The European Medicines Agency has issued new advice on the procedures that companies should follow in developing stem cell products. The advice is contained in a paper on the agency’s website, www.ema.europa.eu. (EMA/CAT/571134/2009).
Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a three-year research agreement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to explore a new strategy for regenerating beta cells in people with Type 1 diabetes.
Despite the many achievements of modern cancer therapies, one uncertainty continues to haunt the industry. This is knowing whether a patient who has apparently been treated successfully with chemotherapy or a targeted antibody therapy will nonetheless experience a relapse years after a treatment has finished
Pervasis Therapeutics Inc of Cambridge Massachusetts has announced plans to pursue an endothelial cell-based therapy to target and regulate cell stroma in order to prevent solid tumour growth and metastasis.
A group of prominent UK scientists has been assembled to carry out a two-year research project to investigate the role of cancer stem cells in the development, growth and spread of tumours in breast, prostate and head and neck cancers.
Cell Medica Ltd and Baylor College of Medicine in the US have agreed to collaborate on a cell-based treatment for cancers associated with the Epstein Barr virus that involves an ex vivo procedure enabling a patient’s own cells to tackle the disease.
Advanced Cell Technology Inc of the US has entered into an agreement with Roslin Cells Ltd of Scotland to establish a bank for GMP-grade human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines that could be used in future research or in clinical trials.
An autologous stem-cell treatment for patients with damaged heart muscle following an acute myocardial infarction has resulted in improved perfusion, a trend towards improved cardiac function, that was dose dependent, according to US research.
Evotec AG has entered into a licensing agreement with the AstraZeneca Plc subsidiary, MedImmune, to generate biological factors that play a role in beta cell regeneration. The deal includes a €5 million upfront payment to Evotec.
A team of scientists from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have reported generating functioning human intestinal tissue in the laboratory from pluripotent stem cells. The findings were reported online in Nature on 12 December.