Page 1,270«..1020..1,2691,2701,2711,272..1,2801,290..»

Solid’s Duchenne gene therapy trial halted after patient suffers toxicity – STAT

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:45 am

The Food and Drug Administration has halted a clinical trial involving a Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy from Solid Biosciences (SLDB) after a patient suffered serious kidney and blood-related injuries, the company said Tuesday.

This is the third time that the Cambridge, Mass.-based Solid has run into a serious safety problem with its gene therapy, called SGT-001. The FDA placed similar clinical holds on the same clinical trial after each prior incident, but later allowed the company to proceed with patient dosing.

SGT-001 uses an inactivated virus to deliver a miniaturized but functional version of the dystrophin gene to muscle cells. The gene therapy is designed to be a one-time and potentially curative treatment for all Duchenne patients, regardless of the mutation that causes their disease.

advertisement

Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) and Pfizer (PFE) are also developing their own gene therapies targeted at Duchenne.

Six patients have been dosed with SGT-001, starting with three at a lower dose; interim results in those patients were previously reported and found to be disappointing. Three more patients were then treated at a higher dose of SGT-001.

The sixth patient became ill soon after being treated in October, experiencing an over-activation of the immune system, an acute kidney injury, reductions in platelets and red blood cells, and cardio-pulmonary insufficiency, Solid said.

All of the toxicities were deemed related to SGT-001 by the patients treating doctor. The patient is being treated and is recovering, Solid said.

Solid reported the patients status to the FDA, which then placed the clinical trial on hold. In a statement, the company said it will work with the FDA in an effort to resolve the hold and determine next steps for the clinical trial.

Pfizers Duchenne gene therapy has also been tied to similar immune system over-activation and related kidney toxicity, although its clinical trial remains active.

Go here to read the rest:
Solid's Duchenne gene therapy trial halted after patient suffers toxicity - STAT

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on Solid’s Duchenne gene therapy trial halted after patient suffers toxicity – STAT

FUJIFILM Expands Texas Holdings with New Gene Therapy Center – BioSpace

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:45 am

Tokyo-based FUJIFILM will invest 13 billion yen (about $120 million) to expand the companys gene therapy business and establish anew Gene Therapy Innovation Center adjacent to its current facility in College Station, Texas and add about 100 jobs.

The investment will include the addition of dedicated gene therapy laboratories and will be part of the existing FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB) in Texas, which opened last year. That site has been the companys center for excellence in gene therapy since 2014. The company is expanding its contract and development services for gene therapies as the market for CDMOs in gene therapy is expected to increase to $1.7 billion by 2025, the company said in its announcement.

The Gene Therapy Innovation Center, supported by a $55 million investment, will be approximately 60,000 square feet and will house state-of-the-art upstream, downstream and analytical development technologies. The facility is expected to be operational in the fall of 2021. Gene Therapy remains a strategic investment area for FUJIFILM.

Gerry Farrell, COO at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies in Texas, said they anticipate breaking ground on the new facility in the first quarter of 2020. The new Texas sit will triple the companys gene therapy development capabilities and will add approximately 100 jobs to its Texas campus, Farrell said.

Martin Meeson, president and chief operating officer of the U.S. division of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, said the investment will allow FUJIFILM to support the incredible growth that the gene therapy sector has experienced over the past few years.

We know that we need to invest now, in technology, assets and people in order to achieve a market leadership position. The expansion through the construction of the Gene Therapy Innovation Center demonstrates our ongoing commitment for growth, Meeson said in a statement.

FUJIFILMs main goal behind its new strategy is to position itself as a key provider of leading, future-proofed end-to-end gene therapy solutions, from pre-clinical to commercial launch. For the company, this investment builds on earlier plans to introduce its gene therapy fill finish services.

For FUJIFILM, this investment in Texas comes several months after it snapped up Biogens biologics manufacturing operations in Denmark. FUJIFILM paid the Cambridge, Mass.-based company $890 million for the site that had about 800 employees. The acquisition is part of the companys expanded manufacturing strategy. Last year, the company acquired two biotechnology units from JXTG Holdings Inc. for about $800 million.

Here is the original post:
FUJIFILM Expands Texas Holdings with New Gene Therapy Center - BioSpace

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on FUJIFILM Expands Texas Holdings with New Gene Therapy Center – BioSpace

Sarepta brings in more gene therapies with StrideBio deal – BioPharma Dive

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

Dive Brief:

The companies identified Rett, Angelman and Dravet syndromes and Niemann-Pick disorder as the first four conditions that the new collaboration will try to treat. Four more could emerge, which would trigger an additional $42.5 million in additional payments.

Sarepta is paying the initial $48 million upfront fee in the form of combined cash and shares. StrideBio will be eligible for additional undisclosed development, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as royalties. The privately-held partner also will have an option to co-commercialization rights to one of the gene therapies, if successful.

The four StrideBio agents will join a Sarepta pipeline that already has 23 identified projects in clinical or pre-clinical development.

Cambridge, Massaschusetts-based Sarepta stated the collaboration will utilize StrideBio's "unique approach" to engineering capsids, the shells surrounding the adeno-associated virus (AAV) used by many researchers to deliver genes to cells.

StrideBio's technology tries to better target which cells their AAV-based therapies reach, as well as avoid triggering neutralizing antibodies, which can reduce the effectiveness of a gene therapy.

Immune responses to some AAV-based therapies have raised safety concerns. On Tuesday, Solid Biosciences announced the Food and Drug Administration had put a hold on its AAV9-based gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) because of immune responses, although Sarepta's own DMD gene therapy has not seen anything similar.

As part of the agreement, Sarepta and StrideBio "plan to focus on strategies intended to address re-dosing challenges in patients who have received AAV-delivered gene therapy."

Re-treatment of patients who don't respond or have unlimited response to gene therapies is an unanswered question in this quickly evolving field, and drug developers and payers alike will closely watch any developments that emerge from the Sarepta-StrideBio re-dosing work.

Read the rest here:
Sarepta brings in more gene therapies with StrideBio deal - BioPharma Dive

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on Sarepta brings in more gene therapies with StrideBio deal – BioPharma Dive

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Announces $55 Million USD Investment To Expand Gene Therapy Development Capabilities – PRNewswire

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB), a leading global biologics Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) has announced the expansion of its gene therapy services with the addition of dedicated process and analytical development laboratories. As a part of a capital investment of approximately 13 billion yen (approx. $120 million USD) in the gene therapy fieldby FUJIFILM Corporation,aninvestment of approximately $55 million USD will be made to establish anew Gene Therapy Innovation Center adjacent to FDB's existing state-of-the-art cGMP gene therapy manufacturing facility in College Station, Texas and forms part of the company's strategy to meet the growing demands in the Viral Gene Therapy Market. The gene therapy market forecast for CDMOs is expected to grow to $1.7Bn by 2025.1

The Gene Therapy Innovation Center will be approximately 60,000 square feet and will house state-of-the-art upstream, downstream and analytical development technologies. The facility will be operational in the fall of 2021.

"We are very much aware of the incredible growth in such an important therapeutic space," said Martin Meeson, President and COO of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, US. "We know that we need to invest now, in technology, assets and people in order to achieve a market leadership position. The expansion through the construction of the Gene Therapy Innovation Center demonstrates our ongoing commitment for growth."

FDB's main goals behind this new strategy are to provide leading, future proofed end-to-end gene therapy solutions, from pre-clinical to commercial launch. This follows an earlier announcement made by FDB to introduce its gene therapy fill finish services. "We expect to break ground in the first quarter of 2020," said Gerry Farrell, COO at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, Texas, "this new facility will triple our gene therapy development capabilities and will add approximately 100 jobs to our Texas Campus."

Gene Therapy remains a strategic investment area for Fujifilm.

About Fujifilm FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies an industry-leading Biologics Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with locations in Teesside, UK, RTP, North Carolina, College Station, Texas and Hillerod, Denmark. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies has over thirty years of experience in the development and manufacturing of recombinant proteins, vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, among other large molecules, viral products and medical countermeasures expressed in a wide array of microbial, mammalian, and host/virus systems. The company offers a comprehensive list of services from cell line development using its proprietary pAVEway microbial and Apollo cell line systems to process development, analytical development, clinical and FDA-approved commercial manufacturing. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is a partnership between FUJIFILM Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation. For more information, go to: http://www.fujifilmdiosynth.com

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings cutting edge solutions to a broad range of global industries by leveraging its depth of knowledge and fundamental technologies developed in its relentless pursuit of innovation. Its proprietary core technologies contribute to the various fields including healthcare, graphic systems, highly functional materials, optical devices, digital imaging and document products. These products and services are based on its extensive portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic and imaging technologies. For the year ended March 31, 2019, the company had global revenues of $22 billion, at an exchange rate of 111 yen to the dollar. Fujifilm is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit: http://www.fujifilmholdings.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

1 Market research conducted by FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies strategic business development group.

SOURCE FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies

Global CDMO

Continued here:
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Announces $55 Million USD Investment To Expand Gene Therapy Development Capabilities - PRNewswire

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Announces $55 Million USD Investment To Expand Gene Therapy Development Capabilities – PRNewswire

The Cell and Gene Therapy Market to Reach Revenues of Over $6.6 billion by 2024 – Market Research by Arizton – PRNewswire

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

CHICAGO, Nov. 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Arizton's recent research report, Cell and Gene Therapy Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2019-2024 is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 24% during the forecast period.

Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

Key Offerings:

Get your free sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/cell-and-gene-therapy-market

Cell and Gene Therapy Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation by Products

Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel Type

Market Segmentation by End-users

Cell and Gene Therapy Market Dynamics

CAR T-cell therapy has gained significant traction in recent years. It is the single most rapidly growing type of product in the market that generates revenue at a phenomenal rate. At present, it is the fastest advancing technology in cancer treatment and has the capability to replace many existing therapies. CAR T-cell therapy addresses current challenges in cancer care through superior efficacy, safety, and delivery mechanisms. CAR T-cell therapy has brought itself into focus due to the personalized nature of this therapy and the utilization of advanced genetic engineering technology. The wide acceptance and use of CAR T-cell therapy is fueling the growth of the global cell and gene therapy market.

Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth:

Cell and Gene Therapy MarketGeography

The US dominates the cell and gene therapy market in North America due to the high prevalence of chronic diseases and other conditions. There is also comparably high utilization and wide accessibility of these therapies. In Europe, cell and gene therapy products are considered to be part of the Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), which are commonly known as regenerative medicine globally. The major factors leading to the growth in APAC region are the growing prevalence of cancers, osteoarthritis, burns, and other chronic wounds, the introduction of advanced products in Japan, advanced R&D activities in countries such as South Korea, India.

Get your free sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/cell-and-gene-therapy-market

Market Segmentation by Geography

Major Vendors

Other vendors include - Anterogen, Tego Sciences, Japan Tissue Engineering, JCR Pharmaceuticals, Medipost, MolMed, AVITA Medical, CollPlant, Corestem, Biosolution, Stempeutics Research, Orchard Therapeutics, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, CHIESI Farmaceutici, CO.DON, AnGes, GC Pharma, JW CreaGene, APAC Biotech, Nipro Corp., Terumo, Orthocell, and bluebird bio.

Explore our healthcare & lifesciencesto know more about the industry.

Read some of the top-selling reports:

About Arizton:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

Mail: enquiry@arizton.comCall: +1-312-235-2040 +1-302-469-0707

SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence

View original post here:
The Cell and Gene Therapy Market to Reach Revenues of Over $6.6 billion by 2024 - Market Research by Arizton - PRNewswire

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on The Cell and Gene Therapy Market to Reach Revenues of Over $6.6 billion by 2024 – Market Research by Arizton – PRNewswire

BLOG: Gene therapy promising for treatment of neovascular AMD – Healio

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

This years American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in San Francisco had significant data releases from pharmaceutical companies focused on the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration with gene therapy.

Regenxbio announced data about its lead compound RGX-314 delivered via subretinal delivery. The study tested five different doses in 42 patients previously treated with anti-VEGF agents. Overall, the subretinal delivery was well tolerated without significant intraocular inflammation. There was a dose-dependent increase of the protein in aqueous samples across the five arms. The data presented showed six patients with 1.5 years of follow-up and an impressive +9 letter visual gain from baseline. Three of the six patients were injection-free at 18 months, and the number of patients who were injection-free increased with the amount of protein delivered in cohort 4 and 5.

So, is gene therapy ready for prime time? While the data are very encouraging, the procedure is still invasive and requires surgery rather than a simple intravitreal injection, so its not likely to be the entry-level treatment. Will retina specialists commit all patients to the therapy if a small minority of patients do not require more than two to three injections over 2 years? That still remains to be determined. Lastly, with the advent of different mechanisms of action like pan-VEGF agents and anti-angiopoietin 2 agents, this will likely be step therapy for those patients with persistent or recurrent disease.

Nonetheless, there are really promising results on a platform that appears to be safe and effective in the management of active neovascular AMD.

Like what you are reading? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @drrishisingh.

Disclosure: Singh reports he is a consultant to Zeiss, Novartis, Regeneron, Genentech and Alcon and receives grant support from Apellis and Graybug.

Go here to see the original:
BLOG: Gene therapy promising for treatment of neovascular AMD - Healio

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on BLOG: Gene therapy promising for treatment of neovascular AMD – Healio

Maryland Company Claims to Have Cure for HIV/AIDS Through Gene Therapy, Expects Clinical Trial in January: WATCH – Towleroad

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

American Gene Technologies in Rockville, Maryland says it has submitted an application to the FDA for a gene therapy it claims eliminates HIV.

CBS Baltimore reports: The company said the therapy, AGT103-T, is a genetically-modified product made from a persons own cells that focuses on repairing damage to the immune system caused by HIV. The company expects to start a phase one clinical trial in humans in January.

Said Chief Science OfficerC.David Pauza, PhD: Our aim is to treat HIV disease with an innovative cell and gene therapy that reconstitutes immunity to HIV and will control virus growth in the absence of antiretroviral drugs. Development of this complex product (AGT103-T) required our deep knowledge of both HIV disease and lentivirus vector technology; it is the first cell and gene immunotherapy addressing the most critical feature of HIV infection, which is the chronic absence of virus-specific CD4 T cells.

SaidJeff Galvin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AGT: We are excited to have reached this milestone of submitting our first IND application to the FDA for an HIV gene/cell therapy. This event brings us closer to reaching our mission to transform lives with genetic medicines. Based on our successful commercial-scale product manufacturing runs and features of the product observed in our laboratories, this therapy has a high potential to be effective. I feel confident thatAGT103-Twill make an important difference in the lives of HIV infected persons. HIV is the first drug candidate to result from AGTs proprietary platform and model for creating gene and cell therapeutics more efficiently, predictably and reliably for clinical development.

View post:
Maryland Company Claims to Have Cure for HIV/AIDS Through Gene Therapy, Expects Clinical Trial in January: WATCH - Towleroad

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on Maryland Company Claims to Have Cure for HIV/AIDS Through Gene Therapy, Expects Clinical Trial in January: WATCH – Towleroad

The Heart of the Matter: Leveraging Advances in Cardiac Biology to Innovate Gene-Based Therapies for Heart Failure – Physician’s Weekly

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

Heart failure (HF) is the most frequent cardiovascular diagnosis and exacts significant health and financial costs around the globe. It is estimated that at least 26 million people worldwide are living with HF, including nearly 6 million in the United States.1, 2 One in nine U.S. deaths in 2009 included heart failure as a contributing cause and about 50 percent of people in the U.S. with HF die within five years of diagnosis.2 The annual cost of HF-related healthcare services, medication and missed days of work is estimated at $40 billion in the United States and $108 billion globally.3, 4 Quality of life in HF patients is frequently worse than many other chronic diseases and comorbidities are common.5-7 The challenges of HF are expected to grow, as it is estimated that more than 8 million people in the United States alone will have HF by 2030.2 Current therapies improve quality of life in the short-term and have improved long-term survival but a significant number of patients have Class 3 HF despite optimal medical and device therapy. These patients have limited treatment options beyond heart transplant and left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). New therapeutic approaches that address the underlying causes of HF are needed to improve patient outcomes.

Heart failure is a complex disease process and multiple pathways contribute to its development and progression. Myocardial ischemia is frequently an issue in both ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy as well as HF with preserved and/or reduced ejection fraction. Myocardial ischemia results in insufficient oxygen and nutrients and leads to hypoxia, cardiomyocyte and fibrosis, which all contribute to the progression of heart failure. More effective angiogenesis may prevent this progression. Cell homing also plays a critical role, as injured cardiac tissue secretes factors that lead to the recruitment, proliferation, migration and differentiation of progenitor cells that can help repair tissue damage. Stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 has been shown to play an important role in cardiac repair by mediating cell homing.10 Mitochondrial energy generation is also impaired in HF, leading to decreased contractility and adverse changes to cardiac architecture.11 Scar tissue formed in response to cardiomyocyte injury or death can compromise the hearts mechanical strength or electrical signaling results in myocardial infarction. Inflammatory responses to cardiac tissue damage can promote inappropriate and chronic inflammation and the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules that lead to pathologic changes to cardiac architecture.12, 13

These pathways offer a variety of potential new targets for therapeutic intervention to prevent the development and progression of HF. This opens the door to the development of novel therapies that address the underlying molecular and cellular causes of disease rather than treating HF symptoms alone.

After decades of development, gene-based therapies are now validated therapeutic modalities for the treatment of inherited retinal disorders and cancer and are undergoing clinical evaluation in a variety of inherited, acute and chronic diseases. Nearly two dozen single gene-based therapies for HF have been evaluated in clinical trials.14 Genes evaluated as monogenic gene therapy for HF in clinical trials include vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor type 4 (FGF4) to promote angiogenesis; adenylyl cyclase type 6 (AC6) and sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase type 2 (SERCA2) to improve cardiac calcium homeostasis, which plays a critical role in the contraction and relaxation of heart muscle; and stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) to improve cell homing and promote cardiac tissue repair. Late-stage trials of single gene therapies have yielded conflicting results, raising the question as to whether positively impacting a single pathway can be sufficient to overcome detrimental activity of other pathways that contribute to the development and progression of HF. Other potential limitations to HF therapies evaluated in clinical trials to date include the method of delivery, dose and the potency of vectors and gene products.

Given the multiple molecular and cellular pathways active in HF, a multi-gene approach to HF gene therapy may be needed. Simultaneously delivering multiple genes that target diverse HF-related pathways has the potential to improve cardiac biology and function. A triple gene therapy approach (INXN-4001, Triple-Gene LLC, a majority-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation) is currently in clinical development, with each of the genes targeting a specific HF-related pathway. The investigational drug candidate INXN4001 vector expresses: the S100A1 gene product, which regulates calcium-controlled networks and modulates contractility, excitability, maintenance of cellular metabolism and survival; SDF-1a which recruits stem cells, inhibits apoptosis and supports new blood vessel formation; and VEGF-165 which initiates new vessel formation, endothelial cell migration/activation, stem cell recruitment and tissue regeneration. The hypothesis is that the simultaneous delivery of multiple genes in a single vector would more effectively improve multiple aspects of cardiac function compared with single gene therapy. It is delivered by retrograde coronary sinus infusion of a triple effector plasmid designed with a self-cleaving linker to constitutively express human S100A1, SDF-1a and VEGF 165. This route is designed to allow for delivery of a dose to the ventricle which may help achieve improved therapeutic effect.

Several preclinical studies have set the foundation on which to advance a triple gene therapy for HF into the clinic.15-17 Using in vitro studies, transfecting cells derived from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy with a triple gene combination demonstrated improvement in contraction rate and duration, to the levels demonstrated by the control cells and did not result in increased cell death compared to controls.15 Studies in an Adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy rodent model demonstrated triple gene therapy increased fractional shortening and myocardial wall thickness compared to controls.16 In addition, retrograde coronary sinus infusion of INXN-4001 in a porcine model of ischemic HF resulted in a cardiac-specific biodistribution profile.17

A Phase 1 clinical study has been initiated to evaluate the safety of a single dose of triple gene therapy in stable patients implanted with a LVAD for mechanical support of end-stage HF. An independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board agreed to proceeding to the second cohort following review of the data from the first cohort in the multi-site study.18 The study is ongoing and final results will help to inform our understanding of the potential that multi-gene therapy may play in the treatment of HF.

The recent FDA approvals of gene therapies for an inherited retinal disease and cancer are evidence that gene therapy is a valid therapeutic strategy. Realizing the potential of gene therapy in HF will require appropriately designed clinical trials, but several interesting approaches currently in development may prove to be effective. The results of the initial investigational drug INXN-4001 Phase 1 trial should provide insight into the safety of combining S100A1, SDF-1a and VEGF-165. Evaluation of additional multi-gene combinations will also be important for understanding which targeted pathways yield the greatest effects with respect to relevant clinical endpoints. Continued refinement and optimization of vector design and delivery methods will also be important for advancing further HF gene therapies from bench to bedside.

Continue reading here:
The Heart of the Matter: Leveraging Advances in Cardiac Biology to Innovate Gene-Based Therapies for Heart Failure - Physician's Weekly

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on The Heart of the Matter: Leveraging Advances in Cardiac Biology to Innovate Gene-Based Therapies for Heart Failure – Physician’s Weekly

Next generation cell and gene therapies: fine tuning the promise – Business Weekly

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:44 am

On 19 November, the UK BioBeat19 summit goes to Stevenage to discuss the potential of cell and gene therapy and how to accelerate these transformational medicines.

Victoria Higgins of GSK and Miranda Weston-Smith from BioBeat spoke to two panellists who gave a sneak peek of their remarks and agree wholeheartedly that the discovery side and clinical side work best when they are teamed up.

Sophie Papa, an oncologist at Guys Cancer at Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust, and Aisha Hasan, a clinical development lead at GSK, both recognise the big challenge ahead for cell therapy researchers: to dial up efficacy and dial down toxicity.

Cell and gene therapies, with their remarkable potential to transform medicine, have seen some important but hard-won milestones: it took 20 years of combined academic and industry research to deliver the first gene therapy approval in 2016 and today there are two CAR-Ts approved for haematological malignancies.

Whilst CAR-Ts recognise proteins expressed on the tumour cell surface, making them ideal for targeting blood cancers, more complicated but with greater potential to address solid tumours are the gene modified TCR-T technologies.

These harness the power of T cells to specifically target and destroy tumours even on the inside of cells. TCR-Ts come with an additional level of complexity, but potentially open the door to a range of untreatable cancer types.

Looking at the TCR opportunity is where Sophie Papa sees the inherent trade-off between risk and benefit as an academic clinician whos now evaluating modified T-cell based therapies in clinical trials.

Sophie urges her peers to take courage. It is important to be brave and tolerant of certain toxicities. Academic clinicians and drug researchers need to work closely together to engage the regulators in early discussion, so that we can move cell therapies earlier in treatment schedules as soon as feasible.

Timing is critical to enable patients to be treated when they are physically fit so they can better tolerate these complex and potentially toxic treatments.

From her perspective, this is not an either/or, but an area where discussion and open dialogue will allow us to make the most of the opportunity. By allowing clinical academics to play a lead role in developing guidelines to manage patient safety, we can address legitimate concerns but not let them stand in the way of clinical development, she says.

Aisha brings the perspective of drug discovery and development and starts by asking what is in the realm of the possible from a design perspective.

She says: A superior T-cell therapy will require engineering approaches that enhance efficacy on one-end while also incorporating switches to minimise toxicity.

For example, in a counter-intuitive way, a T-cell with high-killing capacity actually can create dangerous levels of inflammation in the body, due to the rapid death of cancer cells. But the beauty of drug design opens up options:By building a switch within the engineered T-cells, researchers can inactivate the T-cells and prevent harm to the patient, says Aisha.

But this creative problem solving requires open dialogue between clinicians and pharma. Aisha says: The more we talk about clinical need and toxicity benchmarks, the more sophisticated we can be when developing the next generation of enhanced engineered cell therapies.

Theres no doubt that the challenges of delivering cell and gene therapy span the full spectrum of issues related to medicine development. However, the potential for both curative therapy and commercial opportunity is tremendous.

The scientific, clinical, technical, regulatory and commercial challenges are all surmountable when everyone in the ecosystem work together towards a shared goal, united by an unwavering focus on the patient.

Sophie and Aisha are speaking about the translational journey from science to bedside at the BioBeat19 summit.

The BioBeat19 summit on Accelerating cell and gene therapy, 1-6pm, Tuesday 19 November, GSK Stevenage. Guarantee your place by registering at http://www.biobeat19.org

Read the original:
Next generation cell and gene therapies: fine tuning the promise - Business Weekly

Posted in Gene therapy | Comments Off on Next generation cell and gene therapies: fine tuning the promise – Business Weekly

Hormone therapy offered by Student Health Service – UWEC Spectator

Posted: November 17, 2019 at 8:42 am

Through hormone replacement therapy, transgender women can receive estrogen to counteract testosterone and transgender men can receive testosterone to counteract estrogen, said Patricia Kress, the medical director of Student Health Service on campus.

Its a critical resource we have here on campus, Chris Jorgenson, the director of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, said.

Jorgenson said on campus, students are able to initiate hormone therapy if they have not yet done so prior to coming to campus, or are able to continue hormone therapy if they have already started elsewhere.

Its critical that we support trans people not only in social transitioning but if there are any medical transitions that they want to undertake, he said.

The mental health outcomes are incredible for people who are allowed to take steps to align themselves physically with who they are and how they identify, Jorgenson said.

If they are coming to Student Health Service on campus, visits are completely free, Kress said.

Right now if a transgender male comes in and needs this routine lab work done during a visit, the price is $74, Kress said.

The routine lab consists of checkups six months after the first meeting, 12 months out, and then once a year after that.

For transgender men, clinicians need to test testosterone levels to see if the medicine is working and to keep track of cholesterol, complete blood count, kidney function and blood sugar, she said.

The first year is a little expensive but once you get through that its not so bad, Kress said.

Outside of the university, that $74 panel would easily cost $700 to $1000, so here on campus, the treatment is much more inexpensive compared to other clinics, Kress said.

For transgender females, the blood tests are around $50 because we dont have to do that testosterone level, she said.

For some of these students whose parents cut them off, they have no financial support.

We dont want to make things harder for them by having the treatment be so expensive, Kress said.

The clinicians monitor the students feedback to the dosages very closely, Kress said.

When hormone therapy starts it can be a very exciting time but it also can be rocky with dips in the road, Kress said.

There are counseling services available throughout the process to make sure that the students receiving the treatment feel safe and supported and that the transgender students are doing whats best for them, Kress said.

Its kind of amazing because some students, after you give them that first dosage of the hormone they need, theyre like oh my gosh, a piece of the puzzle has been finally found. Its really powerful, she said. Kress spends a full hour with students at the first appointment, a half-hour at the next two meetings and then sees them in a follow-up within a month, she said.

We have plenty of time to be with them and not be rushed and to explore any concerns either of us would have the students or myself, Kress said.

Hormone therapy is not nearly as groundbreaking as people seem to believe, Jorgenson said, as prescribing hormones has been the norm for a long time.

Gender is very complicated, Jorgensen said.

There has been a lot of research conducted in order to further understand gender identity, whether it is merely the result of choices that we make or if it is a complex aspect of identity that is rooted in our brain, Jorgensen said.

One prominent hypothesis on the basis of gender dysphoria is that sexual differentiation of the genitals occurs separately from sexual differentiation of the brain in utero, making it possible that the body can veer in one direction and the mind in another, according to an article on The Scientist website, Are the Brains of Transgender People Different from Those of Cisgender People.

At the root of this idea is the notion that gender itselfthe sense of which category one belongs in, as opposed to biological sexis determined in the womb for humans, the article said.

We have been operating at this false assumption that ones body automatically presupposes their gender identity, Jorgenson said, and the research thus far since the early 90s just has not borne that out.

Erickson can be reached at [emailprotected]

Original post:
Hormone therapy offered by Student Health Service - UWEC Spectator

Posted in Testosterone Replacement Therapy | Comments Off on Hormone therapy offered by Student Health Service – UWEC Spectator

Page 1,270«..1020..1,2691,2701,2711,272..1,2801,290..»