Precision Medicine News and Research

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New article describes recent efforts made by researchers to classify bladder cancers

The ability to map the human genome has transformed how scientists and researchers classify various cancers. In the past, cancer cells were examined through a microscope and their appearance, often enhanced with dyes or other agents, was used to categorize the type of cancer.

22 Feb 2016

CHLA, Thermo Fisher Scientific agree to develop NGS-based panel for pediatric cancer research

Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Thermo Fisher Scientific have agreed to develop a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based panel designed specifically for pediatric cancer research. The assay would be CHLA's first NGS panel designed to target biomarkers associated with childhood cancers.

19 Feb 2016

African Americans with common genetic variants at increased risk for blood clots

New research published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), identifies common genetic variants predominantly found in African Americans that double their risk for blood clots.

18 Feb 2016

Corvidia Therapeutics secures $26 million in Series A financing

Corvidia Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of precision cardiovascular therapies, announced today that it has raised $26 million in a Series A financing, co-led by seed-investor Sofinnova Partners, and Apple Tree Partners.

18 Feb 2016

Research findings identify potential genetics-guided precision medicine for leukemia patients

An international research team has determined how inherited gene variations lead to severe drug toxicity that may threaten chances for a cure in children with leukemia. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, results of which set the stage to expand the use of a patient's genetic make-up to tailor chemotherapy.

16 Feb 2016

Silicon Biosystems Menarini, Macrogen to jointly develop genomic cancer tests

Silicon Biosystems Menarini and Macrogen, Inc. today announced they will form a partnership to provide clinical assays and innovative procedures for precision medicine in cancer.

12 Feb 2016

UPMC uses simple gene test to personalize medications for patients undergoing heart catheterization

Patients who go to UPMC Presbyterian for heart catheterization and who receive a stent to treat clogged arteries are now being screened with a simple blood test to determine if they have a gene variant that makes them less likely to respond to a blood-thinning medication commonly prescribed after the procedure.

11 Feb 2016

FDA requests $5.1 billion budget for FY 2017 to protect and promote public health

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting a total budget of $5.1 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President's fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget – an eight percent increase over the enacted budget for FY 2016.

10 Feb 2016

Study shows how structural differences in the brain may relate to behavior differences in males and females

Differences in the neural wiring across development of men and women across ages, matched behavioral differences commonly associated with each of the sexes, according to an imaging-based study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published February 1 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

10 Feb 2016

Abnormal breakage of chromosomes in white blood cells triggers aggressive form of ALL

A research team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has discovered details of how the abnormal breakage and rearrangement of chromosomes in white blood cells triggers a particularly aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Such leukemias are cancers of white blood cells, in which genetic mutations trigger overproduction of immature cells, called lymphoblasts.

9 Feb 2016

Positive data on ability of MyoKardia’s MYK-461 to prevent development of HCM published in Science

MyoKardia, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering a precision medicine approach for the treatment of heritable cardiovascular diseases, today announced the publication of an article in the leading medical journal Science.

8 Feb 2016

New study finds steep decline in basic science publications

A new study has found a steep decline in the number of scholarly papers about basic science published in leading medical journals in the last 20 years.

3 Feb 2016

New gene cut-and-paste methods help correct disease-causing mutation in animal model

For the first time, researchers have treated an animal model of a genetic disorder using a viral vector to deliver genome-editing components in which the disease- causing mutation has been corrected.

3 Feb 2016

MYB-QKI fusion gene that drives pediatric low-grade gliomas poses a triple threat

Oncology researchers have discovered that an abnormal fused gene that drives pediatric brain tumors poses a triple threat, operating simultaneously through three distinct biological mechanisms—the first such example in cancer biology.

2 Feb 2016

HUYA, Eisai sign exclusive license agreement for HBI-8000 in Japan and other Asian countries

HUYA Bioscience International President, CEO, Executive Chairman & Founder Dr. Mireille Gillings announced that Eisai Co., Ltd. has acquired from HUYA an exclusive license agreement for HBI-8000 in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore.

1 Feb 2016

Experts call for new approach to asthma and COPD patient management

Defining a patient's symptoms using the historical diagnostic labels of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an outdated approach to understanding an individual's condition, according to experts writing in the European Respiratory Journal today (Feb. 1, 2016).

1 Feb 2016

Costs of lower cognitive ability linked with not breastfeeding amount to over $300 billion each year

When countries, rich or poor, support breastfeeding through meaningful investments and programs, it has an impact on their bottom line and the health of women and children. The Lancet Breastfeeding Series, released today, finds that globally, the costs of lower cognitive ability associated with not breastfeeding amount to more than $300 billion each year, a figure comparable to the entire global pharmaceutical market.

29 Jan 2016

Genetic mutations could help explain cause of cancer in pediatric patients

Combined whole exome tumor and blood sequencing in pediatric cancer patients revealed mutations that could help explain the cause of cancer or have the potential to impact clinical cancer care in 40 percent of patients in a study led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Cancer Center.

29 Jan 2016

New prognostic biomarker may help determine risk of prostate cancer-related death

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have identified a new prognostic biomarker: the neuropeptide pro-NPY, which may help determine the risk of dying from prostate cancer. This particular type of protein is very specific to prostate cancer cells and could help identify whether newly diagnosed patients require radical prostatectomy surgery or if it is safe to delay surgery.

28 Jan 2016

CosmosID announces $6M in Series B funding round

CosmosID, the leading genomic big data company focused on microbiome research, outbreak investigations, and infectious disease diagnostics, using next-generation DNA sequencing, announced $6M in Series B funding.