SACRAMENTO Governor GavinNewsom today announcedthe following appointments:

Valerie Davis, 38, of Arroyo Grande, has been appointed Medical Director at Atascadero State Hospital, where she has been acting Medical Director since 2022, a psychiatrist since 2016 and Department of Psychiatry Chair at Atascadero State Hospital from 2021 to 2022. Davis has been a psychiatrist and the Chief Executive Officer at Valerie Davis MD PC since 2014. She was a psychiatrist at South Coast Psychiatry from 2014 to 2016. Davis was a psychiatrist at Telecare STEPS from 2014 to 2015. She was Resident Physician at the University of California Los Angeles from 2010 to 2014. Davis is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Delta Chapter and the American Psychiatric Association. She earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $400,728. Davis is a Democrat.

Luzmin Inderias, 64, of Loma Linda, has been appointed Chief of Primary Care Services at Patton State Hospital, where she has held several positions since 2008 including, Staff Physician, Acting Chief Physician and Chief Physician and Surgeon. Inderias was a Staff Internist at Southern California Kaiser Permanente from 2005 to 2008. She is Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the American Medical Association. Inderias earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from southwestern University, Matias H. Aznar Memorial, School of Medicine. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $308,976. Inderias is a Democrat.

Zakaria Boshra, 72, of Downey, has been appointed Chief of Primary Care Services at Metropolitan State Hospital, where he has served as Chief Physician and Surgeon since 2008. Boshra was a Physician Specialist at Hubert H. Humphrey Comprehensive Care Center from 2003 to 2008. He was the Family Medicine Residency Program Director at the Drew University of California Las Angeles from 1995 to 2003. Boshra is a member of the American Medical Association. He earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Assiut School of Medicine, Egypt. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $339,876. Boshra is a Republican.

Oliver Fiehn, 55, of Davis, has been reappointed to the Biomonitoring California Scientific Guidance Panel, where he has served since 2013. Fiehn has served in several positions at the University of California, Davis since 2004, including Professor and Associate Professor of Metabolomics, Director of the Genome Center and Faculty Lead at the Metabolomics Core in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. He was a Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology from 1998 to 2004 and a Visiting Research Scientist at the University of Washington in 1999. Fiehn was a Research Scientist at the Technical University of Berlin, Department of Water Quality Control from 1994 to 1997. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in analytical toxicology from the Technical University of Berlin and a Master of Science degree in analytical chemistry from the Free University of Berlin. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Fiehn is not registered to vote.

Penelope Quintana, 63, of Solana Beach, has been reappointed to the Biomonitoring California Scientific Guidance Panel, where she has served since 2013. Quintana has been a Professor of Public Health in the division of Environmental Health at the San Diego State University School of Public Health since 2014, where she has held several positions since 1995, including Graduate Advisor for the Master of Public Health and Global Health Doctor of Philosophy degree programs and Associate and Assistant Professor. She was an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia from 1992 to 1994 and a Staff Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys Indoor Environment Program from 1991 to 1992. She is a member of the International Society of Exposure Science, Southwest Utah Wilderness Association, Sierra Club and ACLU. Quintana earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in environmental health sciences from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Public Health degree in occupational and environmental health from San Diego State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Quintana is a Democrat.

Jose Suarez, 43, of Encinitas, has been reappointed to the Biomonitoring California Scientific Guidance Panel, where he has served since 2017. Suarez has been an Associate Professor at the University of California, San Diego since 2020, where he was an Assistant Professor from 2013 to 2020. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota from 2010 to 2013, where he was a Research Assistant from 2006 to 2013. He is a member of the International Society for Childrens Health and the Environment and the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology. Suarez earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of San Francisco, Quito and Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Public Health degrees in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Suarez is a Democrat.

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Governor Newsom Announces Appointments | California Governor - Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

LEADER Trial Will Use Results from Foundation Medicines Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Tests to Screen for Actionable Driver Mutations to Inform Trial Enrollment and Targeted Therapy Options for Patients

New Trial in Progress Abstract at 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting Details LEADERs Primary Objective to Determine the Proportion of Patients Possessing Actionable Oncogenic Drivers to Enable Treatment Decisions

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Foundation Medicine, Inc., a pioneer in molecular profiling for cancer, today announced its participation in a neoadjuvant screening trial in partnership with the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) and Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (LCMC). This screening trial, entitled LCMC4 Evaluation of Actionable Drivers in EaRly Stage Lung Cancer (LEADER), is the fourth study conducted through the LCMC and is a collaborative effort involving numerous academic study sites and pharmaceutical supporters. Foundation Medicine will be the sole provider of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) in the LEADER trial, which will utilize both of Foundation Medicines FDA-approved CGP tests: the tissue-based FoundationOneCDx and the blood-based FoundationOneLiquid CDx.

The LEADER trial is utilizing an umbrella trial design to screen for 11 actionable driver mutations in 1,000 patients with high-risk, resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These patients are candidates for neoadjuvant therapy, which is treatment given as a first step to shrink a tumor before the main treatment, often surgery. By identifying patients with biomarker-positive tumors for enrollment to several matched therapeutic trials, the LEADER trial aims to develop essential data that can be used to support oncologists in their personalized treatment planning for cancer patients prior to such patients undergoing surgery.

The neoadjuvant setting is a rapidly evolving space for the development of precision treatment options in lung cancer. Enabling trials in this setting will continue to help us understand the impact of targeted therapies in the curative treatment of NSCLC, says Dr. Geoff Oxnard, Foundation Medicines VP, Head of Clinical Development. At Foundation Medicine, we are committed to being an engaged collaborator in the pivotal research needed to shape the future of cancer care for patients at all stages, so that patients can get on the right therapy at the right time for their specific cancer.

The results from both FoundationOne CDx and FoundationOne LiquidCDx will be used by LEADER trial sites to screen patients for actionable driver mutations. While circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) shed is often lower in early disease, the goal of using both tests in the LEADER trial is to help researchers understand how blood-based CGP testing can complement tissue-based CGP testing to inform targeted treatment in resectable NSCLC.

In the past two years, the FDA has granted approvals for the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor and checkpoint inhibitor, respectively, for the adjuvant treatment of resected NSCLC, each requiring testing for precision biomarkers. The FDA has also recently granted approval for neoadjuvant immunotherapy for resectable NSCLC, as well as the first-and-only immunotherapy-based treatment for neoadjuvant use in NSCLC, reinforcing the value of targeted therapies as a component of curative lung cancer. These FDA approvals could better position early-stage NSCLC patients, like those who are enrolled in the LEADER trial, to become potential candidates for these personalized treatment approaches.

The LEADER trial is now open to enrollment and will include participation from trial sites and investigators across the oncology community, including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital and many others.

In a new Trial in Progress abstract being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2022 Annual Meeting from June 3-7, Boris Sepesi, M.D., associate professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and principal investigator of the LEADER Trial, and Mark Kris, M.D., Attending Physician, Thoracic Oncology Service, Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will detail LEADERs primary objective of determining the proportion of resectable NSCLC patients within the trial who possess actionable oncogenic drivers. Results from Foundation Medicine CGP testing will inform the LEADER trial sites on their selection of neoadjuvant therapy and enrollment onto independent therapeutic trials with genomically matched neoadjuvant treatment, standard therapies or other trials if no driver is detected. Read more on ASCO.org, and visit Foundation Medicine at Booth #13019 to learn more. Follow along on Twitter and LinkedIn for more details about Foundation Medicines data being presented at ASCO22.

About Foundation Medicine: Your Essential Partner in Cancer Care

Foundation Medicine is a pioneer in molecular profiling for cancer, working to shape the future of clinical care and research. We collaborate with a broad range of partners across the cancer community and strive to set the standard for quality, scientific excellence, and regulatory leadership. Our deep understanding of cancer biology helps physicians make informed treatment decisions for their patients and empowers researchers to develop new medicines. Every day, we are driven to help our partners find answers and take action, enabling more people around the world to benefit from precision cancer care. For more information, please visit us on http://www.FoundationMedicine.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About FoundationOneCDx

FoundationOne CDx is a next-generation sequencing based in vitro diagnostic device for detection of substitutions, insertion and deletion alterations (indels), and copy number alterations (CNAs) in 324 genes and select gene rearrangements, as well as genomic signatures including microsatellite instability (MSI) and tumor mutational burden (TMB) using DNA isolated from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue specimens. FoundationOne CDx is for prescription use only and is intended as a companion diagnostic to identify patients who may benefit from treatment with certain targeted therapies in accordance with their approved therapeutic product labeling. Additionally, FoundationOne CDx is intended to provide tumor mutation profiling to be used by qualified health care professionals in accordance with professional guidelines in oncology for patients with solid malignant neoplasms. Use of the test does not guarantee a patient will be matched to a treatment. A negative result does not rule out the presence of an alteration. Some patients may require a biopsy. For a full list of targeted therapies for which FoundationOne CDx is indicated as a companion diagnostic, please visit http://www.foundationmedicine.com/genomic-testing/foundation-one-cdx.

About FoundationOneLiquid CDx

FoundationOne Liquid CDx is a qualitative next generation sequencing based in vitro diagnostic test for prescription use only that uses targeted high throughput hybridization-based capture technology to analyze 324 genes utilizing circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) isolated from plasma derived from anti-coagulated peripheral whole blood of advanced cancer patients. The test is FDA-approved to report short variants in over 300 genes and is a companion diagnostic to identify patients who may benefit from treatment with specific therapies (listed in Table 1 of the Intended Use) in accordance with the approved therapeutic product labeling. Additional genomic findings may be reported and are not prescriptive or conclusive for labeled use of any specific therapeutic product. Use of the test does not guarantee a patient will be matched to a treatment. A negative result does not rule out the presence of an alteration. Patients who are negative for companion diagnostic mutations should be reflexed to tumor tissue testing and mutation status confirmed using an FDA-approved tumor tissue test, if feasible. For the complete label, including companion diagnostic indications and complete risk information, please visit http://www.F1LCDxLabel.com.

Foundation Medicine and FoundationOne are registered trademarks of Foundation Medicine, Inc.

Source: Foundation Medicine

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Foundation Medicine Partners with Lung Cancer Research Foundation and the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium on Screening Trial to Enable Precision...

Collaboration will comprehensively profile DNA, RNA and proteins on patient samples from the Phase 2 Maverick trial to understand mechanisms of disease response and resistance

IRVING, Texas and SAN DIEGO, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Caris Life Sciences(Caris), the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize healthcare, the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial Consortium (PCCTC) and Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRNE), a clinical and commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing new therapies to treat cancer, pain (non-opioid treatments), autoimmune disease and COVID-19, today announced a strategic collaboration to guide more precise treatment decisions for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

"The vast majority of men with prostate cancer do not have their tumors molecularly profiled, in part because of the limited targeted therapy options available for this disease," said Brian Lamon, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer at Caris Life Sciences. "We are very pleased to partner with the PCCTC to leverage our industry-leading precision medicine technologies and maximize the potential of molecular learnings from Sorrento's Maverick trial to positively impact the future of cancer treatments and drive better outcomes for patients with prostate cancer."

The PCCTC was formed to address critically unmet needs in prostate cancer, with a mission to design, implement and complete early-phase process driven clinical trials and translate scientific discoveries to improved standards of care. The Phase 2 Maverick trial

(ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05361915) is sponsored by Sorrento and managed by the PCCTC. Utilizing Caris' unique MI Profile, PCCTC investigators will profile whole exome DNA, whole transcriptome RNA, and proteins from samples collected from participants enrolled in the trial, creating a molecular blueprint to better understand mechanisms of response and resistance following therapy.

Maverick investigator Rana R. McKay, M.D. of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) noted, "This study is the first biomarker clinical trial for patients with the HSD3B1 adrenal-permissive genotype in men with metastatic castration resistant prostate. A growing wave of data demonstrates that such patients exhibit resistance to hormonal treatment. This study tests the efficacy and safety of avibertinib plus abiraterone in this vulnerable patient population." UCSD is one of 67 member sites of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance, a growing network of leading cancer centers across the globe that collaborate to advance precision oncology and biomarker-driven research.

"We are excited to partner with Caris and utilize their next generation sequencing platform and data analytics capabilities to evaluate treatment response and resistance patterns in this study," added Jake Vinson, Chief Executive Officer at the PCCTC. "Through this collaboration, we hope to gain knowledge to better guide treatment options for future clinical trial participants, and ultimately all patients with prostate cancer."

Since the launch of its molecular profiling service in 2009, Caris has amassedmolecular dataon more than 378,000 patients and real-world clinical outcomes on more than 275,000 patients. Caris has the most advanced sequencing laboratories in the world, which allows the company to perform whole exome DNA sequencing and whole transcriptome RNA sequencing on every patient. Caris' data-driven, molecular insights are changing the landscape of precision medicine with actionable insights from retrospective, epidemiologic and real-time molecular data to enhance research and commercial activities.

About Caris Life Sciences Caris Life Sciences(Caris) is the leading molecular science and technology company actively developing and delivering innovative solutions to revolutionize healthcare and improve patient outcomes. Through comprehensive molecular profiling (Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing) and the application of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms, Caris has created the large-scale clinico-genomic database and cognitive computing needed to analyze and unravel the molecular complexity of disease. This information provides an unmatched resource and the ideal path forward to conduct the basic, fundamental research to accelerate discovery for detection, diagnosis, monitoring, therapy selection and drug development to improve the human condition.

With a primary focus on cancer, Caris' suite of market-leading molecular profiling offerings assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint that helps patients, physicians and researchers better detect, diagnose and treat patients. Caris' latest advancement, which is currently available within its Precision Oncology Alliance, is a blood-based, circulating nucleic acids sequencing (cNAS) assay that combines comprehensive molecular analysis (Whole Exome and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing from blood) and serial monitoring making it the most powerful liquid biopsy assay ever developed.

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris has offices in Phoenix, New York, Denver, Tokyo, Japan and Basel, Switzerland. Caris provides services throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and other international markets. To learn more, please visitCarisLifeSciences.comor follow us on Twitter (@CarisLS).

About The Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial ConsortiumThe Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium (PCCTC) was initiated in 2005 by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) in response to critically unmet needs in prostate cancer clinical research identified by physician investigators and patient advocates. To fulfill their mission, the PCCTC developed a unique infrastructure which has fostered a culture of transparent project co-development between investigators, research sites and industry partners. Established as an independent entity in 2014, the PCCTC, LLC is now the nation's premier multicenter clinical research organization specializing in cutting-edge prostate cancer research. Through the collaborative nature and intellectual synergy of its leadership, the PCCTC remains poised to make a significant impact on the lives of patients by keeping the pipeline primed with the most promising novel agents and validated biomarkers. For more information, visit http://www.pcctc.org.

About Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.Sorrento is a clinical and commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing new therapies to treat cancer, pain (non-opioid treatments), autoimmune disease and COVID-19. Sorrento's multimodal, multipronged approach to fighting cancer is made possible by its extensive immuno-oncology platforms, including key assets such as fully human antibodies ("G-MAB library"), immuno-cellular therapies ("DAR-T"), antibody-drug conjugates ("ADCs"), and oncolytic virus ("Seprehvec"). Sorrento is also developing potential antiviral therapies and vaccines against coronaviruses, including Abivertinib, COVISHIELD, and COVI-MSC; and diagnostic test solutions, including COVIMARK.

Sorrento's commitment to life-enhancing therapies for patients is also demonstrated by our effort to advance a first-in-class (TRPV1 agonist) non-opioid pain management small molecule, resiniferatoxin ("RTX"), and SP-102 (10 mg, dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA), a novel, viscous gel formulation of a widely used corticosteroid for epidural injections to treat lumbosacral radicular pain, or sciatica, and to commercialize ZTlido (lidocaine topical system) 1.8% for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). RTX has been cleared for a Phase II trial for intractable pain associated with cancer and a Phase II trial in osteoarthritis patients. Positive final results from the Phase III Pivotal Trial C.L.E.A.R. Program for SEMDEXA, its novel, non-opioid product for the treatment of lumbosacral radicular pain (sciatica), were announced in March 2022. ZTlido was approved by the FDA on February 28, 2018.

For more information, visit http://www.sorrentotherapeutics.com.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release and any statements made for and during any presentation or meeting contain forward-looking statements related to Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the strategic collaboration and its potential ability to guide more precise treatment decisions and options for patients with prostate cancer, as well as statements regarding Sorrento's Phase 2 Maverick trial. Risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to: risks related to Sorrento's technologies and prospects, including, but not limited to risks related to safety and efficacy for Sorrento's product candidates, including Abivertinib; clinical development risks, including risks in the progress, timing, cost, and results of clinical trials and product development programs; risk of difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals; risks that clinical study results may not meet any or all endpoints of a clinical study and that any data generated from such studies may not support a regulatory submission or approval; risks that prior test, study and trial results may not be replicated in continuing or future studies and trials; risks of manufacturing and supplying drug product; risks related to leveraging the expertise of its employees, subsidiaries, affiliates and partners to assist Sorrento in the execution of its product candidates' strategies; risks related to the global impact of COVID-19; and other risks that are described in Sorrento's most recent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Sorrento's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors set forth in those filings. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by law.

Caris Life Sciences Media Contact:Lisa Burgner[emailprotected](469) 822-9330

Caris Life Sciences Business Development Contact:Brian Lamon, Ph.D.Chief Business Officer, Head of BioPharma Business Development[emailprotected] (609) 955-8883

Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial Cancer Consortium Contact:Kristofer Prepelica, Ph.D.Medical Communications Manager[emailprotected]

Sorrento Therapeutics ContactBrian Cooley[emailprotected]

Sorrento and the Sorrento logo are registered trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

G-MAB, DAR-T, Seprehvec, SOFUSA, COVISHIELD, COVIDROPS, COVI-MSC, COVIMARK and Fujovee are trademarks of Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

SEMDEXA (SP-102) is a trademark of Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Inc. A proprietary name review by the FDA is planned.

ZTlido is a registered trademark owned by Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences

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Caris Life Sciences, Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial Consortium and Sorrento Therapeutics Announce Collaboration to Advance Precision Medicine...

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From early detection to remote monitoring and data sharing, GE Healthcares innovative suite of diagnostic and treatment technologies are designed to help improve detection, clinical efficiency, operational efficiency, and outcomes for cancer patients.

GE Healthcare is collaborating with health systems to bring innovation in oncology to deliver better and more effective patient care and outcomes, said Catherine Estrampes, President & CEO, U.S. and Canada at GE Healthcare. Oncology treatments are rapidly evolving, making it difficult for clinical teams to adapt. Whether its the thousands of active clinical trials or the accelerating number of approved immunotherapies, clinical care providers need solutions that combine patient data from EMRs, imaging, biomarkers and other diagnostics with molecular profiling to enable the most informed care decisions.

Precision imaging is fundamental to determining the size, shape and characteristics of tumors and differentiating between healthy tissues. As a global leader in medical imaging solutions, GE Healthcare continues to demonstrate its commitment to advancing precision medicine through collaborations with technology partners around the world.

At this years ASCO 2022 annual meeting, GE Healthcare will demonstrate how a collection of strategic partnerships and collaborations announced over the past year will help advance cancer care and offer medical practitioners the solutions, imaging tools and support they need to improve patient-centered care and advance the practice of precision medicine.

GE Healthcares innovative suite of predictive, prescriptive and precision oncology solutions helps support the delivery of more efficient, precise and personalized care across the cancer care continuum. Through our collaboration with other technology leaders, we can continue to elevate oncology innovation and help improve clinical, operational, and patient outcomes at every state and at every step of the care pathway, said Ben Newton, MD, General Manager for GE Healthcare Oncology Solutions.

Below are highlights from oncology announcements over the past year:

RaySearch: GE Healthcare has announced its agreement with RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ), a leading radiation oncology software provider, to develop a new radiation therapy simulation and treatment planning workflow solution, designed to simplify how radiation will be targeted to shrink a tumor. Together the companies aim to combine Stockholm-based RaySearchs advanced treatment planning systems with GE Healthcares leading multi-modality (CT/MR/molecular imaging) simulator systems to make cancer treatment faster and more precise. RaySearchs software is used by over 800 clinics in more than 40 countries.1

Elekta: GE Healthcare and Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) have signed a global commercial collaboration agreement in the field of radiation oncology that enables the two companies to provide hospitals a comprehensive offering across imaging and treatment for cancer patients requiring radiation therapy. As many as 5060 percent of all cancer patients require radiation therapy2 which requires high quality imaging and sophisticated delivery equipment and software to precisely target tumors while sparing healthy tissue. Combining GE Healthcares imaging solutions with Elektas radiation therapy solutions will result in an even more compelling offering for hospitals, and ultimately their patients across both developed and developing markets.

Minerva: GE Healthcare and Minerva Imaging have signed a strategic partnership to accelerate precision medicine and targeted radionuclide therapy (Theranostics). Radionuclide therapy is a form of precision medicine where a radioactive substance is administered through the bloodstream to specifically target cancer cells and irradiate them with the aim of helping to reduce potential side effects compared to traditional cancer therapies. The partnership is designed to facilitate the success of Minerva Imagings growth plans by establishing capabilities for in-house production of isotopes and CDMO services for radiopharmaceuticals. Minerva Imaging will be using cutting-edge technology from GE Healthcare to optimize new radiopharmaceuticals, including a cyclotron a type of particle accelerator used to produce isotopes.

University of Cambridge: The University of Cambridge, Cambridge University Hospitals including Addenbrooke's Hospital, and GE Healthcare have agreed to collaborate on developing an application aiming to improve cancer care, with Cambridge providing clinical expertise and data to support GE Healthcares development and evaluation of an AI-enhanced application that will integrate cancer patient data from multiple sources into a single interface. The collaboration also supports the further development and integration of AI/Machine Learning pipelines that are already in development at the University of Cambridge. Building on research supported by The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK, the collaboration aims to address the problems of fragmented or siloed data and disconnected patient information, which is challenging for clinicians to manage effectively and can prevent cancer patients receiving optimal treatment.

Optellum: GE Healthcare and Optellum are working together to address one of the largest challenges in the diagnosis of lung cancer - helping providers determine the malignancy of a lung nodule, a suspicious lesion that may be benign or cancerous. Optellum is a leader in AI decision support for the early diagnosis and optimal treatment of lung cancer, and their Virtual Nodule Clinic can help clinicians identify at-risk patients and assess the likelihood of malignancy in a lung nodule through a radiomics score - which is key to determining whether biopsy is necessary and accelerating overall diagnosis. Virtual Nodule Clinic is the only FDA-cleared AI-assisted diagnosis software for early-stage lung cancer3 - enabling clinicians to make optimal management decisions for patients with lung nodules.

Vysioneer VBrain: GE Healthcare is collaborating with Vysioneer to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) towards cancer care. Vysioneers FDA-cleared VBrain solution is an auto-contouring system that applies auto-contouring to the three most common types of brain tumors: brain metastasis, meningioma and acoustic neuroma. VBrain allows for greater precision for radiotherapy treatment planning and is vendor-neutral - integrating with different treatment planning systems by supporting data routing to and from DICOM nodes within a hospital network.

Spectronic Medical Synthetic CT, MR[4] auto-segmentation: GE Healthcare announced plans to integrate Spectronic Medical ABs AI-based software to support more precise cancer treatment planning, providing an alternative to standard CT images in radiotherapy treatment planning. This AI solution and GE Healthcares advanced AIR Recon DL technology both offer deep learning solutions for the radiation therapy workflow. GE Healthcares AIR Recon DL is a deep learning image reconstruction technology that leverages raw data from the MR scanner to reduce image noise, enhance image quality and resolution, and shorten scan times, to provide high quality diagnostic images. Spectronic Medicals AI-based solution is designed to convert standard MR images acquired by the GE scanner into synthetic CT images, providing clinicians with the CT images required for treatment planning, while also having the MR soft tissue details to accurately target lesions and help improve patient outcomes.[5]

Mirada RTx: As a part of their strategic collaboration to improve outcomes for patients, GE Healthcare and Mirada Medical are focusing on advancing automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to enable faster, more consistent and more precise cancer radiotherapy treatment. To do so, the Mirada Medical RTx product has been integrated into the GE Healthcare AW Workstation and AW Server to enable enhanced cancer visualization and diagnostic capabilities. These integrations can result in increased automation to deliver improvements in care workflows and help drive efficiency and time savings.

SOPHiA GENETICS: GE Healthcare and SOPHiA GENETICS will be collaborating on opportunities in the healthcare market, including various initiatives and projects in the fields of digital oncology and radiogenomic analysis. The companies will initially work together on the creation of infrastructure to integrate data between GEs Edison platform and the SOPHiA DDM platform, as well as co-marketing and pilot site recruitment across oncology and radiogenomics.

One-Stop Breast Clinic: Momentum continues around this rapid diagnostic breast cancer center model with the first site in the United States now underway at St. Lukes University Health Network in Pennsylvania, as well as new sites extending across the world in Colombia, Egypt, and France. GEs One-Stop Clinic breast care model, originated from the pioneering Gustave Roussy Cancer Center in France, has been shown to improve clinical outcomes and dramatically speed up breast cancer diagnosis and treatment planning. This value-based, multi-modality care approach is designed to provide patients with a tightly coordinated journey from the initial appointment through diagnosis and treatment plan in one location and with one team all in a significantly shorter timeframe. Since piloting the workflow in 2021, St. Lukes has implemented the model and been able to reduce the time from screening to diagnosis and treatment to 36 hours or fewer.[6] In Colombia, One-Stop Clinic has dramatically transformed breast cancer care for women by reducing time to treatment by roughly 93%.[7]

Through these and a variety of additional solutions, GE Healthcare aims to further reinforce its role as a core partner in multidisciplinary cancer care and provide increasingly accessible, more precise, and high-value radiation therapy.

GE Healthcare will be exhibiting at ASCO 2022 Innovation Hubs - IH14 & IH16 from June 3 June 7.

Registration for the GE Healthcare - SOPHiA GENETICS Innovation Symposium Unlocking the Promise of Data-Driven Medicine in Cancer Care, Together with speakers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer, GE Healthcare and SOPHiA GENETICS can be found here. GE Healthcare and Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced their partnership to enable safer and more precise cancer immunotherapies in 2019 and the symposium will share early progress and findings achieved to date. SOPHiA GENETICS will present the latest developments in their DEEP-Lung-IV Multimodal Clinical Study.

Click here for more on GE Healthcare at ASCO 2022.

About GE Healthcare:

GE Healthcare is the $17.7 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE). As a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics and digital solutions innovator, GE Healthcare enables clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions through intelligent devices, data analytics, applications and services, supported by its Edison intelligence platform. With over 100 years of healthcare industry experience and around 48,000 employees globally, the company operates at the center of an ecosystem working toward precision health, digitizing healthcare, helping drive productivity and improve outcomes for patients, providers, health systems and researchers around the world.

Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Insights for the latest news, or visit our website http://www.gehealthcare.com for more information.

1 https://www.raysearchlabs.com/about-raysearch/ 2 https://www.ge.com/news/press-releases/ge-healthcare-elekta-collaborate-to-expand-access-to-precision-radiation-therapy#_ftn1 3 https://eithealth.eu/news-article/eit-health-supported-optellum-marks-ai-world-first/ 4 Spectronic Medical MRI Planner Software is CE marked and 510(k) pending at U.S. FDA. Not available in all markets.5 https://www.ge.com/news/press-releases/ge-healthcare-to-offer-end-to-end-deep-learning-solutions-with-spectronic-medical-to 6 Data on File, 20217 Data on File, 2021

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GE Healthcare Advances the Future of Precision Medicine in Oncology with New Technology Partners at #ASCO22 - Business Wire

ORLANDO, Fla, June 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immune Therapeutics Inc. (OTC:BB IMUN), a specialty pharmaceutical company involved in the development, commercialization, distribution and marketing of novel, patented therapies to combat chronic, life-threatening diseases through the activation and modulation of the bodys immune system, today announced that it will expand its Board of Directors from two to five members.

Joining the Board effective May 31st, 2022, will be Dr. Stephen Wilson, Dr. Clifford Selsky, and Mr. Robert Wilson who were appointed for interim terms until such time as an annual meeting of shareholders can be organized to provide a formal vote on the candidates.

Dr. Stephen Wilson. Dr. Wilson is a trained immunologist with more than 25 years of experience in biomedical research and executive management. He is the Chief Innovation Officer of Statera Biopharma, Inc. and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego. Prior, he served as Chief Operating Officer at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology; during his tenure the Institute grew from $14M in annual R&D to become a global leader in immunology research with nearly $1B in total operations as well as ranked #1 place to work in the world by The Scientist magazine. His original research has been published in high impact journals, and he has served as principal or co-principal investigator on more than $75M in competitive grants and awards, most recently developing the 2021 X-Prize winning rapid CoVID-19 diagnostic test. Dr. Wilson has served as an advisor to elite medical research organizations, served on national boards and is a founding scientist and board member of Invivoscribe Technologies, Inc., a leading molecular diagnostics and oncology therapeutics company. Dr. Wilson earned his doctorate from the University of Arizonas College of Medicine in Immunology, and was a fellow of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Selsky has been a practicing pediatrician in Central Florida for the past twenty years. He is the founder of the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Disease at Florida Hospital cancer institute, which he established after training in pediatrics at Yale New Haven hospital and completing a pediatric hematology and oncology fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Selsky is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric hematology and oncology and Palliative medicine. Currently, he is a pediatrician at Family First Pediatrics which he established in 2013.

Also, an accomplished scientist, Dr. Selsky obtained his PH.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He then did DNA repair research studies at the radiobiology laboratory at Harvard School of Public Health and the biophysics laboratory at Stanford University.

Mr. Wilson has spent more than 25 years building and launching companies. As a business strategist, retail marketer and content developer, Robert is experienced is assessing business situations, conducting research, creating strategic plans, recommending solutions to management, monitoring competitors, and measuring the results of marketing strategies. Robert has been involved in securing more than $150 million in early round and angel funding, developing launch and pivot strategies, and identifying growth opportunities for more than two dozen public companies ranging from the energy sector and electric vehicles to healthcare and lifestyle brands.

Note: Dr. Stephen Wilson and Mr. Robert Wilson are not related.

Kevin Phelps, CEO commented; We are pleased to welcome our new members to the Board. The Company is at an inflection point in development of its strategy and the experience and skills of these individuals will be invaluable moving forward. We are fortunate to be able to attract such talent.

Terms under which the Board Members will be compensated have not been finalized, but new members have requested deferment of their compensation until the Company has attained strategic funding and operational objectives.

Read the original:
Immune Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Expansion of its Board of Directors - BioSpace

Editors note: Steve S. Rao is a Council Member and Former Mayor Pro Tem for the Town of Morrisville and served as a Board Member for the New American Economy, now the American Immigration Council. He also serves on the NC League of Municipalities Race and Equity Task Force. Steve is a regular contributor to WRAL TechWire.

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MORRISVILLE Ten years ago this month, President Barack Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, giving new hope to hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented people who had been brought to the United States as children and knew no other home.

Since then, weve seen President Trump striveand failto dismantle DACA. Weve seen lawmakers striveand, so far, failto give Dreamers permanent lawful status. Weve seen judges question DACAs legality, forcing the Biden administration to completely rewrite the federal rulesunderlying the program.

And along the way, weve seen the Dreamers rise above the uncertainty and grow into accomplished young adults, who are making tangible contributions to their communities.

Rao: In NC, todays immigrants are tomorrows public servants

Im thinking ofRamiro Rodriguez, who cofounded Code the Dream, an amazing Triangle nonprofit that helps people from low-income backgrounds to obtain computer skills to support our states businesses.If I hadnt had DACA, Id have been struggling to even open a bank account, not thinking about how to start a business or employ other people, Ramiro says in the linked story.

OrMartin Rodriguez, a graduate researcher at Wake Forest University. His family left poverty in Mexico; after coming to North Carolina at the age of 9, he obtained a PhD in molecular medicine, and is now developing gene therapiesfor pediatric blooddisorders.DACAwas a door to continuing my education, andits definitely as essential as ever, Martin says in the linked story.

OrLeslie Arreaza, whose parents fled violence in Guatemala when she was 7. Today, shes an autism specialist and teaches in North Carolinas public schools. Young immigrants like me are called Dreamers for a reason, she says in the linked story. Its because were marked by our dreams, our ambitions and our determination to make a positive difference.

Im thinking, too, of people like UNC studentShristi Sharma, an extraordinary young woman who built an app that could one day allow us to diagnose Alzheimers based on data from fitness trackers. Shristi is a Documented Dreamera young person excluded from DACA becauseher parents played by the rules and came to this country on skilled-worker visas. Processing delays have prevented Shristis parents from graduating from temporary visas to green cardsand now Shristi faces having to self-deport when she turns 21 and can no longer be included on her parents visas.

We need skilled workers Americas Documented Dreamers deserve a chance to stay

These are just four stories among many. DACA has helped over 830,000 young people build brighter futures, earn a comfortable living, help provide for their families, and support their communities. Dreamers see their hourly earningsalmost doubleafter they receive DACA status, and it becomes far easier for them to qualify for loans, or work to put themselves through college. Six out of 10 DACA recipients say the program made it possible for them to buy their first cars, and 14% have bought homes, lifting the economy for everyone.

But DACAs 10th anniversary isnt just a time to acknowledge how much the Dreamers have achieved. Its also a time to reflect on how badly we, as a nation, have failed them.

As Shristis story shows, people are still falling through the gaps: there are over 250,000 young documented Dreamers that DACA does nothing to protect. Many DACA recipients have lost jobs or faced legal trouble after the government failed to process their paperwork in time, leaving them without employment authorization. And many others fear that DACA could one day be revoked, forcing them back into the shadows. TK# Dreamers now have American children. If another administration were to try and cancel DACA, that would be a catastrophe for these families.

A vote for H-1B visas: Congress can boost NCs innovation economy heres how

Its time to put an end to this uncertainty. Dreamers have kepttheirpromise to our country. Theyve proven their ability to work within a broken system and play by the rules. Now we must unequivocally welcome them into our great American family. That means a legislative path a true Dream Act, with support for Documented Dreamers with a clear path to permanent lawful status and eventual citizenship for all DACA recipients.

A decade is long enough. Its time for us to give these young people the security and stability they deservea real path forward as they continue to build their lives here in America.

Fighting labor shortage, inflation: Immigrants can get the job done on both fronts

Read more:
Rao: 10 Years of DACA is enough - its time to pass the Dream Act - WRAL TechWire

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Heres what Dr Mike Skinner, reader in virology at Imperial College London, and Martin Michaelis, professor of molecular medicine at the University of Kent, had to say.

1. What is monkeypox?

Prof Michaelis: Monkeypox is an infectious disease, which is caused by the monkeypox virus. The monkeypox virus is closely related to the smallpox virus but less contagious and less deadly. It is not related to the Varicella zoster virus that causes chickenpox.

Dr Skinner: Monkeypox is a large and complex virus. It is closely related to the smallpox virus, which was eradicated in 1980 by vaccination with the vaccinia virus - which also protects against monkeypox.

Monkeypox was first seen in monkeys in a medical facility in Copenhagen in 1958, with the first human cases seen in 1970.

2. How is it spread and how do you catch it?

Prof Michaelis: Monkeypox virus is endemic in parts of central and west Africa. Rodents are thought to be the main reservoir species, such as Gambian pouched rats, dormice, and African squirrels. Most human infections are caused by direct contact with infected animals.

You are unlikely to become infected when you are in the same room with an infected person, if there is no direct contact.

Dr Skinner: It is spread by close, even intimate, contact, for example when caring for children, bed-sharing or during sexual contact.

It can be caught and spread through broken skin or via the mouth or eyes after contact with pus from open spots (directly or from surfaces), by inhaling dust from dried scabs after they are shed into bedding and clothing, and by inhalation of droplets spread from the mouth or nose but only over very short distances, unlike Covid.

3. Does it come from animals?

Dr Skinner: Yes, though not from monkeys but from small mammals - such as rodents, dormice, squirrels - in Africa.

Prof Michaelis: The main reservoir are rodents such as Gambian pouched rats, dormice, and African squirrels in central and west Africa. These rodents can then infect other animals and humans. Despite the name monkeypox, the monkeypox virus is not typically found in monkeys. The virus only received its name, because it was discovered in a cynomolgus monkey in 1958.

4. What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

Dr Skinner: A few days after infection, the first signs can be fever, headache, malaise, muscle pain, which precede appearance of a rash the spots follow a course that passes through blisters - initially closed but later open - through to scabs which eventually fall off.

Prof Michaelis: Monkeypox patients have been described to be unwell for up to four weeks.

5. Is it deadly?

Dr Skinner: Only rarely, and it depends on the strain. The Central African (Congo) strain has a mortality rate in Africa of up to 10%. The West African (Nigerian) strain is milder, with a mortality rate in Africa of 1 to 2%.

No deaths were observed in the 2003 US outbreak of the West African strain, which passed to native prairie dog pets from imported African animals, despite 73 cases.

Prof Michaelis: As far as we know, the current British cases have been caused by monkeypox viruses from the less deadly West African strain.

The death rates have been determined in African countries with limited health care capacities. It is not clear how deadly monkeypox is in a high-income country like the UK with a developed health care system and modern intensive care facilities.

6. What is the treatment?

Dr Skinner: Normally supportive (fluids) but a modern version of the smallpox vaccine has been licenced for post-exposure as well as pre-exposure use. Antivirals are also available for post-exposure therapy.

Prof Michaelis: Smallpox vaccines provide a reasonable level of protection (about 85%) from monkeypox. Even if a smallpox vaccine is administered up to four days after infection, it is still expected to prevent disease. If the smallpox vaccine is administered later than this but before the onset of symptoms, it is still anticipated to reduce disease severity.

There is also an antiviral drug called tecovirimat that is approved for the treatment of smallpox in the US and that is expected to be also effective against monkeypox. Other antiviral drugs that have been shown to inhibit monkeypox in animal models include cidofovir and brincidofovir. However, clinical studies will be needed to find out how effective these drugs actually are against monkeypox in humans.

7. How can you avoid getting it?

Dr Skinner: Medical staff will use PPE. The vast majority of us will not come into close contact with infected individuals.

Prof Michaelis: Monkeypox is not as contagious as airborne diseases like the measles or Covid-19.

Close body contact or contact with body fluids or the lesions is normally required to become infected.

Transmission via aerosols has not been described, but people may become infected by larger droplets if a monkeypox patient directly coughs or sneezes at them.

Contact with clothes or bedding of monkeypox patients can result in the transmission of the disease.

Generally, the risk of infection via contaminated surfaces, for example doorknobs, seems to be higher for monkeypox than, for example, for Covid-19. Hence, thorough hygiene measures and hand washing as well as avoiding close contact with potential monkeypox patients should normally be sufficient to prevent infection.

8. Is it worse in children?

Dr Skinner: Experience in Africa suggests it can be more severe in children. It also poses increased risk to those who are immunosuppressed.

Prof Michaelis: Yes, children and pregnant women are at a higher risk from monkeypox than adults.

9. How did the current outbreak start and spread?

Dr Skinner: We have had sporadic, international, travel-related cases since an apparent increase in numbers in West Africa in 2017.

The first cases this year seem to be similar, but the latest cases, here and abroad, are in clusters - a couple linked epidemiologically in the UK - with no travel history to West Africa.

They seem to be linked in having extensive, close and intimate network contacts, in this case by being members of the men who have sex with men community.

Public health officials are looking for links between the clusters, nationally and internationally, as well as for earlier and hopefully index cases, although it is assumed their origin is West Africa, they may represent multiple introductions.

Prof Michaelis: This is not entirely clear. The monkeypox strain that causes the current outbreak is derived from West Africa, and it seems likely that all cases are linked back to a single case. It is not clear how the virus then spread around the world.

10. How can an outbreak be stopped?

Dr Skinner: Contact tracing by public health authorities after prompt recognition, isolation and confirmation of possible and probable cases, vigilance of those who are possible contacts and by willingness of cases to contact authorities if symptoms arise.

See the article here:
Monkeypox Q&A: 10 key questions on the virus answered by health experts - NationalWorld

-- Members include pioneers of cancer biology and computational biology who have discovered key drivers of the disease and advanced the discovery of new therapies --

BOSTON, June 02, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scorpion Therapeutics, Inc. ("Scorpion" or the "Company"), a pioneering oncology company redefining the frontier of precision medicine through its Precision Oncology 2.0 strategy, today announced the composition of its Discovery Scientific Advisory Board ("SAB").

The members of the Companys Discovery SAB include:

Rameen Beroukhim, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Associate member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

Lewis C. Cantley, Ph.D., Faculty Member, Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Andy Futreal, Ph.D., Department Chair, Department of Genomic Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Robert Gentleman, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Center for Computational Biomedicine, Harvard Medical School

Ross Levine, M.D., Deputy Physician-in-Chief, Translational Research, Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Elaine Mardis, Ph.D., Co-Executive Director, The Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Childrens Hospital Professor of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School; Co-Leader, Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center Cancer Cell Biology Program

David Solit, M.D., Geoffrey Beene Chair for Cancer Research; Director of the Marie-Jose & Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

"We are pleased to announce this prestigious group of advisors and look forward to their input to our discovery strategy as we grow the company into a leader in precision oncology," said Axel Hoos, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Scorpion. "Working closely with our academic founders Keith Flaherty, M.D., Gaddy Getz, Ph.D., and Liron Bar-Peled, Ph.D., and in partnership with our Chief Scientific Officer, Darrin Stuart, Ph.D., who will serve as chairman of the advisory board, this world-class group will provide key scientific insights that will help us realize our vision."

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"Together, these appointees have discovered some of the most prevalent drivers of cancer and advanced the fields of cancer biology, cancer genetics, computational biology and precision medicine," said Darrin Stuart, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Scorpion. "We look forward to their many contributions as we continue to advance our drug hunting platform and expand our pipeline with small molecules designed to address untapped cancer drug targets, each with the potential to treat precise, genetically defined patient populations."

Rameen Beroukhim, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Beroukhim is an associate professor of medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, and an associate member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. In addition to directing a genomics-focused lab, he sees patients in an adult neuro-oncology clinic. Dr. Beroukhim studied physics and philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained an M.Phil and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge for work done at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Medical Biology on electron crystallographic studies of ion channels. He then completed his M.D. and internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco, before completing a medical oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Beroukhims research focuses on the development and use of genomic and computational technologies to understand tumor evolution and vulnerabilities, with particular emphases on brain cancers and on alterations in chromosome structure across cancers. Dr. Beroukhim has published over 300 papers, including the first comprehensive analyses of cancer-specific dependencies due to genomic losses.

Lewis C. Cantley, Ph.D.

Dr. Cantley is a faculty member in the Department of Cancer Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Over the course of his career, he has made significant advances in cancer research, stemming from his discovery of the signaling pathway PI3K in 1984. His pioneering research has resulted in revolutionary treatments for cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. The author of over 400 original papers and more than 50 book chapters and review articles, Dr. Cantley is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He previously served as Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, where he became chief of Harvards new Division of Signal Transduction and a founding member of its Department of Systems Biology in 2002. In 2007, he was appointed director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center. In 2013 he was appointed Director of the Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and in 2022 he returned to Harvard Medical School to assume his current position at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Andy Futreal, Ph.D.

Dr. Futreal is currently a Professor in the Department of Genomic Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he applies his knowledge of cancer genomics to improve both short-term and long-term patient outcomes extending to cancer survivorship, and also serves as a platform leader for genomics and informatics for the Cancer Moonshot initiative. Before joining MD Anderson in July 2012, he was the co-director of the Cancer Genome Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, where he continues to be an honorary faculty member. His chief scientific accomplishments include the identification of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast/ovarian cancer susceptibility genes, leading a pioneering effort in large-scale systematic cancer genomics leading to the identification of the BRAF mutations in melanoma, ERBB2 mutations in non-small cell lung cancer and multiple new cancer genes in renal cell carcinoma. He has published over 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He received the NIH Public Service Award in 1995 for discovering the BRCA1 gene involved in subsets of breast and ovarian cancer.

Robert Gentleman, Ph.D.

Dr. Gentleman is the founding executive director of Harvard Medical Schools Center for Computational Biomedicine. An accomplished statistician and bioinformatician, Dr. Gentleman is one of the creators of the R programming language and a founder of the Bioconductor project, an open-source collaborative software tool to promote statistical analysis of biological data. He has served as vice president of 23andMe, where he helped launch their therapeutic division, and he was senior director for bioinformatics and computational biology at Genentech. He was head of computational biology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and held academic positions at Harvard University, University of Auckland and the University of Waterloo. Dr. Gentlemans research interests are related to genomics, machine learning, data visualization, and the application of statistical and computational methods to study human disease.

Ross Levine, M.D.

Dr. Levine is the Deputy Physician-in-Chief for Translational Research, Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research, Member of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, and Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he cares for patients with blood and bone marrow cancers. Dr. Levines pioneering research has illuminated the genetic basis of myeloid malignancies, including studies that delineated the role of the JAK-STAT pathway and other oncogenic drivers in the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). His current efforts focus on the role of mutations in epigenetic modifiers in MPN and AML pathogenesis and therapeutic response, investigation of the role of different signaling pathways in hematopoietic transformation, and mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies in MPN/AML. He has been honored with the Dameshek Prize from the American Society of Hematology, a Scholar Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Boyer Award for Clinical Investigation from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and an NCI Outstanding Investigator R35 Award. In 2011 he was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and in 2018 to the Association of American Physicians.

Elaine Mardis, Ph.D.

Dr. Mardis is co-Executive Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Childrens Hospital and the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Endowed Chair in Genomic Medicine. She also is Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Her research focuses on cancer genomics from a discovery and translational perspective, with the goal of identifying the best therapeutic approach to fighting an individuals cancer by determining common driver mutations/genes and pathways that can cause cancer to develop and progress. Dr. Mardis has authored over 350 articles in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and has written book chapters for several medical textbooks. She serves as Deputy Editor for Disease Models and Mechanisms, Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Cancer Research, and Co-Editor in Chief of Cancer Research Communications. Dr. Mardis has given lectures at scientific meetings worldwide, and was awarded the Morton K Schwartz award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in 2016, and the Heath Memorial Award from MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2019. She has been listed since 2013 as one of the most highly cited researchers in the world by Clarivate/Thompson Reuters. Dr. Mardis has been a member of the AACR since 2007, was the program committee chair for the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting, and served as the AACR President from 2019-2020. She was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine in 2019.

Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Polyak is Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and a co-leader of the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center Cancer Cell Biology Program. Dr. Polyak is an internationally-recognized leader of breast cancer research. Her laboratory is dedicated to improving the clinical management of breast cancer patients by understanding of breast tumor evolution. Dr. Polyak has devoted much effort to develop new ways to study tumors as a whole and to apply interdisciplinary approaches. Dr. Polyak have received numerous awards including the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, the AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, and the 14th Rosalind E. Franklin Award for Women in Science. She is a recipient of the NCI Outstanding Investigator award and received a Distinguished Alumna Award from Weill Cornell. Dr. Polyak is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

David Solit, M.D.

Dr. Solit is the Geoffrey Beene Chair for Cancer Research and the Director of the Marie-Jose & Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology ("CMO") at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. A member of the Genitourinary Oncology Service, he is a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of prostate, bladder, kidney, testis and other related cancers. Dr. Solit was formerly the Chief of the MSKCC Developmental Therapeutics Service during which time he initiated a program to promote pan-cancer Basket trials. His laboratory research focuses on the identification of molecular predictors of drug response and mechanisms of drug resistance, with a focus on BRAF, MEK and other kinases inhibitors. As Director of the CMO, he leads a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, geneticists, bioinformaticians, and laboratory scientists, which seek to integrate molecular and clinical information to develop therapies that are individualized to each patients cancer. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.

About Scorpion Therapeutics

Scorpion Therapeutics is a pioneering oncology company redefining the frontier of precision medicine to deliver optimized and transformational therapies for larger populations of patients with cancer, a strategy Scorpion Therapeutics refers to as Precision Oncology 2.0. Scorpion Therapeutics has built a proprietary and fully integrated platform of the most advanced technologies across cancer biology, medicinal chemistry, and data sciences, with the goal of consistently and rapidly creating exquisitely selective small molecule compounds against an unprecedented spectrum of targets. Scorpion Therapeutics aims to leverage its platform to advance a broad pipeline of wholly owned, optimized compounds across three target categories: best-in-class molecules targeting validated oncogene targets; first-in-class molecules for previously undruggable targets; and first-in-class molecules for novel cancer targets. For more information, visit http://www.scorpiontx.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220602005314/en/

Contacts

Media Contact: Ravi MoorthyScorpion Therapeuticsravi@scorpiontx.com

Investor Contact: Hannah DeresiewiczStern Investor Relations, Inc.Hannah.deresiewicz@sternir.com

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Scorpion Therapeutics Announces Discovery Scientific Advisory Board - Yahoo Finance

Mingjian Du, Ph.D., (left) and Zhijian James Chen, Ph.D.

DALLAS June 02, 2022 Protein complexes that play a critical role in launching an immune response assemble in droplets that form within the liquid environment in cells much like oil droplets in water, UTSouthwestern scientists report in a new study. The findings, published in Molecular Cell, could lead to new interventions to regulate immunity in individuals with overactive or underactive immune responses.

These droplets basically function as microreactors that concentrate proteins and their substrates within. Its like forming compartments without needing membranes to surround them, said study leader Zhijian James Chen, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Director of the Center for Inflammation Research at UTSW, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and winner of the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

More than two decades ago, the Chen lab discovered that a protein called ubiquitin assembles into chains inside cells when the cells are exposed to inflammatory molecules, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Dr. Chen and his colleagues showed that the chains are key for promoting an immune response and can activate a group of proteins known as the IB complex (IKK), which includes a component known as NEMO. This complex in turn triggers a protein called NF-B to move to the nucleus and turn on hundreds of immune-related genes. But how the polyubiquitin chains, NEMO, and IKK come together has been unclear.

NEMO proteins are condensed in liquid droplets (red puncta) in the cytoplasm of a human cell in response to stimulation by a cytokine (interleukin-1). Blue shows the nucleus of the cell.

To answer this question, Dr. Chens team mixed ubiquitin and NEMO in test tubes with a protein called TRAF6, which promotes ubiquitin to assemble into chains. They saw that NEMO and the polyubiquitin chains assembled into liquid droplets that stayed separate from the liquid medium in the test tubes. Experiments in human cells showed that NEMO and the polyubiquitin chains displayed the same phase separation behavior after the cells were exposed to IL-1 or TNF. When IKK entered these droplets, it became activated and triggered NF-B to move to the nucleus. The longer the polyubiquitin chains, the larger the droplets they formed with NEMO and the stronger the immune response they triggered, Dr. Chen explained.

The team further studied this process using NEMO that was altered by mutations associated with a rare disease known as NEMO deficiency syndrome, which severely blunts immune response to bacterial infections. NEMO that carried these mutations could not effectively condense into droplets with polyubiquitin chains, preventing the cascade of events that triggers an immune response.

Dr. Chen noted that better understanding of this liquid phase separation phenomenon could eventually lead to treatments for NEMO deficiency syndrome and interventions to counteract overactive or underactive immunity, the root cause of autoimmune disorders and increased susceptibility to infection, respectively.

Dr. Chen is a George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mingjian Du, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Chen lab, is lead author of this study. Other UTSW researchers who contributed to this study include Chee-Kwee Ea and Yan Fang.

This research was supported by grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RP180725, RP210041) and The Welch Foundation (I-1389).

About UTSouthwestern Medical Center

UTSouthwestern, one of the nations premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institutions faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 2,900 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UTSouthwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 100,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 4 million outpatient visits a year.

See original here:
Phase separation found in immune response within cells - UT Southwestern

According to a new report published by Grand View Research, the future market potential of genomics in newborn screening programs, emerging companies like Counsyl and Natera have launched various genetic tests to maintain their competitive edge in the market.

Genomics Industry Overview

The global genomics market size was valued at USD 20.1 billion in 2020 andis expected to reach USD 62.9 billion by 2028, expecting to expand at a CAGR of 15.35%during forecast period.

The scientific community has tried to address genetic susceptibility and severity to SARS-CoV-2 infection by combining research efforts using existing genetic databases. Multiomic-based approaches and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been employed to uncover biological networks and common variants underlying host-pathogen interactions. Similarly, data derived from genomes, such as polygenic risk scores (PRS), ABO blood groups, and HLA haplotypes, can be potentially used to decipher COVID-19 complications, resistance, and susceptibility. Moreover, biobanks that link electronic health records (EHRs) to genomic data can be leveraged to study the impact of genomic factors on the clinical course of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the Global Genomics Market

The COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative launched by researchers from the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine (FIMM) aims to inspire the human genetics community to analyze, share, and generate data to interpret determinants of COVID-19 outcomes, severity, and susceptibility. deCODE genetics, a genomics solutions provider in Iceland, has used SARS-CoV-2 genomic analysis to monitor the viral spread.

In addition, the company has partnered with the Government of Iceland to conduct genome sequencing of viral hosts. Similarly, the government of Greece funded the COVID-19-GR initiative to genotype 3,500 COVID-19 patients, conduct WGS on the SARS-CoV-2 genome obtained from these patients, and conduct immunogenomic analyses. The complete set of this data along with detailed clinical information is available and can be retrieved from the Greek COVID-19 registry.

In the near future, prenatal genetic screening programs are likely to grow at a significant pace. This is because these programs help expectant mothers identify chromosomal anomalies in their offspring. Moreover, it is anticipated that in the next 10 years, every newborns genome would be sequenced and stored in the electronic medical record. Gauging the future market potential of genomics in newborn screening programs, emerging companies like Counsyl and Natera have launched various genetic tests to maintain their competitive edge in the market.

Genomics Market Segmentation

Based on the Deliverable Insights, the market is segmented into product ad services

Based on the Application and Technology Insights, the market is segmented into functional genomics, pathway analysis, biomarker discovery, epigenetics and others

Based on End-use Insights, the market is segmented into pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, hospitals and clinics, academic and government institutes, clinical research and other end users

Based on the Regional Insights, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa

Market Share Insights:

Key Companies Profile:

Companies are increasingly focusing on the development and launch of new products and collaboration with other entities to increase their market share.

Some prominent players in the global genomics market include:

Order a free sample PDF of the GenomicsMarket Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research is a full-time market research and consulting company registered in San Francisco, California. The company fully offers market reports, both customized and syndicates, based on intense data analysis. It also offers consulting services to business communities and academic institutions and helps them understand the global and business scenario to a significant extent. The company operates across multitude of domains such as Chemicals, Materials, Food and Beverages, Consumer Goods, Healthcare, and Information Technology to offer consulting services.

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Media ContactCompany Name: Grand View Research, Inc.Contact Person: Sherry James, Corporate Sales Specialist U.S.A.Email: Send EmailPhone: 1888202951Address:Grand View Research, Inc. 201 Spear Street 1100 San Francisco, CA 94105, United StatesCity: San FranciscoState: CaliforniaCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/genomics-market

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Genomics Market Size Is Expected To Reach $62.9 Billion By 2028, Based on High Demand For Advanced Gene-Editing Tools From Biotechnology Companies |...