29 May 2012 Last updated at 06:31 ET

An umbilical cord donor centre which will harvest stems cells to treat people with leukaemia is being set up at a Birmingham hospital.

The Anthony Nolan charity will run the centre at Birmingham Women's Hospital.

The charity said it had already recruited a supervising midwife for the centre and that the collectors would be in place within a month.

The centre, the first of its kind in the West Midlands, is expected to open in September.

Guy Parkes, from the Anthony Nolan charity, said a collection unit at a hospital cost more than 200,000 a year to run.

He said: "Instead of being incinerated, which is what usually happens, the cord is passed to one of our collectors who extracts the blood and that is sent to our centre in Nottingham where the stem cells are extracted."

The harvested stem cells have to be frozen to minus 180C for storage.

One in every 100 umbilical cords saved will be used to transplant stem cells, according to Mr Parkes.

A Worcestershire mother is raising money for the centre, after her son, who has leukaemia, was treated with stem cells from the US.

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Umbilical cord donor unit to open

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Verastem, Inc., (VSTM) a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells, announced the presentation of preclinical data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting being held June 1 through June 5, 2012, in Chicago, IL.

Verastem will present data on novel biomarkers that may enable improved discrimination of cancer stem cells from other cancer cells and normal tissue. Verastem will describe the use of multiple methodologies, including RNA signatures and alternative splicing biomarkers, to detect cancer stem cells. These biomarkers identified Triple Negative Breast Cancer tumors that were likely to recur following standard chemotherapy. Resistance to standard treatment is one of the defining characteristics of cancer stem cells.

Verastem is developing diagnostics to identify patients whose tumors have a high percentage of cancer stem cells. These diagnostics may also be used to monitor a patients response to treatment.

The schedule for the Verastem poster presentation is as follows:

Date & Time: Saturday June 2, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM (CDT) Poster Title: Use of gene expression and alternative splicing signatures to discriminate breast cancer stem cells from fibroblasts Abstract Number: 1057 Location: McCormick Place South (Hall A2) Session: Breast Cancer - Triple-negative/Cytotoxics/Local Therapy

About Verastem, Inc.

Verastem, Inc. (VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat breast and other cancers by targeting cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are an underlying cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Verastem is translating discoveries in cancer stem cell research into new medicines for the treatment of major cancers such as breast cancer. For more information please visit http://www.verastem.com.

Forward-looking statements:

Any statements in this press release about our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future expectations and plans and prospects for the Company, and other statements containing the words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, predict, project, target, potential, will, would, could, should, continue, and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements about the identification of potential biomarkers for use in patient selection and evaluation of therapeutic response. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as result of various important factors, including the unproven nature of our approach to the discovery and development of product candidates that target cancer stem cells, our reliance on our proprietary compound screening technology for drug discovery, our strategy to acquire or in-license additional compounds and product candidates and the uncertainties inherent in preclinical testing and clinical trials, among other factors discussed in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Companys views only as of the date hereof. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Companys views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Companys views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

Read more:
Verastem to Present Scientific Data at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting

SAN DIEGO, May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. announced today that its strategic partner in Mexico, Grupo Angeles Health Services, has received approval from Mexico's regulatory agency, COFEPRIS, for a Phase I/II single-blind randomized clinical trial for chronic heart failure. COFEPRIS is the Mexican equivalent of the United States FDA. The clinical trial, to be conducted at multiple hospital sites throughout Mexico, will utilize Stemedica's adult allogeneic ischemia tolerant mesenchymal stem cells (itMSC) delivered via intravenous infusion. The trial will involve three safety cohorts at different dosages, followed by a larger group being treated with the maximum safe dosage. The COFEPRIS approval is the second approval for the use of Stemedica's itMSCs. COFEPRIS approved Stemedica's itMSCs in 2010 for a clinical trial for ischemic stroke. These two trials are the only allogeneic stem cell studies approved by COFEPRIS.

Grupo Angeles is a Mexican company that is 100% integrated into the national healthcare development effort. The company is comprised of 24 state-of-the-art hospitals totaling more than 2,000 beds and 200 operating rooms. Eleven thousand Groupo Angeles physicians annually treat nearly five million patients a year. Of these, more than two million are seen as in-patients. In just over two decades, Groupo Angeles has radically transformed the practice of private medicine in Mexico and contributed decisively to reform in the country's health system. Grupo Angeles hospitals conduct an estimated 100 clinical trials annually, primarily with major global pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

"We are pleased that we will be working with the largest and most prestigious private medical institution in Mexico to study Stemedica's product for this indication. If successful, our stem cells may provide a treatment option for the millions of patients, both in Mexico and internationally, who suffer from this condition," said Maynard Howe, PhD, CEO of Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc.

Roberto Simon, MD, CEO of Grupo Angeles Health Services, noted, "We are proud to be the first organization to bring regulatory-approved allogeneic stem cell treatment to the people of Mexico. We envision that this type of treatment may well become a standard for improving cardiac status for chronic heart failure patients and are pleased to be partnering with Stemedica, one of the leading companies in the field of regenerative medicine."

Nikolai Tankovich, MD, PhD, President and Chief Medical Officer of Stemedica commented, "For the more than five million North Americans who suffer from chronic heart failure, this is an important trial. Our ischemia tolerant mesenchymal stem cells hold the potential to improve ejection fraction--the amount of blood pumped with each heart beat--and therefore, dramatically improve quality of life."

For more information about Stemedica please contact Dave McGuigan at dmcguigan(at)stemedica(dot)com. For more information about Grupo Angeles and the chronic heart failure trial please contact Paulo Yberri at pyberri(at)angelesehealth(dot)com.

About Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc. Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc.(http://www.stemedica.com) is a specialty bio-pharmaceutical company committed to the manufacturing and development of best-in-class allogeneic adult stem cells and stem cell factors for use by approved research institutions and hospitals for pre-clinical and clinical (human) trials. The company is a government licensed manufacturer of clinical grade stem cells and is approved by the FDA for its clinical trials for ischemic stroke. Stemedica is currently developing regulatory pathways for a number of medical indications using adult allogeneic stem cells. The Company is headquartered in San Diego, California.

This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/stemedica-clinical-trial/chronic-heart-failure/prweb9550806.htm

Originally posted here:
Stemedica Stem Cells Approved for Clinical Trials in Mexico for Chronic Heart Failure