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Category Archives: Stem Cells

Hemp, Inc. Announces BioSwan, Inc. — An Update on One of its Spinoffs

Posted: December 22, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Hemp, Inc. is proud to announce the naming of BioSwan, Inc., a new spin-off of Hemp, Inc., dedicated to improving the quality of life via its proprietary all natural formulations and modalities designed to increase the bodys production of pluripotent adult stem cells, according to the Kimble Group.

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) December 21, 2012

Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., stated, "This could be an enormous benefit to Hemp, Inc. shareholders. While our research uncovered the valuable herbal blends that increase the specific stem cells, it is outside of Hemps core business and detracts from the management teams ability to focus. By spinning it off, the shareholders receive stock in BioSwan, Inc. This spinoff will have a dedicated and focused management team completely separate from Hemp, Inc. thereby allowing Hemp, Inc. improved focus. Everyone wins."

The National Institute of Health resource for stem cell research defines Pluripotent as, The state of a single cell that is capable of differentiating into all tissues of an organism. Pluripotent adult stem cells are rare and generally small in number but can be found in a number of tissues.

Current adult stem cell research targets the capacity of the cells to divide or self-renew indefinitely. Bone marrow stem cell, whose quantity declines with age, has been found to be one of the rich sources of adult stem cells, and has been used in treating Spinal cord injury, Liver Cirrhosis, Chronic Limb Ischemia, and Endstage heart failure. Adult stem cell treatments have been successfully used for many years to treat leukemia and related bone/blood cancers through bone marrow transplants. Adult stem cells are also used in veterinary medicine to treat tendon and ligament injuries in horses.

The National Institute of Health website states: Imagine if doctors were able to reverse age-related, chronic degeneration and bring the body back to its original health and vigor. The website continues, A study in mice found that function could be restored to injured muscle tissue by reactivating existing stem cells rather than transplanting new ones and that, The ability to reactivate dormant adult stem cells continues to be investigated.

Hemp, Inc. President David Tobias continued, "Aging is an issue that effects everyone, and it is gratifying to be able to participate and assist in a venture to improve health and the quality of life."

Lynita Kimble The Kimble Group, LLC (202) 695-2077 Email Information

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Breakthrough on breast cancer stem cells

Posted: December 22, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Queensland researchers have developed a way to identify breast cancer stem cells suspected of being the trigger for cancer growth.

Researchers from Griffith University and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) are working towards making breast cancer stem cells the target of specific cancer therapies, to improve treatment outcomes.

"We have described a method to identify specific proteins which are found in those stem cells, so it may be possible to identify their location and study them," Griffith University's Associate Professor Alejandro Lopez said on Friday.

"This will help us establish why breast cancer stem cells are different from other cells and potentially how to stop them from developing into cancer."

Professor Jeff Gorman from QIMR's Protein Discovery Centre said the research was an example of scientific collaboration at its best.

"It's the perfect marriage of biology and technology," he said.

QIMR's Protein Discovery Centre is one of the most advanced laboratories in Australia for the study of proteins and their effects on a range of infectious diseases and cancers.

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Mesenchymal Stem Cells Mobilize Body’s Own Healing Cells According to New Research Published in STEM CELLS …

Posted: December 22, 2012 at 12:49 pm

Mesenchymal (MSC) stem cells send out homing signals that recruit other stem cells and mobilize them to heal wounds, researchers at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have discovered. MSC stem cells are better suited to initiating the healing process rather than repairing tissue damage themselves, the researchers explain in an article published today in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

Durham, NC (PRWEB) December 21, 2012

Scientists Daniel Peterson and Laura Shin used MSC cells extracted from human bone marrow and grafted them into wounds of healthy mice and mice with diabetes. Mice in both groups each had two separate wounds to better allow the researchers to study the precise role the cells played in healing.

Some mice in each group received MSC cells in one wound while others did not receive the cells at all.

After studying the differences in healing, signaling and cell populations in the mice, Peterson and Shin learned that both normal and impaired mice given MSC cells healed more quickly, even in wounds that did not receive direct MSC cell grafts.

The mice that received MSC cells demonstrated a systemic response, Peterson said. This suggests that the key to repairing injured tissue does not hinge on where you place the MSC cells in the body, but on learning exactly how the MSC cells recruit their counterparts already in the body.

Researchers have investigated the behavior of MSC cells in a wide range of clinical trials including studies related to Crohns disease, Type 1 diabetes, bone defects and heart muscle disease. However, although MSC cells have come to be regarded as a magic bullet for tissue repair, no one until now has been able to explain how they do the job.

Discovering more about the signals MSC cells use to trigger the bodys own stem cells to heal could lead to new cell-free therapies, Peterson said. For example, scientists could develop treatments using small molecules or drugs as an alternative to costly cell-mediated therapies.

These findings broaden our view of therapeutic targets to include the host response, he said. The improvement in impaired and normal wound healing has significant clinical relevance for all wounds, chronic and acute.

This study indicates that signals within the wound bed may be activated after engraftment, suggesting that controlling mobilization is a key to success in future therapies, said Anthony Atala, MD, Editor of Stem Cells Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

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Mesenchymal Stem Cells Mobilize Body’s Own Healing Cells According to New Research Published in STEM CELLS ...

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OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Therapeutic OMP-52M51 (Anti-Notch1)

Posted: December 22, 2012 at 12:49 pm

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, today announced that patient dosing has begun in a Phase 1 clinical trial of OMP-52M51 in patients with hematologic cancers. OMP-52M51 is OncoMeds fifth product candidate to enter clinical development. OMP-52M51 is a proprietary monoclonal antibody that targets the Notch1 receptor. Enrollment of the first patient in the Anti-Notch1 Phase 1 trial has triggered a $4 million milestone payment from the companys strategic collaborator GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

The first Phase 1 clinical trial of OMP-52M51 is an open-label dose escalation and expansion study in patients with hematologic cancers. These patients are assessed for safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and initial evidence of efficacy, and the clinical trial will also assess a predictive biomarker-based patient selection approach. OncoMed also has filed an additional IND application with the FDA to evaluate this monoclonal antibody in patients with solid tumors.

The trial is being conducted at several sites in the United States including Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) in Nashville, Tennessee. According to Dr. Ian Flinn of SCRI, who treated the first patient with OMP-52M51, It is exciting to bring a novel antibody such as OMP-52M51 that targets the Notch pathway, a key cancer stem cell pathway, into the clinic. There is significant scientific evidence to suggest that Notch1 could be an important therapeutic target in hematological malignancies, and we look forward to generating clinical data that might help patients with these cancers. The biomarker strategy employed in this study is also quite innovative.

We continue to execute on our core strategy of discovering and advancing novel product candidates that target cancer stem cells, said Paul Hastings, President and Chief Executive Officer of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals. OncoMeds clinical pipeline is broad, and with the addition of this novel Anti-Notch1 antibody, we now have 5 product candidates in the clinic, several which are advancing towards Phase 2 testing. We have made significant progress in building and developing our pipeline, and we look forward to generating important clinical data across each of our product candidates now being tested in humans.

About OMP-52M51

OMP-52M51 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeted to the Notch1 receptor that has shown substantial anti-tumor and anti-CSC activity in Notch-dependent hematologic malignancies and solid tumors in preclinical studies. Certain hematologic malignancies have mutations that increase Notch1 signaling activity and may be a primary driver of tumor growth, as well as resistance to chemotherapy. Predictive biomarker tests have been identified that enable analyses of potential predictive biomarkers in clinical trials for OMP-52M51 to identify those subsets of patients with certain hematologic malignancies or certain solid tumors that may benefit most from the product candidate. OMP-52M51 is part of OncoMeds strategic collaboration with GSK. In December 2007, OncoMed and GSK entered into a broad strategic alliance to discover and develop novel product candidates targeting CSCs via Notch pathway signaling modulation. GSK retains an option through the end of certain Phase 1 or certain Phase 2 clinical trials to obtain an exclusive license to OMP-52M51.

About Cancer Stem Cells

Cancer stem cells, or CSCs, are the subpopulation of cells in a tumor responsible for driving growth and metastasis of the tumor. CSCs, also known as tumor-initiating cells, exhibit certain properties which include the capacity to divide and give rise to new CSCs via a process called self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate or change into the other cells that form the bulk of the tumor. Common cancer drugs target bulk tumor cells but have limited impact on CSCs, thereby providing a path for recurrence of the tumor. OncoMeds product candidates target CSCs by blocking self-renewal and driving differentiation of CSCs toward a non-tumorigenic state, and also impact bulk tumor cells. OncoMed believes its product candidates are distinct from the current generations of chemotherapies and targeted therapies, and have the potential to significantly impact cancer treatment and the clinical outcome of patients with cancer.

About OncoMed Pharmaceuticals

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San Diego Newspaper Calls for Major Changes at California Stem Cell Agency

Posted: December 21, 2012 at 3:46 pm

The San Diego U-T today ran an
editorial that was headlined “Stem cell research institute must fix itself.”

The editorial was written in response
to findings by the Institute of Medicine that the $3 billion
California stem cell should make sweeping changes to deal with issues
ranging from conflicts of interest to management structure.
The San Diego U-T editorial came as part of
a unanimous reaction so far from California newspapers.
The San Diego paper said,

“We hope we
are wrong in thinking that, given the number of times the same
criticisms of CIRM have come up over the past seven years, the agency
doesn’t really take them seriously.

“If that is
the agency’s attitude, it could well be a fatal error. CIRM has
enough money remaining from the original $3 billion to continue
awarding research grants for another four years. But it will either
have to go back to California voters in 2014 or 2016 for another bond
issue to continue its operations or find a different source of
funding.

“Whichever
CIRM decides, whoever is asked to foot the bill, either taxpayers or
the private sector will demand transparency and accountability. We
hope CIRM can demonstrate it.”

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Boxing in the California Stem Cell Board

Posted: December 21, 2012 at 3:13 pm

Robert Klein is much admired for his
prodigious efforts on behalf of stem cell research, including his
service as the first chairman of the $3 billion California stem cell
agency.

Klein was adept at many tasks, such as
directing the ballot campaign that resulted in passage of Proposition
71
in 2004 and creation of of the agency. One of Klein's less
publicly recognized skills was putting the governing board of the
agency in a box from time to time.
The 29 members of that board could well
be headed for another box – this time in connection with their
position on the Institute of Medicine's sweeping recommendations for major changes at the stem cell agency.
Here is how that could work based on a
similar situation in 2009 involving Klein and the Little Hoover
Commission
, the state's good government agency.
Klein did not welcome the inquiry by
the commission, which was requested by state lawmakers who had butted
heads with Klein. He knew that the commission would come up with
recommendations that he would find odious.
So even before the Hoover report was
released in its final form, Klein had the board's outside counsel,
James Harrison, prepare a legal memo on a draft version of the study.
Harrison's memo said many of the most far-reaching recommendations of
the commission would require a vote of the people – a more costly
and unlikely proposition than a vote of the legislature.
Harrison's memo was dated June 23,
2009. The commission report was released June 26, 2009. On June 30, 2009, Klein warned directors in an email that support of some of the
proposals would violate their oath of office. The first time a
subcommittee of directors had to a chance to react publicly came on
July 16, 2009. The full board did not have the Hoover report on its
agenda until Aug. 6, 2009. By that time, they were thoroughly boxed
in.
Their choices were minimal, even if
they disagreed with Klein. To do anything other than go along with
him would mean rejection of a 10-page legal opinion from Harrison,
which could be interpreted as no-confidence vote on Harrison and
possibly Klein. Board members were not interested in losing
Harrison, who has been valuable asset to the board since day one.
Overthrowing Klein was even less likely in 2009.
Harrison is currently revisiting his
2009 memo in the wake of the Institute of Medicine recommendations,
which echo some of the major Hoover proposals. The board has also
scheduled a workshop for Jan. 23 that will discuss the IOM proposals.
If Harrison produces another legal memo
that is as explicit as the 2009 document, CIRM directors will have
few choices.  The best procedure may well be for Harrison
to continue his work on the memo until after the Jan. 23 meeting.
Directors could then decide on initial steps in connection with the
IOM recommendations and ask Harrison how they can proceed legally, although the task is really more of a political challenge than a legal
one.
Directors paid $700,000 for the IOM's evaluation and advice. It is a prestigious body with virtually no critics in the scientific community. It would be odd, to say the least, for CIRM directors to now reject major recommendations from the blue-ribbon panel only because the proposals might require a statewide vote. The response is likely to be from some: Well, stem cell directors, let's have a statewide vote, and we expect you to support the IOM changes if you plan to seek additional state funding. 
Placing another stem cell measure on the ballot -- with or without related additional funding for the agency -- would bring into play a host of issues, including possible elimination of the agency. Not to mention disturbing existing stakeholder relationships and raising uncertainty in the scientific and biotech business communities. 
Directors believe the agency has made a major contribution both to California and to science. So does the IOM. The directors need to move forward on the IOM recommendations if they are to continue their research efforts beyond 2017, when cash for new grants runs out.  And putting the board in a box is not the best way to give them the room they need to maneuver. 

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Michael Boo of National Marrow Donor Program on public banking – at World Cord Blood Congress 2012 – Video

Posted: December 21, 2012 at 5:46 am


Michael Boo of National Marrow Donor Program on public banking - at World Cord Blood Congress 2012
Michael Boo, Chief Strategy Officer of the National Marrow Donor Program, spoke at the World Cord Blood Congress 2012 on the topic, #39;Assisting public banks in marketing to potential donors and the general financial viability of public banking. #39; World Cord Blood Congress is where private and public cord blood banks, pharma and biotechs, academia and government come to debate advances in cord blood banking and therapeutics. For more information, go to http://www.terrapinn.com/cordblood. Or, check out our blog at blogs.terrapinn.com/total-biopharma for up to date information on the stem cells, RM and cord blood banking and therapeutics sectors.From:biopharmachannelViews:0 0ratingsTime:25:38More inScience Technology

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Michael Boo of National Marrow Donor Program on public banking - at World Cord Blood Congress 2012 - Video

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Having stem cells – Video

Posted: December 21, 2012 at 5:46 am


Having stem cells
before and afterFrom:FeverantViews:37 5ratingsTime:11:04More inEntertainment

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Having stem cells - Video

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2208SB INDIA-STEM CELLS BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS – Video

Posted: December 21, 2012 at 5:46 am


2208SB INDIA-STEM CELLS BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS
2208SB INDIA-STEM CELLS BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSFrom:BYNTVNewsViews:0 0ratingsTime:01:13More inNews Politics

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Karen Babos of Optum Health on reimbursement for transplants – at World Cord Blood Congress 2012 – Video

Posted: December 21, 2012 at 5:46 am


Karen Babos of Optum Health on reimbursement for transplants - at World Cord Blood Congress 2012
Dr. Karen Babos, Senior National Medical Director at Optum Health, spoke at the World Cord Blood Congress 2012 on the topic, #39;Ensuring reimbursement from insurance companies for cordblood transplants. #39; World Cord Blood Congress is where private and public cord blood banks, pharma and biotechs, academia and government come to debate advances in cord blood banking and therapeutics. For more information, go to http://www.terrapinn.com/cordblood. Or, check out our blog at blogs.terrapinn.com/total-biopharma for up to date information on the stem cells, RM and cord blood banking and therapeutics sectors.From:biopharmachannelViews:0 0ratingsTime:25:21More inScience Technology

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