new neurons had developed into neural networks, according to the research published online June 7 in the journal Cell Stem Cell. These transformed cells could provide better models for testing new drugs to treat Alzheimer's and other brain diseases, the researchers said. "Many drug candidates -- especially those developed for neurodegenerative diseases -- fail in clinical trials because current models don't accurately predict the drug's effects on the human brain," Gladstone investigator Dr. Yadong Huang, who is also an associate professor of neurology at the University of California, … Continue reading →

MADISON, Wis., June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI), the world's largest commercial producer of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines and tissue cells, today announced the launch of its MyCell Services. These services include novel iPS cell line reprogramming, genetic engineering and differentiation of iPS cells into commercially available iCell terminal tissue cells (for example, heart or nerve cells). "CDI's mission is to be the top developer and manufacturer of standardized human cells in high quantity, quality and purity and to make these cells widely available to the research community. Our MyCell Services provide researchers with unprecedented access to the full diversity of human cellular biology," said Bob Palay, CDI Chief Executive Officer. "The launch of MyCell Services furthers CDI founder and stem cell pioneer Jamie Thomson's vision to enable scientists worldwide to easily access the power of iPSC technology, thus driving breakthroughs in human health." Over the past 2 years, CDI has launched iCell Cardiomyocytes, iCell Neurons and iCell Endothelial Cells for human biology and drug discovery research. MyCell Services leverage CDI's prior investment in building an industrial manufacturing platform that can handle the parallel production of multiple iPSC lines and tissue cells, manufacturing billions … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire -06/06/12)- Bio-Matrix Scientific Group (BMSN) (BMSN) announced today that its Regen BioPharma unit has appointed three internationally renowned regenerative medicine experts to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The new SAB members appointed are David White, M.D., PhD; Wei-Ping Min, M.D., PhD and Vlad Bogin, M.D. Dr. White is a member of the Surgery and Immunology faculty of The Schulic School of Medicine, University of Western Ontario. He is one of the leading experts on using regenerative medicine transplant procedures to treat pancreatic conditions, including diabetes. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer of Sernova Corp and was formerly a Therapeutic Area Head for Novartis. He received the B.Sc. degree from the University of Surrey and the M.D. and PhD degrees from Cambridge University. Dr. Wei-Ping Min is Professor at the Lawson Health Research Center in Canada. He is inventor of siRNA therapeutics in the area of immunology and cell therapy to inhibit disease modalities. He is also the founder/cofounder of several biotech companies including MedVax Pharma Corp, and ToleroTech Inc. Dr. Min brings detailed scientific and mechanistic expertise to Regen BioPharma. He earned graduate and medical degrees from Nanchang University Medical School and the PhD degree from … Continue reading →

HAMILTON, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A team of scientists at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada have discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments. "The unusual aspect of our finding is the way this human-ready drug actually kills cancer stem cells; by changing them into cells that are non-cancerous," said Mick Bhatia, the principal investigator for the study and scientific director of McMaster's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute (SCC-RI) in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, thioridazine appears to have no effect on normal stem cells. The research, published in the science journal CELL, holds the promise of a new strategy and discovery pipeline for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. The research team has identified another dozen drugs that have good potential for the same response. For 15 years, some researchers have believed stem cells are the source of many cancers. In 1997, Canadian researchers first identified cancer stem cells in certain types of leukemia. Cancer stem cells have since been identified in blood, breast, brain, lung, gastrointestinal, prostate and ovarian cancer. To test more than a … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leading stem cell therapeutic and regenerative medicine company, AuxoCell Laboratories, Inc., today announced an agreement with CordVida, a Brazilian stem cell cryopreservation company, which will allow CordVida to expand its services. Families who select CordVida to store umbilical cord blood will now have the opportunity to bank stem cells from an additional source cord tissue. With this agreement, AuxoCell broadens its international reach to South America. At AuxoCell, we are pleased by the opportunity to provide this groundbreaking technology to families around the globe, said Rouzbeh R. Taghizadeh, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of AuxoCell Laboratories, Inc. CordVida is Brazils premier cord blood bank and adheres to the highest quality standards. It is for that reason that we have selected them as our exclusive partner in Brazil. Cord tissue has an abundant source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Currently, there is a significant amount of research underway focused on mesenchymal stem cells extracted from cord tissue. MSCs are rapidly becoming the leading stem cell in regenerative medicine studies, and MSCs from a variety of sources are in use in over 150 clinical trials. The AuxoCell cord tissue technology represents the gold standard in the industry, as its technology … Continue reading →

A DRUG that stops the body from rejecting bone marrow transplants in cancer patients could be ready for human trials in three years time. The latest development comes after more than a decade of research unlocking the function of a protein called perforin, which kills rogue cells in the body. Australian researchers involved in unravelling perforin's molecular structure, a discovery published in the journal Nature in 2010, are now working towards developing a safe drug to block the protein. Perforin plays a key role in the body's immune response by punching holes in, and killing, cells which have been hijacked by viruses or cancer to rid the body of disease. However, the protein is problematic for bone marrow transplant patients because it can cause the body to reject the treatment. For this reason, a project led by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne is developing a drug to inhibit the protein in bone marrow stem cell transplant patients to help their recovery. The drug works in mouse models, but a $6.8 million grant from the UK's Wellcome Trust will allow the drug to be fine-tuned for human trials. "In the mouse models we use, we know the inhibitors are … Continue reading →

Arrangement pairs one of Canada's most successful biotech executive teams with academic discovery engine to address the need for better drugs targeting cancer stem cells and regenerative medicine. TORONTO/HAMILTON, May 29, 2012 /CNW/ - Actium Research Inc., ("Actium" or the "Company") Toronto, and McMaster University ("McMaster"), Hamilton, have entered into a landmark collaboration covering McMaster's proprietary adult human stem cell lines, cancer stem cells and the directed differentiation platform developed by Dr. Mick Bhatia and his team at the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute ("The Stem Cell Institute"). Together these technologies and the expertise at The Stem Cell Institute provide leading edge tools for drug discovery and better treatments for serious illnesses. Actium is a drug discovery and development company targeting two types of stem cells; cancer stem cells to improve survival and health outcomes and normal tissue stem cells to promote healing and address the need for cure in chronic diseases. Actium was founded by Dr. David Young and Helen Findlay. Dr. Bhatia joined as the scientific founder in 2012. The team will put their experience with managing drug discovery platforms, development pathways and product pipelines to work to build Actium into a leading biotech company. Previously, … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. announced today that its strategic partner in Mexico, Grupo Angeles Health Services, has received approval from Mexico's regulatory agency, COFEPRIS, for a Phase I/II single-blind randomized clinical trial for chronic heart failure. COFEPRIS is the Mexican equivalent of the United States FDA. The clinical trial, to be conducted at multiple hospital sites throughout Mexico, will utilize Stemedica's adult allogeneic ischemia tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSC) delivered via intravenous infusion. The trial will involve three safety cohorts at different dosages, followed by a larger group being treated with the maximum safe dosage. The COFEPRIS approval is the second approval for the use of Stemedica's itMSCs. COFEPRIS approved Stemedica's itMSCs in 2010 for a clinical trial for ischemic stroke. These two trials are the only allogeneic stem cell studies approved by COFEPRIS. Grupo Angeles is a Mexican company that is 100% integrated into the national healthcare development effort. The company is comprised of 24 state-of-the-art hospitals totaling more than 2,000 beds and 200 operating rooms. Eleven thousand Groupo Angeles physicians annually treat nearly five million patients a year. Of these, more than two million are seen as … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments. "The unusual aspect of our finding is the way this human-ready drug actually kills cancer stem cells; by changing them into cells that are non-cancerous," said Mick Bhatia, the principal investigator for the study and scientific director of McMaster's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, thioridazine appears to have no effect on normal stem cells. The research, published May 24 in the science journal Cell, holds the promise of a new strategy and discovery pipeline for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. The research team has identified another dozen drugs that have good potential for the same response. For 15 years, some researchers have believed stem cells are the source of many cancers. In 1997, Canadian researchers first identified cancer stem cells in certain types of leukemia. Cancer stem cells have since been identified in blood, breast, brain, lung, gastrointestinal, prostate and ovarian cancer. To test more than a dozen … Continue reading →

Five UC San Diego scientists have received almost $12 million combined from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to pay for stem cell-based research, the university announced today. A team led by Lawrence Goldstein, of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program, was given $1.8 million to continue looking for new methods to find and test possible medications for Alzheimer's disease, according to UCSD. They use reprogrammed stem cells in their work. Dr. Mark Tuszynski, professor of neurosciences and director of the Center for Neural Repair, received $4.6 million to develop more potent stem cell-based treatments for spinal cord injuries. Gene Yeo, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, was awarded $1.6 million to continue research into treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His research hopes to take advantage of recent discoveries about ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, which center on mutations in RNA-binding proteins that cause dysfunction and death in neurons. Dr. Eric David Adler, an associate clinical professor of medicine and cardiologist, was granted $1.7 million to screen potential drugs for Danon disease, a type of inherited heart failure that frequently kills patients by their 20s. … Continue reading →