Allendale biotechnology executive reaches $11M settlement with state for fraud – NorthJersey.com
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Allendale biotechnology executive reaches $11M settlement with state for fraud NorthJersey.com A former executive of three Allendale-based biotechnology companies has reached an $11 million settlement of a civil complaint with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs' Bureau of Securities for defrauding investors, the state said Thursday. |
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June 2nd, 2013
MNNIT includes short-term course on biotechnology – Times of India
By Dr. Matthew Watson
MNNIT includes short-term course on biotechnology Times of India ALLAHABAD: The department of biotechnology of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology ( MNNIT) Allahabad is leaving no stone unturned in creating excellence in academic pursuits. This time, the department has come up with a short term course on ... |
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June 2nd, 2013
The UAE’s biotechnology sector needs injection of boldness – The National
By Dr. Matthew Watson
 The National | The UAE's biotechnology sector needs injection of boldness The National In September 2010, one of us was invited to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed's Ramadan majlis to hear Juan Enriquez, a world expert on biotechnology. Mr Enriquez voiced to the UAE leadership exactly the concerns we have long shared, reaffirming our ... |
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June 2nd, 2013
Dyadic International To Present At World Biotechnology Congress 2013 And BIO … – PR Newswire (press release)
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Dyadic International To Present At World Biotechnology Congress 2013 And BIO ... PR Newswire (press release) JUPITER, Fla., May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dyadic International, Inc. ("Dyadic") (OTC Pink: DYAI), announced today that its President and CEO, Mark Emalfarb , will present at the World Biotechnology Congress 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts and the BIO ... |
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June 2nd, 2013
Where am I? > Home > Sci/tech > Apigenin-rich foods may help d… – Environmental News Network
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Where am I? > Home > Sci/tech > Apigenin-rich foods may help d... Environmental News Network "We know we need to eat healthfully, but in most cases we don't know the actual mechanistic reasons for why we need to do that," said Andrea Doseff, associate professor of internal medicine and molecular genetics at Ohio State and a co-lead author of ... |
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June 2nd, 2013
Google CEO s Condition Spotlights Vocal Cord Paralysis and Its Treatment
By Dr. Matthew Watson
When Google CEO Larry Page blogged about his struggles speaking and, at times, breathing last week on his Google+ page he spotlighted a rare condition, bilateral vocal cord paralysis , which leaves sufferers short of breath and with few viable treatment options. This is likely to change in coming years. Page has deep pockets and has promised to fund research into the disorder via the Voice Health Institute . In the meantime scientists are experimenting with electrical stimulation technologies to enhance existing voice therapy as well as surgical treatments. [More]
Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=b3c657c36bd85f3126649923bb8701fe
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June 2nd, 2013
Bluebird bio of Massachusetts Still Waiting for California Stem Cell Money
By Dr. Matthew Watson
cell agency awarded $9.4 million to bluebird bio of Cambridge, Mass.,
the company has yet to receive any of the cash from the Golden State.
billion agency, this week said negotiations are still underway with
the bluebird, which is planning to go public, but did not elaborate. Post-award negotiations are
common at the agency, but generally take much less time.
assist in clinical trials for a stem cell-gene therapy to correct a genetic disease in young patients with B-thalassemia, a
rare blood disorder that can cause widespread organ damage
and premature death.
prefers the lower case lettering for its name, announced that it
intends to take the company public in an $86 million offering. In
March, it announced a collaboration with Celgene that provided for an upfront payment of $75 million and promised up to $225 million per
product in potential option fees and clinical and regulatory
milestones. The CIRM grant is conditioned on a matching commitment
from bluebird.
be spent on operations within California. According to the CIRM summary of the review of the bluebird application, which was scored
at 73, the company said,
“We will have at least two clinical
sites in California, and more likely up to 4 sites, 2) our viral
vector manufacturing will occur in California, 3) our cell processing
will occur in California, 4) we will hire several consultants and
full-time employees within California to support the program.
Overall, several million dollars will be spent employing the services
of people, academic institutions, and other companies within the
state of California.”
with Donald Kohn at UCLA and Elliot Vichinsky at Oakland's Children's
Hospital.
California location for bluebird at 1001 Bayhill Dr, Suite 200, in
San Bruno, which is south of San Francisco. An Internet search
indicates that is a generic address for a number of business
including a realty firm, a roof repair business and a family law
attorney. The California Stem Cell Report has asked bluebird to
clarify the nature of the address.
San Francisco Business Times, David Davidson, the lead scientist on
the project, said,
“We began the process (with CIRM)
early in (2012) but discussions have been going on for over a year
about potentially pursuing this.
“The interaction with CIRM has been
extraordinarily collaborative. We had contact with the coordinators
at CIRM that helped us manage the process. It took a lot of effort on
our part to put together a dossier providing support for our program.
It was really like a mini-regulatory filing — on the science, the
preclinical toxicology work that we’ve done, a detailed plan for
the trial, a detailed plan for the budgets, a detailed plan on how we
intended to spend the CIRM money in California. That was an important
part of it. They wanted a clear plan on how this investment would be
spent."
Source:Stem Cell Therapy
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June 2nd, 2013
Vatican Funding for California Stem Cell Agency?
By Dr. Matthew Watson
to the California stem cell agency? One would imagine that is an
improbable event since the agency is involved in human embryonic stem
cell research, which is an anathema to the Roman Catholic church.
earlier this week disclosed the payment in an interview with Patt
Morrison of the Los Angeles Times. He said,
“Last
year I was invited to the Vatican to
present a paper, but when I sent in a summary of what I was going to
say, they decided not to have it. They sent a check to the treasurer
of California and the treasurer rang us up and said, "What the
heck is this check from the Vatican for?" It was for the
inconvenience!”
this so we queried the agency about the matter. Kevin McCormack, a
CIRM spokesman, said,
“The money was actually a wire
transfer from the Vatican to us for $453.23 and it went to CIRM's
account. It was to reimburse us for money spent on plane tickets,
etc., for Dr. Trounson to attend the Vatican conference on stem
cells.”
Source:Monterey Newspaper Chides California Stem Cell Agency
By Dr. Matthew Watson
former chairman, Robert Klein, came under sharp criticism this week
in an editorial in the Monterey County Herald newspaper.
California Stem Cell Report dealing with a $21,630 gift by Klein to
the agency, his employment of the vice chairman of the agency and the
violation of the agency's conflict of interest policies by a grant reviewer.
“Robert Klein is no longer chairman
of California's stem cell bureaucracy, but it is still doing things
his way. Which is too bad for all concerned.
“Klein is the former developer and
financier who wrote and sponsored the ballot measure that created the
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The ballot language
practically guaranteed he would be the chairman, and he ran the
agency the way he ran his businesses, using undisclosed side deals
and other machinations to create webs that outsiders could never
penetrate.
“Now, Klein has been replaced as
chairman, but he is still up to his old tricks.”
“Much has been said about the agency
setting a new more straightforward direction now that Klein is gone,
but so far it seems to be following a twisting and expensive path
toward irrelevance and litigation.”
Source:Stem Cell Therapy
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June 2nd, 2013
California’s Alpha Stem Cell Clinics: Open in 2014, Six to Eight Locations
By Dr. Matthew Watson
yesterday said that the first Alpha Clinic sponsored by the $3
billion California stem cell agency could open as early as 2014.
President Alan Trounson in an article by Ron Leuty, who also reported
that that Trounson's $70 million proposal (see here and here) would involve as many as
six to eight clinics. The locations of the clinics was not disclosed
and would be subject to a competitive RFA. However, Leuty's piece
mentioned UC San Francisco and Stanford.
treatments might focus on eye disease, “brain therapies” and
spinal cord injuries.
come before the CIRM board in late July. The proposal is aimed at
speeding stem cell treatments and creating something of a one-stop
shopping experience for patients.
concept, an RFA will be issued and interested institutions will have
to submit bids and compete for funding.
Source:Stem Cell Therapy
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June 2nd, 2013
$70 Million Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Proposal Draws Reader Comment
By Dr. Matthew Watson
stem cell agency who said, “If done right -- and I'm sure you and I
agree that is a big 'if' – it could be an outstanding legacy.”
physician-researcher at a major California institution and was longer
and more critical. Here is the text.
“Another boondoggle for some medical
schools but made to order for private operators like for profit
cancer, dialysis, and laser eye specialty clinics that do one
procedure. I can see each of the medical schools gifted with
one as they each were gifted with about 25 million dollars for stem
cell institute buildings; and CIRM and (Irv) Weissman's companies
like Stem Cells, Inc., getting a piece of the action as well. Of
course the deans and chancellors on the CIRM steering committee will
vote for it. How can they not? It's money in their pockets.
“This has the fit and feel of, say,
old Latin American Laetrile clinics or offshore clinics offering
suspect surgeries or injections for cancers, Parkinson's disease, and
the like. It makes no difference that they are set up in
California. CIRM will pay for an unneeded infrastructure that
will be empty space and staff sitting on their hands 99% of the
time. Or worse yet, CIRM will pay but the space will be used
for other things, other clinic procedures paid for by insurance.
“Now (CIRM President Alan) Trounson and
CIRM want to get into the medical tourism business making California
a 'go-to place' for stem cell treatments. They want to start
with bone marrow injections and transplants, procedures that cancer
centers do regularly. All CIRM needs is a drug or treatment.
It's not like there are tons of drugs out there and the only barrier
is the lack of clinical space and capacity. The start up time
for any one drug is very long.
“NIH at various times has tried to
organize clinical trials groups with infrastructure, like quick
reaction forces, ready to gear up for a new trial at the drop of a
hat. They mainly did nothing but suck money, kept staff employed,
because there are generally few drugs ready for early human trials
and each treatment that is brought along requires a unique contract,
ethics reviews, and different facilities, equipment and staff than
planned for. The latest incarnation are CTSAs or CTSIs,
clinical and translational science centers funded by the federal NIH
that most if not all California medical schools already have.
“The CIRM clinics are going to be
generic stem cell clinics advancing California tourism. Come to
California, we will inject stem cells for any illness, in any part of
your body, never mind that cancer is different from heart disease is
different from bone disease is different from brain disease, no
matter. Next step is for CIRM to form a travel agency with
discounted air and Ritz Carlton packages for patients and extended
family non-stop from China. There is likely considerable
revenue to be generated here and Trounson, Weissman, and (Robert)
Klein (former CIRM chairman) should find a way to benefit. It sounds
so wonderful!! The public will love it. Now all they need
are some treatments. Love the name: Alpha Clinics, they
wouldn't want to start with Beta test clinics when they can go big
from the get-go. What an irresponsible waste.”
The other comments can be found at the end of the original item or in the column to the right of this item, headed "recent comments."
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/nKbicxl9mzA/70-million-alpha-stem-cell-clinic.html
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June 2nd, 2013
Trounson Proposes $70 Million, Fast-Track Stem Cell Clinic Plan for California
By Dr. Matthew Watson
California stem cell agency, this summer plans to seek $70 million
for creation of what he calls Alpha Clinics, high-powered
organizations that will fast-track stem cell therapies to patients.
before CIRM board at its meeting in late July and would consume a
significant slice of the $700 million to $800 million that the $3
billion agency has left to hand out.
clinics as far back as two years ago, but did not put a price tag on
the concept until an interview published online late today in the Los
Angeles Times. The interview will be carried in the print edition of
the paper tomorrow.
columnist Patt Morrison and Trounson, he said,
"I'm intending to set up a network of
stem cell clinics in California in the next couple of years, to make
treatments available as clinical trials or as registered treatments
for patients. I'm going to ask the [CIRM] board for about $70 million
to get that set up. It will make California a go-to place for stem
cell therapies. I want to make sure it's part of our medical fabric."
years, Trounson has said the Alpha Clinics would speed delivery of
stem cell-based therapies and reduce costs of clinical trials by
building on the success of specialist cancer, transplant and in-vitro
fertilization clinics.
plan in The Australian last July 14. Dayton said,
“Initially the clinics would use the
capacities and infrastructure in the most advanced university medical
clinics to deliver bone-marrow stem cell therapies. As research
evolves, so will the treatments and services offered.”
Clinics during an appearance at USC in 2011. A university publication wrote,
"These clinics will initially serve
to get patients into clinical trials or to offer sound advice to
individuals who might otherwise go overseas to receive harmful stem
cell therapies from disreputable clinics.
"'I’m willing to invest money to
get these [clinics] up,' Trounson said. 'I think if nothing happens
beyond 2017 and we don’t get any refunding, we can leave a
footprint of stem cell clinics in California that will go on
forever.'"
board meeting, but Ellen Feigal, senior vice president for research
and development, said a white paper is being prepared on Alpha
Clinics. She said a concept proposal would be brought to the board
July 25 at a meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area. Once the board
approves the concept, the staff will then prepare and post the RFA.
suggestions or questions to Feigal at info@cirm.ca.gov.
Source:Stem Cell Therapy
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June 2nd, 2013
Sacramento Bee: Ongoing Conflict Problems No Help for Future Funding of Stem Cell Agency
By Dr. Matthew Watson
interest problems continue to trouble the California stem cell agency
despite its assertions that it has “turned a page” on the issues.
that CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas “has vowed to be aggressive in
avoiding conflicts in dispersing millions of public dollars for stem
cell research. Yet serious conflicts continue to be
revealed involving CIRM.”
California Stem Cell Report earlier this month about a $21,630 gift
by its former chairman, Robert Klein, and the employment by Klein of
Vice Chairman Art Torres. The Bee said the situation “throws
into question a $20 million grant awarded last year to StemCells
Inc., a company that wants to transplant neural stem
cells to treat Alzheimer's
disease.” (See here, here and here)
Hood, an internationally renown scientist who violated the agency's conflict of interest policy. Hood failed to disclose to CIRM a
conflict involving an application that he was reviewing on behalf of
the agency. The Bee said the agency's failure to detect the conflict
was “serious oversight."
editorial and agency, generally unfavorably about CIRM.
“It took a couple years for them to start funding projects and it may take years to see results. Wall
Street got 1.5 trillion and the promise of 10x that if they get
into trouble again, the scientists (and their business buds) just
want a couple billion...In the end who do you trust more with
public money? At least there is the appearance of public benefit
here..."
The Bee concluded,
“None of this helps CIRM's reputation
in being fair and impartial in spending $3 billion in public funds.
It surely won't help the institute's standing with the Legislature
and the public, should it need help staying in operation when its
funding is exhausted in a few years.”
The editorial was also carried by at least one other paper in the McClatchy chain.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/uqpFc/~3/BZeSccFCbBU/sacramento-bee-ongoing-conflict.html
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June 2nd, 2013
Fairmont grad wins bowling scholarship – Dayton Daily News
By Dr. Matthew Watson
Fairmont grad wins bowling scholarship Dayton Daily News While she has had plenty of success in the high school ranks, the real work is ahead of her as Crouch plans to study molecular genetics at Ohio State University and bowl for the Buckeyes in the fall. “It's definitely a little intimidating,” she said ... |
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June 2nd, 2013
This Man Is Not a Cyborg. Yet. – New York Times (blog)
By Dr. Matthew Watson
 New York Times (blog) | This Man Is Not a Cyborg. Yet. New York Times (blog) But he has the attention, and in some cases the avid support, of august figures at Harvard, M.I.T. and Berkeley and leaders in fields like molecular genetics, neuroprosthetics and other realms that you've probably never heard of. Roughly 30 speakers ... |
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June 1st, 2013
UAE leads region in biotechnology – The National
By Dr. Matthew Watson
UAE leads region in biotechnology The National Raed Hashaikeh, an assistant professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Masdar Institute, is creating a new kind of biodegradable polymer that can be used in biotechnology in the form of engineered tissue in Abu Dhabi. Sammy Dallal / The ... |
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June 1st, 2013
A Different View on Bone Marrow Stem Cells – Video
By JoanneRUSSELL25
A Different View on Bone Marrow Stem Cells
HSCI Principal Faculty member Les E. Silberstein, MD, details how new imaging technologies allowed his laboratory to discover that bone marrow stem cells are located near blood vessels, but...
By: harvardstemcell
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A Different View on Bone Marrow Stem Cells - Video
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May 31st, 2013
Stem Cell Therapy for Hair Loss | Hair Loss Treatment in India – Video
By Sykes24Tracey
Stem Cell Therapy for Hair Loss | Hair Loss Treatment in India
Stem Cell Therapy for Hair Loss - Enhances hair regrowth within 2-3 weeks after treatment!
By: AllHairSolution
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Stem Cell Therapy for Hair Loss | Hair Loss Treatment in India - Video
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May 31st, 2013
Grant Funds Research Into Cardiac Stem Cells as Treatment for Heart Disease Related to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
By LizaAVILA
Newswise LOS ANGELES May 30, 2013 Newport Beach-based nonprofit Coalition Duchenne has awarded a $150,000 grant to a Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute team investigating whether an experimental cardiac stem cell treatment could be used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients who have developed heart disease.
Coalition Duchenne is led by Catherine Jayasuriya, a mother whose 20-year-old son, Dusty Brandom, has cardiomyopathy associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. She was inspired to underwrite cardiac stem cell research at Cedars-Sinai after reading about a successful clinical trial led by Eduardo Marbn, MD, PhD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Mark S. Siegel Family Professor.
The experimental stem cell therapy, developed by Marbn, is the only treatment shown in clinical trials to regenerate healthy heart muscle. In the clinical trial, patients underwent biopsies during which doctors removed a piece of heart muscle about the size of half a raisin. The heart tissue was then used to grow specialized heart stem cells, which then were injected back into the patients heart. Results published in The Lancet showed that patients experienced an average 50 percent reduction in muscle damaged by heart attack.
I immediately sensed the potential for applying this rapidly evolving treatment to Duchenne, said Jayasuriya. I made it my personal quest to help get this kind of therapy for Duchenne patients.
Jayasuriyas commitment was further cemented when she discovered that Ron Victor, MD, associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, has been working with Duchenne patients as part of his investigation of the cardiac benefits of sildenafil (Viagra) and tadalafil (Cialis).
We know that boys with Duchenne are born with a small scar in the base of their heart, said Victor, the Burns and Allen Chair in Cardiology Research at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The damage to hearts in boys with Duchenne increases over time. If we can use stem cells to slow or stop heart damage, it could help stall progression of the disease.
The first step in the study is to examine the effect of injecting cardiac stem cells into the hearts of mice with Duchenne. If the data is positive, the experimental treatment could be rapidly approved for use in humans with Duchenne because of cardiac stem cell treatments have been approved for other patient populations, including those with advanced heart disease.
Each year, 20,000 boys are born with Duchenne, Jayasuriya said, who founded Coalition Duchenne in 2010 to raise global awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, fund research and find a cure for Duchenne. Many do not live into their 20s and we lose many to cardiac issues. We need to focus on changing the course of the disease. We hope that working with cardiac stem cells is one way we will eventually change that outcome.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle-wasting disease and the most common fatal disease that affects children. Duchenne occurs in one in 3,500 male births, across all races, cultures and countries. Duchenne is caused by a defect in the gene that produces the protein dystrophin, which helps connect the muscle fiber to the cell membranes. Without dystrophin, muscle cells become unstable, are weakened and lose their functionality. Life expectancy of boys and young men with Duchenne ranges from the mid-teens to the mid-20s. Their minds are unaffected.
The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute is internationally recognized for outstanding heart care built on decades of innovation and leading-edge research. From cardiac imaging and advanced diagnostics to surgical repair of complex heart problems to the training of the heart specialists of tomorrow and research that is deepening medical knowledge and practice, the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute is known around the world for excellence and innovations.
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May 30th, 2013
The Caring Vet Dr. Michel Selmer: Stem Cell Therapy – Video
By Dr. Matthew Watson
The Caring Vet Dr. Michel Selmer: Stem Cell Therapy
By Video Journalist Waldo Cabrera The Caring Vet Dr. Michel Selmer shows how stem cell therapy works. Featured Inte
Link:
The Caring Vet Dr. Michel Selmer: Stem Cell Therapy - Video
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May 30th, 2013