Cell Therapy News 19.20 June 11, 2018 | |
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TOP STORYResearchers investigated whether repetitive administration of CD34+ cells is superior to single dose administration in patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. [Circ Res] Abstract | |
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PUBLICATIONS(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)Brain-Targeted Stem Cell Gene Therapy Corrects Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II via Multiple Mechanisms Scientists tested a brain-targeted hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy approach using lentiviral IDS fused to ApoEII compared to a lentivirus expressing normal IDS or a normal bone marrow transplant. [EMBO Mol Med] Full Article | Graphical Abstract Researchers conducted a Phase I/II open-label dose-escalation trial to evaluate safety and potential efficacy of subretinal transplantation of up to 200,000 human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells with systemic immunosuppressive therapy for 13 weeks. [Ophthalmology] Full Article The capacity of a hydrogel system to accelerate bone formation in a rat calvarial bone defect model is presented. After 12-weeks post-implantation, the hydrogels containing encapsulated human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and miRNA-20a resulted in more bone formation in the defects than the hydrogels containing hMSCs without short interfering RNA (siRNA) or with negative control siRNA. [Acta Biomater] Abstract | Graphical Abstract Scientists investigated whether the abundant mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs)-derived matrix Gla protein (MGP) participate in the therapeutic mechanisms for MSCs treating Crohn’s disease. MGP alleviated the clinical and histopathological severity of colonic inflammation in mouse experimental colitis models to a remarkable degree. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article Transplantation of Neural Progenitors and V2a Interneurons after Spinal Cord Injury Investigators tested the hypothesis that transplantation of neural progenitor cells enriched with V2a interneurons can contribute to neural networks that promote repair and enhance respiratory plasticity after cervical spinal cord injury. [J Neurotrauma] Abstract | Full Article Injectable Cartilaginous Template Transformed BMSCs into Vascularized Bone In immunodeficient mice, the authors found that angiogenesis occurred quickly inside particulate decellularized cartilage matrix-chondrogenically primed bone mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) bricks, and enriched platelet-rich plasma constructs after implantation, thereby improving tissue survival and bone formation. [Sci Rep] Full Article A safety study in immunodeficient mice showed that intrathecal transplantation of astrocytes with more than 90% GFAP expression (hES-AS) is safe. Transplanted hES-AS attached to the meninges along the neuroaxis and survived for the entire duration of the study without formation of tumors or teratomas. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Full Article | Press Release Tumor Formation of Adult Stem Cell Transplants in Rodent Arthritic Joints Adipose-derived stem cells isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissue were implanted into 24 osteochondral defects of the distal femur in ten athymic rats and two immunocompetent control rats. [Mol Imaging Biol] Abstract | |
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REVIEWSBiomanufacturing for Clinically Advanced Cell Therapies Scientists highlight case examples of cutting-edge bioprocessing technologies that improve biomanufacturing efficiency for cell therapies approaching clinical use. [Nat Biomed Eng] Abstract Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the cell therapy research field. | |
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SCIENCE NEWSSensei Biotherapeutics Reports New Data from Phase I Clinical Trial of SNS-301 Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced the publication of data from the company’s multi-center Phase I clinical trial to assess safety and immunogenicity of SNS-301 in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. [Press release from Sensei Biotherapeutics, Inc. discussing research presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Chicago] Press Release | |
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INDUSTRY NEWSOphthotech Corporation announced that it has entered into an exclusive global license agreement with the University of Florida Research Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania to develop and commercialize a novel adeno-associated virus gene therapy product for the treatment of rhodopsin-mediated autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, an orphan monogenic disease that is characterized by progressive and severe loss of vision leading to blindness. [Ophthotech Corporation] Press Release Hookipa Biotech AG and Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced that they have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement that grants Gilead exclusive rights to Hookipa’s TheraT® and Vaxwave® arenavirus vector-based immunization technologies for two major chronic infectious disease indications, hepatitis B virus and HIV. [Hookipa Biotech AG] Press Release Oxford BioMedica plc announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Axovant Sciences to develop and commercialize OXB-102, a gene therapy developed by Oxford BioMedica for Parkinson’s disease utilizing the LentiVector® platform. [Oxford BioMedica plc] Press Release Midatech Pharma US Enrols First Patient in Gelclair® Trial in Stem Cell Transplant Midatech Pharma announced that further to the Group’s announcement dated 20 December 2017, patient enrolment is now underway in its Gelclair® Phase IV trial in the US. [Midatech Pharma PLC] Press Release Axovant Sciences announced that it has licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize OXB-102, now AXO-Lenti-PD, from Oxford BioMedica. AXO-Lenti-PD is an investigational gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease that delivers three genes encoding a critical set of enzymes required for dopamine synthesis in the brain. [Axovant Sciences, Inc.] Press Release VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. and its wholly-owned stem cell technology-focused subsidiary, VistaStem Therapeutics, Inc., announced that the Japanese Patent Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent related to certain methods for producing blood cells, platelets and bone marrow stem cells. [VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release FDA Grants Cellectis IND Approval for UCART22 in B-ALL Cellectis announced that the FDA has approved the company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate a Phase I clinical trial for UCART22, Cellectis’ second wholly controlled TALEN® gene-edited product candidate, for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in adult patients. [Cellectis] Press Release Orig3n Announces Osteoarthritis Cartilage Regeneration for First Cell Therapy Program Orig3n announced its focus on osteoarthritis indications for its Cartilage Regeneration Program, the company’s first iPS-derived cell therapy program. [Orig3n (PR Newswire Association, LLC.)] Press Release Celixir Announces US FDA Approval of the IND Application for Cell Therapy Heartcel Celixir announced that the FDA has approved its Investigational New Drug application (IND) for Heartcel™, its immuno-modulatory progenitor cell therapy for the treatment of adult heart failure. [Celixir (GlobeNewswire, Inc.)] Press Release Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the Department of Defense. The award of $150,000 will support the Company’s ongoing efforts to develop its NSI-566 human neural stem cell line as a candidate therapeutic for severe traumatic brain injury. [Neuralstem, Inc.] Press Release Nkarta Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a worldwide exclusive license agreement for proprietary Natural Killer cell engineering technology jointly owned by the National University of Singapore and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. [Nkarta Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release CGT Catapult Announces Appointment of Dr Jonathan Appleby as Chief Scientific Officer The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) announced that Dr Jonathan Appleby has been appointed Chief Scientific Officer, with effect on 1 October 2018. [The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult] Press Release GE Healthcare FlexFactory Helps XPH Scale Up Industrialization of TCR T-Cell Immunotherapy Drugs GE Healthcare will provide Xiangxue Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (XPH) with a FlexFactoryâ„¢ for cell therapy, a semi-automated end-to-end manufacturing platform, to help scale up, digitize and accelerate manufacturing processes for their cell therapy clinical trials and future commercialization. [GE Healthcare] Press Release | |
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POLICY NEWSChina Introduces Sweeping Reforms to Crack Down on Academic Misconduct China is getting tough on scientific misconduct. The country’s most powerful bodies, the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council, introduced a raft of reforms on 30 May aimed at improving integrity across the research spectrum, from funding and job applications to peer-review and publications. [Nature News] Editorial More Restrictive U.S. Policy on Chinese Graduate Student Visas Raises Alarm Reversing yet another policy of the previous administration, the U.S. Department of State began applying tougher restrictions on some Chinese graduate students. The new policy shortens from five years to one year the duration of visas for those planning to study aviation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. [ScienceInsider] Editorial EU to World: Join Our €100-Billion Research Program The European Commission has outlined how it plans to spend the biggest research and innovation budget in its history. In a document that sets out plans for its next major science-funding program, the Commission also confirmed new rules that will, for the first time, allow any country in the world — including a post-Brexit United Kingdom — to take part. [Nature News] Editorial
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REGULATORYNIHProspective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: The Development of an Anti-BCMA Immunotoxin for the Treatment of Human Cancer (FR Doc. No:2018-12179) Notice
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EVENTSNEW 5th European Congress of Immunology (ECI) Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.
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JOB OPPORTUNITIESResearch Officer – Immunology (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) Postdoctoral Fellow – Gene Editing and Cellular Reprogramming (Houston Methodist Research Institute) Faculty Position – Adoptive T Cell Therapy (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) Group Manager – AAV Vector Expression Systems (Genethon) Postdoctoral Fellow – Gene Therapy in Cardiovascular Disease (Emory University) Scientist/Senior Scientist – Lentivirus Production (Obsidian Therapeutics) Scientist/Senior Scientist – Bioinformatics and Data Sciences (Obsidian Therapeutics) Postdoctoral Fellow – Immunology, Immunotherapy, Gene Therapy (City of Hope) Recruit Top Talent: Reach potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.
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