Category Archives: Cell Therapy

SCMOM 2012_Stanford Cardiovascular Institute
Stanford Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) is the nucleus for cardiovascular research at Stanford University. Formed in 2004, the Cardiovascular Institute is home to Stanford #39;s myriad cardiovascular-related adult and pediatric research, clinical, and educational programs, centers and laboratories, as well as over 500 Stanford basic scientists, graduate students, clinician scientists, and other researchers in heart and vessel disease and prevention. Within the area of cardiac regenerative medicine, the Stanford CVI has significant research endeavors involving human pluripotent stem cells for (1) cardiovascular disease modeling, (2) drug screening and discovery, and (3) personalized cell therapy. Recently, Stanford CVI investigators received a $20 million CIRM Disease Team Therapy Award for performing pre-IND work that would enable the first-in-man clinical trial involving injection of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for patients with heart failure. wulab.stanford.edu Presenter Joseph Wu, Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of MedicineFrom:AllianceRegenMedViews:3 0ratingsTime:17:06More inScience Technology

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SCMOM 2012_Stanford Cardiovascular Institute - Video

Washington, November 28 (ANI): When mesenchymal cells derived from skeletal muscle (SM-MSCs) or adipose tissue (ADSCs) were injected into the heart muscle (myocardium) of separate groups of laboratory rats that had suffered a myocardial infarction, rats in both groups experienced significantly improved left ventricle function and smaller infarct size after cell therapy, a study has found.

The study, carried out by researchers at Oslo University Hospital and the Norwegian Center for Stem cell Research, Oslo University, sought to determine if MSCs from different organs would result in different functional outcomes.

"Despite advances in revascularization and medical therapy, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure are still important causes of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries," said study co-author Dr. Jan E. Brinchmann of the Norwegian center for Stem Cell Research at Oslo University Hospital, Oslo.

"AMI leads to a permanent loss of contractile elements in the heart and the formation of fibrous scarring. Regeneration of contractile myocardium has been a target of cell therapy for more than a decade," he added.

According to Dr. Brinchmann, MSCs tolerate hypoxia, secrete angiogenic factors and have been shown to improve vascularization; thus, they have properties suggesting that they may beneficially impact AMI, chronic heart failure and angina pectoris after cell transplantation.

Following injection into the "border zone" and infarct area of immunodeficient rats one week after induced myocardial infarction, the researchers used echocardiography to measure myocardial function and other analyses to measure the size of scaring, density of blood vessels in the scar, and the health of myocardial tissues.

"Our results showed that intramyocardial injection of both ADSCs and SM-MSCs one week after AMI led to a substantial decrease in infarct size and a significant improvement in left ventricle function when compared with injections of cell culture medium alone," concluded the researchers.

"There was a trend toward better functional improvement in the SM-MSC group when compared to the ADSC group, but this did not reach significance," they added.

They concluded that many questions remain unanswered, including the question of whether MSCs isolated from different organisms could result in different functional outcomes.

Other unanswered questions relate to the optimal time delay between the onset of myocardial infarction and injection of MSCs. These cells do, however, still appear to be "a potentially interesting adjuvant treatment modality for selected patients following acute myocardial infarction," they concluded.

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Different organ-derived stem cell injections improve heart function in rats

SCMOM 2012_Sistemic
Sistemic #39;s world leading expertise is on applying microRNA profiling in context with the biology, to areas where there is currently an unmet need for sophisticated tools delivering instructive and robust knowledge of the cell system. From their SistemQC trade; platform they have derived an extensive suite of tools for the cell therapy, gene therapy and bioprocessing community. SistemQC trade;, molecularly characterises cells including stem cells as well as aids in the optimization and monitoring (QC) of the manufacture process. More specifically the initial focus of SistemQC trade; by clients has been on generation of microRNA based ID markers, purity potency assessment and manufacture monitoring optimization. http://www.sistemic.co.uk Presenter: Jim Reid, Chairman and CEO, SistemicFrom:AllianceRegenMedViews:3 1ratingsTime:11:56More inScience Technology

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SCMOM 2012_Sistemic - Video

SCMOM 2012_NeoStem
NeoStem, Inc. is an emerging technology leader in the fast-developing cell therapy market. Its business strategy combines a state-of-the-art contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC, with a medically important cell therapy product development program. NeoStem #39;s most clinically advanced therapeutic, AMR-001, is being developed at its Amorcyte subsidiary, which is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial for preservation of heart function after a heart attack. Athelos Corporation, also a NeoStem subsidiary, is in early stage clinical exploration of a T-cell therapy for autoimmune conditions. Pre-clinical assets include our VSELTM Technology platform and our mesenchymal stem cell product candidate for regenerative medicine. http://www.neostem.com Presenter: Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, NeoStem, Inc.From:AllianceRegenMedViews:4 1ratingsTime:14:54More inScience Technology

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SCMOM 2012_NeoStem - Video

SCMOM 2012_Regen BioPharma, Inc.
The Regen BioPharma business model is to take multiple stem cell therapeutics to and through the human "safety and signal of efficacy" stage (Phase I/II clinical trials). The approach is a highly focused analysis of issued patents in regenerative medicine, identification and acquisition of undervalued assets that have demonstrated proof of concept, and forming companies around these assets. Having assembled a core infrastructure specialized in obtaining regulatory approval and executing clinical trials in cell therapy, we aim to act as a "superincubator" that within 18 - 24 months grows technologies from laboratory to an asset ready for spin-off or sale to feed the pipeline of Big Pharma. http://www.regenbiopharma.com Presenter: J. Christopher Mizer, President, Regen BioPharma, Inc.From:AllianceRegenMedViews:4 1ratingsTime:09:13More inScience Technology

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SCMOM 2012_Regen BioPharma, Inc. - Video

NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE MKT:NBS) ("NeoStem" or the "Company"), an emerging leader in the fast growing cell therapy industry, today announced that Company management has been invited to present at the Piper Jaffray 24th Annual Healthcare Conference.

About NeoStem, Inc.

NeoStem, Inc. continues to develop and build on its core capabilities in cell therapy, capitalizing on the paradigm shift that we see occurring in medicine. In particular, we anticipate that cell therapy will have a significant role in the fight against chronic disease and in lessening the economic burden that these diseases pose to modern society. We are emerging as a technology and market leading company in this fast developing cell therapy market. Our multi-faceted business strategy combines a state-of-the-art contract development and manufacturing subsidiary, Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC ("PCT"), with a medically important cell therapy product development program, enabling near and long-term revenue growth opportunities. We believe this expertise and existing research capabilities and collaborations will enable us to achieve our mission of becoming a premier cell therapy company.

Our contract development and manufacturing service business supports the development of proprietary cell therapy products. NeoStem's most clinically advanced therapeutic, AMR-001, is being developed at Amorcyte, LLC ("Amorcyte"), which we acquired in October 2011. Amorcyte is developing a cell therapy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and is enrolling patients in a Phase 2 trial to investigate AMR-001's efficacy in preserving heart function after a heart attack. Athelos Corporation ("Athelos"), which is approximately 80%-owned by our subsidiary, PCT, is collaborating with Becton-Dickinson in the early clinical exploration of a T-cell therapy for autoimmune conditions. In addition, pre-clinical assets include our VSELTM Technology platform as well as our mesenchymal stem cell product candidate for regenerative medicine. Our service business and pipeline of proprietary cell therapy products work in concert, giving us a competitive advantage that we believe is unique to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Supported by an experienced scientific and business management team and a substantial intellectual property estate, we believe we are well positioned to succeed.

For more information on NeoStem, please visit http://www.neostem.com.

Forward-Looking Statements for NeoStem, Inc.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements herein with respect to the successful execution of the Company's business strategy, including with respect to the Company's or its partners' successful development of AMR-001 and other cell therapeutics, the size of the market for such products, its competitive position in such markets, the Company's ability to successfully penetrate such markets and the market for its contract development and manufacturing business, and the efficacy of protection from its patent portfolio, as well as the future of the cell therapeutics industry in general, including the rate at which such industry may grow. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward- looking statements as a result of various factors, including but not limited to matters described under the "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 2012 and in the Company's other periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are available on its website. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements. The Company's further development is highly dependent on future medical and research developments and market acceptance, which is outside its control.

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NeoStem to Present at Piper Jaffray 24th Annual Healthcare Conference

Public release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Miranda cogcomm@aol.com Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair

Putnam Valley, NY. (Nov. 27, 2012) A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (21:8), now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/, has found that when mesenchymal cells derived from skeletal muscle (SM-MSCs) or adipose tissue (ADSCs) were injected into the heart muscle (myocardium) of separate groups of laboratory rats that had suffered a myocardial infarction, rats in both groups experienced significantly improved left ventricle function and smaller infarct size after cell therapy.

The study, carried out by researchers at Oslo University Hospital and the Norwegian Center for Stem cell Research, Oslo University, sought to determine if MSCs from different organs would result in different functional outcomes.

"Despite advances in revascularization and medical therapy, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure are still important causes of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries," said study co-author Dr. Jan E. Brinchmann of the Norwegian center for Stem Cell Research at Oslo University Hospital, Oslo. "AMI leads to a permanent loss of contractile elements in the heart and the formation of fibrous scarring. Regeneration of contractile myocardium has been a target of cell therapy for more than a decade."

According to Dr. Brinchmann, MSCs tolerate hypoxia, secrete angiogenic factors and have been shown to improve vascularization; thus, they have properties suggesting that they may beneficially impact AMI, chronic heart failure and angina pectoris after cell transplantation. Following injection into the "border zone" and infarct area of immunodeficient rats one week after induced myocardial infarction, the researchers used echocardiography to measure myocardial function and other analyses to measure the size of scaring, density of blood vessels in the scar, and the health of myocardial tissues.

"Our results showed that intramyocardial injection of both ADSCs and SM-MSCs one week after AMI led to a substantial decrease in infarct size and a significant improvement in left ventricle function when compared with injections of cell culture medium alone," concluded the authors. "There was a trend toward better functional improvement in the SM-MSC group when compared to the ADSC group, but this did not reach significance."

They concluded that many questions remain unanswered, including the question of whether MSCs isolated from different organisms could result in different functional outcomes. Other unanswered questions relate to the optimal time delay between the onset of myocardial infarction and injection of MSCs. These cells do, however, still appear to be "a potentially interesting adjuvant treatment modality for selected patients following acute myocardial infarction," they concluded.

###

Contact: Dr. Jan E. Brinchmann, Norwegian Center for Stem Cell Research, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet and University of Oslo, PO Box 1121 Blindern 0317 Oslo, Norway. Tel. +42-22-84-04-89 Fax. +42-22- 85-10-58 Email: jan.brinchmann@rr.research.no

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Study suggests different organ-derived stem cell injections improve heart function

November 25, 2012 12:54

Former bassist is said to be still in a "partially conscious state" four years on from car accident.

Photo: Tom Oxley/NME

Former Deftones bassist Chi Cheng's family are considering stem cell therapy to aid his recovery from a car accident which put him in a coma in 2008.

Cheng is said to be in a "partially conscious state" and is unable to speak, although he can move his legs on command. The bassist has been in and out of hospitals over the past four years and only got home to recover in June this year.

Now, according to Revolver Magazine, the family is considering alternative therapy in order to speed up Cheng's recovery, as they say the last few months have been a struggle for him.

His brother, Ming Cheng, said: "Once his health gets a little better, we'll start looking into other options...but they don't even do it (stem cell therapy) in the US yet.

"It's a miracle he's still with us," he added. "He's alive and kicking and he's fighting, and I think there's a reason for it. I'm hoping there's a light at the end of the tunnel for Chi."

Deftones released their new album 'Koi No Yokan' on November 12. You can stream the new record, which features 'Entomb (Dazzle)', 'Swerve City', 'Graphic Nature', 'Goon Squad' and 'Leathers', below.

The band tour the UK in 2013. They will play five dates, kicking off at Glasgow's Barrowland on February 15, before heading to Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham and finishing at London's 02 Brixton Academy (20).

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Deftones' Chi Cheng's family consider stem cell therapy to aid recovery

Ahead of a planned five-centre nationwide trial, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a special project at the AIIMS Trauma Centre in New Delhi where stem cell therapy will be conducted on complete paraplegics and quadriplegics to try and revive limb function.

A similar trial will be conducted at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) in Vasant Kunj, south-west Delhi where 21 patients have already been registered. This project too has been approved by the ICMR.

Senior ICMR scientists from the apex committee to monitor stem cell research said the five-centre trial will be coordinated from ISIC and is in the final stages of approval.

This will be the first national ICMR trial of autologous bone marrow stem cell transplant on complete quadriplegics and paraplegics. We are finalising the number of patients. The ISIC will be the coordinating centre. The next meeting has been scheduled for December 4, a senior scientist said.

An autologous stem cell transplantation is a procedure in which stem cells are removed, stored and returned to the same person.

For its project, the AIIMS Trauma Centre has registered eight patients. They will be injected with stem cells from their own bone marrow to see if the damaged neurological function can be regenerated. Doctors have cautioned that earlier trials on incomplete quadriplegics and paraplegics have not suggested significant clinical improvement.

Dr Deepak Aggarwal, associate professor of neurosurgery at the AIIMS Trauma Centre who is coordinating the study, said: We have necessary clearances from our internal ethics committee and the national apex committee for stem cell research and therapy which has members from the ICMR and Department of Biotechnology.

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Two Delhi centres ready to try stem cell therapy on paraplegics