A new allogeneic cell therapy has shown promise in the treatment of venous leg ulcers, a condition caused by persistently high blood pressure in the veins of the legs. Results from a 2b study of the therapy were published online in The Lancet on 3 August 2012.
Novartis has announced plans to invest in a new Center for Advanced Cellular Therapies at the University of Pennsylvania in the US to research immunotherapies for patients with cancer using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technologies.
Cell Medica Ltd, which is on track to commercialise its first cell therapy in Europe next year, has secured a £17 million equity investment from a group of long-term investors to support its European activities and to finance new operations in Texas.
After more than two years of deliberations, the European Medicines Agency has decided to recommend approval of the first ever gene therapy. The treatment, Glybera, is indicated for the treatment of patients with a rare inherited enzyme disorder.
Shire Plc has renamed one of its business units in order to demonstrate its commitment to building a presence in regenerative medicine. The unit, Advanced BioHealing Inc, will henceforth be known as Shire Regenerative Medicine Inc and will be based in San Diego.
From time to time, venture capital firms have been able to assemble disparate pharmaceutical assets and find the right talent to develop them into a valuable property. However, it looks as if biotechs have started to do something similar by using their widespread contacts and alliances to investigate the causes of disease.
Researchers from the US have tested bone grafts grown from purified adipose-derived stem cells and discovered that the cells regenerated bone tissue better than current methods.The findings were published in the June, 2012 issue of Stem Cells, Translational Medicine.
Tissue Regenix Plc of the UK said that a preclinical study of its tissue regeneration technology showed a better performance than a competitor bovine-derived matrix. The study results were published in the open-access journal, PLoS.
The Karolinska University Hospital and GE Healthcare Life Sciences have started a joint research collaboration to address some of the issues associated with the manufacture and development of new cell therapies. Financial terms weren’t given.
Research published online in the journal Cell Stem Cell suggests that inhibiting a protein that regulates cell signalling could mitigate the process of ageing in haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), key support mechanisms for blood cells and for the immune system.