Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Activating rearrangements in receptor genes are more common than previously thought

A multi-institutional team led by investigators from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has published a study that provides new insight into genetic changes that make some forms of glioblastoma, the most common type of primary brain cancer, more aggressive than others and explains why they may not respond to certain therapies. The research was led by senior author Eric C. Holland, MD, PhD,--an MSKCC surgeon, researcher and the Director of the Brain Tumor Center--and was published in the October 1 issue of the journal Genes & Development.

1 Oct 2010

UC San Diego researcher receives 'Era of Hope Scholar Award' for innovation in breast cancer study

Seth Field, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego, has been awarded a five-year, $3.86 million "Era of Hope Scholar Award" from the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. The award supports individuals who have high potential for innovation in breast cancer research early in their careers, researchers considered the "best and brightest" in their field through "extraordinary creativity, vision and productivity and potential for leadership in the breast cancer research community.

1 Oct 2010

Report finds development of multiple myeloma is tied to 'hypomethylation'

DNA methylation - a modification of DNA linked to gene regulation - is altered with increasing severity in a blood cancer called multiple myeloma, according to a study by Mayo Clinic and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

1 Oct 2010

Researchers study gene interactions for personalized drug prescriptions

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will study how the genetics and diet of Yup'ik Eskimos affect the blood-thinning properties of a common drug used by heart and stroke patients.

1 Oct 2010

NIH funds $1.5M for research into prediction of stroke risk in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease

A researcher from the biomedical engineering department operated by Georgia Tech and Emory University has received a $1.5 million NIH Director's New Innovator Award to support a project aimed at reducing the incidence of stroke in children with sickle cell disease. Manu Platt, an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to develop models for identifying which children with the disease are at risk for stroke.

1 Oct 2010

Swedish Medical Center researcher receives NIH grants to study pregnancy complications

Michelle A. Williams, Sc.D., co-director and principal investigator at the Center for Perinatal Studies at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle and Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health at the University of Washington, has received two grants totaling $5.6 million for research into complications affecting pregnancy.

1 Oct 2010

Health Canada approves Meridian Bioscience's illumigene C. difficile molecular amplification assay

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., today announced that it has received an approved medical device license from Health Canada for its new molecular amplification assay, illumigene C. difficile. Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and, in severe cases, a life-threatening inflammation of the colon.

1 Oct 2010

Breast cancer breakthrough

New research on gene expression provides a breakthrough in breast cancer treatment. Women who have triple-negative breast cancer are a small proportion of breast cancer cases, but it is difficult to treat and might have a more aggressive clinical course than other forms of the disease.

30 Sep 2010

Cardium expands wound healing and tissue regeneration portfolio

Cardium Therapeutics announced that it has gained exclusive access to commercial development rights for certain novel supramacromolecular polymer complexes enabling regulatable and localized topical delivery of nitric oxide for prolonged periods of one to three weeks, to broaden and expand the Company's wound healing and tissue regeneration portfolio.

30 Sep 2010

NIH awards $3.1 million to further fund Inovio's universal SynCon flu vaccine development

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that Inovio Pharmaceuticals and the University of Pennsylvania have received a grant of $3.1 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Office to further fund Inovio's universal SynCon™ flu vaccine development.

30 Sep 2010

Study shows immunotherapy improves survival rate in children with neuroblastoma

Using immunotherapy biologic agents that stimulate the body's immune system pediatric oncologists have achieved the first substantial increase in over a decade in cure rates for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. A newly released study shows that the new treatment improved two-year survival rates by 20 percent, compared to standard treatment for an aggressive form of neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system.

30 Sep 2010

Mount Sinai receives contract to develop nanotechnology tools for diagnosing diseases

Mount Sinai School of Medicine received a contract for almost $16.5 million from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLBI) through the Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology (PEN). The contract is one of four issued nationally to develop multidisciplinary research Centers with the goal of developing nanotechnology tools for diagnosing and treating heart, lung and blood diseases.

30 Sep 2010

NIH awards three grants to explore novel treatment strategies for muscular dystrophy

Three grants totaling more than $4.5 million, from agencies of the National Institutes of Health, will be used to explore novel treatment strategies for muscular dystrophy.

30 Sep 2010

Triple negative breast cancer patients with BRCA gene mutations have low risk of recurrence: Research

Patients with triple negative breast cancer that also have mutations in the BRCA gene appear to have a lower risk of recurrence, compared to those with the same disease without the deleterious genetic mutation, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

30 Sep 2010

Access Pharmaceuticals reports significant progress in Cobalamin-targeted drug-delivery program for siRNA therapies

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, announced today that it has made significant progress with its proprietary Cobalamin-targeted drug-delivery program for siRNA therapies.

30 Sep 2010

Researchers develop genetic screening method to identify drug-resistant HCV strains

In recent human trials for a promising new class of drug designed to target the hepatitis C virus (HCV) without shutting down the immune system, some of the HCV strains being treated exhibited signs of drug resistance.

30 Sep 2010

First direct genetic link to ADHD

The latest study shows evidence of a genetic link to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. The researchers from Cardiff University, Wales said the disorder was a brain problem like autism and not due to bad parenting. The paper appeared in the acclaimed journal Lancet.

30 Sep 2010

Researchers discover genes that influence human height

An international team of researchers, including a number from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill schools of medicine and public health, have discovered hundreds of genes that influence human height.

30 Sep 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals publishes ALN-RSV01 Phase IIa study results

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a leading RNAi therapeutics company announced today that it has published results in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine from its double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized Phase IIa study of ALN-RSV01 in lung transplant patients naturally infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

30 Sep 2010

Unique genetic markers point to patient response to SCV-07 treatment

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN) today announced that researchers have identified two unique gene clusters that differentiated subjects who responded to treatment in the Company’s phase 2a proof of concept study of SCV-07 for the prevention of severe oral mucositis (OM; WHO grades 3-4) in patients with advanced head and neck cancer.

29 Sep 2010

Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Activating rearrangements in receptor genes are more common than previously thought

UC San Diego researcher receives 'Era of Hope Scholar Award' for innovation in breast cancer study

Report finds development of multiple myeloma is tied to 'hypomethylation'

Researchers study gene interactions for personalized drug prescriptions

NIH funds $1.5M for research into prediction of stroke risk in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease

Swedish Medical Center researcher receives NIH grants to study pregnancy complications

Health Canada approves Meridian Bioscience's illumigene C. difficile molecular amplification assay

Breast cancer breakthrough

Cardium expands wound healing and tissue regeneration portfolio

NIH awards $3.1 million to further fund Inovio's universal SynCon flu vaccine development

Study shows immunotherapy improves survival rate in children with neuroblastoma

Mount Sinai receives contract to develop nanotechnology tools for diagnosing diseases

NIH awards three grants to explore novel treatment strategies for muscular dystrophy

Triple negative breast cancer patients with BRCA gene mutations have low risk of recurrence: Research

Access Pharmaceuticals reports significant progress in Cobalamin-targeted drug-delivery program for siRNA therapies

Researchers develop genetic screening method to identify drug-resistant HCV strains

First direct genetic link to ADHD

Researchers discover genes that influence human height

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals publishes ALN-RSV01 Phase IIa study results

Unique genetic markers point to patient response to SCV-07 treatment

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