June 20, 2017 05:00 ET | Source: BCC Research

Wellesley, Mass., June 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Fast-moving developments in 3D cell culture tools and technology are accelerating cancer research and clinical applications, along with other medical research and safety applications. A new report by BCC Research forecasts that some segments could see CAGR as high as 44% in products for pharmaceuticals development through 2021. In another example, neurological safety testing could grow from a $5 million segment in 2015 to $95 million by 2021, according to 3D Cell Cultures: Technologies and Global Markets.

New cell culture products and applications are proliferating even faster than a prior BCC Research report predicted in 2015. Companies such as ThermoFisher, GEHealthcare, MerckMillipore and a range of start-ups and spinouts are pursuing diverse market segments, from cosmetics and skin care to cardiac toxicology and metabolic reactions to new drugs. The new 3D technology allows for groundbreaking visibility into tissue and cancer behaviors in the body, compared with animal testing or more general, 2D in vitro technologies.

Bioreactors with microcarriers are another 3D application seeing rapid market growth. Skin and artificial skin substitutes have been in use for years. Now some of the knowledge behind those advancements are being applied to internal medicine from liver function and metabolic disease and other adjacent fields. These new applications promise not only improved medical safety in determining dosages and tailoring treatments to a patients condition and situation, but also breakthroughs in basic research, drug discovery and development.

Research Highlights

"The standards and best practices emerging in precision cancer care, and the new findings in CNS research could certainly speed up patient-centric care. Some call it personalized medicine, or precision medicine, and it really is a revolution compared with developing mass-market drugs. We are already seeing stem cells and other tools having an impact thanks to 3D Cell Culture technology, says Robert G. Hunter, senior healthcare editor at BCC Research.

About BCC Research

BCC Research is a publisher of market research reports that provide organizations with intelligence to drive smart business decisions. By partnering with industry experts worldwide, BCC Research provides unbiased measurements and assessments of global markets covering major industrial and technology sectors, including emerging markets. For more information, please visit bccresearch.com. Follow BCC Research on Twitter at @BCCResearch.

Related Articles

Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, UNITED STATES

BCC Research Logo

LOGO URL | Copy the link below

Formats available:

Visit link:
3D Cell Culture Tech Advances Medical Research and Treatments - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Cell Medica is buying Catapult Therapy TCR and the firm's gene-modified WT1-TCR (Wilms' tumor 1 proteinT-cell receptor) T-cell therapy candidate. The treatment is currently in Phase I/II development for the potential treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Catapult Therapy TCR is a special purpose vehicle established by The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult), UCL Business (UCLB), and Imperial lnnovations to develop the WT1-TCR T-cell therapy, which was originally discovered by researchers at University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Cell Medical says it plans to apply its Dominant TCR platform to generate a more effective WT1-TCR product that could also feasibly be used to treat challenging solid tumors, including mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. The firm acquired the Dominant TCR technology from UCLB in 2016.

London, U.K.-based Cell Medica and CGT Catapult will carry out further development of the next generation of T cells, and manufacturing process, at the latters recently built large-scale cell and gene therapy manufacturing center at the Stevenage BioScience Catalyst, U.K.A Phase I/II study with the enhanced Dominant WT1-TCR candidate is projected to start during late 2018.

The acquisition of the WT1-TCR cell therapy leverages the investment we made in 2016 for exclusive rights to the Dominant TCR technology, said Gregg Sando, CEO of Cell Medica. Our objective is to show how we can enhance any existing TCR cell therapy with the Dominant TCR technology to create a more effective treatment for patients with solid tumors who otherwise have a very poor prognosis. We are also looking forward to an important collaboration with CGT Catapult to initiate manufacturing at the Stevenage GMP facility, where we will work together on scale-up strategies for commercial production.

With support from Innovate UK, CGT Catapult operates as a Centre of Excellence for Innovation to help drive growth of the U.K.s cell and gene therapy industry and translate early-stage research into new therapies. "We are pleased that Cell Medica has acquired the WT1 T-cell immunotherapy," added Keith Thompson, CEO at CGT Catapult. "With their complementary technologies, they will take over the development of this exciting new therapy. The next-generation product developed in our manufacturing center underlines our ability to support the localization of cell manufacturing processes in the U.K.

Cell Medica is exploiting its proprietary activated T-cell chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and engineered TCR platforms to develop cellular immunotherapies targeting cancer. Lead product CMD-003 (baltaleucel-T) is being evaluated in the Phase II CITADEL study as a treatment for advanced lymphomas associated with the oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus.In March, Cell Medica raised 60 million (approximately $76 million) in a Series C investment roundto support development of its pipeline.

The firm has an ongoing CAR development partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and is working with UCL to leverage the Dominant TCR technology. Cell Medicas acquisition of Delenex Therapeutics in mid-2016 gave the firm an antibody fragment platform for use in developing anticancer CAR-NKT (natural killer T cells) products, and additional immune cell engineering expertise.

The rest is here:
Cell Medica Acquires Catapult Therapy for Lead WT1-TCR T-Cell Therapy - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (blog)

The small pack of scientists running for political office has grown by one.

Stem-cell researcher Hans Keirstead, 50, announced last week that he will try to unseat Californias Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R). Keirstead, a Democrat with a PhD in neuroscience from the University of British Columbia, was a professor at the University of California at Irvinebefore launching and selling several biotech companies.

Rohrabacher, who represents the 48th District in Southern California, has been in Congress since 1988. Democrats there see 2018 asa vulnerable year for the incumbent. Although Republicans outnumber Democrats in thedistrict, Hillary Clinton swung it in the 2016 election. And Rohrabacher has come under scrutiny for his support of acloser relationship with Russia. In May, the chair of Orange County Democrats toldThe Washington Post that challengers were coming out the woodwork to oppose him. Five candidatesbesides Keirstead have declared they are running for the seat.

Keirstead emerged from academic and entrepreneurial fields. Hepioneered a technique to purify stem cells You cant go putting toenails into the spinal cord, he said and applied this method to spinal-cord injuries and diseases such ascancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. In 2014,he sold a stem-cell company in a deal reportedly worth more than $100 million. (He will not fundhis own campaign, he told the Los Angeles Times.) Keirstead has thesupportof314 Action, a nonprofit group that encourages scientists to seek public office.

The Post spoke by phone with the first-time candidate. The following is lightly edited for space and clarity.

TWP: Your opponent, who is a member of the House Science Committee, told Science magazine in 2012 that he loved science. How would you compare your approaches to science?

Keirstead:Im delighted that Dana Rohrabacher loves science. Thats fabulous. But Im also very convinced that he doesnt understand science. Theres a real big difference. If you love science, thats one thing. If you dont understand it, you cant effect change, and you make wrong decisions.

Dana Rohrabacher does not understand global warming. He actually attributed it to the flatulence of dinosaurs, in a serious manner, a while back. [Rohrabacher hassaid this wasa joketo make fun of scientists who study cow methane.]

His inaction and lack of understanding has tremendous detriment on the scientific community. Likewise is the funding to health care and how to fix the health-care system that [former president Barack] Obama put in place. That was not a perfect system by any means; its got problems.But it has also bettered our system. It needs to be worked with in order to further better our system.

TWP: Has your career in stem-cell research influenced your politics?

Keirstead:I was front and center in the national and international debate on stem cells. I was the first scientist in the world to have developed a treatment for spinal-cord injury using stem cells. The dramatic nature of the recovery we saw in rodents, going from paralyzed to walking, drew a great deal of attention and really put me at the center of this issue as it was just coming to light in the public forums.

I did a lot of advising of senators and congressmen all throughout those years and periodically since that time. . . . I was one of the key scientific advisers to Proposition 71 that turned into the $3 billion California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a not-for-profit that distributes $300 million every year for regenerative medicine in a broad sense.

That was a very good example of how medical breakthroughs and discoveries and advancement are not at odds with economic development. You do not have to cut medical budgets to stimulate the economy. Any scientist and medical doctor will tell you: Give me some time, and I will generate a treatment. And most of the time they are right. What happens with that treatment is small companies are born, people stop dying, quality of life improves.

I see what the governments doing right now as very much opposite that. Frankly, when I look at the deficits of Congress, I see why. When I look at who is in the administration, the types of individuals that we have in Congress, I see very hard-working people doing what they feel is a terrific job. But there is just not the broad and deep field experience in the medical and health-care sectors.

TWP: Was it this perceived deficit that motivated you to run for Congress?

Keirstead:First and foremost, I see it as a continuation of my lifelong pursuits of trying to help people.

I see Congress as a larger stage to effect positive change. If I could have some positive influence in Congress, I could aid [those] that are trying to do good in the world but are having difficulty.

Let me give you an example: Im now expanding into brain cancer. Im running a Phase 2clinical trial with my team.I will not be able to do that if these policy changes of Trumps are instituted and a small company like mine is faced with double user fees. Its not in the budget. I cant ask an investor for another half of a million dollars for an administrative fee.

I see the administration putting insurmountable challenges in front of small businesses. Im about generating treatments to help people, putting medicines in peoples homes. And Im looking to the future and seeing that tap shut off.

Read more:

As scientists erupt in protest, a volcanologist runs for Congress

This group wants to fight anti-science rhetoric by getting scientists to run for office

Tens of thousands marched for science. Now what?

See the article here:
He broke ground in stem-cell research. Now he's running for Congress. - Washington Post