Category Archives: Regenerative Medicine

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 3, 2012) - VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. ( OTCBB : VSTA ), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue, predictive toxicology and drug metabolism screening, has formalized its membership in the Toronto-based Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine's (CCRM) Industry Consortium.

"VistaGen's membership reflects our strong association with CCRM and its core programs and objectives, both directly and through our strategic relationships with Dr. Gordon Keller and the University Health Network (UHN).Our long-term sponsored research agreement with Dr. Keller, UHN and UHN's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine offers both a solid foundation and unique opportunities for expanding the commercial applications of our Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube platform by building multi-party collaborations with CCRM and members of its Industry Consortium," says Shawn Singh, VistaGen CEO. "These collaborations have the potential to transform medicine and accelerate significant advances in human health and wellness that stem cell technologies and regenerative medicine promise."

"Even before VistaGen joined CCRM's Industry Consortium it was active in the Toronto regenerative medicine community and advising us as we prepared to launch in 2011," explains Dr. Michael May, CEO of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine. "I'm confident that our relationship will grow stronger with VistaGen as a formal partner and I look forward to us working closely together on projects that will accelerate drug discovery and benefit patients."

CCRM is a not-for-profit, public-private consortium funded by the Government of Canada, six Ontario-based institutional partners and more than 20 companies representing the key sectors of the regenerative medicine industry. CCRM supports the development of foundational technologies that accelerate the commercialization of stem cell- and biomaterials-based products and therapies. Other members of CCRM's Industry Consortium include such leading global companies as Pfizer, GE Healthcare and Lonza.

The industry leaders that comprise the CCRM consortium benefit from proprietary access to certain licensing opportunities, academic rates on fee-for-service contracts at CCRM and opportunities to participate in large collaborative projects, among other advantages.VistaGen is especially well positioned through its existing relationships with key members.

Gordon Keller, Ph.D. is Director of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at UHN. A CCRM partner, the McEwen Centre is a world-renowned centre for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and a world-class stem cell research facility. He is also a Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Medical Biophysics and Senior Scientist of the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto.Dr. Keller's lab is one of the world leaders in successfully applying principles from the study of developmental biology of many animal systems to the differentiation of pluripotent stem cell systems, resulting in reproducible, high-yield production of human heart, liver, blood and vascular cells.The results and procedures developed in Dr. Keller's lab are often quoted and used by academic scientists worldwide.

UHN, a major landmark in Canada's healthcare system, is one of the world's largest research hospitals, with major research in transplantation, cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases and genomic medicine. Providing care to the community for more than two centuries, UHN brings together the talent and resources needed to achieve global impact and provide exemplary patient care, research and education.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen is a biotechnology company applying human pluripotent stem cell technology for drug rescue, predictive toxicology and drug metabolism screening. VistaGen's drug rescue activities combine its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants (Drug Rescue Variants) of once-promising small-molecule drug candidates. These are drug candidates discontinued by pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) or university laboratories after substantial investment and development due to heart or liver toxicity or metabolism issues. VistaGen uses its pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates before they are ever tested in humans, bringing human biology to the front end of the drug development process.

Additionally, VistaGen's small molecule drug candidate, AV-101, is completing Phase 1 development for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects millions of people worldwide.To date, VistaGen has been awarded over $8.5 million from the NIH for development of AV-101.

The rest is here:
VistaGen Therapeutics Becomes Member of Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) Consortium

A research team atGeorgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Centersay the new and powerful cells they first created in the laboratory a year ago constitute a new stem-like state of adult epithelial cells. They say these cells have attributes that may make regenerative medicine truly possible.

In the November 19 online early edition of theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), they report that these new stem-like cells do not express the same genes as embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) do. That explains why they dont produce tumors when they grow in the laboratory, as the other stem cells do, and why they are stable, producing the kind of cells researchers want them to.

These seem to be exactly the kind of cells that we need to make regenerative medicine a reality, says the studys senior investigator, Richard Schlegel, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the department of pathology at Georgetown Lombardi, a part ofGeorgetown University Medical Center.

This study is a continuation of work that led to a breakthrough in December 2011 when Schlegel and his colleagues demonstrated that he and his team had designed a laboratory technique that keep both normal as well as cancer cells alive indefinitely which previously had not been possible.

They had discovered that adding two different substances to these cells (a Rho kinase inhibitor and fibroblast feeder cells) pushes them to morph into stem-like cells that stay alive indefinitely. When the two substances are withdrawn from the cells, they revert back to the type of cell that they once were. They dubbed these cells conditionally reprogrammed cells (CRCs).

The advance was seen as an exciting demonstration of personalized cancer medicine. In fact, a case study authored by Schlegel and his team, reported in the September 27 issue of theNew England Journal of Medicine(NEJM), demonstrated how CRCs derived from normal and tumor cells of a 24-year-old man with a rare type of lung tumor allowed physicians to identify an effective cancer therapy. These cells were used to screen potential treatments and in this way, the scientists were able to see which therapies were active against the tumor cells and less harmful to the normal cells.

Our first clinical application utilizing this technique represents a powerful example of individualized medicine, Schlegel said in September. But he cautioned, It will take an army of researchers and solid science to figure out if this technique will be the advance we need to usher in a new era of personalized medicine.

This study was designed to see how the CRCs compared to known properties of embryonic stem cells and iPSCs, which are adult cells that have been manipulated by addition of genes to make them capable of differentiating (morphing into new adult cell types).

Both embryonic stem cells and iPSCs have been investigated for use in regenerative medicine, but each can form tumors when injected into mice and it is difficult to control what kind of cells these cells differentiate into, Schlegel says. You may want them to be a lung cell, but they could form a skin cell instead.

In contrast, cells derived from the lung will develop stem-like properties when the conditions are added, allowing expansion of the lung cell population. However, when the conditions are withdrawn, they will revert to differentiated lung cells, he says. Schlegel added that they do this rapidly within three days of adding the inhibitor and feeder cells, they efficiently generated large numbers of stem-like cells. It is also completely reversible: when the conditions are taken away, the cells lose their stem-like properties and potentially can be safely implanted into tissue.

View post:
‘Different Kind Of Stem Cell' Possesses Attributes Favoring Regenerative Medicine

The panelists emphasized that more accurate information should be provided to the public regarding stem cell treatments.

1.  50 shades of grey. Let's admit that this issue is not black-and-white but, as is almost always, involves a broad spectrum of grey in the middle.  


In addition to helping patients distinguish between compliant and non-compliant treatments (and providers) there are a lot of ways to help patients distinguish between non-compliant cell therapy  treatments (and providers) which are more or less risky.  

In between - in my opinion - are clinics like Stem Cell Institute and StemCellMD.

For some, helping patients distinguish between the better and worst non-compliant clinics might involve a fair amount of nose-pinching but this is the equivalent of the methadone clinic for heroine addicts.  By supporting the better of two evils we are not endorsing it as 'good', we are simply recognizing it is better.

This is a recognition that we cannot just abandon people because they made (or are going to make) decisions with which we ultimately disapprove.   It is a recognition that sometimes the most righteous thing to do is not only to help people do what we would ideally want them to do but to help them do the best they can in their circumstances and on their terms - even terms with which we may ultimately disagree.

6.  Let's grow a pair and call a spade a spade.  If a non-compliant clinic is providing treatments that we believe represent a high-risk to patient safety and the industry's credibility, let's have the b*lls to call them on it.  They can't sue everyone.  

http://www.celltherapyblog.com hosted by http://www.celltherapygroup.com

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CellTherapyBlog/~3/2b8Ffw4b1pU/six-steps-to-fighting-non-compliant.html

SCMOM 2012_ViaCyte
ViaCyte, Inc., a leader in the emerging field of regenerative medicine, is headquartered in San Diego, California. ViaCyte #39;s innovative product is based on the differentiation of stem cells into pancreatic beta cell precursors (PEC-01), with subcutaneous implantation in a retrievable and immune-isolating encapsulation medical device. Once implanted, the precursor cells mature into endocrine cells that secrete insulin in a regulated manner to control blood glucose levels. ViaCyte #39;s goal is a product that can free Type 1 and 2 diabetic patients from long-term insulin dependence. ViaCyte has received substantial financial support from both CIRM and JDRF. http://www.viacyte.com Presenter: Paul Laikind, President and CEO, ViaCyteFrom:AllianceRegenMedViews:5 1ratingsTime:16:42More inScience Technology

Read the original here:
SCMOM 2012_ViaCyte - Video

FARMINGTON, Conn., Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- With the end of 2012 fast approaching, marketers and business development managers across the globe are turning to Global Information Inc (GII) and our partner publishers to help them determine what lines of business to pursue in 2013. Three significant new market research reports from our premium research partner Global Industry Analysts, Inc. offer vital forecasts for the global molecular diagnostics, regenerative medicine, and flow cytometry markets.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121128/CG20288)

The first report examines the global market for molecular diagnostics with an emphasis on how to improve reimbursement for costly and esoteric personalized medicine products. Touted as the next-generation technology to revolutionize the medical care system of the future, a second report provides a comprehensive review of the regenerative medicine market. A third report explores how next generation point-of-care compact systems will drive growth in the global market for flow cytometry.

More details are available below, but parties interested in a more in-depth review of market trends and available research are encouraged to contact Global Information Inc directly at 1.860.674.8796, or online at http://www.giiresearch.com/contact.shtml

Molecular Diagnostics

The global market for molecular diagnostics is forecast to exceed $10.7 billion by 2018. Recent advancements in molecular diagnostics include a shift towards near-patient testing practices, increasing number of innovative biomarkers, and an increased effort for clinically validating tests. In addition, the market is experiencing increasing competition, modifications in the regulatory environment, an improved role of personalized medicine, as well as consolidation within the area of molecular diagnostics.

Major players in the global marketplace include Abbott Laboratories, Life Technologies Corporation, bioMrieux, CytoCore Inc., ELITech Group, GE Healthcare, Genzyme Corp., Hologic Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, MiraiBio Inc., Novartis Diagnostics, QIAGEN N.V, Quest Diagnostics Inc., Roche Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., and Tecan Group Ltd.

An Executive Summary for this report and free sample pages from the full document are available at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/go138654-molecular-diagnostics.html

Regenerative Medicine

Driven by technological advances and favorable demographics, the global market for regenerative medicine is projected to exceed $4.4 billion by 2018. Potentially huge savings on the medical care front and enhanced healing capabilities of regenerative medicine are expected to be the major contributing factors for market growth. Supportive political actions, government funding, corporate investment, clinical outcomes, increased awareness, increased endorsement from doctors, enhanced manufacturing technologies, and novel sources of stem cells are also expected to impart momentum to the growth of regenerative medicine.

View post:
Global Market for Molecular Diagnostics to Exceed $10.7 Billion by 2018, Regenerative Medicine to Top $4.4 Billion

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

BioTime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: BTX), a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced that Chief Executive Officer Michael D. West, Ph.D. will present at the World Stem Cell Summit 2012 in West Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday, December 4, 2012. Dr. West will be presenting in the session on Developing Combination Products: Cells, Genes, and Devices at 1:30 pm EST which will include an update on product development, including Renevia, PanC-Dx, and OpRegen. The presentation will be made available on BioTime's website at http://www.biotimeinc.com.

World Stem Cell Summit 2012 will be the 8th annual event produced by the Genetics Policy Institute (GPI), a non-profit organization. Planned by and for the stem cell and regenerative medicine community, the goal of the Summit is to accelerate the discovery and development of lifesaving cures and therapies. This year, panels will address advancing treatments for specific diseases and conditions including: cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injury, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, ALS, Parkinson's, eye diseases and others.

About BioTime, Inc.

BioTime, headquartered in Alameda, California, is a biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine and blood plasma volume expanders. Its broad platform of stem cell technologies is enhanced through subsidiaries focused on specific fields of application. BioTime develops and markets research products in the fields of stem cells and regenerative medicine, including a wide array of proprietary PureStem cell lines, HyStem hydrogels, culture media, and differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia (formerly known as HyStem-Rx), a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based matrix for cell delivery in human clinical applications. BioTime's therapeutic product development strategy is pursued through subsidiaries that focus on specific organ systems and related diseases for which there is a high unmet medical need. BioTime's majority owned subsidiary Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. is developing therapeutic products derived from stem cells for the treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. BioTime's subsidiary OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapeutic applications of stem cells to treat orthopedic diseases and injuries. Another subsidiary, OncoCyte Corporation, focuses on the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of stem cell technology in cancer, including the diagnostic product PanC-Dx currently being developed for the detection of cancer in blood samples. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is developing applications of BioTime's proprietary induced pluripotent stem cell technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells to treat cardiovascular and blood cell diseases. BioTime's subsidiary LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets GeneCards, the leading human gene database, and is developing an integrated database suite to complement GeneCards that will also include the LifeMap database of embryonic development, stem cell research and regenerative medicine, and MalaCards, the human disease database. LifeMap will also market BioTime research products. BioTime's lead product, Hextend, is a blood plasma volume expander manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corporation under exclusive licensing agreements. Additional information about BioTime can be found on the web at http://www.biotimeinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements pertaining to future financial and/or operating results, future growth in research, technology, clinical development, and potential opportunities for BioTime and its subsidiaries, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates") should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of BioTime and its subsidiaries, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in BioTime's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. BioTime disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

To receive ongoing BioTime corporate communications, please click on the following link to join our email alert list: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83805&p=irol-alerts

Go here to see the original:
BioTime CEO Dr. Michael West to Present at World Stem Cell Summit 2012

Stem cell banks could serve as a valuable resource for emerging treatments in the field of regenerative medicine, though challenges remain to making them a reality, according to a panel of international experts who gathered at UCSF for a stem cell conference last month.

Funding for the development of stem cell lines for research has long been subject to debate, especially before President Barack Obama lifted a Bush-era ban on federal funding in 2009, but now scientists are discussing how to best meet the anticipated need for stem cells for medicine as well as research.

Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD

Stem cell treatments developed from adult cells rather than from embryonic tissue are expected to enter clinical trials for macular degeneration in Japan next year, and early successes in such trials aimed at replacing damaged tissues would be expected to drive demand for such stem cells upward. Worldwide, stem cell scientists in academia, government and the private sector are gauging strategies for moving forward with stem cell banks to meet expected demand.

So far, countries have been taking different paths toward acquiring these resources, panelists said at an Oct. 25 discussion at the International Society for Stem Cell Research conference held at the UCSF Mission Bay campus.

Panelists for the discussion, titled Challenges and Opportunities in Cellular Reprogramming, included Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, a UCSF professor of anatomy senior investigator with the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discoveries that are the groundwork for many of todays regenerative medicine strategies.

Yamanaka, who is also director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, has advocated stem cell banking for medicine in his native Japan, where the government recently made a commitment to begin stem cell banking.

Yamanaka pioneered the use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are created when individuals provide skin cells or other easily obtained cells that scientists then reprogram in the lab to become virtually any cell type. One of primary advantages to iPS cells is that their use overcomes ethical objections to the use of embryonic stem cells, which are developed from leftover embryos obtained from in vitro fertilization clinics.

Induced pluripotent stem cellsknown as iPS cells, and which act very much like embryonic stem cellsare here growing into heart cells (blue) and nerve cells (green). Photo by Gladstone Institutes/Chris Goodfellow

Because iPS cells can be created from the cells of individuals afflicted with specific diseases, they can be used to develop new disease models to learn more about how diseases arise and how they might be treated. But in addition, panelists emphasized, iPS cells can be reprogrammed to become long-lived stem cells specialized for particular organs and tissues and play a role in treatments now being developed for regenerative medicine.

Excerpt from:
Stem Cell Banks Envisioned for Regenerative Medicine

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

Read more:
SCMOM 2012_Stanford Cardiovascular Institute - Video

EATONTOWN, N.J., Nov. 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American CryoStem Corporation (CRYO), a leading biotech company in the Regenerative Medicine industry announced the launch of its newest adult stem cell and adipose tissue collection center in Bellevue, Washington. The Company is expanding its collection network into the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. with the addition of The Stern Center for Aesthetic Surgery ("Stern Center") located at 1370 116th Ave NE, Ste 102, Bellevue WA, 98004 (www.sternctr.com). Dr. Fredric Stern will officially launch the new Stern Center Stem Cell Collection Service as the first to provide Adult Stem Cell and Tissue Banking services to the general public in the Seattle, Washington area.

"Having successfully worked with American CryoStem in the past we are truly excited about the official launch of these adipose tissue based services to the general public in Washington. I look forward to working with American CryoStem on educating my patients about the Regenerative Medicine benefits of "bio-banking" and the latest fat transfer cosmetic services now available at the center. I chose to affiliate my practice with American Cryostem because of their thorough scientific approach to stem cell banking and strict adherence to aseptic technique and FDA guidelines," said Dr. Fredric Stern, the founder of The Stern Center and one of the prominent cosmetic surgeons in the Seattle area. In 2011 Dr. Stern was voted "Seattle's Best Plastic Surgeon" by viewers of KING TV'S Evening Magazine.

John S. Arnone, CEO stated, "We are excited to have a surgeon with Dr. Stern's abilities and reputation associated with American CryoStem in the Seattle, WA area and look forward to a productive relationship with the entire Stern Center team. We remain committed to our "Gold Standard" clinical laboratory processing and storage reputation and strive to provide the best physician and patient services in the U.S. The newest stem cell collection center in our network represents our commitment to associate with leading physicians in the Regenerative Medicine Industry."

About The Stern Center for Aesthetic Surgery: Founded in 1997 in Bellevue, Washington just outside Seattle, the Stern Center offers state-of-the-art laser and cosmetic surgical techniques to patients throughout the western U.S. and beyond. The Stern Center is one of the premier laser-assisted liposuction centers in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Stern has trained physicians from across the U.S. and around the world, in the latest cosmetic surgical techniques. For more information, please visit: http://www.sternctr.com

About American CryoStem: American CryoStem Corporation (CRYO) is a leading biotech company focused on marketing its clinical processing services and patented products for adipose (fat) tissue and adipose derived adult stem cells. Our clinical tissue processing, patented cell culture media products and tissue storage platform supports cosmetic and Regenerative Medicine applications being developed globally. The Company provides high quality, clinically processed viable cells, while at the same time developing cutting edge applications, therapies, patented laboratory products and services for consumer and commercial applications.PLACEHOLDER

See more here:
American CryoStem Announces Adult Stem Cell and Adipose Tissue Collection Center