Immunosuppression News and Research

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Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.

Researchers report breakthrough studies in liver cell transplantation

Two research teams from the Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine (Okayama, Japan) have reported breakthrough studies in liver cell transplantation.

19 Oct 2010

UCB presents P3, P4 clinical trial data for Crohn's disease at ACG Scientific Meeting

Findings from the PRECiSE 3 (P3) open label extension study for Cimzia, demonstrating the longest continuously running maintenance trial for an anti-TNF in Crohn's disease, will be exhibited at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), taking place in San Antonio from October 15 – 20. Additionally, long-term efficacy data from the PRECiSE 4 (P4) clinical trial also will be presented at the meeting.

19 Oct 2010

ACG meeting to exhibit Cimzia data for Crohn's disease treatment

Studies and analyses of the Crohn's disease (CD) treatment Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) will be exhibited at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, taking place in San Antonio from October 15 – 20.

18 Oct 2010

Researchers develop new therapy to overcome tissue incompatibility in kidney transplantation

Donor kidneys can be successfully transplanted even if there is strong tissue incompatibility between donor and recipient. An interdisciplinary working group headed by Dr. Christian Morath, senior consultant at the Department of Nephrology at Heidelberg University Hospital (Medical Director: Professor Dr. Martin Zeier) and Professor Dr. Caner S-sal, head of antibody laboratory in the Department of Transplantation Immunology, showed in a study of 34 sensitized high-risk patients that the success rate in these patients was not different from the success rate of patients with a low immunological risk.

13 Oct 2010

StemCells provides update on PMD Phase I clinical trial

StemCells, Inc. today provided an update on its ongoing Phase I clinical trial in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a fatal myelination disorder that afflicts male children.

8 Oct 2010

Role of TGF-ß in cancer diseases

During this year's BIOTECHNICA exhibition, the international biotech news magazine „GEN - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News yesterday on 5 October 2010, held an information event with subsequent panel discussion featuring the topic TGF-ß an important target in cancer diseases.

7 Oct 2010

'The Pittsburgh Protocol' enables reduction of multiple anti-rejection drugs after transplantation

The Pittsburgh Protocol is unique in utilizing bone marrow cells to enable reduction of the need for multiple anti-rejection drugs after transplantation. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is currently the only transplantation center in the world to offer it. An early report of the initial experience with the "Pittsburgh Protocol" in three recipients of upper extremity transplants was presented during the 2010 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

7 Oct 2010

Patients with muscular dystrophy mount immune response to dystophin protein prior to gene therapy: Study

A clinical trial designed to replace the genetic defect causing the most common form of muscular dystrophy has uncovered an unexpected aspect of the disease. The trial, based on therapy designed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, showed that some patients mount an immune response to the dystrophin protein even before they have received the gene therapy.

7 Oct 2010

Argos' AGS-003 in combination with sunitinib demonstrates favorable PFS for renal cell carcinoma

Argos Therapeutics announced that its Arcelis immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), AGS-003, demonstrated favorable progression-free survival (PFS) and safety in combination with sunitinib, based upon updated results from an ongoing Phase 2 trial.

1 Oct 2010

Mayo Clinic initiates enrollment in first U.S. clinical Hand Transplant Program

Mayo Clinic has initiated the first clinical Hand Transplant Program in the United States and is now enrolling patients. This program offers hand transplantation as a clinically available option for patients with bilateral hand injuries or amputations. This allows patients to embark on this option of reconstructive surgery without being required to enroll in experimental trials.

24 Sep 2010

Athersys presents MultiStem phase I study results at TCT Conference

Athersys, Inc. announced at its presentation at the Transvascular Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) Conference held in Washington, D.C., updated results from its phase I clinical trial of MultiStem, its allogeneic cell therapy product, administered to individuals following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

23 Sep 2010

First intestine transplant in Michigan performed on 50-year-old Port Austin patient

The first intestine (bowel) transplant in Michigan was performed on a 50-year-old patient from Port Austin by physicians at Henry Ford Hospital.

23 Sep 2010

Telomere length associated with higher rate of relapse and lower overall survival in aplastic anemia patients

Among patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy for severe aplastic anemia (a condition in which the bone marrow is unable to produce blood cells), the length of telomeres (chromosome markers of biological aging) was not related to the response to treatment but was associated with a higher rate of relapse (return to low blood cell counts) and lower overall survival, according to a study in the September 22/29 issue of JAMA.

22 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

Athersys, Inc. announced today that MultiStem, Athersys' multipotent adult progenitor stem cell therapy, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of graft vs. host disease (GvHD).

21 Sep 2010

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

Athersys, Inc. announced today the publication of a key study in the October issue of Experimental Neurology conducted by researchers at Athersys, the University of Texas Medical School, the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices, and Texas A&M University.

20 Sep 2010

David Mosser to discuss primary duty of macrophages at American Physiological Society conference

The term "macrophage" conjures images of a hungry white blood cell gobbling invading bacteria. However, macrophages do much more than that. Not only do they act as antimicrobial warriors, they also play critical roles in immune regulation and wound-healing. They can respond to a variety of cellular signals and change their physiology in response to local cues.

27 Aug 2010

Removing corticosteroid regimen after surgery results in better graft survival rates

University of Cincinnati (UC) analysis of 10 years of data from local kidney transplant patients shows that patients removed from a corticosteroid regimen shortly after surgery have better graft survival rates, better survival rates and fewer cardiovascular events than patients kept on the traditional regimen of long-term steroids.

24 Aug 2010

Immunosuppressive therapy benefits necrotizing myopathy patients with novel autoantibody specificity

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified a subgroup of patients with necrotizing myopathy who have a novel autoantibody specificity that makes them potential candidates for immunosuppressive therapy. The complete study is published in the September issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

20 Aug 2010

New T cell engineering approach can improve success rate of immune-cell therapies

Clinical trials using patients' own immune cells to target tumors have yielded promising results. However, this approach usually works only if the patients also receive large doses of drugs designed to help immune cells multiply rapidly, and those drugs have life-threatening side effects. Now a team of MIT engineers has devised a way to deliver the necessary drugs by smuggling them on the backs of the cells sent in to fight the tumor. That way, the drugs reach only their intended targets, greatly reducing the risk to the patient.

16 Aug 2010

FDA grants LifeCycle Pharma SPA for LCP-Tacro pivotal Phase 3 study in 'de novo' kidney transplant patients

LifeCycle Pharma A/S today announced receipt of agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment of its pivotal Phase 3 study, Study 3002, for LCP-Tacro in patients, who have just received a kidney transplant.

12 Aug 2010

Immunosuppression News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers report breakthrough studies in liver cell transplantation

UCB presents P3, P4 clinical trial data for Crohn's disease at ACG Scientific Meeting

ACG meeting to exhibit Cimzia data for Crohn's disease treatment

Researchers develop new therapy to overcome tissue incompatibility in kidney transplantation

StemCells provides update on PMD Phase I clinical trial

Role of TGF-ß in cancer diseases

'The Pittsburgh Protocol' enables reduction of multiple anti-rejection drugs after transplantation

Patients with muscular dystrophy mount immune response to dystophin protein prior to gene therapy: Study

Argos' AGS-003 in combination with sunitinib demonstrates favorable PFS for renal cell carcinoma

Mayo Clinic initiates enrollment in first U.S. clinical Hand Transplant Program

Athersys presents MultiStem phase I study results at TCT Conference

First intestine transplant in Michigan performed on 50-year-old Port Austin patient

Telomere length associated with higher rate of relapse and lower overall survival in aplastic anemia patients

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

David Mosser to discuss primary duty of macrophages at American Physiological Society conference

Removing corticosteroid regimen after surgery results in better graft survival rates

Immunosuppressive therapy benefits necrotizing myopathy patients with novel autoantibody specificity

New T cell engineering approach can improve success rate of immune-cell therapies

FDA grants LifeCycle Pharma SPA for LCP-Tacro pivotal Phase 3 study in 'de novo' kidney transplant patients

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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