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Bernie Sanders Fight To Save Minor League Baseball Is One Issue Thats Unifying Congress – Forbes

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:43 am

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders' fight to save minor league baseball is ... [+] rallying bipartisan members of Congress around democratic socialist ideals.

It is not surprising Sen. Bernie Sanders has spent significant time over the last couple of weeks railing against a small group of billionaires whom he thinks are choosing profit over humanity. But in a strange twist, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy agrees with the democratic socialist, along with over 100 bipartisan members of Congressincluding Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of President Donald Trumps most vociferous defenders during the impeachment proceedings.

Last month, the aforementioned 106 congressional members sent a letter to MLB expressing their firm opposition to a cost-cutting proposal that would slash 42 minor league teams across the country. The current agreement between MLB and its minor league affiliates expires at the end of next season.

One proposal would regroup more than 40 teams in an inferior Dream League that would be run jointly by MLB and Minor League Baseball and include players who werent drafted. MLB, which generated a record-setting $10.3 billion in revenue last year, pays the entirety of minor league salaries. The undertaking costs the league as little as $1,160 and $2,150 per month for each Single-A and Triple-A player, per ESPN.

Sanders, like former MLB commissioner Bud Selig, says baseball is more of a public trust than a business. The Democratic presidential hopeful points to the leagues unique antitrust exemption from Congress and practice of using public funds to finance stadiums as reasons why franchises are indebted to their host communities. This week, Sanders met with commissioner Rob Manfred, which prompted MLB to release a vaguely worded statement saying it is committed to negotiating with Minor League Baseball to find solutions that balance the competing interests of local communities, MLB clubs, Minor League owners, and the young players who pursue their dream of becoming professional baseball players.

MLB contests eliminating minor league teams would streamline the player development process and improve conditions for the games best prospects most likely to reach the big leagues.

Sanders doesnt appear to buy MLBs message. In an interview Friday with the L.A. Times, the longtime Vermont senator said he wants the minor league reshuffling plan to be expunged entirely. Baseball is a social phenomenon. It brings people together, from all kinds of backgrounds and races and religions, Sanders told Bill Shaikin. So baseball cannot be looked at as another business, to make as much money as possible, especially given the fact they made $1.2 billion in profits last year. Thats pretty good. And you dont have to shut down minor league teams in order to make a bit more. They should pay attention to the needs of those communities, the fans in those communities, and the city governments that have supported local baseball. Thats the message that I will be conveying to major league owners.

The core of Sanders messagethat corporate profits should not take priority over the wellbeing of people and communitiesis not different from his other rallying points on the campaign trail. Sanders argument for providing universal healthcare coverage, for example, hinges on the notion that healthcare is a human right and not meant to be milked for profit.

And yet even most of the other Democratic contenders for president wont embrace universal healthcare. The widespread galvanization around the crusade to save minor league baseball speaks to how the power of first-person impact can spark politicians to buck the party line. There is a reason why former vice president Dick Cheney is pro gay marriage, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan was a staunch advocate for stem-cell research.

To further prove the point, more than half of the members of Congress who formally admonished MLB for its minor league subtraction plan voted last year for a spending bill that exempted teams from paying minor league players overtime.

But that draconian measure, of course, only affects minor league baseball players. MLBs plan to eliminate 42 teams impacts all sorts of communities, including Representative McCarthys district. The Lancaster Jethawks, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, are on the chopping block.

Suddenly, the concept of democratic socialism doesnt appear so frightening. Expect Sanders and other progressives to keep using minor league baseball as a major league issue.

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Bernie Sanders Fight To Save Minor League Baseball Is One Issue Thats Unifying Congress - Forbes

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100 hospitals and health systems with great orthopedic programs | 2019 – Becker’s Hospital Review

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:42 am

Laura Dyrda and Angie Stewart - Wednesday, December 4th, 2019Print|Email

The hospitals featured on Becker's Hospital Review's 100 hospitals and health systems with great orthopedic programs list for 2019 have earned recognition for quality of care and patient satisfaction for orthopedic and spine surgery.

Many are high-volume centers where surgeons annually perform hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of total joint replacements, in addition to less complex musculoskeletal surgeries. Theseprograms highlighted have rich histories of innovation and have won grants to research musculoskeletal treatments. The centers also include robust nonoperative services and provide care to professional and elite athletes in their communities.

Our editorial team accepted nominations for this list and took several rankings and awards into consideration, includingU.S. News & World Reportrankings for adult and pediatric orthopedics. The team also considered CareChex rankings, Healthgrades awards, Leapfrog, Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Distinction Center designation, The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval and hospitals' reputations for innovation in orthopedic care.

Note: Hospitals and health systems cannot pay for inclusion on this list, and organizations are listed in alphabetical order.

For questions or comments about this list, contact Laura Dyrda atldyrda@beckershealthcare.com.You can nominate a hospital or health system for the 2020 list here.

Abbott Northwestern Hospital (Minneapolis). The Orthopaedic Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital includes specialists in joint replacement, spine surgery and sports medicine. The hospital's joint replacement center has a 90 percent patient satisfaction rating of good to excellent care and has earned the Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement designation from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The hospital, a member of Allina Health, ranks among U.S. News & World Report's top 50 hospitals for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20. The hospital's surgeons perform around 4,000 orthopedic procedures annually.

Atrium Health (Charlotte, N.C.). The Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute has 10 locations systemwide and an orthopedic residency top ranked by Doximity. It is a collaboration with more than 200 physicians involved in more than 20 externally funded research trials. It is also part of the Major Extremity Trauma and Rehabilitation Consortium, with more than 7,000 patients enrolled across 18 projects. The health system, which includes 40 hospitals and 900 care sites, has had hospitals ranked among the top orthopedic programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and supports research and clinical trials for new orthopedic treatments.

Banner Health (Phoenix). Banner Health's orthopedic program spans hospitals in Phoenix, Tucson and Northern Colorado. The health system partners with Phoenix-based The CORE Institute and the Banner CORE Center for Orthopedics to streamline the continuum of care. The center includes orthopedic surgeons as well as integrated services such as inpatient and outpatient therapy. The two groups have a history together, partnering on co-management agreements and joint ventures on outpatient clinic locations.

Baptist Health Care / Andrews Institute (Pensacola, Fla.). The Gulf Breeze, Fla.-based Andrews Institute, an affiliate of Baptist Health Care, was founded by renowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, MD, who treats elite athletes. The institute has 34 physicians on staff and provides care at nine locations. The Andrews Institute is also designated a Blue Distinction Center+ for knee and hip replacement surgery from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and received an 'excellent' rating in the third year of participating in Medicare's Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement quality performance category. Many of the physicians also participate in the Andrews Research and Education Foundation, which received a $1 million grant from the state for two consecutive years to support its research into regenerative medicine.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis). The orthopedic department at Barnes-Jewish Hospital includes team physicians for the St. Louis Blues and Washington University athletics, in addition to other local teams. It supports joint replacement and preservation, spine and sports medicine as well as orthopedic concierge services. The National Institutes of Health has granted the orthopedic surgery departments research funding for its projects, which include basic science and clinical research. The hospital has earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for hip and knee joint replacement and its surgeons perform more than 1,100 procedures annually.

Baystate Medical Center (Springfield, Mass.). Baystate Medical Center's orthopedic services include the Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center and services from New England Orthopedic Surgeons. The practice includes 18 physicians and 180 employees who focus on spine, sports medicine and joint replacements. The hospital has computer-assisted technology for orthopedic procedures.

Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak, Mich.). Beaumont Hospital's orthopedic surgeons perform around 8,500 joints per year, typically using minimally invasive techniques. It also serves as a learning institution, and surgeons come from around the nation to its Applebaum Simulation Learning Institute for training in new techniques. U.S. News & World Report ranked Beaumont Hospital among the top 30 orthopedic hospitals in the nation. The hospital's clinicians also focus on research, including basic science studies and FDA clinical trials. Areas of interest for research include biomechanics, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and joint wear simulation.

Bethesda North Hospital (Cincinnati). Bethesda North Hospital Orthopedics, part of TriHealth, has had the Anthem Blue Distinction Centers for Knee and Hip Replacement recognition and Aenta's Institute for Quality Orthopedic Care for Total Joint Replacement honor since 2010. TriHealth's Orthopedics & Sports Institute, which has locations at multiple system hospitals, earned the first Joint Commission Gold Seal Award for advanced hip and knee certification and its physicians serve professional athletes for the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals.

Boston Children's Hospital. Surgeons and clinicians at Boston Children's Hospital attend to more than 100,000 patient visits and perform 6,000 surgeries annually. The hospital's orthopedics department dates to 1903 and has now grown to include 13 specialty clinics and urgent care facilities throughout Massachusetts. The hospital also supports the Orthopedic Center's Research & Innovations Department, which includes a focus on spine surgery and joint preservations. The hospital is a leader in hip preservation surgery, having performed more than 1,200 periacetabular osteotomies. Its sports medicine injury clinic also includes 40,000 patient visits per year. For 2019-20, U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital No. 1 for pediatric orthopedic care.

Boston Medical Center. Boston Medical Center's department of orthopedic surgery is affiliated with Boston University School of Medicine and works with the specialists to provide orthopedic care and support research in the orthopedic space. The department includes 11 orthopedic and trauma surgeons that focus on joint replacements, spine and fracture care.

Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston). The department of orthopedic surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital traces its roots to 1980 and has since grown to include around 40 orthopedic surgeons who specialize in joint reconstruction, sports medicine and spine, among other subspecialties. The department is also dedicated to education and trains around 60 orthopedic residents per year. The hospital's surgeons also engage in research through the Musculoskeletal Research Center within the Brigham Research Institute for cross-collaborative projects.

Carilion Roanoke (Va.) Memorial Hospital. Carilion Clinic supports the orthopedic services at multiple locations of the Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosciences, including at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The academic orthopedic practice has more than 50 trained providers and pioneers minimally invasive techniques. Carilion Clinic surgeons perform more than 1,500 hip and knee replacements annually and have maintained The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for quality care award since 2007. The organization also has a robust sports medicine team that performs more than 12,000 surgical procedures per year and cares for athletes at six colleges and universities.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). Cedars-Sinai supports the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute, which includes team physicians for the Los Angeles Clippers and Rams. NRC Health voted Cedars-Sinai No. 1 for quality medicine in Los Angeles and U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital No. 3 in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20. Cedars-Sinai also focuses on medical training, and more than 600 medical students apply for its orthopedic residency program each year.

Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The Children's Orthopaedic Center at CHLA has programs in spine, hip preservation and sports medicine. The sports medicine specialists are also physicians for the L.A. Galaxy professional soccer team and have access to the John C. Wilson, Jr. Motion and Sports Analysis Laboratory. The center includes surgical and non-surgical specialists at the main hospital as well as five outpatient locations. U.S. News & World Report ranked Children's Hospital Los Angeles among the top five hospitals in the nation for pediatric orthopedics in 2019-20.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The division of orthopedics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia includes 31 orthopedic surgeons focused on specialties from spine to sports medicine and joint pain. The program has served pediatric patients into adulthood for more than 120 years and its specialists also engage in research about treating pediatric orthopedic conditions. U.S. News & World Report ranked Children's Hospital of Philadelphia among the top five hospitals in the nation for pediatric orthopedics.

Children's Medical Center Dallas - Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children is dedicated to pediatric orthopedic cases as well as children with neurological disorders. The hospital includes six centers of excellence known for providing innovative solutions to spine care, limb lengthening and other disorders. The hospital is also committed to research to develop new solutions for scoliosis treatment, concussion management and other conditions. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital among the top five in the nation for pediatric orthopedics in 2019-20.

Christ Hospital (Cincinnati). The Christ Hospital Health Network Joint & Spine Center provides care for patients with simple and complex orthopedic conditions. It has 87 private inpatient rooms, 12 outpatient rooms and space for physical and occupational therapy. The health system also offers bundled services for select spine and joint replacement procedures through its centers of excellence program. Individuals and employers can pay one fixed cost for procedures that include the episode of care as well as postoperative therapy. The health system also has three outpatient surgery centers focused on orthopedic and spine procedures, with the most recent having opened in January 2018.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The division of orthopedics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital focuses on patients with fractures, scoliosis, neuromuscular conditions and more. The division has 14 orthopedic surgeons who are also involved in research as a core tenet of their professional mission. The research includes microbiology and biomechanics as well as improvements to clinical care. U.S. News & World Report named Cincinnati Children's Hospital among the top five hospitals in the nation for pediatric orthopedics in 2019-20.

Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic's orthopedic surgeons focus on simple and complex joint procedures. They perform more than 7,000 hip, knee, shoulder, ankle, elbow, wrist and finger replacements per year. Cleveland Clinic also has among the highest volume of patients in the nation for severe osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis as well as trauma. Cleveland Clinic's Orthopaedic & Rheumatologic Institute has around 168 clinicians, including physicians. U.S. News & World Report ranked two Cleveland Clinic hospitals among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20.

Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.). Duke University Hospital's department of orthopedic surgery includes 83 orthopedic faculty and 40 orthopedic residents. The academic medical center also has 17 orthopedic clinical fellows and 29 research trainees. The orthopedic department treated 175,824 patients in 2017, the last data available, and performed 16,440 procedures. U.S. News & World Report ranked Duke University Hospital among the top 25 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

Emory University Hospital (Atlanta). Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center is the official sports medicine provider for the Atlanta Hawks, Braves, Falcons and Harlem Globetrotters. The hospital broke ground in October on the new Emory Musculoskeletal Institute in Brookhaven, Ga., a 180,000-square-foot, LEED-certified building designed for orthopedic and spine cases. The new building is expected to open in 2021 and provide more environmentally friendly care.

Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Erlanger Orthopaedic Institute's surgeons are on the faculty of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and participate in clinical trials for joint replacement and fracture care. The health system also has a Bone Health Clinic and Ortho Symposium. The Joint Commission granted Erlanger Orthopaedic Institute its Gold Seal of Approval as a Certified Center of Excellence for Primary Hip and Knee Replacements.

Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. The Orthopedic Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center has more than 50 physicians and healthcare professionals on staff. The institute's Center for Joint Replacement offers tailored care plans for patients, and 96 percent of patients are able to stand or walk on the same night as their procedure. The health system boasts a 1.9 percent 30-day readmission rates for orthopedic patients, and 80 percent of them are discharged home. U.S. News & World Report named Hackensack University Hospital among the high performing hospitals for knee and hip replacement in 2019-20. Healthgrades also rated it among America's 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery and Joint Replacement.

Hoag Orthopedic Institute (Irvine, Calif.). Hoag Orthopedic Institute was developed through a partnership between Orange County physicians and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. The hospital has 70 beds and nine operating rooms dedicated to orthopedics. HOI also has more than 300 specialty physicians, including 93 orthopedic surgeons. In 2018, the hospital reported 5,509 orthopedic surgeries while HOI's ASC performed 12,454. The hospital participates in bundled payments for orthopedics and reports a 1.4 percent complication rate for total hip and knee replacements, well below the 2.5 percent national average.

Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City). Hospital for Special Surgery has been ranked the top hospital in the nation for orthopedic surgery by U.S. News & World Report for the past 10 years, most recently in 2019-20. Founded in 1863, the hospital focuses on orthopedics and rheumatology, and its surgeons perform more than 32,000 procedures per year. It is also the highest volume hip and knee replacement hospital in the nation. The hospital also focuses on innovation, opening the HSS Research Institute, which comprises 20 laboratories and 300 staff members dedicated to musculoskeletal health. HSS physicians hold faculty appointments at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, instructing residents in musculoskeletal health.

Houston Methodist Hospital. Surgeons at Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine perform more than 20,000 orthopedic procedures per year. The staff have more than 100 years of experience in orthopedics, including minimally invasive techniques. The health system's sports medicine physicians are the official healthcare providers for the Houston Texans and Houston Astros. U.S. News & World Report named Houston Methodist Hospital among the top 15 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

Huntington Hospital (Pasadena, Calif.). Huntington Orthopedics Institute participates in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model from CMS. It has been recognized by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association as a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. U.S. News & World Report also recognized the hospital in 2019-20 for musculoskeletal care, ranking it among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics.

Indiana University Medical Center (Indianapolis). The IU School of Medicine's department of orthopedic surgery was established in 1948 and has grown into a full academic department with a research arm that receives $5.4 million in funding, with another $3.5 million pending. NIH recently provided a $1.8 million grant to the department to study mobile compression devices that would prevent deep vein thrombosis after knee replacement surgery. The orthopedic department includes 32 full-time faculty as well as 29 graduate students and 50 supporting staff.

Inova Mount Vernon Hospital (Alexandria, Va.). Patients from across the U.S. travel to Inova Mount Vernon Hospital for orthopedic care. The hospital's surgeons perform more than 2,000 hip, knee, shoulder and ankle replacements annually. The Inova Joint Replacement Center earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for outstanding care in joint replacement and is a UnitedHealthcare Center of Excellence for Joint Replacement.

Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore). Founded in 1900, the Johns Hopkins department of orthopedic surgery has evolved to include joint replacements, spine, trauma and sports medicine. The specialists are also focused on research and participate in clinical trials as well as basic and translational research. U.S. News & World Report named Johns Hopkins Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

John Muir Health (Walnut Creek, Calif.). Quality and transparency are important aspects of the orthopedics program at John Muir Health. It participates in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement program, a five-year bundled payment program making it responsible for the quality and cost of care. It also offers voluntary participation in the California Joint Replacement Registry, which tracks results for total hip and knee surgeries to provide better care to patients in the future. The health system is designated as Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its Walnut Creek (Calif.) Medical Center is ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report for 2019-20.

Keck Hospital of USC (Los Angeles). The department of orthopedic surgery at Keck Hospital of USC has a mission to provide quality care and educate the next generation of orthopedic surgeons. Its orthopedic surgeons are also focused on research, including investigations into stem cell therapy for cartilage repair and biomechanical research. The Epstein Family Foundation also donated $10 million to name the USC Epstein Family Center for Sports Medicine in 2018; the center serves athletes in the community and physicians at the center serve as official doctors for USC Trojan athletes.

Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (Burlington, Mass.). Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has collected data on total joint replacement patients since 1988 and conducts academic reviews of the data to improve the care delivery process. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has designated the hospital a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement and serves as the teaching hospital for Boston University's Orthopaedic Surgery Resident Training Program. Orthopedic surgeons from its sports medicine center treat professional and amateur athletes.

Lehigh Valley Health Network (Allentown, Pa.). The Centers for Orthopedic Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network includes fellowship-trained joint replacement and sports medicine surgeons. The physicians lead a team of 400 experts across specialties and sports performance. It has earned the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Distinction Center+ for hip and knee replacements and Aetna's Institute of Quality in orthopedics. U.S. News & World Report also ranked Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20.

Loyola Medicine (Maywood, Ill.). Loyola Medicine takes a multidisciplinary approach to orthopedic care. The health system reports around 85 percent to 90 percent of knee replacement surgeries performed there are successful for 10 years or more. The system also has a robust sports medicine department with team consultants for major associations, including the U.S. Soccer Federation and U.S.A. Hockey.

Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston). Surgeons in the department of orthopedic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital treat the full spectrum of musculoskeletal conditions, seeing more than 80,000 patients each year. Spine, trauma and joint replacement specialists treat patients at Massachusetts General, which also has a robust sports medicine department that is home to the team physicians for the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots and Boston Bruins. U.S. News & World Report ranked Massachusetts General Hospital among the top 10 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

Mayo Clinic Health System (Rochester, Minn.). Mayo Clinic is a national leader in orthopedics, with more than 80 orthopedic surgeons spanning its locations in Rochester, Phoenix, and Jacksonville, Fla. The W. Hall Wendel Jr. Musculoskeletal Center at Mayo Clinic's flagship campus in Rochester opened in 2007 and includes 57 exam rooms as well as an outpatient surgical center and ancillary services. Its surgeons also have a mission for education, traveling internationally to train surgeons as well as working with residents and fellows. U.S. News & World Report ranked Mayo's locations in Rochester and Phoenix among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

MedStar (Columbia, Md.). MedStar Orthopaedic Institute has more than 80 physicians and 20 locations across the health system's coverage area. Its specialists focus on minimally invasive treatments and have earned The Joint commission's advanced certification in hip, knee and spine surgery. U.S. News & World Report also ranks two MedStar hospitals as high performing in knee replacement. The health system has a robust sports medicine program and serves as the official medical providers for the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards and Baltimore Orioles.

Memorial Hermann (Houston). Memorial Hermann's orthopedic services include the Memorial Hermann Joint Centers, offered at eight locations across the system, as well as the Ironman Sport Medicine Institute at four locations focusing on athletic training, biomechanics and sports injuries. The Joint Center physicians perform around 3,000 hip and knee replacements annually. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has also designated Memorial Hermann Southwest a Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement. The health system also includes the Memorial Hermann Orthopedic & Spine Hospital, which has 64 patient rooms and 10 surgical suites. The Center for Advanced Orthopedics at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center is a 90,000-square-foot facility where surgeons perform more than 4,100 orthopedic surgeries per year.

MemorialCare (Orange and Los Angeles Counties, Calif.). MemorialCare has a broad orthopedic program across its health system, with the MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Calif., earning a spot on the U.S. News & World Report's top 50 hospitals for orthopedics in the U.S. for 2019-20. Saddleback reports a 98 percent success rate for orthopedics and earned the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association designation for joint replacements. Beyond offering innovative clinical care, the health system offers research and clinical trials for orthopedic patients and earned the Aetna Institutes of Quality for total Joint Replacement distinction.

Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute at Baptist Hospital of Miami. Baptist Health South Florida's Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute cares for the Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers. Established at Doctors Hospital, Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute is a 281-bed acute care facility that also sees adult and pediatric trauma patients. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

Morristown (N.J.) Medical Center. Atlantic Health System's Morrison Medical Center is known for innovative orthopedic procedures and equipment. The hospital's surgeons perform more than 4,000 joint replacements each year at the Atlantic Orthopedic Institute, using robotics and gender-specific technology. The system also partners with Atlantic Health System Children's Health and Goryeb Children's Hospital to provide pediatric orthopedic care. The health system is also the official healthcare partner of the New York Jets. In 2019-20, U.S. News & World Report named Morristown Medical Center among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery.

Mount Sinai Hospital (New York City). Mount Sinai Health System's orthopedic services are spread across locations throughout the metropolitan New York City area. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital among the top 20 hospitals for orthopedics in 2019-20. It also earned The Joint Commission's Advanced Certification in total hip and knee replacement. Mount Sinai is also recognized for its sports medicine expertise, having served as the official medical service provider for the U.S. Open for seven consecutive years. Mount Sinai is home to a center dedicated to serving former NFL players and providing joint replacement to the players.

MUSC Health University Medical Center (Charleston, S.C.). MUSC Health Sports Medicine offers medical coverage or consultation services to several elite athletes and athletic teams including the Charleston Battery, a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees, and the Women's Tennis Association Volvo Car Open. The hospital is also designated a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery and Hip and Knee Replacement. In 2019-20, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Children's Hospital among the top hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery.

New England Baptist Hospital (Boston). New England Baptist Hospital has spent the past 30 years as the official hospital of the Boston Celtics, providing orthopedic care and other services for the players and their families. It also has a history of innovation, as one of the first hospitals in the country for surgeons to perform total joint replacement. NEBH has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for total hip and total knee replacement.

NewYork-Presbyterian (New York City). NewYork-Presbyterian Orthopedics provides a full range of surgical services as well as pioneering spinal procedures at The Spine Hospital. The orthopedics department has more than 150 years of history and has grown to include a surgical volume of 10,900 procedures as of 2016, including 3,475 hip and knee procedures and 3,509 spine procedures. It is also a level 1 adult advanced trauma center and serves as the official hospital and orthopedic physicians for the New York Yankees and New York City FC. The health system's orthopedics department is also busy with research; the National Institutes of Health provided grants to Columbia Orthopedics, a partner of NewYork-Presbyterian, totaling more than $3.3 million.

NorthShore University Hospitals (Evanston, Ill.). The Orthopaedic & Spine Institute at NorthShore University Hospitals includes more than 100 specialty trained physicians who are dedicated to practicing innovative care. The health system includes computer-aided technology for surgical procedures and utilizes regenerative medicine in the NorthShore Orthopaedic & Spine Institute to treat patients. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital among the top 15 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20.

Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.). Northwell Health Orthopaedic Institute focuses on minimally invasive techniques for procedures, including joint replacements and has robotic technology for knee and hip procedures. Several of its hospitals have earned The Joint Commission's disease-specific certification for joint replacements and U.S. News & World Report recognition. In 2017, the health system partnered with Philadelphia-based Rothman Institute to provide additional orthopedic coverage, and 10 Rothman surgeons currently practice at Phelps Hospital Northwell Health.

Northwestern Medicine (Chicago). Northwestern Medicine has a robust orthopedics program that includes joint replacement, spine surgery and sports medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranked two of the system's hospitals Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20. At the system's flagship hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, physicians perform more than 7,000 orthopedic surgeries per year.

NYU Langone Health (New York City). The NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital provides both inpatient and outpatient surgery for adult and pediatric patients. The hospital's surgeons have provided more than 1,500 outpatient total joint replacements and earned a spot on the U.S. News & World Report top 10 hospitals for orthopedics and rheumatology in 2019-20. NYU Health's Winthrop Hospital was also ranked in the top 50 hospitals for orthopedics by U.S. News for the past year. The health system's department of orthopedic surgery is also focused on research and innovation, offering physicians and scientists to opportunity to collaborate on improving outcomes for the more than 20,000 orthopedic procedures performed by the system's specialists each year.

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus). The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is on the forefront of minimally invasive orthopedic procedures and provides comprehensive care for patients. Its specialists are involved in clinical trials examining injury outcomes, ACL tear treatment and bone tumors. The hospital is a level 1 trauma center and includes robotic technology for knee and hip surgery procedures.

OHSU (Portland, Ore.). OHSU orthopedic specialists focus on minimally invasive procedures and rely on innovative research and technology to differentiate from other joint replacement programs in the region. The health system includes three joint replacement surgeons as well as sports medicine, spine and trauma physicians. OHSU's Orthopedics and Rehabilitation department also focuses on research into topics such as stem cells, tissue engineering and spinal fusion enhancements. OHSU is a level 1 trauma center and is ranked as high performing in orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report in 2019-20.

OrthoIndy Hospital (Indianapolis). OrthoIndy Hospital is a physician-owned hospital with three locations focused on orthopedic surgery. The hospital has earned five-star recognition from Healthgrades for joint replacement excellence, spinal fusion surgery and total hip and knee replacement in 2020. Press Ganey Associates also honored the hospital as a Guardian of Excellence Award winner for achieving the 95th percentile of performance from 2009 to 2019. OrthoIndy serves as the official orthopedics providers for the Indiana Pacers as well as Butler University and other local athletic teams.

OrthoNebraska Hospital (Omaha). OrthoNebraska Hospital is a physician-owned hospital with 21 physician owners. The hospital has created raving fans among those it treats; in a survey of Medicare patients, 92 percent said they would recommend OrthoNebraska Hospital, compared with 72 percent at the national average. The hospital takes a customized approach to joint replacements and earned recognition as a Nebraska Center of Excellence for knee and hip replacements by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska. The hospital's physicians and specialists also cover athletic events throughout the state.

Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin (Glendale). Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin is a member of Ascension Wisconsin and serves patients from across the state. Since being established in 2001 as a joint venture between a group of orthopedic surgeons and Columbia St. Mary's Ascension, the hospital has added services and expanded into a larger location. More recently, it ranked in the top 1 percent of hospitals for overall patient satisfaction, as measured by Press Ganey, and earned the Top 100 Workplaces award from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from 2013 to 2019. The physician-owned hospital participates in Medicare's value-based purchasing program and provides physical therapy and athletic training for UW Milwaukee.

Penn Medicine (Philadelphia). Penn Medicine's orthopedic department is devoted to research, innovation and patient care. The department's surgeons have access to the McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory to collaborate on projects; it has more than 100 research personnel and six principle investigators focusing on musculoskeletal tissue engineering, bone metabolism and cancer-associated bone disease and mesenchymal stem cell maintenance. The health system is also home to the current president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Kristy Weber, MD, who serves as the chief of the system's sarcoma program. In 2019-20, U.S. News & World Report ranked Penn Medicine Lancaster (Pa.) General Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics.

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (Hershey, Pa.). Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center includes the Center for Orthopaedic Research and Translational Science as well as the Bone and Joint Institute and Spine Center. The hospital has 40 orthopedic surgeons focused on a variety of specialties and dedicated to research that advances the field. The faculty's research spans the bone and cartilage cell biology, computational biomechanics and orthopedic implant function and failure. In 2019-20, the hospital earned a spot among U.S. News & World Report's top 50 hospitals for orthopedic surgery.

Porter Adventist Hospital (Denver). Surgeons at The Porter Center for Joint Replacement perform around 2,000 knee and hip replacements each year and recorded a 99 percent patient satisfaction rating from an independent study. The hospital's specialists have published more than 700 journal articles and chapters and earned recognition for hip and knee replacement clinical quality by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and United Healthcare. The hospital remodeled its six dedicated orthopedic operating suites in 2007 for joint replacements and now hosts international fellowship training in hip, knee and shoulder surgery techniques.

Rothman Orthopaedic Specialty Hospital (Bensalem, Pa.). Rothman Orthopaedic Specialty Hospital is a 65,000-square-foot facility with six operating rooms equipped for joint replacement and other orthopedic procedures. More than 30 physicians and surgeons bring operative and non-operative cases to the hospital. The hospital's team of orthopedic and spine surgeons perform more than 3,000 spine surgeries and nonoperative treatments per year. The hospital earned the Outstanding Patient Excellence Award, Patient Safety Excellence Award and Excellence Awards for total knee, hip and joint replacement from Healthgrades.

Rush University Medical Center (Chicago). Rush University Medical Center orthopedic surgeons perform around 3,800 hip and knee replacements per year. They serve as the team physicians for the Chicago Bulls, White Sox, and Fire soccer team as well as other local athletic organizations. Rush publishes its own annual journal focused on orthopedics and was ranked No. 7 in the nation for orthopedic surgery by U.S. News & World Report in 2019-20. Rush also conducts research, with physicians and scientists participating in clinical trials about conservative treatment for arthritic knee pain and stem cell treatments for rotator cuff conditions.

Saint Francis Hospital Memphis (Tenn.). The Saint Francis Joint and Spine Center includes 23 specialty orthopedic and spine beds within the 479-bed Saint Francis Hospital Memphis. Surgeons performed around 921 spine and joint replacements at the hospital for the first half of 2019, and more than 1,900 in 2018. It was also the first hospital in Memphis to offer robotic total knee replacements, and now its surgeons have completed more than 1,000 partial and total knee replacements with the technology. The Saint Francis Joint and Spine Center is home to a spine surgical robot, which the team has used for more than 500 procedures. The hospital has earned The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval as a certified hip and knee replacement program.

Santa Monica (Calif.)-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital. The UCLA Health and Orthopedic Hospital has built a comprehensive orthopedic program joining surgical and non-surgical specialists, academic medicine and scientific research. The health system's location in Santa Monica has earned the Blue Distinction Center for Knee and Hip Replacement designation from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2019-20. In terms of research, the health system's orthopedic program is connected to The J. Vernon Luck, Sr., M.D. Orthopaedic Research Center on the UCLA campus, and its faculty ranks among the top 10 in the nation for National Institutes of Health medical-research funding.

Scripps La Jolla (Calif.) Hospitals. The orthopedic surgeons at Scripps perform more than 3,000 hip and knee replacements per year, and the hospital includes robotic technology for increased precision in orthopedic procedures. The system's hospitals have received the Blue Distinction Center designation for orthopedic care from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Scripps La Jolla Hospitals was rated in the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report. The health system also has a robust research program through the Scripps Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education with ongoing projects focused on areas such as allograft transplantations for cartilage repair, joint implant design, joint implant wear testing and orthopedic stem cell research and genomics.

Sentara Leigh Hospital (Norfolk, Va.). The Orthopedic Hospital at Sentara Leigh is an orthopedic specialty hospital offering the full continuum of care. The hospital's joint replacement program includes robotic technology for partial knee replacements, and was home to the 1,000th surgery performed on the Navio robotic system. The 48-bed hospital also includes the Sentara OrthoJoint Center Express Track, which allows patients to leave the hospital one day after joint replacement surgery.

Spectrum Health (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Spectrum Health has a robust orthopedic surgery and joint replacement program, with as many as 95 percent of joint replacement patients reporting high or very high satisfaction ratings after surgery. In 2019, the hospital also earned recognition among America's 100 Best Joint Replacement hospitals from Healthgrades. The health system has around 56 orthopedic surgeons and more than 100 dedicated orthopedic beds. In addition to providing patient care, the orthopedic department also focuses on research and has received around $600,000 in external funding.

St. Luke's Regional Medical Center (Boise, Idaho). In 2018, St. Luke's Health System opened a new 230,000 square-foot orthopedic specialty facility in Boise with 12 operating rooms and 30 beds. The facility can accommodate 20,000 visits and 7,000 surgeries per year. The health system opened a separate orthopedics location after realizing that its community was expanding, with a 10 percent projected increase in demand for orthopedic services from 2017 to 2020. The health system also has a sports medicine and training program with affiliations that span the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, U.S. Soccer Federation and Ultimate Fighting Championship.

St. Peter's Health Partners (Albany, N.Y.). St. Peter's Hospital Joint Replacement Center surgeons perform 2,500 total hip and knee replacements per year, ranking it among the highest volume hospitals in New York. The hospital also aims to discharge patients to their home, reporting 94 percent of joint replacement patients were discharged home between January 2017 and March 2018, exceeding the national average of 85 percent to 88 percent. The average length of stay for joint replacement patients is also around a half-day shorter at St. Peter's Hospital. In 2018, Women's Choice Award honored the hospital among America's Best Hospitals for Orthopedics and it also earned high performance designation in hip and knee replacement from U.S. News & World Report.

Stanford (Calif.) Health Care-Stanford Hospital. Stanford Hospital's orthopedic team includes around 55 physicians who span joint replacement, spine, sports medicine and extremities care. The hospital includes both inpatient care and an outpatient center in Redwood City, Calif., focused on orthopedics and sports medicine. The hospital's orthopedics department is also focused on research and is currently participating in 17 clinical trials, including studies on pediatric bone tumors and treatment for chronic back pain. U.S. News & World Report ranked Stanford Hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for 2019-20.

Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Hospital. The clinical practice of Stony Brook Medicine includes Stony Brook Orthopaedic Associates, which reports more than 68,000 annual office visits. The hospital's orthopedics team also performs more than 5,600 surgeries each year across both routine and complex specialties. Stony Brook is the only level 1 trauma center in Suffolk County, and has the specialists available to treat orthopedic traumatic injuries. U.S. News & World Report ranked Stony Brook among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20.

Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Tampa General Hospital has a skilled, high-volume orthopedic team, reporting low readmission rates, postoperative complications and revision procedures. The hospital reported 600 knee replacement procedures in 2018 and includes robotic technology for more precise, minimally invasive procedures. Tampa General also participates in the CMS Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model. Newsweek honored the hospital in 2019 as one of the World's Best Hospitals for orthopedics based on patient satisfaction, clinician recommendations and key performance indicators. U.S. News & World Report also ranked Tampa General among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20.

Texas Health Presbyterian Plano. As Texas Health Presbyterian Plano aims to grow its orthopedics program, the hospital recently completed a $25.4 million expansion project that added five designated orthopedic operating rooms to its campus. The new rooms include advanced technology for complex joint and spine procedures. The hospital also has a robust sports medicine program, which includes physical therapy, concussion management, athletic training and sports nutrition. U.S. News & World Report distinguished Texas Health Presbyterian Plano as high performing in orthopedics in 2019-20.

Texas Orthopedic Hospital (Houston). Texas Orthopedic Hospital opened in 1995 and is a joint venture between physicians and Fondren Orthopedic Group. It is affiliated with HCA Houston Healthcare and earlier this year earned a spot on the Top Workplaces 2019 list by the Houston Chronicle. The hospital has also ranked consistently in the top 5 percent nationwide by HCAHPS and earned Healthgrades' 5-star recognition for total knee and hip replacements for the past 12 years. In May, Texas Orthopedic affiliated with Texas Southern University and became the official sponsor of its athletic programs.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (Philadelphia). Jefferson Health's department of orthopaedic surgery includes specialists from Rothman Orthopaedics at Jefferson Health, 3B Orthopaedics and Abington Orthopedic & Spine Institute - Jefferson Health. The system's team performs more than 61,000 surgical orthopedic procedures per year and ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report in 2019-20. More than 60 board-certified physicians make up the department, focused on clinical care and research focused on vertebral disc disease and osteoarthritis.

Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center. The Lundquist Orthopedic Institute at Torrance Memorial Medical Center has earned recognition as a Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Distinction Center for knee and hip replacement surgery as well as spine surgery. It is the fifth largest private orthopedic hospital in Los Angeles County and earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report as one of the top hospitals for orthopedic surgery in 2019-20. Its specialists take a team approach to treating orthopedic patients and support more than 2,100 orthopedic procedures each year.

UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento). UC Davis Health launched its orthopedics department in 1969, and it has grown into an internationally known orthopedics program. The health system includes the UC Davis Trauma Center, among the three busiest level 1 trauma centers in the country, as well as an adult reconstruction center and sports medicine program. The health system's flagship hospital, UC Davis Medical Center, earned recognition as one of the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report in 2019-20. U.S. News also ranked the health system's Shriner's Hospitals for Children - Northern California among the top hospitals for pediatric orthopedics in the nation this year.

UC San Diego Health-Jacobs Medical Center (La Jolla, Calif.). More than 20 orthopedists make up the team at UC San Diego Health's orthopedic center. The system is the official healthcare provider for the San Diego Padres as well as UC San Diego Athletics. In addition to providing orthopedic care, the health system's specialists participate in clinical trials and have research interest in biologic treatments for injured and diseased tissue, intraoperative tools to assist surgeons during procedures and outcomes for experimental interventions.

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (Aurora). The orthopedics team at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital performs more than 4,000 orthopedic surgeries per year. The orthopedics department specializes in joint replacement and preservation, spine and sports medicine, taking an interdisciplinary approach to patient care. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20. Beyond practicing medicine, the hospital's physicians collaborate with researchers to investigate new techniques and treatments.

UChicago Medicine. The orthopedic surgeons at UChicago Medicine focus on innovating in orthopedic and spine care for more personalized treatments. The health system established the nation's first full-time orthopedic surgery faculty in 1930 and that has grown to include 31 surgical and non-surgical physician specialists. The orthopedics team is also focused on clinical research for musculoskeletal diseases, cartilage regeneration, orthotic techniques and more. U.S. News & World Report distinguished University of Chicago Medical Center as high performing in orthopedics in 2019-20.

UCSF Health (San Francisco). The specialists at the UCSF Arthritis and Joint Replacement Center perform more than 800 hip and knee procedures per year. The health system also has a robust sports medicine program, which includes a sports concussion program and the Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes, which supports more than 13,000 patient visits and performs around 1,000 surgeries per year for young athletes at all levels, including U.S. Olympians. Finally, the health system treats around 10,000 spine patients per year. U.S. News & World Report ranked UCSF Medical Center among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20.

UMass Memorial Medical Center (Worcester, Mass.). More than 100 experts in orthopedics and rheumatology provide care at UMass Memorial Medical Center. The hospital's joint replacement program earned Blue Distinction Center+ for Knee and Hip surgery from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and earned the five-star rating from Healthgrades for total knee replacements for three consecutive years, most recently in 2018. The hospital's researches have received $19 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health as well as $1.7 million from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Disease to improve outcomes after total knee replacement surgery.

University Hospital (Augusta, Ga.). To deliver specialized patient care, University Hospital has devoted its ninth floor to a $9 million Orthopaedic & Spine Center with 45 private patient rooms, a dedicated rehabilitation gym and expansive workspace for physicians and nurses. Anchoring University Health Care System, the 812-bed University Hospital is the only facility in its region to receive designation from Blue Cross Blue Shield as a Blue Distinction Center+ for knee and hip replacement and spine surgery. It is also the region's only facility recognized as an Aetna Institute of Quality for joint replacement and spine surgery.

University Hospitals (Cleveland). With nine specialty divisions, University Hospitals' orthopedics department takes pride in its multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to care. Physicians at the 1,032-bed hospital are also enlisted as full-time faculty members at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, a Cleveland institution known for heavy investment in research over the past two decades. Through its sports medicine division, UH serves as the official medical provider for the Cleveland Ballet and the Cleveland Browns.

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Iowa City). The orthopedics and rehabilitation department at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has 48 beds across its system, which includes 10 outpatient clinics and a specialty radiology unit. The department's physicians see around 280 patients per day and around 70,000 patients per year. The orthopedic surgical team performs 7,000 procedures annually. In addition to clinical care, University of Iowa's orthopedic specialists are involved in research for the prevention of osteoarthritis after joint injuries, concussion treatment, sports-related treatment protocol and other innovative projects. U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics in 2019-20.

University of Kansas Hospital (Kansas City, Kan.). The University of Kansas Hospital is home to The University of Kansas Health System's orthopedics department, which includes more than 30 providers. The system is the official healthcare provider for The Kansas City Chiefs and The Kansas City Royals and provides athletic training and sports medicine services at multiple school districts. For 2019-20, University of Kansas Hospital was ranked in the top 10 percent of hospitals for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report.

University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital (Lexington). As a university-affiliated program, the orthopedics department at Albert B. Chandler Hospital strives to provide cutting-edge care. The 569-bed hospital opened in 1962 and employs fellowship-trained orthopedic trauma surgeons at its level 1 trauma center, which is the only one in central and eastern Kentucky. UK Chandler Hospital features multiple hospital-based clinics, including one entirely devoted to orthopedic surgery.

University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center (Towson). Each year, more than 25,000 patients come to the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center to see specialists at The Orthopaedic Institute, which is known for excellence in pain management and rapid rehabilitation after joint replacement. The 218-bed hospital partners with Towson Orthopaedic Associates to deliver 1,600 joint replacements a year and offers comprehensive rehabilitation services in conjunction with Towson Sports Medicine. St. Joseph Medical Center's 50-bed orthopedic unit features 32 private patient rooms and a rehabilitation facility.

University of Minnesota Medical Center (Minneapolis). University of Minnesota Medical Center's 50-plus orthopedic providers are nationally and internationally recognized for expertise in sports medicine, physical medicine, family medicine and rheumatology, among other fields. With a physical medicine and rehabilitation program that has been around for more than 50 years and a walk-in clinic for orthopedic and sports medicine services, University of Minnesota Medical Center operates under the belief that muscle, bone and joint pain shouldn't prevent patients from doing the things they enjoy. This approach has helped the hospital obtain Blue Cross Blue Shield's Blue Distinction Centers+ designation for efficiency and expertise in knee and hip surgery.

University of Tennessee Medical Center (Knoxville). With a team of eight orthopedic trauma surgeons, the 685-bed University of Tennessee Medical Center operates East Tennessee's only level 1 trauma center verified by the American College of Surgeons. In October, the hospital unveiled plans to open a freestanding orthopedic surgery center in partnership with Knoxville-based OrthoTennessee and University Orthopedic Surgeons. University of Tennessee Medical Center was the first in the state to receive The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification for total hip and total knee replacement.

University of Virginia Medical Center (Charlottesville). With more than 84,000 patients visiting its clinics, UVA Orthopedics recorded 1,189 hip and knee surgeries from mid-2018 to mid-2019, while beating the national average length of stay for hip fracture patients. University of Virginia Medical Center also beat the national average on surgical infection rates for hip replacement for 2018. University of Virginia Medical Center was also the state's first hospital to receive premier certification from the International Geriatric Fracture Society and earned recognition from Blue Cross Blue Shield as a Blue Distinction Center for knee and hip replacement.

University Hospital-Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor). Under the leadership of former chair James E. Carpenter, MD, who stepped down in May, Michigan Medicine's orthopedic surgery department has grown to include several dozen faculty members and nearly 400 staff members. In addition, the system accommodates over 300,000 outpatient visits annually at its Comprehensive Musculoskeletal Center. The center now employs 250-plus physicians across 22 facilities, including the 550-bed University Hospital which earned recognition among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedic surgery by U.S. News & World Report for 2019-20.

University of Utah Hospital (Salt Lake City). University of Utah Hospital's Center for Hip & Knee Reconstruction leverages resources from the University Orthopaedic Center and University of Utah Health to diagnose and treat patients. The system's orthopedic surgery department received $12.4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2018, earning a No. 1 ranking from The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. Designated as a Blue Distinction Center for knee and hip replacement, University of Utah Hospital is home to the Center for Hip & Knee Reconstruction, a charter member of the American Joint Replacement Registry.

UPMC (Pittsburgh). Encompassing 13 research laboratories with funding from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions, UPMC's orthopedic surgery department helps shape the field's future through evidence-based studies and clinical trials. The organization's sports medicine division is the official medical provider of the Pittsburgh Steelers and over 60 high school, college and regional teams and events, providing specialized treatment for athletes at two full-service sports complexes. With high marks in advanced technologies, patient services, nurse staffing and patient volumes, UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside was ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the nation for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report for 2019-20.

UR Medicine (Rochester, N.Y.). UR Medicine supports robust orthopedic services across its seven hospitals. The Evarts Joint Center at Highland Hospital earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for knee and hip replacements, and the Aetna Institutes of Quality also distinguished the center for excellence in orthopedics. UR Medicine's orthopedic surgeons are also involved in research and are among the top in the nation for National Institutes of Health orthopedics research funding. The system's Center for Musculoskeletal Research includes 75 scientists that work alongside principal investigators and researchers to improve bone health.

UT Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas). With a team of 28 orthopedic specialists, UT Southwestern Medical Center offers a multidisciplinary approach to care across six locations. Surgeons at the academic medical center pioneered minimally invasive percutaneous surgery and were the first in North Texas to use a female-specific prosthetic for knee replacement. Led by professor and chair Dane Wukich, MD, the hospital's orthopedic surgery department has researchers currently involved in more than four dozen clinical studies.

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100 hospitals and health systems with great orthopedic programs | 2019 - Becker's Hospital Review

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Hopkins team invents non-viral system for getting gene therapy into cells – FierceBiotech

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

One of the most popular methods for inserting therapeutic genes into cells to treat disease is to transport them using a virus that has been stripped of its infectious properties. But those noninfectious viruses can still sometimes touch off dangerous immune responses.

A team from Johns Hopkins Medicine is proposing an alternative method for transporting large therapies into cellsincluding genes and even the gene-editing system CRISPR. Its a nano-container made of a polymer that biodegrades once its inside the cell, unleashing the therapy. The researchers described the invention in the journal Science Advances.

The team, led by biomedical engineer Jordan Green, Ph.D., was inspired by viruses, which have many properties that make them ideal transport vehicles. They have both negative and positive charges, for example, which allows them to get close to cells. So Green and his colleagues developed a polymer containing four molecules with both positive and negative charges. They used it to make a container that interacts with the cell membrane and is eventually engulfed by it.

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The Hopkins researchers performed four experiments to prove the nanocontainers would travel into cells and deliver complex therapies once inside. First, they packaged a small protein into the polymer material and mixed it with mouse kidney cells in a lab dish. Using fluorescent tags, they confirmed that the protein made it into the cells. Then they repeated the experiment with a much larger medicinehuman immunoglobulinand observed that 90% of the kidney cells received the treatment.

From there, they made the payload even bulkier, packaging the nanocontainers with the gene-editing system CRISPR. With the help of fluorescent signals, they were able to confirm that CRISPR went to work once inside the cells, disabling a gene 77% of the time.

"That's pretty effective considering, with other gene-editing systems, you might get the correct gene-cutting result less than 10 percent of the time," said graduate student Yuan Rui in a statement.

Finally, the Hopkins researchers injected CRISPR components into mouse models of brain cancer using the polymer nanocontainers. Again they saw evidence that successful gene editing had occurred.

Developing improved methods for gene therapy is a priority in the field. In October, for example, scientists at Scripps Research described a way to use a small molecule called caraphenol A to lower levels of interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins, which could, in turn, allow viral vectors to pass more easily into cells. And earlier this year, an Italian team described a method for including the protein CD47 in lentiviral vectors to improve the transferring of therapeutic genes into liver cells.

The next step for Hopkins researchers Rui and Green is to improve the stability of the nanocontainers so they can be injected into the bloodstream. They hope to be able to target them to cells that have certain genetic markers, they reported.

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Hopkins team invents non-viral system for getting gene therapy into cells - FierceBiotech

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Buyer beware of this $1 million gene therapy for aging – MIT Technology Review

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

Its said that nothing is certain except death and taxes. But doubt has been cast over the former since the 1970s, when scientists picked at the seams of one of the fundamental mysteries of biology: the molecular reasons we get old and die.

The loose thread they pulled had to do with telomeresmolecular timepieces on the ends of chromosomes that shorten each time a cell divides, in effect giving it a fixed life span. Some tissues (such as the gut lining) renew almost constantly, and it was found that these have high levels of an enzyme called telomerase, which works to rebuild and extend the telomeres so cells can keep dividing.

That was enough to win Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak a Nobel Prize in 2009. The obvious question, then, was whether telomerase could protect any cell from agingand maybe extend the life of entire organisms, too.

While telomere-extending treatments in mice have yielded intriguing results, nobody has demonstrated that tweaking the molecular clocks has benefits for humans. That isnt stopping one US startup from advertising a telomere-boosting genetic therapyat a price.

Libella Gene Therapeutics, based in Manhattan, Kansas, claims it is now offering a gene therapy to repair telomeres at a clinic in Colombia for $1 million a dose. The company announced on November 21 that it was recruiting patients into what it termed a pay-to-play clinical trial.

Buyer beware, though: this trial is for an unproven, untested treatment that might even be harmful to your health.

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The company proposes to inject patients with viruses carrying the genetic instructions cells need to manufacture telomerase reverse transcriptase, a molecule involved in extending the length of telomeres.

The dangers are enormous, says Jerry Shay, a world expert on aging and cancer at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Theres a risk of activating a pre-cancerous cell thats got all the alterations except telomerase, especially in people 65 and over.

For years now, people involved in the company have made shifting claims about the study, raising uncertainty about who is involved, when it might start, and even where it would occur. Trial listings posted in October to clinicaltrials.gov currently show plans for three linked experiments, each with five patients, targeting critical limb ischemia, Alzheimers, and aging, respectively.

Jeff Mathis, president of Libella, told MIT Technology Review that two patients have already paid the enormous fee to take part in the study: a 90-year-old-woman and a 79-year-old man, both US citizens. He said they could receive the gene therapy by the second week of January 2020.

The decision to charge patients a fortune to participate in the study of an experimental treatment is a red flag, say ethics experts. Whats the moral justification for charging individuals with Alzheimers? asks Leigh Turner, at the University of Minnesotas Center for Bioethics. Why charge those bearing all the risk?

The telomere study is occurring outside the US because it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Details posted to clincaltrials.gov indicate that the injections would be carried out at the IPS Arcasalud SAS medical clinic in Zipaquir, Colombia, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Bogot.

It takes a lot longer, is a lot more expensive, to get anything done in the US in a timely fashion, Mathis says of Libellas choice to go offshore.

To some promoters of anti-aging cures, urgency is justified. Heres the ethical dilemma: Do you run fast and run the risk of low credibility, or move slowly and have more credibility and global acceptancebut meanwhile people have died? says Mike Fossel, the president of Telocyte, a company planning to run a study of telomerase gene therapy in the US if it can win FDA signoff.

Our reporting revealed a number of unanswered questions about the trial. According to the listings, the principal investigatorwhich is to say the doctor in charge--is Jorge Ulloa, a vascular surgeon rather than an expert in gene transfer. I dont see someone with relevant scientific expertise, says Turner.

Furthermore, Bill Andrews, who is listed as Libellas chief scientific officer, says he does not know who Ulloa is, even though on Libellas website, the mens photos appear together on the list of team members. He said he believed that different doctors were leading the trial.

Turner also expressed concerns about the proposed 10-day observation period described in the posting for the overseas study: If someone pays, shows up, has treatment, and doesnt stick around very long, how are follow-up questions taking place? Where are they taking place?

Companies seeking to try the telomere approach often point to the work of Maria Blasco, a Spanish scientist who reported that telomere-lengthening gene therapy benefited mice and did not cause cancer. Blasco, director of the Spanish National Centre for Cancer Research, says she believes many more studies should be done before trying such a gene experiment on a person.

This isnt the first time Libella has announced that its trial would begin imminently. It claimed in late 2017 that human trials of the telomerase therapy would begin in the next few weeks. In 2016, Andrews (then partnered with biotech startup BioViva) claimed that construction of an age reversal clinic on the island nation of Fiji would be complete before the end of the year. Neither came to pass.

Similar questions surround Libellas most recent claims that it has two paying clients. Pedro Fabian Davalos Berdugo, manager of Arcasalud, said three patients were awaiting treatment in December. But Bioaccess, a Colombian contract research organization facilitating the Libella trial, said that no patients had yet been enrolled.

Also unclear is where Libella is obtaining the viruses needed for the treatment. Virovek, a California biotech company identified by several sources as Libellas manufacturer, did not answer questions about whether any treatment had been produced.

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Buyer beware of this $1 million gene therapy for aging - MIT Technology Review

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Cancer gene therapy backed by Blackstone gets trial win – BioPharma Dive

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

A gene therapy for bladder cancer that recently received $400 million in support from the private equity company Blackstone Group helped more than half of treated patients with resistant disease achieve remission.

The therapy, called nadofaragene firadenovec, was discovered by a Finnish-based research institute and first entered clinical study in 2012. The data revealed today at the Society of Urologic Oncology meeting came from a Phase 3 trial that is part of the agent's Biologics License Application now before the FDA.

Licensed by its original owner, FKD Therapies Oy, to Switzerland-based Ferring Pharmaceuticals, nadofaragene firadenovec is now in the hands of the U.S. subsidiary FerGene. That company was created with the Blackstone investment and an additonal $170 million from Ferring. FerGene will commercialize the gene therapy in the U.S., with Ferring holding rights elsewhere.

Nadofaragene firadenovec is an an adenovirus-based gene therapy encoding production of the immunity-stimulating protein interferon alfa-2b. Viral vectors containing the gene are administered by catheter once every three months into the bladder, where they are absorbed into cells in the organ's walls and begin stimulating interferon.

Delivery through a catheter, called intravesical administration, limits systemic exposure to both the viral vectors and to inteferon, said Neal Shore, medical director for the Carolina Urologic Research Center and an investigator in the trial.The side-effects of interferon include flu-like symptoms in patients who inject it for other conditions like multiple sclerosis.

The clinical trial enrolled 157 patients with bladder cancer that has not spread to muscle walls and has stopped responding to treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Gurin vaccine.

Alternative treatments for these patients include chemotherapy or a procedure called "complete cystectomy." This surgery entails complete removal of the bladder, which in men means removal of the prostate and seminal vesicles and in women the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tube and part of the vagina.

"Radical cystectomy is one of the most invasive surgeries we do not just in urology but in all of surgery," Shore said, requiring a lengthy hospital stay and having a high rate of post-procedural complications.

Out of a group of 103 patients with superficial tumors in the bladder wall, just over half were in complete remission at three months, 41% at six months, and 24% at one year. In a group of 48 patients whose cancer had spread to the connective tissue outside the bladder, 73% had no recurrence of serious disease at three months, which fell to 44% at 12 months.

In this type of bladder cancer, the FDA has said a single-arm trial, without a placebo control, using complete remission is sufficient to be considered for approval, and the study does not need to pre-specify a rate that would define success. "The natural history of [disease]is well understood, and the complete response rate is negligible in the absence of therapy," the agency said in guidelines published in February 2018.

One chemotherapy agent, called Valstar (valrubicin), is approved for this patient group. It won FDA approval on a complete response rate of 18%.

In seeking FDA approval, nadofaragene firadenovec is in a race with Merck & Co.'s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to achieve approval first. That immuno-oncology agent tested Keytruda in a similar population in the Keynote-057 trial, in which it achieved a 39% complete response rate.

Keytruda will be the subject of a meeting of the FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee on Dec. 17.

Aside from the remission rates,Shore said nadofaragene firadenovec would differentiate itself from Keytruda in practice because its intravesical delivery means it could be administered by community-based urologists at outpatient clinics.

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Cancer gene therapy backed by Blackstone gets trial win - BioPharma Dive

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Watch out, Keytruda. Ferring’s bladder cancer gene therapy rival has new dataand they look competitive – FiercePharma

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

On the heels of an FDA speedy review for Keytrudas potential use in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), its close rival, a gene therapy by Ferring Pharmaceuticals spinout FerGene, has posted late-stage data. By the looks of it, the two drugs are up for a fight.

Among patients with high-risk NMIBC superficial disease thats unresponsive to standard-of-care Bacillus Calmette-Gurin (BCG), nadofaragene firadenovec eliminated tumors in 53%, or 55 of 103 patients,at month three in a phase 3 study, FerGene unveiled Thursday at the Society of Urologic Oncology meeting.

By comparison, in Keytrudas own registrational trial on the same target patient population, the Merck & Co. PD-1 completely cleared tumors in 41.2%, or 42 of 102 patients, after three months, according to an update at the European Society for Medical Oncology annual meeting in September.

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The length of time responses lasted appeared similar between the two drugs in their separate studies. For Keytruda, 24 patients (23.5%) continued to show no signs of disease after a year. As for nadofaragene firadenovec, 24.3%, or 25 patients, were still tumor-free at month 12.

In terms of safety, Keytruda recorded Grade 3/4 side effects in12.7% of patients, while FerGene said there were no Grade 4/5 events in its study.

We are pleased with these Phase 3 data results, including the complete response rates and favorable safety profile seen with nadofaragene firadenovec, Nigel Parker, scientific founder of FKD Therapies, said in a statement. The data have also helped FKD'snew drug application earn an FDA priority review.

RELATED:Merck's Keytruda is bound for new bladder cancer territory. But can it hold up against gene therapy?

Ferring recently gained commercial rights to the gene therapy from FKD, and, with $400 million in help from Blackstone Life Sciences, spun it into FerGene. Interestingly, it was Merck that licensed the drugout to FKD in the first place in 2011 in return for an equity stake in the then-newly formed Finnish company.

Priority reviews in hand, the two companies could be looking at FDA approvals soon. The burning question is, how does FerGene plan to price a gene therapy, which belongs to a class of drug thats notoriously costly? In a statement sentto FiercePharma, Ferring said it's too early to discuss pricing, that its top priority is still to get nadofaragene firadenovec approved andinvest into R&Dto study the product in more indications.

Keytruda is meant to be given ata fixed dose every three weeks. Nadofaragene firadenovec, which uses an adenovirus vector to deliver the gene interferon alfa-2b to stimulate an innate immune response to fight cancer, is administered into the bladder every three months.

Merck does have an upper hand against FerGene. The Big Pharma has been the sole supplier of BCG in the U.S. and several other key markets globally for several years now. So, it could offer BCG and Keytruda as a one-two punch for NMIBC, similar to the wayBayer is billing Nexavar and Stivarga as a part of the same continuumin first- and second-line liver cancer.

RELATED:Merck limits orders for bladder cancer drug as demand outstrips supply

There are other players eyeing the same patient population. Sesen Bio has Vicinium, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets epithelial cell adhesion molecule antigens on the surface of tumor cells to deliver a toxin payload. In its own phase 3 trial dubbed Vista also in high-risk, BCG-unresponsive NMIBC, Vicinium eradicated tumors in 40% of 89 patients at month three, according to an update the company provided in August. However, its response seems to wane over time more quickly than its rivals', as only 17% of patients showed no signs of tumor activity after 12 months.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech recently held two meetings with the FDA and confirmed a submission process, including the design for a post-marketing confirmatory trial. It would enroll BCG-refractory patients who, because of supply constraints, haven't received an optimal BCG dose, which the company said represents a broader patientpopulation in light of anongoing shortage.

Sesen now expects to submit a biologics license application under rolling review by year-end with potential approval in 2020.

As for its pricing, during a presentation at the H.C. Wainwright investor conference in September, Sesens president and CEO Thomas Cannell pointed out that PD-1/L1s would cost about $150,000 to $200,000 per patient per year in NMIBC.

Weve done two rounds of market research with payers, and they think thats reasonable, he said. They think at those levels, there will probably be minimal prior authorization or step edits in terms of restricting a treatments use.

Assuming an official launch in 2021, Jefferies analysts, in a Nov. 12 note to clients, pegged $167.5 million for Viciniums U.S. sales in 2024. Before the priority designation, SVB Leerinks Daina Graybosch predicted a Keytruda launch in NMIBC in 2022 and forecastU.S. sales of $250 million in the indication for the Merck PD-1 inhibitor in 2025.

Editor's Note: The story has been updated with a statement from Ferring Pharma.

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First 2 Adults with Severe Hemophilia A Respond Well to Gene Therapy BAY 2599023 in Clinical Trial – Hemophilia News Today

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

Bayersinvestigationalgene therapy BAY 2599023 safely and effectively increased the levels ofclotting factor VIII (FVIII) and prevented or lessened bleeding in the first two people with severe hemophilia A treated ina Phase 1/2 clinical trial, preliminary data show.

The ongoing trial (NCT03588299; 2017-000806-39) is enrolling up to 30 eligible adult patients. More information, including recruiting sites in the U.S. and Europe, is availablehere.

These early results will be presented in the poster, First-in-human Gene Therapy Study of AAVhu37 Capsid Vector Technology in Severe Hemophilia A, at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & ExpositionrunningDec. 710 in Orlando, Florida.

BAY 2599023 initially by Dimension Therapeutics as DTX201 is being developed by Bayer in collaboration with Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals. The potential gene therapy aims to promote a sustained production of FVIII and overcome its deficit in hemophilia A patients, reducing or eliminating the need for prophylatic, or preventive, FVIII replacement therapy and the occurrence of bleeding events.

Administered as a single infusion, the therapy uses a modified and harmless version of the adeno-associated virus (AAV), called AAVhu37, to deliver a shorter but functionalcopy of the FVIII gene to liver cells, where clotting factors are produced. This version of the FVIII gene is known as B-domain deleted FVIII gene.

Preclinical studies showed that AAVhu37 effectively delivered the FVIII gene to liver cells, had a favorable distribution, and induced a durable FVIII production.

In addition, preclinical data showed that BAY 2599023 had a good safety profile, and the potential to promote FVIII production to levels considered to be therapeutic over a long period of time.

The ongoing, dose-establishingPhase 1/2 trial (NCT03588299; 2017-000806-39) is evaluating the safety, tolerability and early effectiveness of three ascending doses of BAY 2599023 in adult men with severe hemophilia A who have been previously treated with FVIII products.

It is the first clinical trial to evaluate a gene therapy based on the AAVhu37.

Up to 30 enrolled patients will be given a single intravenous infusion of one of three doses of BAY 2599023. The studys primary goal is to measure safety through reports of adverse events. Secondary goals include measuring FVIII activity and assessing the number of patients who reach more than 5% of FVIII production at six and 12 months after treatment at the different doses.

Data on the first two men treated at BAY 2599023s starting dose (0.5 x 1013 gene copies/kg) will be presented at the meeting. These men had more than 150 days of treatment with FVIII products, no history of FVIII inhibitors, and no detectable immune response against AAVhu37.

No adverse events were reported after more than 15 weeks of safety evaluations (about four months). Blood levels of liver enzymes also remained within a normal range, and either of these patients needed to be treated with corticosteroids.

The first man reached a stable FVIII production of around 5%, and was free of bleeding events or a need for prophylactic treatment for six weeks. The second patient, who had 99 bleeds in the year before receiving the gene therapy, reached a stable FVIII production of around 17%, and has been bleed-free for more than 5.5 months (at the time of data collection).

These preliminary data suggest that BAY 2599023 is safe and effective in promoting the production of FVIII and in reducing or preventing the occurrence of bleeding events and the need for prophylactic treatment, the researchers wrote.

Overall, data generated from this first dose cohort demonstrate that successful translation from pre-clinical to clinical development and proof-of-mechanism for BAY 2599023 was achieved, they concluded.

Marta Figueiredo holds a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. She is currently finishing her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Lisbon, where she focused her research on the role of several signalling pathways in thymus and parathyroid glands embryonic development.

Total Posts: 121

Margarida graduated with a BS in Health Sciences from the University of Lisbon and a MSc in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Tcnico (IST-UL). She worked as a molecular biologist research associate at a Cambridge UK-based biotech company that discovers and develops therapeutic, fully human monoclonal antibodies.

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A #ReUp of 2019: The year when gene therapy, DNA modifications came of age & saved lives – Economic Times

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

In the summer, a mother in Nashville with a seemingly incurable genetic disorder finally found an end to her suffering -- by editing her genome.

Victoria Gray's recovery from sickle cell disease, which had caused her painful seizures, came in a year of breakthroughs in one of the hottest areas of medical research -- gene therapy.

"I have hoped for a cure since I was about 11," the 34-year-old told AFP in an email.

"Since I received the new cells, I have been able to enjoy more time with my family without worrying about pain or an out-of-the-blue emergency."

Over several weeks, Gray's blood was drawn so doctors could get to the cause of her illness -- stem cells from her bone marrow that were making deformed red blood cells.

The stem cells were sent to a Scottish laboratory, where their DNA was modified using Crispr/Cas9 -- pronounced "Crisper" -- a new tool informally known as molecular "scissors."

The genetically edited cells were transfused back into Gray's veins and bone marrow. A month later, she was producing normal blood cells.

Medics warn that caution is necessary but, theoretically, she has been cured.

"This is one patient. This is early results. We need to see how it works out in other patients," said her doctor, Haydar Frangoul, at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville.

"But these results are really exciting."

In Germany, a 19-year-old woman was treated with a similar method for a different blood disease, beta thalassemia. She had previously needed 16 blood transfusions per year.

Nine months later, she is completely free of that burden.

For decades, the DNA of living organisms such as corn and salmon has been modified.

But Crispr, invented in 2012, made gene editing more widely accessible. It is much simpler than preceding technology, cheaper and easy to use in small labs.

The technique has given new impetus to the perennial debate over the wisdom of humanity manipulating life itself.

"It's all developing very quickly," said French geneticist Emmanuelle Charpentier, one of Crispr's inventors and the cofounder of Crispr Therapeutics, the biotech company conducting the clinical trials involving Gray and the German patient.

Crispr is the latest breakthrough in a year of great strides in gene therapy, a medical adventure started three decades ago, when the first TV telethons were raising money for children with muscular dystrophy.

Scientists practising the technique insert a normal gene into cells containing a defective gene.

It does the work the original could not -- such as making normal red blood cells, in Victoria's case, or making tumor-killing super white blood cells for a cancer patient.

Crispr goes even further: instead of adding a gene, the tool edits the genome itself.

After decades of research and clinical trials on a genetic fix to genetic disorders, 2019 saw a historic milestone: approval to bring to market the first gene therapies for a neuromuscular disease in the US and a blood disease in the European Union.

They join several other gene therapies -- bringing the total to eight -- approved in recent years to treat certain cancers and an inherited blindness.

Serge Braun, the scientific director of the French Muscular Dystrophy Association, sees 2019 as a turning point that will lead to a medical revolution.

"Twenty-five, 30 years, that's the time it had to take," he told AFP from Paris.

"It took a generation for gene therapy to become a reality. Now, it's only going to go faster."

Just outside Washington, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers are also celebrating a "breakthrough period."

"We have hit an inflection point," said Carrie Wolinetz, NIH's associate director for science policy.

These therapies are exorbitantly expensive, however, costing up to $2 million -- meaning patients face grueling negotiations with their insurance companies.

They also involve a complex regimen of procedures that are only available in wealthy countries.

Gray spent months in hospital getting blood drawn, undergoing chemotherapy, having edited stem cells reintroduced via transfusion -- and fighting a general infection.

"You cannot do this in a community hospital close to home," said her doctor.

However, the number of approved gene therapies will increase to about 40 by 2022, according to MIT researchers.

They will mostly target cancers and diseases that affect muscles, the eyes and the nervous system.

Another problem with Crispr is that its relative simplicity has triggered the imaginations of rogue practitioners who don't necessarily share the medical ethics of Western medicine.

Last year in China, scientist He Jiankui triggered an international scandal -- and his excommunication from the scientific community -- when he used Crispr to create what he called the first gene-edited humans.

The biophysicist said he had altered the DNA of human embryos that became twin girls Lulu and Nana.

His goal was to create a mutation that would prevent the girls from contracting HIV, even though there was no specific reason to put them through the process.

"That technology is not safe," said Kiran Musunuru, a genetics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, explaining that the Crispr "scissors" often cut next to the targeted gene, causing unexpected mutations.

"It's very easy to do if you don't care about the consequences," Musunuru added.

Despite the ethical pitfalls, restraint seems mainly to have prevailed so far.

The community is keeping a close eye on Russia, where biologist Denis Rebrikov has said he wants to use Crispr to help deaf parents have children without the disability.

There is also the temptation to genetically edit entire animal species -- malaria-causing mosquitoes in Burkina Faso or mice hosting ticks that carry Lyme disease in the US.

The researchers in charge of those projects are advancing carefully, however, fully aware of the unpredictability of chain reactions on the ecosystem.

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Charpentier doesn't believe in the more dystopian scenarios predicted for gene therapy, including American "biohackers" injecting themselves with Crispr technology bought online.

"Not everyone is a biologist or scientist," she said.

And the possibility of military hijacking to create soldier-killing viruses or bacteria that would ravage enemies' crops?

Charpentier thinks that technology generally tends to be used for the better.

"I'm a bacteriologist -- we've been talking about bioterrorism for years," she said. "Nothing has ever happened."

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Orgenesis and Theracell to Launch Point of Care Cell and Gene Therapy Centers within HYGEIA Group’s Hospital Network in Greece – GlobeNewswire

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

GERMANTOWN, Md., Dec. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orgenesis Inc. (NASDAQ: ORGS)(Orgenesis or the Company), a leading cell and gene therapy enabling company providing centralized CDMO manufacturing and development services through its subsidiary Masthercell Global, Inc., as well as localized point-of-care(POCare) development and processing centers for therapeutic treatments, today announced a strategic partnership agreement (Partnership) between the HYGEIA Group and the TheracellOrgenesis joint venture (JV). Under the Agreement, the JV will implement Orgenesis POCare cell therapy platform for clinical development and commercialization of cell and gene therapies within HYGEIA Groups network of three hospitals in Greece. As previously announced, Orgenesis and TheraCell Advanced Biotechnology formed a JV to advance Orgenesis POCare platform in Greece, Cyprus, the Balkan region and selected Middle Eastern countries.

The POCare platform is designed to collect, process and supply cells within the patient care setting for various therapeutic treatments. The goal of the platform is to reduce the cost and complexity of supplying cell and gene therapies, as well as elevate quality standards by integrating automated processing units and proprietary technologies.

HYGEIA is the first hospital network in this region to implement Orgenesis POCare cell therapy platform. The Partnership is intended to provide HYGEIA Group with resources to advance clinical development and deliver personalized, advanced therapies across its network for a wide range of diseases in oncology, hematology, orthopedics, nephrology, dermatology and diabetes.

This partnership with the HYGEIA Group further validates the significant value proposition of our POCare platform, as it enables the development and delivery of cell and gene therapies onsite at hospitals. We believe this platform has the potential to transform the cell and gene therapy market, by bringing life-saving therapies to market in a much more time and cost-effective manner, said Vered Caplan, CEO of Orgenesis. Theracell has proven to be an ideal partner with extensive experience and capabilities in autologous cell therapy and regenerative medicine, with operations in Greece and strong relationships throughout the region. We are in active discussions to establish PoCare locations and partnerships with hospitals and healthcare networks in other countries and regions across the world.

Andreas Kartapanis, CEO, HYGEIA Group, commented, HYGEIA Group is honored to work with Theracell and Orgenesis to become the first hospital network in Greece to provide advanced cell and gene therapies for both clinical research and patient treatment utilizing the POCare platform. We believe this Partnership will provide us a strong competitive advantage in this rapidly developing field. More importantly, this Partnership will benefit patients that will now have greater access to these important therapies.

About HYGEIA Group

HYGEIA Group operates three hospitals in Greece, with a total capacity of 1,261 beds, 52 operating rooms, 19 delivery rooms and 10 intensive care units. More than 3,100 employees and approximately 3,900 associate physicians offer their services to the HYGEIA Group, which was founded in 1970 by medical doctors, most of which were professors at the University of Athens and have since been active in providing primary and secondary care services. The following hospitals are also part of the HYGEIA Group: MITERA General, Obstetrics - Gynecology & Pediatrics Hospital and LITO Obstetrics, Gynecology & Surgical Center, licensed for 459 and 100 hospital beds, respectively.

About Theracell

TheraCell is a regenerative biotechnology company with operations in Greece, where its laboratories and primary facilities are located. The Company focuses in the areas of autologous cell therapy and regenerative medicine. TheraCell has extensive experience in the isolation, processing and application of adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs), as well as somatic cells and has developed a patented platform for tissue engineering and cell therapies in the areas of Dermatology, Chondral Defects and Chronic Kidney Injury.

About Orgenesis

Orgenesis is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing and processing of technologies and services in the cell and gene therapy industry. The Company operates through two platforms: (i) a point-of-care (POCare) cell therapy platform (PT) and (ii) a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) platform conducted through its subsidiary, Masthercell Global. Through its PT business, the Companys aim is to further the development of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) through collaborations and in-licensing with other pre-clinical and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies and research and healthcare institutes to bring such ATMPs to patients. The Company out-licenses these ATMPs through regional partners to whom it also provides regulatory, pre-clinical and training services to support their activity in order to reach patients in a point-of-care hospital setting. Through the Companys CDMO platform, it is focused on providing contract manufacturing and development services for biopharmaceutical companies. Additional information is available at: http://www.orgenesis.com.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve substantial uncertainties and risks and are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the success of our reorganized CDMO operations, the success of our partnership with Great Point Partners, our ability to achieve and maintain overall profitability, the sufficiency of working capital to realize our business plans, the development of our transdifferentiation technology as therapeutic treatment for diabetes which could, if successful, be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes; our technology not functioning as expected; our ability to retain key employees; our ability to satisfy the rigorous regulatory requirements for new procedures; our competitors developing better or cheaper alternatives to our products and the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "RISK FACTORS" in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Investor contact for Orgenesis:David WaldmanCrescendo Communications, LLCTel: 212-671-1021Orgs@crescendo-ir.com

Media contact for Orgenesis:Image Box CommunicationsNeil Hunter / Michelle BoxallTel +44 20 8943 4685neil@imageboxpr.co.uk/michelle@imageboxpr.co.uk

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Engelhardt named 2019 Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors – Iowa Now

Posted: December 7, 2019 at 10:41 am

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named University of Iowa cystic fibrosis and gene therapy researcher John Engelhardt, PhD, a 2019 Fellow.

Engelhardt, who is professor and head of anatomy and cell biology in the UI Carver College of Medicine and director of the UI Center for Gene Therapy, is recognized for his work in developing gene therapies to treat cystic fibrosis (CF). He will receive the award during an induction ceremony at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 10, 2020.

Engelhardts research primarily focuses on the molecular basis of CF, a progressive, inherited disease that causes persistent lung infections and other complications. CF is caused by well-studied mutations in a single gene, and Engelhardt has worked to develop gene therapy and gene editing methods to help treat the condition.

He also develops viral vector systems and animal models to test these methods and ultimately improve gene delivery. The animal models his laboratory has created are used by over 80 CF researchers, and he recently renewed a Research and Resource Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue this service to the research community and biotechnology companies that are developing therapies for CF and other lung diseases.

Engelhardt additionally studies airway stem cell niches, or the regulatory mechanisms that control stem cell growth and repair in the lungs, and has developed stem cell therapies for CF.

He currently holds 12 issued US patents, 41 issued foreign patents, and has 23 active patent applications. His patents and applications have been licensed to six companies, including two start-ups and a Fortune 100 company. Engelhardt provides critical tools and assistance to other researchers and companies in the field of CF research, and he is sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Engelhardt co-founded the gene therapy company Talee Bio, which was sold and is now Spirovant Sciences. The Philadelphia-based company was recently a part of a $3 billion deal to enhance the development of gene therapies for CF and other genetic diseases. Engelhardt remains on the scientific advisory board for Spirovant Sciences and serves as a key advisor as new therapies are created and tested.

NAI President Paul Sanberg says Engelhardt was selected for induction as he has demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.

The University of Iowa Research Foundation (UIRF) nominated Engelhardt for this award to recognize his impact on creating and broadly commercializing gene therapies and his mentoring of other entrepreneurs on campus.

John has an extensive portfolio of intellectual property for advancing the commercialization of gene therapies, said Marie Kerbeshian, executive director of UIRF and an assistant vice president in the Office of the Vice President for Research. Not only is he a successful entrepreneur, as a UI researcher he is a key supporter of other researchers and other companies as they seek cures for cystic fibrosis.

He is one of 168 distinguished academic inventors across 136 research universities and institutes worldwide to join the academy this year. To date, NAI Fellows hold more than 41,500 issued U.S. patents, and the 2019 class includes six recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology & Innovation and U.S. National Medal of Science, four Nobel Laureates, among other honors.

We are very proud to see Dr. Engelhardts innovative and groundbreaking work recognized nationally, said Brooks Jackson, MD, MBA, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine. He is a pioneer in his field and has set a prime example of how dedication and collaboration can lead to major advances in finding treatments for debilitating diseases.

Engelhardt is the second UI faculty member to join the academy, after UI neurosurgeon Matthew Howard, MD, was named a 2018 fellow for his work in developing brain and spinal cord neuromodulation devices.

Engelhardt joined the UI faculty in 1997 and is the Roy J. Carver Chair in Molecular Medicine and director of the Center for Gene Therapy of Cystic Fibrosis, which has received funding from the NIH continuously over the past 20 years. He earned a doctoral degree in human genetics from Johns Hopkins University and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. He has published 263 articles and book chapters, and has received over $74 million dollars in NIH grant support for his research.

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