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Advanced Liquid Logic Licenses Patents, Creates Collaboration With CEA-Leti

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Advanced Liquid Logic announced today that it has signed a license and collaboration agreement with the French research institute CEA-Leti. The agreement provides Advanced Liquid Logic with worldwide exclusive access to CEA’s portfolio of patents related to digital microfluidics.

Advanced Liquid Logic co-founder and Dr. Michael Pollack said, “This agreement puts our company in a clearly dominant position with respect to the intellectual property surrounding digital microfluidics.” Co-founder Dr. Vamsee Pamula added, “the accompanying collaboration with a very active and highly competent group of researchers will provide us with key technical resources to help address both today’s and tomorrow’s technology challenges.” Advanced Liquid Logic has set up a subsidiary company in Grenoble, France to help manage the collaboration and to provide an initial position to address market opportunities in Europe. CEA-Leti employee Dr. Cyril Delattre will join the company and manage Advanced Liquid Logic’s French subsidiary.

“The combination of Advanced Liquid Logic’s intellectual property position and their readiness for market made them the ideal partner,” said Dr. Laurent Malier, CEO Leti. “We expect that our complementary skills, expertise and intellectual property will be very useful going forward. This partnership with Advanced Liquid Logic offers an industrial solution that will help us develop applications bases on microfluidics for many sectors”.

Advanced Liquid Logic previously acquired intellectual property from Nanolytics and Core Microsolutions. The company now owns or controls over 45 issued patents related to their proprietary, electrowetting-based digital microfluidic technology.

About Advanced Liquid Logic
Advanced Liquid Logic, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is commercializing its proprietary “Digital Microfluidics” technology in a spectrum of life sciences and clinical diagnostics applications. Digital microfluidics enables precise and flexible manipulation of microdroplets using electrical fields and therefore avoids the need for pumps, valves or microchannels required by competing technologies. For more information please visit http://www.liquid-logic.com/

About CEA-Leti
CEA is a French research and technology organization, with activities in four main areas: energy, information technologies, healthcare technologies and defence and security. Within CEA, the Laboratory for Electronics & Information Technology (CEA-Leti) works with companies in order to increase their competitiveness through technological innovation and transfers. CEA-Leti is focused on micro and nanotechnologies and their applications, from wireless devices and systems, to biology and healthcare or photonics. Nanoelectronics and microsystems (MEMS) are at the core of its activities. As a major player in MINATEC campus, CEA-Leti operates 8,000-m² state-of-the-art clean rooms, on 24/7 mode, on 200mm and 300mm wafer standards. With 1,400 employees, CEA-Leti trains more than 190 Ph.D. students and hosts 200 assignees from partner companies. Strongly committed to the creation of value for the industry, CEA-Leti puts a strong emphasis on intellectual property and owns more than 1,700 patent families.
Visit www.leti.fr.

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Investor Stem Cell Launches Online Discussion Community Dedicated To Stem Cell Investors: (OTC-ACTC) (NASDAQ-GERN) (AMEX-BTX) (NASDAQ:ATHX)

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Investor Stem Cell (http://www.investorstemcell.com) is dedicated to bringing investors and stakeholders together in thoughtful discussion to educate and publicize the incredible medical advancements taking place in the regenerative medicine sector. Scientists are using stem cells both (hESC) and (iPSC) in hopes of easing the suffering of hundreds of millions of people world wide.

Our society is on the verge of a quantum leap moment in time thanks to regenerative medicine.

Regenerative medicine and Stem Cell research:

Utter those words at your next dinner party or casual gathering of friends and family. You will receive a concoction of half-truth’s and out right fallacy responses. Stem Cell research conjures images of futuristic Star–Trek like preservation chambers, human looking ears protruding oddly from the backs of mice, or worse yet an image of a late term fetus. Nothing could be farther from the truth when entering the reality of Regenerative medicine.

Never before has this area of research been more exciting and promising than right now. There is a medical revolution brewing, and like any revolution, there are those who want to suppress this uprising for continued personal and ideological gains. If we were to take all the major advances in the past 500 years of human medical history and multiply its effect by 10 fold it still would not compare to the paradigm shift in health care delivery that the world may witness in this decade using stem cells. Imagine that an $800,000 heart transplant is no longer needed and that instead the same money spent on one patient can now be stretched out to treat 20 patients who are needing a heart transplant. Is this what Regenerative medicine has in the offing? Only time will tell. Our healthcare system could very well be on the verge of a quantum leap moment thanks to regenerative medicine.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized 3 trials using human embryonic stem cells (hESC) in late 2010. Validation of hESC research efforts and the culmination of billions spent on research are coming to fruition. FDA validation for the treatments of spinal cord injury and age related macular degeneration is expected in 2011. It may be the shot heard around the world event sometime in late Q-4 2011 for the Regenerative medicine sector.

Find out more at http://www.investorstemcell.com, where investing is much more than charts and numbers.

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MicroTissues, Inc. Announces New Product Launch for the 3D Petri Dishâ„¢

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MicroTissues, Inc. announced today the launch of its 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ line of products. The 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ is a new tool for the world wide industry of life sciences research and drug discovery. Invented at Brown University, the 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ grows living human cells in three dimensions (3D) where they replicate the function of natural tissues and organs. There are important applications for these human 3D microtissues in cancer and stem cell research as well as toxicity testing, drug discovery and cell therapy.

“The scientific community has recognized the need for a reliable 3D cell culture technology that accurately produces natural cell-to-cell interactions and is easy to use” said Brian Morgan, Marketing Manager of MicroTissues, Inc. “Not only does our 3D Petri Dish™ line of products create 3D microtissues without artificial scaffolds, the microtissues are uniform in size, easy to harvest and accessible to the standard biochemical and microscopy methods that cutting edge labs demand. No other 3D cell product has all these technical advantages. And, we have the only reusable product.”

MicroTissues, Inc offers eight products that are precision micro-molds used to cast 3D Petri Dishesâ„¢ that fit in standard multi-well plates. The micro-molds are autoclavable and reusable. In a single pippetting step, the 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ forms hundreds of spheroids (hepatospheres, cardiospheres, mammospheres, neurospheres, and embryoid bodies), and microtissues with more complex shapes and geometries. Over thirty different cell types, including primary human cells, have been shown to form 3D microtissues in the 3D Petri Dishâ„¢.

MicroTissues, Inc. a privately held company with an exclusive worldwide license to US and international patent applications on the 3D Petri Dish™, is advancing technologies and applications of 3D cell culture.

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MicroTissues, Inc.’s 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ Is Helping to Reduce Animal Use in Research

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MicroTissues, Inc. announced today that its 3D Petri Dish™ is targeted towards helping to reduce the numbers of animals used in research. The 3D Petri Dish™ is a new tool for the world wide industry of life sciences research and drug discovery that grows living cells in three dimensions (3D). These 3D microtissues replicate the function of natural tissues and organs better than conventional 2D methods and are increasingly being used in toxicity testing of new drugs and cosmetics.

“Worldwide, efforts are underway to reduce the use of animals in research and we’re excited to be offering a new technology for toxicity testing” said Brian Morgan, Marketing Manager of MicroTissues, Inc. “The 3D Petri Dish™ is a reliable 3D cell culture technology that accurately produces natural cell-to-cell interactions and is easy to use. And, it forms 3D microtissues from human cells, so toxicity testing data is more relevant.”

Effective 2009, the European Union banned the use of animal testing for cosmetic products and many believe the trend to reduce the use of animals in research will continue worldwide. MicroTissues, Inc. is helping to address this issue by offering eight products that are precision micro-molds used to cast 3D Petri Dishesâ„¢ that fit in standard multi-well plates. The 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ forms hundreds of multi-cellular 3D spheroids from cells useful for toxicity testing including hepatospheres, cardiospheres, mammospheres, neurospheres, and embryoid bodies. The 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ technology also forms microtissues with complex shapes having geometries that mimic natural organs. Over thirty different cell types, including primary human cells, have been shown to form 3D microtissues in the 3D Petri Dishâ„¢.

MicroTissues, Inc. a privately held company with an exclusive worldwide license to US and international patent applications on the 3D Petri Dish™, is advancing technologies and applications of 3D cell culture. The company’s products stand above the rest because they are designed to create more natural and more reliable 3D cell culture environments based on cell-to-cell interactions in convenient and consistent formats that generate high content information. The company’s lead line of products, the 3D Petri Dish™, is serving the needs of researchers in a wide range of areas including cancer research, stem cell biology, toxicity testing, developmental biology, drug discovery, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In addition to products for basic research, MicroTissues, Inc. is using its platform technology to pursue applications in drug discovery and cell therapy. For more information, please visit www.microtissues.com.

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MicroTissues, Inc.’s 3D Petri Dishâ„¢ Used in Time Magazine’s Medical Breakthrough of 2010

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MicroTissues, Inc. announced today that its 3D Petri Dish™ was used in one of Time magazine’s medical breakthroughs of 2010. Researchers at Brown University and Women and Infants Hospital used the 3D Petri Dish™ to invent the first artificial human ovary, a discovery important for fertility research and a possible infertility treatment for cancer patients. In lab studies, the investigators used the 3D Petri Dish™ to assemble three different cell types into a 3D structure resembling an ovary where they functioned for all intents and purposes like a real ovary, even successfully maturing a human egg from its earliest stages in the follicle to a fully developed form.

“This is an exciting medical breakthrough and an significant validation of the importance of the 3D Petri Dish™ technology” said Brian Morgan, Marketing Manager of MicroTissues, Inc. “Cell-to-cell interactions are critical for the function of the ovary and the 3D Petri Dish™ is designed to promote these interactions. The honeycomb shaped 3D microtissue used in these studies is a great example of the kinds of complex shaped microtissues that can only be produced with the 3D Petri Dish™.”

MicroTissues, Inc offers eight products that are precision micro-molds used to cast 3D Petri Dishes™ that fit in standard multi-well plates. The micro-molds are autoclavable and reusable. The 3D Petri Dish™ is used to form 3D spheroids and microtissues with more complex shapes and geometries such as toroids and honeycombs. Over thirty different cell types, including primary human cells, have been shown to form 3D microtissues in the 3D Petri Dish™.

MicroTissues, Inc. a privately held company with an exclusive worldwide license to US and international patent applications on the 3D Petri Dish™, is advancing technologies and applications of 3D cell culture. The company’s products stand above the rest because they are designed to create more natural and more reliable 3D cell culture environments based on cell-to-cell interactions in convenient and consistent formats that generate high content information. The company’s lead line of products, the 3D Petri Dish™, is serving the needs of researchers in a wide range of areas including cancer research, stem cell biology, toxicity testing, developmental biology, drug discovery, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. In addition to products for basic research, MicroTissues, Inc. is using its platform technology to pursue applications in drug discovery and cell therapy. For more information, please visit www.microtissues.com.

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Assay-Ready Chemistry Partnership between Enamine and Molplex

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Molplex and Enamine today announced a new partnership to offer the Enamine screening collection of 1.8 million stock chemicals through the Molplex online drug design and assay-ready chemical supply services. The agreement is a major step towards eliminating the high start-up costs ofdrug discovery, bringing sophisticated drug design, compound management and assay-ready chemistry to the world’s drug discovery scientists on demand. The agreement adds Molplex online drug design systems to the deep experience in organic chemistry and compound management of Enamine to solve the problem of generating viable chemical leads for novel targets.

Molplex CEO David E. Leahy said: “We are very proud to be selected by Enamine as their partner for on demand drug discovery services at a time when major restructuring of the industry is creating new opportunities and new markets for our combined expertise. This agreement marks a step change in the size and scope of our assay-ready chemical supply service and major progress towards our goal of being the world’s first choice partner for enabling the long tail of drug discovery”

Enamine Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Dr Vladimir Ivanov said “We are happy to partner with Molplex and supply our products to the highly integrated drug discovery platform they maintain. In this collaboration we deploy all our discovery resources including the world’s biggest screening collection (1.8 million compounds), largest inventory of building blocks (45,000 products), and over 300 chemists at our Kiev’s site to assure high cost efficiency and high responsiveness to any follow up chemistry emerging from projects run through Molplex discovery platform.”

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Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Therapy Standard Developed For A Unique Derivative Of Post Hetero-Plastic Inplantation Chronic Inflammation Syndrome, The NIDO Disease

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Researchers task force, led by faculties of T-Protocol, registered Genom Project as controlled genom project in the hosted database of NCBI, a publication matter authority and function assigned organization under oversee of Department of Health & Human Services, reached once to share the exegetical impression officially pre-published concerning the understanding specific spectrum of symptoms covering boroad range of character usually complained and observed through chronic inflammation, granuloma, some types of lymphoma and various uncommon symptoms to let physician scientists suspecting indicium of neurological diseases, NIDO disease, an unique type of post hetero-plastic implantation chronic inflammation syndrome and setting Massachusetts indications of treatments standardized manual (Massachusetts manual) & diagnostic and standardized medical treatment manual for post hetero-plastic inplantation chronic inflammation syndrome, specific edition against NIDO Disease.

The once defined causes of NIDO disease, an unique type of post hetero-plastic implantation chronic inflammation syndrome are considered each of a common living organism to cause conformational diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and kinds of and a set of biochemical and physical reaction and response realized by cross-species gene- mutation, as biotransformation, easily describing natural physiological and biochemical changes in vivo substrate of human bodies. After this studies, standardized protocol of gene therapy and applied stem cell therapy is now in practice and on available.

Faculties,committing themselves entirely to the project, of each institutes and organizations participating the project to ascertain proteins and DNA/genomic DNA/genom of human, other mammal and virulent microorganism including bacillus/virus affecting each symptom and the symptoms’ spectrum expressed generally and observed commonly on patients suffered from NIDO disease, extraordinarily unique derived type of post hetero-plastic implantation chronic inflammation syndrome and to develop diagnostic standard and treatment protocol standardized and to find a clue compose gene therapy protocol and applied stem cell therapy protocol to entirely heal NIDO disease, an unique type of post hetero-plastic implantation chronic inflammation syndrome and to let all of current suffered patients from various combined symptoms directly derived by chronic inflammation and various tumors, have to express full surprise at the fact that these disease and patients suffered are made up and left no attention and no relief.

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Nationaly Registered T-Protocol Of Genom Project Successfully Applied To Retrieve Bio Mechanism Of Hair Regrowth

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Division of Gene Medicine & Stem Cell Application, School of Medical Science, complete the research and established completely new protocol totally recovering natural bio mechanism of hair regrowth.

The researchers, led by Lord. Prof. Dr. Daichent Otto Rie, specified protein and genom to affect internal bio mechanism to generate hair and control the level of successful growth being low which is the baldness.

The key cast of the set of the bio cycle is hair follicles, which is stem cell on head skin and effect or holding function to cure many neurotic diseases and disorders like Alzheimer’s disease – Prion Disease and even Trion Disease (Post Hetero-Plastic Implantation Chronic Inflammation Syndrome; PhCIS) has absolutely unique character being retrieved absolute stem cell, which can recover the ability as stem cell after got adult. The key genom and DNA has been found through the Genom Project’s T-Protocol research developing in the government registered Genom Project since 2005. The most concentrated attention of researchers is not “what is cause” but “What protocol is best”.

The team of Prof.Daichent has successfully completed in vivo and in vivro experiment actually using voluntary patients whose types of hair loss being across over highly wide range extent to even lymphoma and cancer and finally established next genetic hair loss curing treatment protocol mainly composed of stem cell therapy and gene therapy.

Most of cases are treatable through entry level stem cell theraputic technique or HIV-1 Vector using high level technique but A20 introduction as gene therapy is required when treating patients being suffered from lymphoma, cancer or any neurotic diseases like Alzheimer’s disease – Prion Disease and even Trion Disease (Post Hetero-Plastic Implantation Chronic Inflammation Syndrome; PhCIS).

As Prof.Daichent points since 2005 being on School of Public Health of Harvard, in the treatment manual (published 2005), the key factor to overcome of lymphoma and chronic inflammation on human skin is extraordinary redundancy coding of polyglutamine DNA synthesis as the type of disease caused by pathological proteins and lack or heavy impairment of an specific DNA of A20.

Actually, the treatment protocol curing for baldness is also found through T-protocol which was essentially aimed at achieving causal and complete treatment of lymphoma, cancer, chronic inflammation and many neurotic diseases. Under control over the T-Protocol, all of clinical practitioner must always keep their eyes on the fact of using steroid is taboo over administration so being strictly prohibited. And also the technique must be under control of the competent faculty accredited by board in accordance with Europ.Gene Institute or specifically set physically area solely for research and clinical practice of nations like Switzerland, Germany, India, Hongkong, U.K. territories (NEVER inside U.K.) appointed by protocol developer and assigned practice entity.

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Drug Discovery On Demand By Molplex

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An innovative new online “drug discovery on demand” platform has been launched by Molplex, a company specializing in products and services for the life sciences. Designed to help drug discovery groups working anywhere in the world, it aimsto eliminate the high start-up costs and minimize the financial risks traditionally associated with inventing new medicines.

Molplex CEO David Leahy said: “As the pharmaceutical industry changes, a new ecosystem of small, flexible teams operating as “Micro Pharmas” is emerging. Molplex will provide the services they need to succeed at inventing better medicines at lower cost”.

The first version of the new Molplex system launched today offers free access to sophisticated drug design systems, high quality assay-ready stock chemicals and high content biological screening at www.molplex.com.

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Cryo-Cell CEO Mercedes Walton Invites Women to Share Their Ideas on Self-Care and the Power of Stem Cells

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Cryo-Cell International, Inc. a global leader in stem cell innovation, resolves to help women inspire and empower each other to take charge of their health in the New Year, and to spark conversations about the promise of stem cells.  The company will be accepting video entries for its “Resolution Revolution” contest through January 31, 2010, and details on the event can be found at www.celle.com/resolution.

“This time of year, we often make New Year’s resolutions to take better care of ourselves, but the dawn of a new decade is particularly poignant as we look ahead with hope and inspiration at the steps we can take,” said Mercedes Walton, CEO of Cryo-Cell International.  “Never in history have we experienced a time of such rapid advances with stem cells, including the use of menstrual blood stem cells and how they may help women protect their health” she added.  “Because women often look to each other for information and inspiration, we’re looking to empower them to spread the word through video about what the power of stem cells means to them.”

The C’elle service is the first and only one of its kind, empowering women to collect and cryo preserve stem cells from their menstrual flow.

Stem cells from menstrual blood are proven to be a rich source of stem cells which proliferate rapidly and have the ability to become many different types of cells such as cardiac, neural, bone, fat and cartilage.

These stem cells are a potential source for promising regenerative therapies to treat stroke, cardiac, diabetes, breast cancer, spinal cord injury, chronic wounds, Alzheimer’s and other debilitating diseases.

Since launching its proprietary service, the company continues to expand research and development initiatives worldwide in order to accelerate the potential diagnostic and therapeutic benefits of these unique stem cells. Cryo-Cell partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, where research is underway to better understand the C’elle stem cells and their potential benefit for the treatment of breast cancer.  It also has entered research and licensing agreements with several other organizations to identify potential future diagnostic and therapeutic uses for endometriosis and stress urinary incontinence in women and regenerative medicine specific to wound healing. In 2009, the service was licensed in China, Thailand and Brazil.

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Cord Blood: Saving For The Future

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For an expectant mother, there are a million details to worry about and a lot of important decisions to be made.

Cord Blood: Saving For The Future

One of those decisions to be made is whether to bank your baby’s umbilical cord blood. Cord blood is valuable because it’s full of stem cells scientists and doctors can use in research and regenerative medicine.

“Cord blood stem cells are the ones that are obtained from the newborn. They’re closest in age to being an embryonic stem cell without being an embryonic stem cell,” said David Harris, PhD with Cord Blood Registry.

When they’re stored properly in a bank, like one in Arizona, the stem cells can be used to replace other cells in our bodies that may be damaged or missing due to disease. But, you only have one chance to harvest them.

“At the time of delivery, before the placenta is delivered, we have a little bag with a needle and a tube, like an IV tubing, and we actually draw the blood out of the placenta into a prepared bag and that’s what you send in to the cord blood banking people,” said Dr. Lynn Frame.

But, Dr. Frame says very few of his patients actually do it because of the cost.

Most private cord blood banks charge more than $1,000 up front. Then, for every year you store the blood in one of their cryogenic tanks, it costs about $100. For 18 years of storage, it can add up to about $3,000.

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Scientist Uses Stem Cells To Repair Heart

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Dr. Joshua Hare believes medicine is close to a goal long thought to be impossible: healing the human heart.

The way to get there? Stem cells.

“These could be as big as antibiotics were in the last century,” said Hare, who leads the University of Miami ‘s new Stem Cell Institute. “Stem cells have the potential to have that kind of impact. Diseases like heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, liver failure — we will be able to transition them into things you live with.”

Hare spends his days peering through powerful microscopes, recruiting scientists from top universities and attending to patients betting on improving their conditions through his clinical trials.

Stem cells, only one-thousandth the size of a grain of sand, are the master cells of the body, the source from which all other cells are created.

The most basic are embryonic stem cells, which are “totipotent,” meaning they can divide into any other type of cell — heart tissue, brain tissue, kidney tissue — all 220 cells that exist in the human body. They’re controversial because when they are harvested, the embryo is destroyed, ending potential life.

But coming into view are new kinds of stem cells — immature adult stem cells that can be extracted from bone marrow, from organs such as the heart or kidney or even from the skin. These can be taken without destroying embryos.

While researchers until recently believed adult stem cells were limited because they could develop only into cells similar to them — bone marrow cells only into cord blood stem cells, for example — evidence is growing that they, too, may become the tissue for hearts, brains, kidneys and other organs.

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Will Intra-Osseous Injection of Umbilical Cord Blood Reduce Graft Failures?

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Researchers from Italy have reported that the injection of umbilical cord blood directly into the pelvic bones of patients with leukemia appears promising. These results were recently published in an early online publication of the Lancet Oncology on August 9, 2008.

Transplantation of bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, and umbilical cord blood is accomplished by intravenous infusion. The original studies of human bone marrow transplantation were carried out by direct infusion into bone marrow spaces. However, this approach was abandoned as there was no advantage in speed or rate of engraftment over intravenous infusion. Since these early days of transplantation, there have been sporadic attempts to evaluate intra-osseous infusion of stem cells, but no advantage over intravenous infusion was ever found. The reason for this is thought to be that direct infusion of stem cells into the marrow cavity is in fact identical to intra-arterial or intra-venous infusion, and most stem cells enter the general circulation before homing into marrow spaces throughout the body.

Umbilical cord blood transplantation is associated with relatively high graft failure rates thought to be due to the relatively low dose of stem cells in each collection. Researchers have suggested that the infusion of stem cells from two separate cord blood collections alleviates the graft failure problem. However, Italian researches have posed the question of whether or not intra-osseous infusion would be better.

The current trial evaluated direct infusion of umbilical cord blood into the pelvic bones. This trial included 32 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 12 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); median age was 36 years. Overall, 14 patients had advanced-stage disease that did not respond to standard therapies, and no patient had a suitable donor for the stem cell transplant.

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Now, Women Can Bank On ‘Monthly Miracle’ For Future Treatment

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Women in the city will soon have the option of banking their menstrual blood so that menstrual blood stem cells can be used for treatment of serious disorders through stem cell therapy.

In six months, Life Cell International, in technology partnership with Cryo-Cell International, will set up the facility, which will be the first to store menstrual blood in the country.

Cryo-Cell, which has patented technology to decontaminate samples, started menstrual blood banks in the US last year, and other countries are yet to catch up. Cryo-Cell calls it ‘your monthly miracle’. The endometrium-lining of the uterus regenerates every month, suggesting the presence of stem cells. However, there is no published scientific work on the curative properties of such cells.

Stem cells have the ability to regenerate themselves through cell division and act as a repair system for the body. Research on stem cells provides knowledge about how healthy cells replace damaged ones in adults, leading to the possibility of cell-based therapy to treat diseases.

“Menstrual blood contains millions of stem cells that have many properties and characteristics similar to those of stem cells found in bone marrow and embryos. These stem cells exhibit capabilities for self-renewal and multi-potency,” says LifeCell International executive director Mayur Abhaya. Stem cell research hopes to find answers to problems such as cardiac and degenerative diseases, besides cancer.

The women would be given a collection kit comprising a menstrual cup and collection tubes. The blood would be processed and preserved in liquid nitrogen at extremely low temperatures.

Though the Chennai bank has not decided on the rates, it hopes registration will cost less than that charged for preserving cord blood. At present, the bank, which has stored over 13,000 samples of cord blood at a facility near Chennai, charges Rs 41,100 for collection, processing and storage of the blood for the first year. From the second, the client pays an annual fee of Rs 3,500 to preserve the blood for two decades.

The biggest advantage of menstrual blood, according to LifeCell chief scientific officer Dr Ajit Kumar, is that it can be easily harvested in a painless, non-invasive manner. “And it also extends the scope of stem cell therapy to a larger section of the people. Cord blood is an option open to only those who are pregnant or those planning babies,” he says.

At a time when legal restrictions on collection of embryonic stem cells have been stymieing research, the option to save menstrual blood is a boon because these cells have similar properties to that of cord blood, he adds.

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New Transplant Therapy, Shift in Drug Discovery

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On August 23-25, 2010, industry scientists, CEOs, and academics will convene at Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel for the “Ubiquitin Drug Discovery and Diagnostics Conference” to discuss the Next Big Thing in drug discovery research—the ubiquitin pathway. Advances in oncology, infectious diseases, neurodegeneration, inflammation, diabetes, and muscle wasting will be covered.

New Transplant Therapy, Shift in Drug Discovery

A pathway is a sequence of reactions converting one molecule into another. Ubiquitin, which is a small protein, is used often to mark larger proteins within a cell for breakdown. This pathway plays fundamental roles in human health and disease; many human pathologies have been linked to changes in ubiquitin pathway enzymes. Attracting experts in this growing field, the three-day conference is unique in its focus on drug discovery within the ubiquitin pathway.

Rejection hurts; but for the recipient of organ donation, rejection can be fatal. New combination therapies for treating antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in transplant patients are possible, thanks in part to manipulation of the ubiquitin pathway.

When a transplant recipient’s body rejects donor tissue, the recipient’s plasma cells, which typically fight off infection, are in fact the aggressors in the attack. Dr. Woodle suggests stalling the proteasome (or “cellular waste-bin”) via the ubiquitin pathway (or “cellular tagging and shipping information hub”) thereby depleting plasma cells and treating rejection. Dr. Woodle will present his latest findings during the final conference session.

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Stem Cells From Menstrual Blood May Benefit Stroke Patients

Cryo-Cell International, Inc. today announced results of a study published [this month] in the cover article of Stem Cells and Developmentshowing that stem cells found in menstrual blood may one day be a potential source for stem cell therapies in stroke and other central nervous system disorders. Menstrual stem cells, known as MenSCs, offer an easily accessible, non-controversial and renewable stem cell source with the potential to one day treat a host of diseases, such as stroke, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, according to a number of early studies. The study, entitled “Menstrual Blood Cells Display Stem Cell-Like Phenotypic Markers and Exert Neuroprotection Following Transplantation in Experimental Stroke,” was conducted by researchers at Cryo-Cell International, the University of South Florida , Saneron-CCEL Therapeutics and the Medical College of Georgia.

Stem Cells From Menstrual Blood May Benefit Stroke Patients

Because the cell damage after an initial stroke episode occurs over an extended time, treatment strategies directed at quickly rescuing these nerve cells have the potential to slow the disease progression and possibly restore nerve function. In this study, researchers found that transplantation of MenSCs, either directly into the brain or peripherally, significantly reduced behavioral and histological abnormalities, suggesting that the MenSCs had a protective effect on brain cells, averting further apoptosis, or cell death, and potentially reversing the neural trauma experienced during a stoke.

“The data shows immediate behavioral recovery at an early period after transplantation although the exact mechanism underlying the neural benefits of MenSCs remains unknown,” said lead researcher Cesar V Borlongan Ph.D., Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida Health . “ We do know that several trophic factors have been identified post transplant that may potentially point to a secretion of therapeutic substances from MenScs versus one of cell replacement. Equally important, is that there was no instance of complications or negative effects such as detectable tumor, ectopic formation or overt graft-versus-host in any of the transplanted animals.”

During the study, the investigators analyzed shed menstrual blood and tissue to identify MenSCs. The samples were obtained using a menstrual cup and transferred to a laboratory for processing and cryopreservation. After inducing a simulated stroke (oxygen glucose deprivation, OGD) on adult rats, the researchers injected the rats withmenstrual blood –derived stem cells and found that those who were exposed to MenSCs exhibited a significantly reduced death rate. Behavioral assessments of motor coordination and neurological function were performed on the rats 14 days after stroke-transplantation and indicated improvements in both motor and neurological abnormalities.

“Compared to other stem cell sources, such as bone marrow and umbilical cord blood , MenSCs are harvested from a readily available and renewable source of adult mesenchymal stem cells. These novel and highly prolific stem cells are easily obtained using non-invasive methodology and create the potential for matched cell transplantations in large scale clinical trials,” said Julie Allickson, Ph.D., study investigator and Vice President, Laboratory Operations, Research and Development at Cryo-Cell International, Inc.

The benefits of stem cells derived from menstrual blood were first indicated in a study sponsored by Cryo-Cell that was published in Cell Transplantation in April 2008. That study demonstrated that MenSCs are stromal stem cells, meaning they have the capability to differentiate into important cells, such as such as bone, cartilage, fat, nerve and cardiogenic cells.

“Stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability in U.S. adults,” said Mercedes A. Walton, Cryo-Cell’s Chairman and CEO . “According to the American Heart Association, stroke will cost almost $68.9 billion in both direct and indirect healthcare costs in 2009. In view of these statistics, we are clearly encouraged by research study results that demonstrate significant promise for the development of regenerative medicine therapies to potentially treat and manage the debilitating conditions caused by stroke and possibly other neurological disorders.”

The Celle SM service is based on Cryo-Cell’s expansive IP technology portfolio and was introduced in November, 2007 as the first and only service that empowers women to collect and cryopreserve menstrual flow containing undifferentiated adult stem cells for future utilization by the donor or possibly first-degree relatives in a manner similar toumbilical cord blood stem cells. Based on the continued success of MenSCs in the research setting, Cryo-Cell is actively expanding its portfolio of research collaborations with world renowned scientists committed to study this novel stem cell population for a broad range of regenerative therapeutic development.

Via EPR Network
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Maastricht University And PharmaCell Publish Results On Possible Improved Immune

In a collaborative publication in the prestigious journal Blood that appears this week, PharmaCell BV, the Maastricht University, Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Switzerland and the Research Center for Allergy and Immunology in Japan present data on a novel approach to improve treatment of acute leukemia patients. In a study that received a grant from the Dutch governmental organization SenterNovem, the consortium has shown that hematopoetic stem cells, commonly used in the treatment of those patients, can be cultured such that they show clear signs of an improved capacity to repair the immune system.

Maastricht University And PharmaCell Publish Results On Possible Improved Immune

Patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia can be cured by hematopoetic stem cell transplantation, but many viral or bacterial infections occur after the treatment and are life threathening. The protocol developed by the consortium can potentially reduce the period after treatment that the patient is susceptible to such opportunistic infections.

The proposed treatment may greatly reduce morbidity and mortality in those patients. In the study that was conducted in mice, it was found that the stem cells treated with their protocol quickly migrated specifically to the thymus and matured there into effector cells of the immune system. Further research is needed to delineate the precise mechanism of action and to prepare the technique for application in patients.

Alexander Vos, CEO of PharmaCell comments: “The outcome of this projects shows the strength of consortia in which academia collaborates with industry. It has enabled us to keep a focus towards clinical application in a research project that had fundamental questions. As a company that focuses on the development and production of cell therapies, this research fitted very well in our profile. We are very pleased with the collaboration as well as with the outcome. PharmaCell intends to closely follow future developments in this project and will expertly support future clinical application of this cell therapeutic application where possible.”

Dr. Gerard Bos, who together with Dr. Wilfred Germeraad,is the lead investigator of the Division of Heamatology, Department of Internal Medicine of the Maastricht University Medical Center+ announces: “We believe that the potential of this technique to improve patient care is high. Further research is needed before application in patients is possible, but we feel very confident about that. The research has been carried out by a very strong international group of scientist and the results are convincing. We are looking forward to further developing the method.”

Via EPR Network
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