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Nanodiamonds advance anticancer gene therapy

Gene therapy holds promise in the treatment of cancer as well as a large number of other diseases. However, developing a scalable system for delivering genes to cells both efficiently and safely has been challenging. Now, two teams of researchers have developed versatile nanotechnology-enabled platforms that could get therapeutic genes safely and efficiently into cancer cells.

23 Sep 2009

Magnetic nanoworms and nanocrystals deliver siRNA to tumors

Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs in development. Indeed, at least two siRNA-based anticancer therapies, both delivered to tumors in nanoparticles, have begun human clinical trials.

23 Sep 2009

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics completes humanization of its ICT-37 and ICT-109 antibody candidates

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, announced today that it has completed humanization of ICT-37 and ICT-109.

23 Sep 2009

Interleukin Genetics reports positive results from clinical study on weight management

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. (NYSE Amex: ILI) announced today top-line positive results from a retrospective clinical study on weight management using patients who participated in a diet study previously reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Sep 2009

FDA accepts Sangamo's IND for repeat-dosing in Phase 1 clinical trial of SB-728-T ZFN-based therapeutic

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reviewed and accepted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate an open-label, repeat-dosing Phase 1 clinical trial (SB-728-T-902) of the company's ZFN-based therapeutic, SB-728-T. A single dose Phase 1 clinical study of SB-728-T was initiated in February 2009 and is ongoing at the University of Pennsylvania.

23 Sep 2009

Drugs blocking the effects of ACh may prevent cancer

By seeing what substances and molecules affect the development of our diseases, we can develop drugs that prevent or cure diseases. In her dissertation at Kalmar University in Sweden, Ann Novotny has found that the signal molecule acetylcholine (ACh) is important for the progress of cancer of the large intestine and colon, knowledge that is important to factor in when developing drugs that block the effects of Ach on tumor cells.

23 Sep 2009

Pros and cons of the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate

As many as 26 million Americans live with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), at least 10.4 million (or 40%) don't even know they have it. Enter the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), which has become the preferred method for identifying people with CKD.

23 Sep 2009

Preclinical data on Protalix Biotherapeutics' antiTNF released

Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc., reported today preclinical data on pr-antiTNF, a biosimilar version of etanercept (Enbrel). Produced using the Company’s proprietary ProCellEx technology, pr-antiTNF is a plant cell expressed recombinant fusion protein made from the soluble form of the human TNF receptor (TNFR), fused to the Fc component of a human antibody IgG1 domain. Pr-antiTNF has an identical amino acid sequence to Enbrel.

23 Sep 2009

Protica obtains exclusive distribution rights for aseptic dispensing device

Protica, Inc., the makers of the first protein shot, Profect®, and dozens of the world’s most compact protein and energy drinks, has now set its sights on bulk packaging, thanks to International Dispensing Corporation’s (IDC) (IDND.PK) patented aseptic tap The Answer™.

23 Sep 2009

Researching the causes of Alzheimer's disease

The standard explanation for what causes Alzheimer's is known as the amyloid hypothesis, which posits that the disease results from of an accumulation of the peptide amyloid beta, the toxic protein fragments that deposit in the brain and become the sticky plaques that have defined Alzheimer's for more than 100 years.

23 Sep 2009

Computational model representing brain activity in cocaine users

About 2 million Americans currently use cocaine for its temporary side-effects of euphoria, which have contributed to making it one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in the country. Cocaine addiction, which can cause severe biological and behavioral problems, is very difficult to overcome. Now, University of Missouri researchers Ashwin Mohan and Sandeep Pendyam, doctoral students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are utilizing computational models to study how the brain's chemicals and synaptic mechanisms, or connections between neurons, react to cocaine addiction and what this could mean for future therapies.

23 Sep 2009

CERE-110 trial to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center are now recruiting volunteers for a national gene therapy trial - the first study of its kind for the treatment of patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.

23 Sep 2009

BioMarin commences PEG-PAL Phase 2 clinical trial for phenylketonuria

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) announced today that the first patient has initiated treatment in the Phase 2 clinical study of PEG-PAL (PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase) for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). Initial top-line results are expected in mid-2010.

23 Sep 2009

Advaxis' patent approval enables the development of new vaccines with additional properties

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted and issued Advaxis, Inc. (OTCBB: ADXS), the live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) vaccine company, patent 7,588,930 “Compositions and Methods for Enhancing Immunogenicity of Antigens.” This patent expands the Company’s intellectual property portfolio to cover another family of adjuvant proteins based upon the Lm protein Act-A.

22 Sep 2009

Updates from Pacific Biosciences to its commercial strategy and progress

Pacific Biosciences, a private company developing a disruptive technology platform for real-time detection of biological events at single molecule resolution, today provided a number of updates to its commercial strategy and progress.

22 Sep 2009

Macrophages play a crucial role in muscle regeneration

For scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, what seemed like a disappointing result turned out to be an important discovery.

22 Sep 2009

IRSF announces funding of new clinical study with disease-modifying therapy treatment for Rett syndrome

Today, the International Rett Syndrome Foundation announced that it will provide $200,000 in 2009 to support a newly proposed clinical trial with a growth-factor based treatment for Rett Syndrome. The study will be carried out by a team of clinical trials specialists at the Boston Children's Hospital, led by Dr. Omar Khwaja MD, PhD and will be the first potentially disease modifying therapy ever to be tested in Rett syndrome patients.

22 Sep 2009

Molecule responsible for neuronal branches identifed

The human brain consists of about 100 billion (1011) neurons, which altogether form about 100 trillion (1014) synaptic connections with each other. A crucial mechanism for the generation of this complex wiring pattern is the formation of neuronal branches. The neurobiologists Dr. Hannes Schmidt and Professor Fritz G. Rathjen at the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now discovered a molecule that regulates this vital process. At the same time they have succeeded in elucidating the signaling cascade induced by this molecule (PNAS, Early Edition, 2009, doi:10.1073).

22 Sep 2009

Antigen to block infection by genetically-diverse strains of HIV

Scientists working to develop a vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) report they have created the first antigen that induces protective antibodies capable of blocking infection of human cells by genetically-diverse strains of HIV. The new antigen differs from previously-tested vaccines by virtue of its chemically-activated property that enables close sharing of electrons and produces strong covalent bonding.

22 Sep 2009

Gene variant discovery could lead to future glaucoma treatments

An international team, led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the National Eye Institute, has discovered gene variants for glaucoma in a black population. The finding could lead to future treatments or a cure for this disease, which leads to blindness in two million Americans each year.

22 Sep 2009