by:PoliticalNews
Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01) hailed the approval of the second human treatment trial using human embryonic stem cells. The test, just approved by the FDA, will be conducted by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) and will focus on Stagart disease. Medical professionals believe a successful human trial will open the doors to the treatment of other, more common eye diseases such as macular degeneration. DeGette has been the leading Congressional advocate for federal funding of ethical embryonic stem cell research, as these investments drive breakthrough trials like the one announced this week.
“Embryonic stem cell research holds enormous promise for countless diseases,” said DeGette, “and the approval of this test is yet another step towards the breakthroughs it can bring for millions of Americans. I am excited to see the results of this, and other trials, and encourage my colleagues to recognize the enormous benefits of ethical embryonic stem cell research.”
Stagart’s disease affects central vision – e.g., reading and facial recognition – and can cause its victims to lose peripheral vision, only be able to see various levels of light, or ultimately go blind. This test will treat Stagart’s patients with healthy cells, created from embryonic stem cells, to replace the “scavenger cells” that deteriorate their vision.
The test is the second trial using embryonic stem cells to be approved in the United States. Last month, the Geron Corporation was permitted to conduct a trial involving embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries. Preliminary testing is still ongoing in that trial. Like the Geron trial, this latest trial will focus primarily on the safety and viability of embryonic stem cell use in the treatment of this condition. The Stagart’s trial will likely start early next year and 12 subjects will be treated.
“The approval of these two tests in such close order demonstrates how the investment by the federal government in ethical stem cell research is beginning to bear fruit for the millions of Americans facing debilitating diseases and conditions,” said DeGette. “The breakthroughs of these discoveries underscore the critical importance of finally codifying ethical stem cell research regulations, so our scientists and their critical work can no longer be subject to political whims.”
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Chardan Capital Market Initiates Research Coverage of Stemcells
by GlobeNewswire
PALO ALTO, Calif., - StemCells, Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!stem/quotes/nls/stem (STEM 1.12, -0.02, -1.75%) announced today that Chardan Capital Markets (Chardan) initiated independent equity research coverage on the Company with a "Buy" recommendation and a 12-month price target of $1.45 per share. The new report, issued yesterday, was authored by Keay Nakae, Senior Analyst at Chardan.
Chardan is the second firm to initiate independent equity research coverage of StemCells, Inc. this year. Headquartered in New York, Chardan is an investment banking and institutional brokerage firm with a focus on micro, small, and mid-cap markets. More information about Chardan is available at www.chardancm.com. StemCells does not endorse or adopt the reports, projections or statements of any analyst.
About StemCells, Inc.
StemCells, Inc. is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics and tools for use in stem cell-based research and drug discovery. In its therapeutic product development programs, StemCells is targeting disorders of the central nervous system and the liver. StemCells' lead product candidate, HuCNS-SC(R) cells (purified human neural stem cells), is currently in clinical development for the treatment of two fatal neurodegenerative disorders in children, and in preclinical development for spinal cord injury and retinal disorders such as age-related macular degeneration. StemCells also markets stem cell research products, including media and reagents, under the SC Proven(R) brand, and is developing stem cell-based assay platforms for use in pharmaceutical research, drug discovery and drug development. Further information about StemCells is available at www.stemcellsinc.com.
PALO ALTO, Calif., - StemCells, Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!stem/quotes/nls/stem (STEM 1.12, -0.02, -1.75%) announced today that Chardan Capital Markets (Chardan) initiated independent equity research coverage on the Company with a "Buy" recommendation and a 12-month price target of $1.45 per share. The new report, issued yesterday, was authored by Keay Nakae, Senior Analyst at Chardan.
Chardan is the second firm to initiate independent equity research coverage of StemCells, Inc. this year. Headquartered in New York, Chardan is an investment banking and institutional brokerage firm with a focus on micro, small, and mid-cap markets. More information about Chardan is available at www.chardancm.com. StemCells does not endorse or adopt the reports, projections or statements of any analyst.
About StemCells, Inc.
StemCells, Inc. is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics and tools for use in stem cell-based research and drug discovery. In its therapeutic product development programs, StemCells is targeting disorders of the central nervous system and the liver. StemCells' lead product candidate, HuCNS-SC(R) cells (purified human neural stem cells), is currently in clinical development for the treatment of two fatal neurodegenerative disorders in children, and in preclinical development for spinal cord injury and retinal disorders such as age-related macular degeneration. StemCells also markets stem cell research products, including media and reagents, under the SC Proven(R) brand, and is developing stem cell-based assay platforms for use in pharmaceutical research, drug discovery and drug development. Further information about StemCells is available at www.stemcellsinc.com.
Monday, November 15, 2010
UC Santa Barbara Part of International Research Collaboration Focusing on Age-Related Macular degeneration Cure
By AScribe Newswire
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 15 - An international collaboration between UC Santa Barbara, the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), and several other research institutions, is bringing together leaders in the fields of stem cell biology, basic science, and ophthalmology to develop a treatment for blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration.
The California Project to Cure Blindness (CPCB) was formed with a $16 million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) "disease team" grant awarded in late 2009 to fund development of a stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration. As part of the CIRM Disease Team partnership program, an additional $4.1 million from Britain's Medical Research Council funds collaborative work at University College of London.
"UCSB scientists in the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering and the Center for the Study of Macular Degeneration are excited to provide the basic research that will allow translation of stem cell research to the clinic," said Dennis Clegg, professor in UCSB's Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the UCSB Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering. Both centers are part of UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute. Grant funds totaling $2.5 million for this work were assigned to UCSB through USC.
The overall grant was awarded to principal investigator Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology, cell and neurobiology and biomedical engineering at the Keck School, and David R. Hinton, professor of pathology and ophthalmology at the Keck School. Co-investigator is Martin Pera, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC.
"With this collaboration, we hope to accelerate research on a stem cell-based therapy for age-related macular degeneration," said Humayun. "Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss, affecting one in three people age 75 or older. The CIRM grant enables us to work with numerous researchers and experts who are dedicated to finding the cure to this devastating medical condition."
The cause of blindness in age-related macular degeneration is the death of retinal pigment epithelial cells, which provide critical support of photoreceptor function and health. The project objective is to replace damaged retinal epithelium with healthy tissue derived from human embryonic stem cells to prevent loss of vision.
Stem cell therapy offers the possibility of a wider range of options for age-related macular degeneration patients, said Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. "While exciting new pharmaceuticals to treat age-related macular degeneration are now available, these are effective only in a select group of patients, and can be used only during a narrow time window," said Puliafito, an ophthalmologist whose academic focus is macular degeneration. "In contrast, stem cell therapy promises to be broadly applicable. The potential is tremendous."
CIRM President Alan Trounson noted that the disease team approach exemplified by the California Project to Cure Blindness could transform the direction of future research.
"Scientists have talked for years about the need to find ways to speed the pace of discovery," said Trounson. "CIRM, through the Disease Team Award Program, has encouraged applicants to form teams composed of the best researchers from around the world. The partnership between the California Project to Cure Blindness and Britain's Medical Research Council is a great example of CIRM's vision of a new standard for funding translational research."
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 15 - An international collaboration between UC Santa Barbara, the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), and several other research institutions, is bringing together leaders in the fields of stem cell biology, basic science, and ophthalmology to develop a treatment for blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration.
The California Project to Cure Blindness (CPCB) was formed with a $16 million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) "disease team" grant awarded in late 2009 to fund development of a stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration. As part of the CIRM Disease Team partnership program, an additional $4.1 million from Britain's Medical Research Council funds collaborative work at University College of London.
"UCSB scientists in the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering and the Center for the Study of Macular Degeneration are excited to provide the basic research that will allow translation of stem cell research to the clinic," said Dennis Clegg, professor in UCSB's Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the UCSB Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering. Both centers are part of UCSB's Neuroscience Research Institute. Grant funds totaling $2.5 million for this work were assigned to UCSB through USC.
The overall grant was awarded to principal investigator Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology, cell and neurobiology and biomedical engineering at the Keck School, and David R. Hinton, professor of pathology and ophthalmology at the Keck School. Co-investigator is Martin Pera, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC.
"With this collaboration, we hope to accelerate research on a stem cell-based therapy for age-related macular degeneration," said Humayun. "Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss, affecting one in three people age 75 or older. The CIRM grant enables us to work with numerous researchers and experts who are dedicated to finding the cure to this devastating medical condition."
The cause of blindness in age-related macular degeneration is the death of retinal pigment epithelial cells, which provide critical support of photoreceptor function and health. The project objective is to replace damaged retinal epithelium with healthy tissue derived from human embryonic stem cells to prevent loss of vision.
Stem cell therapy offers the possibility of a wider range of options for age-related macular degeneration patients, said Keck School Dean Carmen A. Puliafito. "While exciting new pharmaceuticals to treat age-related macular degeneration are now available, these are effective only in a select group of patients, and can be used only during a narrow time window," said Puliafito, an ophthalmologist whose academic focus is macular degeneration. "In contrast, stem cell therapy promises to be broadly applicable. The potential is tremendous."
CIRM President Alan Trounson noted that the disease team approach exemplified by the California Project to Cure Blindness could transform the direction of future research.
"Scientists have talked for years about the need to find ways to speed the pace of discovery," said Trounson. "CIRM, through the Disease Team Award Program, has encouraged applicants to form teams composed of the best researchers from around the world. The partnership between the California Project to Cure Blindness and Britain's Medical Research Council is a great example of CIRM's vision of a new standard for funding translational research."
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Miracle Eye Implant Restores sight to Blind
by Victoria Fletcher
A MAN who was totally blind can now read letters of the alphabet and the time on a clock face with a microchip implanted in his eye, it was revealed yesterday.
Experts said hopes of such a leap forward had previously existed “only in the realm of science fiction”.
But now researchers have shown it is possible to restore vision lost to disease with an electronic eye.
The study, by a team in Germany, will offer hope to the 25,000 Britons who are told they will go blind due to an inherited condition known as retinitis pigmentosa.
But it could also eventually treat the 300,000 who have macular degeneration which also leads to blindness.
The microchip, smaller than the tip of a pen and containing 1,500 tiny light sensors, fits into a natural space beneath the retina.
When an image comes through the lens of the eye it hits the sensors which send an electrical pulse to nerve cells at the back of the eye. These transmit the message to the brain.
Miikka can now tell an apple from a banana and right Professor Robert Maclaren
The device is powered by a thin cable that runs from the eye, out of the side of the skull and is attached to a battery behind the ear.
The new study reveals that three patients have been able to see grainy images of objects and recognise shapes after having the device fitted.
Finn Miikka Terho, 46, was able to walk around a room with ease, read his own name and even tell researchers they had spelt it wrongly.
He could recognise shades of grey, read the time from a clock and pick up an apple and a banana from the table in front of him.
Before the implant he was totally blind apart from being able to detect changes between light and dark.
The pilot study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B Journal, means the technology behind the device works, is safe and is ready to be tested on a larger number of patients in a proper clinical trial.
Although it does not mean patients will ever be able to see normally, it does raise the prospect that the blind will be helped to see enough to regain some independence.
Prof Robert Maclaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at Oxford University, will conduct the next trial.
He said: “This is a big breakthrough, no two ways about it. To take someone who is blind and help them see again is pretty incredible.”
He added: “The successful testing of this electronic implant in Germany is without doubt a truly significant advance.
“One previously blind patient was able to read his own name with the implant switched on. Until now, this concept would have been considered only in the realms of science fiction.”
In recent years, scientists have helped to restore vision using a small camera mounted on spectacles.
This allowed a rough interpretation of an image beamed through a wire into the brain.
But the new device, developed by German scientist Prof Eberhart Zrenner, shows that the damaged light receptor cells in the eye can simply be replaced by a microchip.
The rest of the image is obtained by the natural eye. Prof Zrenner has now set up the technology firm Retinal Implant AG to develop the device.
Around one in 3,000 Britons have retinitis pigmentosa, which destroys light cells in the eye.The condition, triggered by a range of genes, is incurable and untreatable.
More than 10 times as many people have macular degeneration.
It usually affects older adults and leads to a loss of central vision, making it difficult or impossible to read or recognise faces although enough some peripheral vision remains.
Prof Maclaren said he was thrilled he could now tell patients with retinitis pigmentosa that there was hope ahead after years of having to tell them they would be left completely blind. And he said that although the device did not offer an amazing quality of vision, it would be significant for people who had previously been unable to see anything.
David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, welcomed the news, calling it “a very significant advance”. But he said he wanted patients to realise that even this breakthrough would not restore their vision.
He added: “The technology is exciting and hopefully this will advance in the next few years but we have to temper it with reality.”
Up to 12 patients are expected to take part in the British study, due to start early next year at King’s College Hospital, London, and the Oxford Eye Hospital.It is hoped that when the device can be left in place for years instead of months, the brain may learn to interpret the grey and white images into far more accurate pictures of what the eye is really seeing.
A MAN who was totally blind can now read letters of the alphabet and the time on a clock face with a microchip implanted in his eye, it was revealed yesterday.
Experts said hopes of such a leap forward had previously existed “only in the realm of science fiction”.
But now researchers have shown it is possible to restore vision lost to disease with an electronic eye.
The study, by a team in Germany, will offer hope to the 25,000 Britons who are told they will go blind due to an inherited condition known as retinitis pigmentosa.
But it could also eventually treat the 300,000 who have macular degeneration which also leads to blindness.
The microchip, smaller than the tip of a pen and containing 1,500 tiny light sensors, fits into a natural space beneath the retina.
When an image comes through the lens of the eye it hits the sensors which send an electrical pulse to nerve cells at the back of the eye. These transmit the message to the brain.
Miikka can now tell an apple from a banana and right Professor Robert Maclaren
The device is powered by a thin cable that runs from the eye, out of the side of the skull and is attached to a battery behind the ear.
The new study reveals that three patients have been able to see grainy images of objects and recognise shapes after having the device fitted.
Finn Miikka Terho, 46, was able to walk around a room with ease, read his own name and even tell researchers they had spelt it wrongly.
He could recognise shades of grey, read the time from a clock and pick up an apple and a banana from the table in front of him.
Before the implant he was totally blind apart from being able to detect changes between light and dark.
The pilot study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B Journal, means the technology behind the device works, is safe and is ready to be tested on a larger number of patients in a proper clinical trial.
Although it does not mean patients will ever be able to see normally, it does raise the prospect that the blind will be helped to see enough to regain some independence.
Prof Robert Maclaren, Professor of Ophthalmology at Oxford University, will conduct the next trial.
He said: “This is a big breakthrough, no two ways about it. To take someone who is blind and help them see again is pretty incredible.”
He added: “The successful testing of this electronic implant in Germany is without doubt a truly significant advance.
“One previously blind patient was able to read his own name with the implant switched on. Until now, this concept would have been considered only in the realms of science fiction.”
In recent years, scientists have helped to restore vision using a small camera mounted on spectacles.
This allowed a rough interpretation of an image beamed through a wire into the brain.
But the new device, developed by German scientist Prof Eberhart Zrenner, shows that the damaged light receptor cells in the eye can simply be replaced by a microchip.
The rest of the image is obtained by the natural eye. Prof Zrenner has now set up the technology firm Retinal Implant AG to develop the device.
Around one in 3,000 Britons have retinitis pigmentosa, which destroys light cells in the eye.The condition, triggered by a range of genes, is incurable and untreatable.
More than 10 times as many people have macular degeneration.
It usually affects older adults and leads to a loss of central vision, making it difficult or impossible to read or recognise faces although enough some peripheral vision remains.
Prof Maclaren said he was thrilled he could now tell patients with retinitis pigmentosa that there was hope ahead after years of having to tell them they would be left completely blind. And he said that although the device did not offer an amazing quality of vision, it would be significant for people who had previously been unable to see anything.
David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, welcomed the news, calling it “a very significant advance”. But he said he wanted patients to realise that even this breakthrough would not restore their vision.
He added: “The technology is exciting and hopefully this will advance in the next few years but we have to temper it with reality.”
Up to 12 patients are expected to take part in the British study, due to start early next year at King’s College Hospital, London, and the Oxford Eye Hospital.It is hoped that when the device can be left in place for years instead of months, the brain may learn to interpret the grey and white images into far more accurate pictures of what the eye is really seeing.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
OGI invests in personalized medicine for age-related macular degeneration
by administrator
Established in 2007 and based in Toronto, ArcticDx has developed a test, Macula Risk®, the first of its kind and specifically designed to determine one's inherited risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common form of acquired blindness in the developed world, affecting over 10% of individuals. ArcticDx will use the PBDF investment to undertake studies in support of a planned filing for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Macula Risk.
Macula Risk detects variations in genetic markers known to predict the progression of early asymptomatic AMD to blindness using a cheek swab sample. The eyesight of individuals who are genetically predisposed to blindness can be saved through enhanced surveillance and early treatment. Macula Risk helps target effective care to those who need it most and relieves others who would otherwise live with uncertainty.
"The investment from OGI will support our filing for FDA approval for Macula Risk," commented Mr. Gregory Hines, CEO of ArcticDx. "We think this approval is an important departure from the growing trend of direct to consumer marketing of genetic tests that have only a weak link to science and are often of no clinical value. Macula Risk stands as the best example of a validated test for a multi-genetic common human disease. Achieving FDA approval will position Macula Risk for wide spread adoption."
The Macula Risk test will be marketed to eye care professionals who manage most cases of AMD in North America. These doctors will offer the test to individuals with the dry form of the disease who have not yet lost vision.
In the industrialized world, AMD is the major cause of uncorrectable vision loss in the elderly, affecting over 2.5 million people in Canada and over 25 million people in the USA. Age?related macular degeneration is generally a disease of the elderly with the worldwide incidence of the disease growing from one in ten people over the age of 60 to more than 1 in 4 people over the age of 75. Macular degeneration is more common than Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
"Application of genomics technologies is opening the door to an era of personalized medicine in our approach to preventing, detecting and treating human disease," commented Dr. Christian Burks, President and CEO, OGI. "We are particularly pleased to be investing in a company that grew out of applied research funded by Genome Canada through OGI."
The funded work will focus on a cohort of patient samples who had early stage AMD in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), a large eye survey carried out by the American National Eye Institute. These patients were followed over a five-year period to determine progression of the disease. The ArcticDx team will undertake a prospective study on this cohort to evaluate use of Macula Risk in predicting which patients will progress to wet AMD (the late form of AMD) and which will not.
OGI's PBDF program invests in opportunities ? based in genomics, proteomics or associated technologies ? that fall in the proof-of-principle (validation) phase of research and that have the short-term potential to secure a significant next step towards the marketplace. Previous recipients have included Ontario universities, research institutes and companies.
Established in 2007 and based in Toronto, ArcticDx has developed a test, Macula Risk®, the first of its kind and specifically designed to determine one's inherited risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common form of acquired blindness in the developed world, affecting over 10% of individuals. ArcticDx will use the PBDF investment to undertake studies in support of a planned filing for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Macula Risk.
Macula Risk detects variations in genetic markers known to predict the progression of early asymptomatic AMD to blindness using a cheek swab sample. The eyesight of individuals who are genetically predisposed to blindness can be saved through enhanced surveillance and early treatment. Macula Risk helps target effective care to those who need it most and relieves others who would otherwise live with uncertainty.
"The investment from OGI will support our filing for FDA approval for Macula Risk," commented Mr. Gregory Hines, CEO of ArcticDx. "We think this approval is an important departure from the growing trend of direct to consumer marketing of genetic tests that have only a weak link to science and are often of no clinical value. Macula Risk stands as the best example of a validated test for a multi-genetic common human disease. Achieving FDA approval will position Macula Risk for wide spread adoption."
The Macula Risk test will be marketed to eye care professionals who manage most cases of AMD in North America. These doctors will offer the test to individuals with the dry form of the disease who have not yet lost vision.
In the industrialized world, AMD is the major cause of uncorrectable vision loss in the elderly, affecting over 2.5 million people in Canada and over 25 million people in the USA. Age?related macular degeneration is generally a disease of the elderly with the worldwide incidence of the disease growing from one in ten people over the age of 60 to more than 1 in 4 people over the age of 75. Macular degeneration is more common than Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
"Application of genomics technologies is opening the door to an era of personalized medicine in our approach to preventing, detecting and treating human disease," commented Dr. Christian Burks, President and CEO, OGI. "We are particularly pleased to be investing in a company that grew out of applied research funded by Genome Canada through OGI."
The funded work will focus on a cohort of patient samples who had early stage AMD in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), a large eye survey carried out by the American National Eye Institute. These patients were followed over a five-year period to determine progression of the disease. The ArcticDx team will undertake a prospective study on this cohort to evaluate use of Macula Risk in predicting which patients will progress to wet AMD (the late form of AMD) and which will not.
OGI's PBDF program invests in opportunities ? based in genomics, proteomics or associated technologies ? that fall in the proof-of-principle (validation) phase of research and that have the short-term potential to secure a significant next step towards the marketplace. Previous recipients have included Ontario universities, research institutes and companies.
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