Archive for the ‘Gene Therapy Research’ Category

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire -02/14/12)- Atossa Genetics, Inc., a privately-held health care company focused on the prevention of breast cancer through the commercialization of diagnostic tests that can detect precursors to breast cancer, and through the research, development, and ultimate commercialization of treatments for pre-cancerous lesions, announced today that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed initial public offering of 1,000,000 shares of its common stock. Dawson James Securities, Inc. is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering.

Proceeds from this offering will be used to expand the Company's cytology and molecular diagnostics laboratory, The National Reference Laboratory for Breast Health; fund the manufacture of MASCT System units; hire and train sales and marketing personnel for the ForeCYTE and ArgusCYTE Breast Health Tests; continue its research and development of the FullCYTE and NextCYTE Breast Health Tests; support the internal research and development of the Intraductal Treatment Research Program; and for general corporate purposes.

The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Once available, a preliminary prospectus may be obtained from Dawson James via telephone at 561-208-2939; email at investmentbanking@dawsonjames.com, or standard mail at 925 S. Federal Highway, Suite 600, Boca Raton, FL 33432.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

About Atossa Genetics, Inc.

Atossa Genetics, Inc. is a privately held health care company based in Seattle, Washington, that provides a comprehensive set of innovative breast health evaluation products and services that provide accurate and actionable results for personalized cancer prevention and breast health. Atossa has established the National Reference Laboratory for Breast Health, a specially equipped, CLIA-registered laboratory located in Seattle that provides comprehensive test results to guide personalized breast cancer prevention and treatment solutions.

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Atossa Genetics, Inc. Announces Filing of S-1 Registration Statement

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN - News) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011. The company also highlighted the ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) product launch, recent ADCETRIS clinical data, ongoing and planned clinical development activities and upcoming milestones.

“We are pleased with the successful launch of ADCETRIS and our execution in bringing this drug to patients in need,” said Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Genetics. “Our commercialization initiatives continue to focus on expanding awareness of ADCETRIS among oncologists, particularly in the community setting, and ensuring an efficient reimbursement process. We are also executing on a broad clinical development program of ADCETRIS to evaluate its potential in earlier lines of therapy for Hodgkin lymphoma and mature T-cell lymphomas, as well as in other CD30-positive malignancies. Over the past few months, we have reported encouraging data in multiple settings that support our aggressive clinical development plans, including in front-line Hodgkin lymphoma, front-line systemic ALCL and relapsed CTCL. In addition, we and our collaborators are advancing a robust pipeline of clinical and preclinical ADC programs.”

Recent Highlights

Reported clinical data on ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in multiple settings, notably demonstrating strong progress towards the company’s goal of redefining front-line therapy for Hodgkin lymphoma and mature T-cell lymphomas. ADCETRIS has not been approved for use in any of the following settings. Data were presented from:

A phase I trial evaluating sequential and concurrent administration of ADCETRIS with multi-agent chemotherapy in front-line mature T-cell lymphomas, including systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL). A phase I trial evaluating concurrent administration of ADCETRIS with multi-agent chemotherapy in front-line Hodgkin lymphoma. An investigator-sponsored phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Case studies of two patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). A case series of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma or sALCL who received greater than 16 cycles of ADCETRIS. An analysis of the outcome of patients with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma or sALCL who received an allogeneic stem cell transplant after treatment with ADCETRIS.

Announced multiple recent clinical trial initiations to broadly evaluate ADCETRIS in CD30-positive malignancies. Highlights include:

Initiated a phase II clinical trial in relapsed or refractory CD30-positive non-Hodgkin lymphomas, including PTCL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and other less common lymphoma subtypes. Initiated a phase II clinical trial in patients with CD30-positive non-lymphoma malignancies, including solid tumors, leukemia and multiple myeloma. Supported five investigator-sponsored trials (ISTs), including trials to evaluate ADCETRIS in earlier lines of Hodgkin lymphoma therapy, in older people with Hodgkin lymphoma and in other CD30-positive malignancies; expect to support multiple additional ISTs utilizing ADCETRIS to begin during 2012.

Demonstrated continued progress across product pipeline of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), including:

Completed enrollment in a phase I trial of single-agent SGN-75 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and renal cell carcinoma. Completed enrollment in a phase I clinical trial of ASG-5ME for patients with pancreatic cancer; patient enrollment in a phase I clinical trial of ASG-5ME for prostate cancer is ongoing. ASG-5ME is a co-development program with Agensys, an affiliate of Astellas. Continued patient enrollment in a phase I clinical trial of ASG-22ME for solid tumors. ASG-22ME is a co-development program with Agensys, an affiliate of Agensys.

Achieved multiple milestones driven by collaborator progress under ADC agreements, including:

Preclinical milestone payments from Pfizer and Abbott. Three payments from Agensys, an affiliate of Astellas, upon exercise of options for additional exclusive antigen licenses under the companies’ ongoing ADC collaboration.

Upcoming Milestones

Planning multiple milestones for ADCETRIS and other pipeline programs, including:

Initiating a phase III clinical trial of ADCETRIS in CTCL by mid-2012. Initiating a phase III clinical trial of ADCETRIS in front-line advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma by late 2012 to early 2013. Initiating a phase III clinical trial of ADCETRIS in front-line mature T-cell lymphomas, including sALCL, by late 2012 to early 2013. Submitting an application during the first half of 2012 to Health Canada for approval of ADCETRIS in relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma and sALCL. Millennium/Takeda expects a decision during 2012 from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on an ADCETRIS marketing authorization application (MAA) filed by Takeda Global Research & Development Centre (Europe); the MAA filing was accepted by the EMA in June 2011. Initiating during 2012 a phase Ib clinical trial to evaluate SGN-75 in combination with everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, for renal cell carcinoma. Submitting an investigational new drug application during 2012 for SGN-CD19A, a CD19-targeted ADC.

Fourth Quarter and Year 2011 Financial Results

Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 were $48.9 million, compared to $8.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter 2011 revenues include ADCETRIS net product sales of $33.2 million. For the year 2011, revenues were $94.8 million, compared to $107.5 million for the year 2010. Revenues for the year in 2011 include $43.2 million in ADCETRIS net product sales. In addition, 2011 revenues were driven by revenue under the company’s ADCETRIS and ADC collaborations. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010 included approximately $70 million earned in the first half of 2010 under the dacetuzumab collaboration with Genentech that ended in June 2010.

Total costs and expenses for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $67.6 million, compared to $43.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. For the year 2011, total costs and expenses were $239.2 million, compared to $175.7 million for the year 2010. The planned increases in 2011 costs and expenses were primarily driven by sales and marketing activities related to the launch of ADCETRIS and higher research and development expenses, including clinical development to evaluate potential additional applications of ADCETRIS and to advance the company’s ADC pipeline programs. Under the ADCETRIS collaboration with Millennium, development costs incurred by Seattle Genetics are included in research and development expense. Joint development costs are co-funded by Millennium on a 50:50 basis. Reimbursement payments received from Millennium are recognized as revenue over the development period of the collaboration along with other development payments received, including the upfront payment and milestone payments. Non-cash, share-based compensation expense for the year 2011 was $20.0 million, compared to $14.3 million for the year 2010.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $27.2 million, or $0.24 per share, compared to a net loss of $34.5 million, or $0.34 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2010. Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 includes an $8.7 million valuation adjustment for the company’s holdings in auction rate securities, resulting in a carrying value of $5.8 million. For the year ended December 31, 2011, net loss was $152.0 million, or $1.34 per share, compared to net loss of $66.3 million, or $0.66 per share, for year ended December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2011, Seattle Genetics had $330.7 million in cash and investments, compared to $294.8 million as of December 31, 2010. The increase in cash and investments reflects net proceeds of approximately $168 million from the company’s public offering of common stock in February 2011 and collaboration payments received during 2011 totaling approximately $70 million.

2012 Financial Outlook

Seattle Genetics anticipates that revenues from collaboration and license agreements in 2012 will be in the range of $55 million to $65 million. These revenues will be generated from fees, milestones and reimbursements earned through the company’s ADCETRIS and ADC collaborations. The company is not providing guidance on expected revenue from ADCETRIS product sales at this time.

Total research and development and selling, general and administrative expenses in 2012 are expected to be in the range of $245 million to $270 million, approximately 35 percent of which is expected to be attributable to selling, general and administrative expenses. Operating expenses will be directed primarily towards commercialization and clinical trials of ADCETRIS, development and clinical activities for SGN-75, ASG-5ME and ASG-22ME, IND-enabling activities for SGN-CD19A, and advancing other preclinical programs. Non-cash expenses are expected to be in the range of $30 million to $33 million in 2012, primarily attributable to share-based compensation expense.

Conference Call Details

Seattle Genetics’ management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the financial results and provide an update on business activities. The event will be held today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (PT); 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The live event will be available from Seattle Genetics’ website at http://www.seattlegenetics.com, under the Investors and News section, or by calling (877) 941-8609 (domestic) or (480) 629-9692 (international). The access code is 4509854. A replay of the discussion will be available beginning at approximately 3:30 p.m. PT today from Seattle Genetics’ website or by calling (800) 406-7325 (domestic) or (303) 590-3030 (international), using access code 4509854. The telephone replay will be available until 4:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

About ADCETRIS

ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) is an ADC comprising an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody attached by a protease-cleavable linker to a microtubule disrupting agent, monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), utilizing Seattle Genetics’ proprietary technology. The ADC employs a linker system that is designed to be stable in the bloodstream but to release MMAE upon internalization into CD30-expressing tumor cells. ADCETRIS is approved for the treatment of patients with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma and for the treatment of patients with relapsed sALCL.

About Seattle Genetics

Seattle Genetics is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. The FDA granted accelerated approval of ADCETRIS in August 2011 for two indications. ADCETRIS is being developed in collaboration with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. In addition, Seattle Genetics has three other clinical-stage ADC programs: SGN-75, ASG-5ME and ASG-22ME. Seattle Genetics has collaborations for its ADC technology with a number of leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott, Bayer, Celldex Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Millennium, Pfizer and Progenics, as well as ADC co-development agreements with Agensys, an affiliate of Astellas, and Genmab. More information can be found at http://www.seattlegenetics.com.

Certain of the statements made in this press release are forward looking, such as those, among others, relating to the company’s expectations for initiation of future clinical trials, data availability from ongoing clinical trials, expectations for additional regulatory approvals and expectations for 2012 collaboration and license revenue. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include risks that the safety and/or efficacy results of our clinical trials of ADCETRIS affect the commercial potential or ability to initiate future clinical trials of ADCETRIS. We may also be delayed in our planned trial initiations and regulatory submissions and approvals for reasons outside of our control. We may also fail to receive milestone payments under our collaborations and experience unforeseen increased expenses or unexpected reductions in revenues. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Seattle Genetics is contained in the company’s 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seattle Genetics disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

  Seattle Genetics, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
(In thousands)     December 31,
2011   December 31,
2010 Assets Cash, cash equivalents, short and long term investments $ 330,696 $ 294,840 Other assets   94,520   35,096 Total assets $ 425,216 $ 329,936   Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 53,048 $ 25,783 Deferred revenue and long-term liabilities 153,319 142,635 Stockholders' equity   218,849   161,518 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 425,216 $ 329,936     Seattle Genetics, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)    

Three months ended
December 31,

  Twelve months ended
December 31,   2011       2010     2011       2010   Revenues Net product sales $ 33,194 $ - $ 43,241 $ - Collaboration and license agreement revenues   15,693     8,146     51,537     107,470   Total revenues   48,887     8,146     94,778     107,470   Costs and expenses Cost of sales 2,391 - 3,115 - Research and development 40,239 32,520 163,396 146,410 Selling, general and administrative   24,954     10,522     72,659     29,258   Total costs and expenses   67,584     43,042     239,170     175,668   Loss from operations (18,697 ) (34,896 ) (144,392 ) (68,198 ) Investment income (loss), net   (8,468 )   350     (7,638 )   1,933   Net loss $ (27,165 ) $ (34,546 ) $ (152,030 ) $ (66,265 )   Basic and diluted net loss per share $ (0.24 ) $ (0.34 ) $ (1.34 ) $ (0.66 )  

Weighted-average shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share

  115,064     101,450     113,098     101,055    

Original post:
Seattle Genetics Reports Fourth Quarter and Year 2011 Financial Results

In Remaking Eden (Harper Perennial, 1998), geneticist Lee Silver envisioned a future in which humanity has split into two species: “Naturals,” the poor slobs who muddle along with the genes that nature gave them, and the “GenRich,” who can afford to boost their physical and mental talents via genetic engineering. Silver warns that over time, “the genetic distance between the Naturals and the GenRich has become greater and greater, and now there is little movement up from the Natural to GenRich class.”

We don’t have to wait until science catches up to science fiction for this unjust dystopia to be realized. It’s happening now, in the United States, as a result of policies that favor the rich at the expense of un-rich. Scholars are confirming with empirical studies what Occupy Wall Street protesters have been saying: our system is unfairly rigged in favor of the haves, who keep pulling away from have-nots.

Education can help the poor climb their way to a higher socioeconomic status. But according to Sabrina Tavernise of The New York Times, several studies have shown that “the achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening, a development that threatens to dilute education’s leveling effects.”

Race plays less of a role than it once did in this widening chasm. A study published last year by sociologist Sean Reardon found that the difference between standardized test scores of blacks and whites has narrowed since 1960, while the difference between low-income and wealthy students has surged 40 percent. “We have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s,” Reardon told The Times, “in which race was more consequential than family income, to one today in which family income appears to be more determinative of educational success than race.”

The simplest explanation for the divide is that the rich can afford to send their children to better schools, hire private tutors for them and give them other advantages. In 1972, affluent parents spent five times as much on their children, on average, as low-income parents; by 2007, that difference had almost doubled, to nine to one. “The pattern of privileged families today is intensive cultivation,” sociologist Frank Furstenberg told The Times.

The federal tax code is also stacked against the poor. The code caps taxes on long-term capital gains and dividends at 15 percent, which is why Mitt Romney is taxed at a lower rate than a grade-school teacher. Far from being progressive, with percentages rising with income, the tax code is regressive in this key area. Those who work for a living pay more in taxes, percentage-wise, than those who live off investments.

Political scientist Andrew Hacker documents the depths of our inequality in “We’re More Unequal Than You Think,” in The New York Review of Books this month. He estimates that since 1985 “the lower 60 percent of households have lost $4 trillion, most of which has ascended to the top 5 percent.” U.S. economic policies, Hacker says, now serve as a “giant vacuum cleaner” sucking money from low-income people and showering it upon the rich.

Economists quantify the inequality of a society on a scale called the Gini index. If everyone has the same income, the Gini index is zero; if one person makes all the moola, the Gini index is one. The U.S. Gini index has risen from .359 in 1972 to .440 in 2010, an increase of more than 20 percent, Hacker reports. In contrast, the Gini index of socialist Sweden is .230.

Hacker notes that “in a not-so-distant past, families of modest means made enough to put something aside for their children’s college fees. That cushion is gone, which is why millions of undergraduates are now forced to take much larger loans. Adding interest and penalties, many will face decades paying off six-figure debts.” (I’m facing this financial challenge myself; my son is entering college next fall and my daughter a year later.)

The U.S. exemplifies the Matthew effect, a sociological term that alludes to a passage in the Gospel of Matthew: “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

Our current presidential race features several Christian candidates—Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Romney—who seem to view the Matthew effect as the Eleventh Commandment. These men trumpet their religiosity and rectitude, and yet they advocate economic policies that benefit the rich and hurt the poor, violating the most basic rules of moral decency. Naturals must join together with rich people with a conscience to create a more economically just society.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons, http://www.flickr.com/tracy_olson.

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Education Isn't Helping Americans Overcome Deepening Inequality

Public release date: 13-Feb-2012
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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY -- Children are naturally drawn toward gaming and other types of technology, creating an ideal opportunity to design interactive media tools to encourage physical activity and promote healthy eating habits, according to an article in a special issue of the journal Childhood Obesity celebrating the second anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative. The issue includes a special Foreword by Mrs. Obama and is available free online at http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

"Let's Get Technical! Gaming and Technology for Weight Control and Health Promotion in Children," an article by Tom Baranowski, PhD and Leslie Frankel, PhD, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, describes the ongoing research effort to identify and develop the most effective approaches for using gaming and interactive media to deliver health promotion messages to children of all ages.

This special Let's Move! issue has a wide range of contributions from leaders in the fight against childhood obesity including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, NFL quarterback Drew Brees, Stephen Daniels, MD, PhD, Sandra Hassink, MD, Margo Wootan, DSc, and Editor-in-Chief David Katz, MD, MPH.

The issue covers a broad range of topics including creating environments that support routine physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, after-school obesity prevention programs, nutrition standards for school meals, faith-based advocacy efforts to end childhood obesity, gaming and technology for weight control, parent training programs for 2-4 year old Latino children, the role of sleep in childhood obesity, a roundtable discussion about what we don't know about childhood obesity, industry efforts to help children make healthy food choices, and success stories from the Let's Move! initiative.

"We know that 'screen time' is a contributor to childhood obesity. But we also know it's not going away. Thought leaders like Dr. Baranowski are showing how to convert parts of the problem into parts of the solution," says David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Childhood Obesity and Director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center. "We are honored to feature such pragmatic expertise on the pages of the Journal."

###

Childhood Obesity is partly funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to ensure that the Journal is accessible as widely as possible, and to provide a framework that addresses the social and environmental conditions that influence opportunities for children to have access to healthy, affordable food and safe places to play and be physically active.

Childhood Obesity is a bimonthly journal, published in print and online, and the journal of record for all aspects of communication on the broad spectrum of issues and strategies related to weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. The Journal includes peer-reviewed articles documenting cutting-edge research and clinical studies, opinion pieces and roundtable discussions, profiles of successful programs and interventions, and updates on task force recommendations, global initiatives, and policy platforms. It reports on news and developments in science and medicine, features programs and initiatives developed in the public and private sector, and a Literature Watch. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed online T http://www.liebertpub.com/chi.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including Games for Health Journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, Population Health Management, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on our website at http://www.liebertpub.com.

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Games and interactive media are powerful tools for health promotion and childhood obesity prevention

JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Gamida Cell announced today that the Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture (JV), equally held by Gamida Cell and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, has enrolled the last of 100 patients in the international, multi-center, pivotal registration, Phase III clinical trial of StemEx, a cell therapy product in development as an alternative therapeutic treatment for adolescents and adults, with blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, who cannot find a family related, matched bone marrow donor.

StemEx is a graft of an expanded population of stem/progenitor cells, derived from part of a single unit of umbilical cord blood and transplanted by IV administration along with the remaining, non-manipulated cells from the same unit.

Dr. Yael Margolin, president and chief executive officer of Gamida Cell, said, "The JV is planning to announce the safety and efficacy results of the Phase III StemEx trial in 2012 and to launch the product into the market in 2013. It is our hope that StemEx will provide the answer for the thousands of leukemia and lymphoma patients unable to find a matched, related bone marrow donor.”

Dr. Margolin continued, “StemEx may be the first allogeneic cell therapy to be brought to market. This is a source of pride for Gamida Cell, as it further confirms the company’s leadership as a pioneer in cell therapy. In addition to StemEx, Gamida Cell is developing a diverse pipeline of products for the treatment of cancer, hematological diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, as well as autoimmune and metabolic diseases and conditions helped by regenerative medicine.”

About Gamida Cell

Gamida Cell is a world leader in stem cell population expansion technologies and stem cell therapy products for transplantation and regenerative medicine. The company’s pipeline of stem cell therapy products are in development to treat a wide range of conditions including blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, solid tumors, non-malignant hematological diseases such as hemoglobinopathies, acute radiation syndrome, autoimmune diseases and metabolic diseases as well as conditions that can be helped by regenerative medicine. Gamida Cell’s therapeutic candidates contain populations of adult stem cells, selected from non-controversial sources such as umbilical cord blood, which are expanded in culture. Gamida Cell was successful in translating these proprietary expansion technologies into robust and validated manufacturing processes under GMP. Gamida Cell’s current shareholders include: Elbit Imaging, Clal Biotechnology Industries, Israel Healthcare Venture, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Amgen, Denali Ventures and Auriga Ventures. For more information, please visit: http://www.gamida-cell.com.

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The Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture Concludes Enrollment for the Phase III Study of StemEx®, a Cord Blood Stem Cell ...

A team of researchers from Iowa State University (ISU) and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center utilized the Life Sciences Collaborative Access Team 21-ID-F x-ray beamline at the APS and beamline 5.0.2 at the Advanced Light Source at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to take a close look at a group of fused proteins that can control genes. Their work has revealed the crystallographic structure of a protein encoded by an important group of harmful plant pathogens that has evolved to manipulate host gene expression in a specific yet highly adaptable manner.

Xanthomonas bacteria inject TAL effector proteins into the cells of plants that they infect. The proteins wind themselves into the major groove of specific sections of the plants' DNA. This switches-on genes that benefit the invading bacteria. Conversely, the same binding might activate genes that stimulate the plants' defense systems against the pathogens. The DNA binding step, which involves a molecular recognition process, requires tandem repeat units of the protein building blocks, amino acids, usually 34 amino acids long and ending with a half repeat. The repeating patterns have allowed researchers to predict the likely targets for these binding regions and so engineer novel sequences that can also bind to specific strands of DNA.

This research has stimulated renewed interest in the possibility of designing artificial "TAL nuclease" (TALEN) proteins that could target DNA and thereby modify specific genes for a wide variety of purposes in crop plants or possibly to even treat human genetic diseases. Adam Bogdanove, of Iowa State University, and colleagues have been building on these discoveries for several years. In 2011, Bogdanove and a team at the University of Minnesota, led by Dan Voytas, formerly of ISU, and a second ISU group led by Bing Yang demonstrated in the laboratory that such a notion was potentially viable as they could create TALENs to manipulate genes and gene functions.

Now, writing in the journal Science in January 2012, Barry Stoddard and colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, including post-doc Amanda Mak and faculty member Phil Bradley, have collaborated with Bogdanove and Andres Cernadas to use multiple expression clones and data relating to target site sequences for co-crystallization. The team used a TAL effector, PthXo1, produced by the rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae and used x-ray diffraction data collected at the two DOE light sources to solve its three-dimensional (3-D) structure bound to a 36-base pair DNA duplex containing a sequence found in the rice genome itself.

To solve the structure, Bradley developed a high-throughput computational structure prediction method for TAL effectors using the Rosetta software package to generate a highly accurate molecular model for molecular replacement phasing. The resulting structure was then validated against the peaks obtained for selenomethionyl derivative, in which anomalous peaks would match up with the original data only if the model were correct.

Having obtained the 3-D structure of a TAL effector and shown how it physically interacts with double-stranded DNA, the researchers can now figure out the details of the recognition and binding process involved and so get a clearer picture of how they work in nature and how they might be manipulated in the laboratory.

They conclude in their latest Science paper that the work "reveals the hitherto enigmatic structural nature of a simple solution that an important group of pathogens has evolved to manipulate host gene expression in a specific yet highly adaptable manner." Bogdanove describes the structure the team has obtained as "really quite beautiful." "So far there is nothing else in nature quite like it," he said.

More information: Amanda Nga-Sze Mak, Philip Bradley, Raul A. Cernadas, Adam J. Bogdanove, and Barry L. Stoddard, “The Crystal Structure of TAL Effector PthXo1 Bound to Its DNA Target,” Science 335(6069), 716 (10 February, 2012). http://www.science … 716.abstract

Provided by Argonne National Laboratory (news : web)

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Manipulating genes with hidden TALENs

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer gene analysis to routine clinical care, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today announced the Nature Medicine publication of results from their collaborative next-generation sequencing (NGS) study to assay cancer-relevant genes in 24 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. In this study, 59% of the samples were found to have genomic alterations directly associated with a clinically-available targeted therapeutic or a relevant clinical trial of a targeted therapy. Two novel gene fusions, KIF5B-RET in NSCLC and C2orf44-ALK in CRC, were discovered among the potentially druggable alterations identified in the study. Both of these findings may expand therapeutic options for a subset of cancer patients. This publication demonstrates that using targeted NGS to profile patient tumors for molecular alterations associated with therapeutic responses may have an important clinical impact in cancer treatment.

“In this collaboration, we detected clinically-relevant genomic alterations in more than half of the samples profiled, and, because Foundation Medicine’s NGS assay detects all classes of alterations with clinical-grade sensitivity, this research was able to identify both expected as well as completely novel alterations,” said Maureen Cronin, Ph.D., senior vice president, research & product development of Foundation Medicine and co-author of the study. “The discovery of novel rearrangements and fusions, such as KIF5B-RET and C2orf44-ALK, supports an important role for NGS in the clinical understanding and treatment of cancer.”

“In a common indication like NSCLC, identifying even a small subpopulation of individuals with gene fusions who may be responsive to a targeted therapy has the potential for major therapeutic impact,” said Phil Stephens, Ph.D., executive director, cancer genomics of Foundation Medicine and co-author of the study. “This joint research with Dana-Farber translates genomic research to the clinic and we expect that it may quickly have a positive impact for patients.”

Clinically-relevant alterations, which are defined here as being associated with an available clinical treatment option or ongoing clinical trial investigating a new targeted therapy, were identified in 72% of NSCLC tumor samples and 52.5% of CRC tumor samples.

The novel, recurrent KIF5B-RET fusion was identified by the NGS assay in one patient with NSCLC. In subsequent screening, 11 additional RET fusions were identified in 561 lung adenocarcinoma samples from a cohort of never or limited former smokers with NSCLC. In common with known oncogenic alterations in EGFR and EML4-ALK, the KIF5B-RET gene fusion was found more than twice as often in NSCLC samples from individuals of Asian descent (0.8% (1/212) of the Caucasian samples and 2% (9/405) of the Asian patient samples). Additionally, none of the fusion-positive tumors contained alterations in any of the other known oncogenes that drive lung cancer (EGFR, ERBB2, BRAF or KRAS or rearrangements of EML4-ALK or ROS1).Tumors with this fusion were specifically sensitive to targeted drugs that inhibit RET, suggesting that prospective clinical trials of RET-targeted therapeutics may benefit individuals with NSCLC with KIF5B-RET rearrangements.

The second novel finding in the study was a potentially clinically-relevant gene fusion between C2orf44 and ALK identified in one CRC patient. Additional assays suggest this fusion gene yields 90-fold overexpression of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), the target of crizotinib, a U.S. FDA approved therapy for NSCLC. Given the structure of the rearrangement that generated the C2orf44-ALK fusion, it is unlikely that current clinical detection methods would have detected this alteration. This research thus suggests that a previously unrecognized subset of individuals with CRC may harbor genetic alterations that may make them responsive to ALK-inhibitor treatment.

The assay used for the testing described in this Nature Medicine paper is analytically validated to have a false discovery rate of less than 1% with at least 99% sensitivity for base substitutions occurring with at least 10% frequency.

The paper, “Identification of new ALK and RET gene fusions from colorectal and lung cancer biopsies” by Lipson, D. et al. is now available online.

About Foundation Medicine’s Comprehensive Cancer Genomic Test

Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive cancer genomic test uses next-generation sequencing to analyze routine clinical specimens (i.e., small amounts of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumor tissue) for all classes of genomic alterations (point mutations, copy number alterations, insertions/deletions, and select rearrangements) in approximately 200 cancer-related genes. The test is optimized for clinical-grade analysis of tumor tissues, overcoming multiple complexities (such as purity, ploidy and clonality) inherent to tumor genomes. Results are designed to serve as a helpful decision-support tool for physicians to evaluate cancer treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s molecular subtype. Each patient report is reviewed and annotated by a molecular oncologist and consists of scientific and medical literature relevant to that patient’s genomic alterations and includes information on targeted therapies and clinical trials supported by scientific and medical research.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine is dedicated to improving cancer care through the development of comprehensive cancer diagnostics that will help physicians inform treatment decisions based on an individual patient’s molecular cancer subtype. Foundation Medicine’s first laboratory developed test, based on a next-generation sequencing platform, is designed to accommodate a broad landscape of cancer genome information and a growing repertoire of targeted treatments and clinical research opportunities. Foundation Medicine’s test will assist physicians to make prompt and informed determinations about the best cancer treatments and clinical trial options for each patient, taking into account each patient’s unique cancer-associated alterations alongside publicly available scientific and medical information. The company’s founding advisors are world leaders in genome technology, cancer biology and medical oncology; they, alongside clinicians, biotech and molecular diagnostics industry leaders, are working to harness emerging technologies to develop unparalleled tests that will identify and interpret an ever-growing set of actionable genomic alterations, truly enabling personalized cancer medicine. For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.foundationmedicine.com.

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Foundation Medicine and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Identify Novel Genomic Alterations in Lung and Colorectal Cancer

DENVER, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new study the preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, and those with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. The results may help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are the best fit for them to follow.  Atkins™, the original and leading low-carb weight-loss plan based on an extensive scientific body of research, is a better alternative for those who require a low-carb, higher-fat diet in order to lose and maintain weight.

"Fat is universally palatable to humans," says lead author Kathleen Keller, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, Penn State. "Yet we have demonstrated for the first time that people who have particular forms of the CD36 gene tend to like higher-fat foods more and may be at greater risk for obesity compared to those who do not have this form of the gene. Our study is one of the first to show this relationship in humans."

According to Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., vice president of nutrition and education for Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., "This study illustrates why some diets simply do not work for certain people who would fare better on a higher-fat, low-carbohydrate plan. We already know that Atkins offers a scientifically proven alternative that delivers better weight loss and health marker improvements among those who have carb intolerance, including those with metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes or insulin resistance.  Now we have a test that can help individuals identify their individual tendency and therefore prevent issues of sugar metabolism disorders by following a higher-fat, lower-carbohydrate program before obesity occurs."

Given that the Atkins Diet™ reduces carbohydrates during weight loss, the dieter is directed to increase their healthy carb intake until they find their personal carb balance – the level where their body can effectively metabolize carbs and burn fat for fuel while maintaining long-term weight loss. Atkins is unique in that no other weight-loss and maintenance program does this.  The Atkins Diet is backed by more than 80 published, peer-reviewed studies conducted over the past several decades.

The study "Common Variants in the CD36 Gene are Associated with Oral Fat Perception, Fat Preferences, and Obesity in African Americans," was led by a team of scientists from Penn State, Columbia University and Rutgers University who examined 317 African-American males and females because individuals in this ethnic group are highly vulnerable to obesity and thus are at greatest risk for obesity-related diseases.

"Our results may help explain why some people have more difficulty adhering to a low-fat diet than others and why these same people often have better compliance when they adopt higher-fat, low-carbohydrate diets.  The Atkins Diet is one example," says Keller.

About Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. is a leader in the $2.4 billion weight control nutrition category, and offers a powerful lifetime approach to weight loss and management. The Atkins Diet focuses on a healthy diet with reduced levels of refined carbohydrates and added sugars and encourages the consumption of protein, fiber, fruits, vegetables and good fats. Backed by research and consumer success stories, this approach allows the body to burn more fat and work more efficiently while helping individuals feel less hungry, more satisfied and more energetic.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., manufactures and sells a variety of nutrition bars and shakes designed around the nutritional principles of the Atkins Diet™.  Atkins' four product lines: Advantage®, Day Break™, Endulge™ and Cuisine™ appeal to a broad audience of both men and women who want to achieve their weight management goals and enjoy a healthier lifestyle. Atkins products are available online at atkins.com and in more than 30,000 locations throughout the U.S. and internationally. For more information, visit atkins.com.

 

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Atkins Diet Plan Ideal for Those with Fat Preference Gene

BRIDGEPORT -- Every person is unique. Thus, it follows that no two people will respond the same exact way to the same illness, the same medication or even the same food.

At least, that's the theory behind much of what's taught at the University of Bridgeport's College of Naturopathic Medicine, where students are trained in providing a more personalized kind of medical care. "Rather than (advocating) the practice of `Everyone with this disease gets this drug,' we focus on treating the individual," said Dr. David M. Brady, UB vice provost for health sciences.

The college will soon be able to expand its training and provide more naturopathic health services to the greater Bridgeport community with the development of its new Center for Excellence in Generative Medicine, which is slated to open in late March or early April. The center will be located in a grand, white former Victorian across the street from UB's Health Sciences Center, where many naturopathic students are currently trained.

The Center for Excellence will build on the work of its new director, Dr. Peter D'Adamo, supervising physician of the personalized medicine shift at the Health Sciences Center. D'Adamo is perhaps best known for writing the best-selling 1996 book "Eat Right 4 Your Type," which advocates the theory that your blood type is a genetic marker that dictates which types of foods are best for you.

As a doctor, he's designed a software program, called SWAMI, that uses various pieces of genetic information about a patient to determine which foods are most beneficial for him or her. "How does one person thrive on a low-fat diet and one person thrive on a low-carb diet?" D'Adamo said. "The truth is, there are probably as many different kinds of diets as there are people."

The SWAMI software is used as part of the naturopathic college's curriculum. He's also working on a form of software that uses genetic information and other data to determine the best medical therapies for an individual patient.

D'Adamo said, too often, physicians overlook things like genetic markers and nutrition when determining the best way to treat a patient. Among its many missions, the Center of Excellence will sponsor research in the fields of nutrigenomics and epigenetics, which examine how human genes interact and are affected by the environment, lifestyle and diet.

Brady and D'Adamo said the new center is in keeping with the university's commitment to both education and to serving the community. The university's health programs -- which include not just the naturopathic college, but also schools of acupuncture, chiropractic medicine, dental hygiene, human nutrition and a physician assistant school -- conduct about 20,000 patient visits a year and provide several million dollars worth of medical care. The care is provided at a low cost or no cost.

"The nice thing about this is we're offering a high level of health care to the medically underserved," Adamo said.

Many of UB's naturopathic students are looking forward to the opening of the new center, including Kristin Tomko, a fourth-year naturopathic medicine student from Jericho, Vt. "I think it's a great idea," she said.

acuda@ctpost.com; 203-330-6290; twitter.com/AmandaCuda; http://blog.ctnews.com/whatthehealth/

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University of Bridgeport to open 'Center of Excellence'

By Julian Gavaghan

Last updated at 11:00 AM on 13th February 2012

Twin brothers have told of their ‘devastation’ after both dramatically lost their sight to a rare condition that affects just a few hundred people.

Michael and Dan Smith, 20, are still determined to finish university and get good jobs after being left almost totally blind by Leber's Optic Neuropathy.

Michael, who is in football training for this year's Paralympic Games, lost his sight in a matter of weeks while in his first year at Bart's and the London School of Medicine.

Rare condition: Dan (left) and Michael Smith suffer from Leber's optic Neuropathy

Less than a year later, his brother Dan suffered the same fate while in his second year studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Bristol.

The identical pair, who can only make out shadowy shapes, have been forced to adapt their lives, learning Braille and re-learning how to cook and choose clothes.

 

They also plan to embark on a 350-mile tandem bike ride from London to Amsterdam in April.

Michael first noted changes to his vision in November 2009, forcing him into the ‘crushing’ realisation he could not continue his degree in medicine.

WHAT EXACTLY IS LEBER'S OPTIC NEUROPATHY?

Leber's Optic Neuropathy is a hereditary condition passed on by the mother’s genes.

The genetic defect, which can lead to optic nerve damage – or neuropathy, is carried by roughly one in every 9,000 people.

But genes, which can cause eye cells to die off quickly, can pass though several generations without triggering the condition.

Around 50 per cent of men and 80 per cent of women with it will suffer no loss of vision. No reason is known for the difference between the sexes.

In the Smith brothers’ case, they have been unable to find any family history of sudden onset blindness going back four generations.

The main symptom is the sudden loss of vision, which is caused by a death of cells in the optic nerve responsible for relaying visual information from the eyes to the brain.

Once cells start dying, affected eyes will begin seeing colours that appear more washed out. Within a period of eight weeks, it can lead to near or total blindness.

In many cases, only one eye is affected and patients may not be aware of the loss of colour vision until the doctor asks them to cover the healthy eye.

Most of the time, however, both eyes are affected. Sometimes vision improves, although this is very unusual.

‘My symptoms came on suddenly - one day I was in a lecture and I could not make out the projector in front of me, it was really hazy,’ he said.

‘I lost 70 per cent to 80 per cent of vision in my left eye in a very short space of time.

'I continued at medical school for a couple of weeks but it was taking me half an hour to read a page of A4 and I was breaking down in tears.

‘I did not know what was happening to me. I could not recognise people's faces and I quickly lost my independence.’

A genetic test eventually revealed Michael was suffering from the rare genetic condition, which also caused rapid sight loss in his right eye.

‘It was the end of life as I knew it,’ he said. ‘I could not carry on at medical school and that was incredibly distressing. In fact, it was crushing.

‘I can never describe how devastating it was to give up on medicine.

‘Not only that but I couldn't go for a run on my own without it being dangerous, I could not prepare food, I did not know what I was wearing.’

Dan also ‘could not comprehend what was happening’ when he heard Michael's news.

‘Michael has been the closest person to me all my life and this struck him in his first week at university,’ he said. ‘It was incredibly hard to see this happening to my brother.

‘He called me to say he thought something was wrong - he wasn't able to recognise people but didn't know why. That conversation still haunts me.

‘Doctors initially thought he had a brain tumour but tests revealed that he had this rare genetic disorder.

‘The whole family was devastated as we tried to comprehend what had happened.

‘It was the cruellest of timing because it was my brother's first term at medical school and he had his whole life ahead of him.’

But further terrible news was still to come. Because the pair are identical twins, Dan was told he had a 60 per cent to 70 per cent chance of also going blind.

Optic neuropathy: Cracks show nerve damage in the eye, caused by cells dying

‘Knowing I could lose my sight was psychologically very, very tough,’ he said.

‘Leber's Optic Neuropathy is known as 'The Sword of Damocles', based on the Greek parable, because your life goes from being great, in a period of heightened happiness, to hitting rock bottom in an instance.

‘I had a pretty tough time knowing that this dark cloud was hanging over me during my first two years at university.

‘It was effectively like sitting on a time bomb that could have gone off at any moment.’

In Easter 2010, Dan began to lose sight in his left eye and within three weeks there was also ‘full scale deterioration’ in his right eye.

Michael said: ‘Once I was diagnosed, the one thing I wanted in life was for this not to happen to my brother too.’

Although Leber's Optic Neuropathy is a hereditary condition, the brothers have been unable to find any family history going back four generations.

The twins, from Barnet, north London, can now make out shadows but use white canes to help them move around.

It is not known if they will lose their remaining sight but their condition is extremely unlikely to improve.

Nevertheless, they are determined to live life to the full. Michael is now studying geography at King's College London and wants to be a disability lawyer when he graduates.

Dan is still studying aeronautical engineering and aims to go into investment banking.

Michael said: ‘The last two years have been the most difficult but also the most exciting of my life.

‘We have had to learn new skills such as Braille and a new computer language that coverts text to speech. In lectures, we have note-takers.

‘Everything is through touch now, I select clothes through touch and texture and cooking is through touch and smell.

‘I thought I would never smile again, but we wanted our lives back.’

Damage: The normally smooth contour of the retina has large black areas where photoreceptors have been lost due to the macular degeneration

Michael plays for the England blind football team and is hoping to get picked for this year's Paralympic Games.

‘It's incredibly competitive but I'm training all the time,’ he said.

The Arsenal fans will undertake the London-Amsterdam tandem bike ride on April 6 to raise awareness of their condition.

They hope to raise over ?3,000 for Blind in Business, a charity which helps blind and partially sighted people into work.

Dan Mitchell, training and fundraising manager at Blind in Business, said: ‘Having the Smith brothers embark on such a challenging journey to raise money for this small charity shows they always want to work towards bigger challenges.

‘They have both been challenged academically and have pushed themselves as visually impaired people, working towards careers in engineering and law.’

Leber's Optic Neuropathy mostly strikes young men and is caused by complex genetic defects.

Vision loss results from the death of cells in the optic nerve responsible for relaying visual information from the eyes to the brain.

Although central vision gradually improves in a small number of cases, for most people vision loss is permanent.

Michael and Dan can be sponsored via http://www.justgiving.com/sevenmenfivebikes.

 

 

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Twin brothers' devastation after both rapidly lost their sight due to rare genetic condition

John Arispizabal

"The Creative Destruction of Medicine" by Eric Topol M.D.

In “The Creative Destruction of Medicine,’’ Eric Topol, a cardiologist and geneticist at Scripps Health and Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, argues that we are on the brink of a revolutionary transformation in which recent technological and scientific advances will enable the personalization of medicine in ways that would have seemed like science fiction only a short while ago.

The convergence of six major technological advances - cellphones, personal computers, the Internet, digital devices, genetic sequencing, and social networks - are, in Topol’s view, making the “creative destruction of medicine’’ inevitable.

Topol borrows the term from economist Joseph Schumpeter, who coined it to describe the way major innovations tend to prove disruptive, rendering existing systems and technologies obsolete, as a necessary step on the path to new and better ways of doing things.

The new technologies will, he argues, bring about radical changes in the ways scientific knowledge is processed and shared more quickly and broadly; patient data collected, with real-time monitoring and diagnosis; and treatment becomes increasingly individualized. He predicts much of this will be driven by patients and that doctors and others who might be inclined to resist these changes will be under pressure either to embrace, or at the very least, to step aside and not interfere with them. And these looming developments will improve not just patient care but the efficiency of the entire health care system.

One area Topol identifies as ripe for change involves how prescription medicines are used in the country, practices that run more than $300 billion a year. He cites studies showing that popular medications such as Lipitor and Crestor have been proven to benefit only 1 to 2 percent of patients taking them who do not already have heart disease. When it becomes possible to predict in advance which patients will benefit from these medicines, a large part of the $26 billion spent annually on them could be saved, to say nothing of preventing their sometimes serious adverse effects.

Plavix, a drug given to prevent blood clots (on which $9 billion was spent in 2010), is another example. It is now known that at least 30 percent of people are unable to convert it into its active form due to genetic mutations. Not only does giving it to someone who cannot metabolize it place that person at risk for developing a dangerous blood clot, it, too, wastes resources.

Genetic variability explains why some people respond well to certain medications while others do not or suffer adverse effects from them. While the genetic mutations that determine responsiveness to Plavix can be tested for (and are, in certain medical centers), many others that affect other medications remain unknown. It is likely that as more are discovered, genetic sequencing will become a routine part of how specific treatments are chosen for patients.

This runs against the current model of using data derived from population studies of groups of patients to inform treatment decisions. Currently, there is considerable pressure from insurers on physicians to adhere to guidelines based upon data from population studies, and those who do not are penalized under the banner of “pay for performance.’’ Yet biology is more complex than standardization allows for, and simply drawing straight lines through uneven scatters of data points doesn’t change this fact.

A small warning: This book is packed with information and so some spots may be slow going for the less quantitative among us. But Topol does an excellent job of explaining all, and his enthusiasm for the possibilities of what the future holds is infectious. It can only be hoped, as the convergence he so convincingly predicts materializes, that the barriers erected by the gatekeepers of yesterday’s paradigms will be easily dismantled so as not to impede the benefits it promises.

Try BostonGlobe.com today and get two weeks FREE. Dennis Rosen, a pediatric pulmonologist, can be reached at dennis.rosen@childrens.harvard.edu.

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‘The Creative Destruction of Medicine’ by Eric Topol - The Boston Globe

02-11-2011 18:46 The new drug Kalydeco is being hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of cystic fibrosis, targeting the underlying genetic cause of the disease decreasing the symptoms. Dr. Jon LaPook reports.

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CBS Evening News - Breakthrough in cystic fibrosis treatment - Video

26-01-2012 07:54 Air date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 3:00:00 PM Timedisplayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local Category: Wednesday Afternoon Lectures Description: Patients with diseased or injured organs may be treated with transplanted organs. There is a severe shortage of donor organs which is worsening yearly due to the aging population. Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering apply the principles of cell transplantation, material sciences, and bioengineering to construct biological substitutes that may restore and maintain normal function in diseased and injured tissues. Stem cells may offer a potentially limitless source of cells for tissue engineering applications and are opening new options for therapy. Recent advances that have occurred in regenerative medicine will be reviewed and applications of these new technologies that may offer novel therapies for patients with end-stage tissue and organ failure will be described. The NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series includes weekly scientific talks by some of the top researchers in the biomedical sciences worldwide. For more information, visit: The NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series Author: Anthony Atala, MD, Wake Forest School of Medicine Runtime: 00:51:29 Permanent link: videocast.nih.gov

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Regenerative Medicine: Current Concepts and Changing Trends - Video

08-02-2012 18:31 Dr Kevin Southern talks about gene therapy as a possible treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. He is interviewed by Caitlin. This film is part of the Changing Futures Project: http://www.changing-futures.co.uk.

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Gene Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis - an Interview with Dr Kevin Southern - Video

11-01-2012 23:04 If you would like more information please call us Toll Free at 877-578-7908. Or visit our website at http://www.usastemcells.com Or click here to have a Free Phone Constultation with Dr. Matthew Burks usastemcells.com Real patient testimonials for USA Stem Cells. Adult stem cell therapy for COPD, Emphysema, and Pulmonary fibrosis.

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Adult Stem Cell Treatments for COPD -Real patient results, USA Stem Cells- Shirlen M. Testimonial - Video

16-01-2012 03:59 http://www.telethon.it - Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is a rare genetic disease that affects the immune system and increases a tendency to contract infections and experience haemorrhages. Alessandro Aiuti, a researcher at the San Raffaele-Telethon Institute of Milan explains the causes and tells us how today, thanks to Telethon's research, gene therapy can provide real hope for treatment for these patients.

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Wiskott-Aldrich: new hope provided by gene therapy - Video

22-11-2011 11:13 (3:42) Yingxi Lin, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, uses molecular, genetic, and electrophysiological methods to understand how inhibitory circuits form within the brain, and how they are shaped by activity and experience. mcgovern.mit.edu - Learn more about Yingxi Lin [Stock footage courtesy of pond5 and Elekta Instrument AB]

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Meet Yingxi Lin - Video

12-01-2012 16:34 UPDATE: For those of you who will say I get bad grades in school...In high school I was in the top 150 on my class and at Ohio University I have a 3.4 GPA and have made the Dean's List every single quarter/semester except for once when I was a decimal point shy. Also I'm very athletic and have been told I can easily make my college hoops team but I decide not to because it would take away a great deal of time from my social life and my girlfriend. Please share and get this out there! Also don't be afraid to comment whether supporting or enjoying a specific part of the piece or if you have a question. DOWNLOAD THE PAPER HERE: http://www.4shared.com

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Proof Video Games Don't Cause Violence ~ A Research Paper - Video

14-11-2011 15:08 This tune is taken from the Genetic Identification EP released today on Dubsaw! Big release which you can buy here: http://www.beatport.com Find BIOMETRIX on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com Find BIOMETRIX on YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com Find BIOMETRIX on TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com DarkstepWarrior: http://www.facebook.com soundcloud.com HardstepWarrior: http://www.youtube.com

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Biometrix - Genetic Identification - Video

17-01-2012 05:07 DigInfo TV - diginfo.tv 22

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"Low-Cadmium" Rice Through Genetic Modification #DigInfo - Video

13-01-2012 06:26 The Lord will keep you safe from all evil; he will take care of your soul.Psalm 121:7 Youtube - They Sold Their Souls For Music Jesus is the Truth John 15-4 Baking Soda (SODIUM BICARBONATE) + hot water + drink = Cancer CURE (One teaspoon a week)

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Joe Rogan Pod cast Ron Paul genetic engineering. - Video

15-12-2011 19:02 This is a comparison of predictions between two direct-to-consumer genetics companies, 23andMe and Navigenics. This study was conducted in 2009 and published in Nature 461:725 (October 2009 issue). Authors: Pauline C. Ng, Sarah S. Murray, Samuel Levy, J. Craig Venter

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Personalized medicine: 23andMe

06-01-2012 11:46 pennstatehershey.org In this episode of Medicine in Blue and White: The incredible connection between one fourteen year old boy -- and the thousands of people he has helped over the past forty years. Combining aerospace engineering and medical technology to help improve health care in developing countries. Never-before-seen-behavior under the microscope that could lead to a cure for some of the most challenging diseases we face. And a new way to test for what is -- literally -- an age-old problem.

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Medicine in Blue and White - Episode 3 - Penn State Hershey Medical Center - Video

16-12-2011 14:26 Characterizing and Displaying Genetic Variants for Clinical Action Workshop December 1-2, 2011 More: http://www.genome.gov

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Genome Enabled Electronic Medical Record (GenE EMR) - William Knaus - Video

31-12-2011 03:40 In recent years, astonishing technological developments have pushed the frontiers of humanity toward far-reaching morphological transformation that promises in the very near future to redefine what it means to be human. An international, intellectual, and fast-growing cultural movement known as transhumanism intends the use of genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology (Grin technologies) as tools that will radically redesign our minds, our memories, our physiology, our offspring, and even perhaps—as Joel Garreau in his best-selling book, Radical Evolution, claims—our very souls. The technological, cultural, and metaphysical shift now underway unapologetically forecasts a future dominated by this new species of unrecognizably superior humans, and applications under study now to make this dream a reality are being funded by thousands of government and private research facilities around the world. As the reader will learn, this includes, among other things, rewriting human dna and combining humans with beasts, a fact that some university studies and transhumanists believe will not only alter our bodies and souls but ultimately could open a door to contact with unseen intelligence. http://www.ForbiddenGate.com http http://www.RaidersNewsNetwork.com http

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Transhumanism - Genetic Manipulation - Tom Horn + Steve Quayle - Video