The F.D.A. Will Now Allow Lab Animals to Be Adopted – Smithsonian.com

The Food and Drug Administration will now put healthy research animals up for adoption after their time in the lab is complete. The new rule affects dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and some farm animal species, reports The Hills Rachel Bucchino.

The F.D.A. uses animal testing to understand the effects of medical products, like drugs, vaccines and medical devices, before research can move to clinical trials involving humans. Per the F.D.A., animal research is necessary to understand attributes like how quickly a medication is absorbed by the body and how quickly its effects wear off. Animal testing also gives insight into any toxic byproducts that show up as the drug is broken down and how long those byproducts remain in the body. Medical devices that are made from new materials need to be tested in animals for the same reasons.

In the past, research animals were generally euthanized at the end of research, even if they were healthy. But in November, the F.D.A. updated their policies to encourage lab animal retirementadoption into furever homes. The change wasnt publicly disclosed by the F.D.A. until now.

The FDA has an internal policy for the placement of research animals after study completion that has not been made public, Monique Richards, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, told The Hill.

The new policy follows suit with the National Institutes of Health, which enacted a similar policy in August of last year, and the Department of Veteran Affairs, which put a policy in place encouraging adoption of research dogs in 2018. Several states have laws encouraging labs to find adopters for common domestic animals used in their research, but no nationwide requirement currently exists.

In 2019, an animal advocacy group called the White Coat Waste Project brought scrutiny against a USDA research program studying toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis eggs are spread through cat feces, so the researchers fed kittens tainted dog and cat meat to infect them with the parasite, which relies on cats as part of its life cycle. Between 2013 and 2018, 239 cats were killed in the study, per NPRs Vanessa Romo, and after WCWs report the USDA shut down all cat experiments and adopted out 14 healthy cats.

In 2019, U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine introduced the Animal Freedom from Testing, Experiments and Research (AFTER) Act, which would put a nationwide policy in place regarding animal adoptions after a life in the lab.

There is no reason why regulated research animals that are suitable for adoption or retirement should be killed by our federal agencies, Collins said in a statement to The Hill. Im pleased that the FDA has joined the NIH and VA in enacting a lab animal retirement policy.

Julie Germany, executive director of the White Coat Waste Project, adopted a dog named Violet from a government-funded lab. At first, Violet was extremely anxious, having grown up in a lab and never seen the outdoors, Germany tells The Dodos Arin Greenwood. Violet hadnt been house trained and needed a diaper, and was taught by the family cat, Bert, how to climb the stairs. But by 2017, Violet became well-adjusted to life in a loving home.

The FDA should be a role model for other federal agencies that are experimenting on animals, but have not yet agreed to allow them to be released at the end of testing, Justin Goodman, vice president of the White Coat Waste Project, tells The Hill.

The United States 2020 budgetary spending bill also contains goals to reduce the use of dogs and cats in federally funded medical research. Some researchers have expressed concern over the new legislation, which represents the first time Congress has set "hard deadlines for the elimination and reduction of experiments on dogs, cats and primates," Goodman told Science magazines David Grimm in 2019.

There is some language that could set a dangerous precedent for deciding how research in the U.S. should be conducted in the future, explains Matthew Bailey, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, in a 2019 interview with Science. Today, it is animals in biomedical research; tomorrow, it may be climate science, tobacco research, stem cell research, occupational health research, or even epidemiology.

He adds, Eventually that research will be more likely to move to other countries, which isnt good for American competitiveness, animal welfare, or the publics health.

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Attacking pancreatic cancer with the help of the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease in cows – FierceBiotech

Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to treat, with five-year survival rate of less than10%. While looking for ways to tackle the deadly tumor, scientists at Queen Mary University of London, AstraZeneca and ADC Therapeutics identified an unexpected ally: the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease in cows.

The researchers found that a peptide taken from the foot-and-mouth virus can seek out pancreatic cancer cells. Arming the peptide guide with a toxic warhead killed pancreatic tumors in mice and significantly prolonged the animals lifespans, according to a new study published in the journal Theranostics.

The peptide was taken from the VP1 coat protein of the foot-and-mouthvirus. It can target integrin v6, a protein thats overexpressed in most pancreatic cancers but is low or absent in the normal pancreas.

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Our previous research had shown that 84% of pancreatic cancer patients have high levels of v6 on their cancers, John Marshall, the studys senior author, explained in a statement. Foot-and-mouth-disease virus uses v6 as a route to infect cattle, as the virus binds to this protein on a cow's tongue. By testing pieces of the protein in the virus that attaches to v6, we've developed a route to deliver a drug specifically to pancreatic cancers.

Researchers linked the v6-specific peptide to the payload tesirine, a drug developed by Spirogen, which was boughtby AstraZeneca in 2013 in a $440 million deal.

Marshall and colleagues tested their peptide-drug conjugate, now dubbed SG3299, in cancer cells grown in lab dishes and in mouse models of pancreatic cancer. The drug killed off cancer cell lines, while a non-v6-targeting tesirine combo failed to bind to them, the team reported.

Cancer cells can form little spheres in lab dishes that are believed to help enrich the stem cell-like properties in pancreatic cells, which have been linked to tumor metastasis and development of treatment resistance. In patient-derived xenografts, the researchers found that SG3299 significantly reduced the number of spheres.

In mice, the drug also showed promising results. When used at a small dosage given three times a week, SG3299 significantly reduced the size of tumors. At an increased strength given bi-weekly, the drug eliminated tumors in four out of fivemiceand left just one small tumor in the other animal. The tumor reduction also translated into survival benefits. Mice that got SG3299 were all alive after 130 days, whereas those given avb6-specific peptide alone or a non-v6-targeting drug only posted median survival 62.5 days and 95 daysrespectively.

RELATED:Swiss biotech ADC Therapeutics guns for $150M IPO

The idea of delivering highly potent drug right to the cancer target resembles that of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a technology thats already been applied in FDA-approved anticancer therapies such as Roches Kadcyla and Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZenecas Enhertu. Tesirine has also been used to design ADCs, perhaps most notably in AbbVies failed small-cell lung cancer med Rova-T (ravalpituzumab tesirine).

Swiss biotech ADC Therapeutics is backed by AstraZeneca and recently withdrew a potential $200 million initial public offering. The companys lead candidates, ADCT-402 and ADCT-301, also use tesirine in their constructs and theyre under clinical testing in blood cancers.

Marshalls team hopes targeting v6 with their peptide-drug conjugate could become a new weapon against pancreatic cancer.

One advantage of targeting v6 is that it is very specific to the cancerbecause most normal human tissues have little or none of this protein, he said. So we're hopeful that, if we can develop this into an effective treatment for pancreatic cancer, it would have limited side effects.

Moving forward, the team plans to further test SG3299 in more complex mice models to explore the drugs ability to stop cancer metastases before starting clinical trials.

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Stem Cell Assay Market 2020 Booming by Size, Revenue, Trend and Top Companies 2026 – Instant Tech News

New Jersey, United States, The report titled, Stem Cell Assay Market Size and Forecast 2026 in Verified Market Research offers its latest report on the global Stem Cell Assay market that includes comprehensive analysis on a range of subjects like competition, segmentation, regional expansion, and market dynamics. The report sheds light on future trends, key opportunities, top regions, leading segments, the competitive landscape, and several other aspects of the Stem Cell Assay market. Get access to crucial market information. Market players can use the report back to peep into the longer term of the worldwide Stem Cell Assay market and convey important changes to their operating style and marketing tactics to realize sustained growth.

Global Stem Cell Assay market was valued at USD 536.53million in 2016 and is projected to reach USD 2858.95millionby 2025, growing at a CAGR of 20.43% from 2017 to 2025.

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Top 10 Companies in the Global Stem Cell Assay Market Research Report:

Global Stem Cell Assay Market: Competitive Landscape

Competitive landscape of a market explains strategies incorporated by key players of the market. Key developments and shift in management in the recent years by players has been explained through company profiling. This helps readers to understand the trends that will accelerate the growth of market. It also includes investment strategies, marketing strategies, and product development plans adopted by major players of the market. The market forecast will help readers make better investments.

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The research report also points out the myriad opportunities, challenges, and market barriers present in the Global Stem Cell Assay Market. The comprehensive nature of the information will help the reader determine and plan strategies to benefit from. Restrains, challenges, and market barriers also help the reader to understand how the company can prevent itself from facing downfall.

Global Stem Cell Assay Market: Segment Analysis

This section of the report includes segmentation such as application, product type, and end user. These segmentations aid in determining parts of market that will progress more than others. The segmentation analysis provides information about the key elements that are thriving the specific segments better than others. It helps readers to understand strategies to make sound investments. The Global Stem Cell Assay Market is segmented on the basis of product type, applications, and its end users.

Global Stem Cell Assay Market: Regional Analysis

This part of the report includes detailed information of the market in different regions. Each region offers different scope to the market as each region has different government policy and other factors. The regions included in the report are North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Information about different region helps the reader to understand global market better.

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Table of Content

1 Introduction of Stem Cell Assay Market

1.1 Overview of the Market 1.2 Scope of Report 1.3 Assumptions

2 Executive Summary

3 Research Methodology of Verified Market Research

3.1 Data Mining 3.2 Validation 3.3 Primary Interviews 3.4 List of Data Sources

4 Stem Cell Assay Market Outlook

4.1 Overview 4.2 Market Dynamics 4.2.1 Drivers 4.2.2 Restraints 4.2.3 Opportunities 4.3 Porters Five Force Model 4.4 Value Chain Analysis

5 Stem Cell Assay Market, By Deployment Model

5.1 Overview

6 Stem Cell Assay Market, By Solution

6.1 Overview

7 Stem Cell Assay Market, By Vertical

7.1 Overview

8 Stem Cell Assay Market, By Geography

8.1 Overview 8.2 North America 8.2.1 U.S. 8.2.2 Canada 8.2.3 Mexico 8.3 Europe 8.3.1 Germany 8.3.2 U.K. 8.3.3 France 8.3.4 Rest of Europe 8.4 Asia Pacific 8.4.1 China 8.4.2 Japan 8.4.3 India 8.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific 8.5 Rest of the World 8.5.1 Latin America 8.5.2 Middle East

9 Stem Cell Assay Market Competitive Landscape

9.1 Overview 9.2 Company Market Ranking 9.3 Key Development Strategies

10 Company Profiles

10.1.1 Overview 10.1.2 Financial Performance 10.1.3 Product Outlook 10.1.4 Key Developments

11 Appendix

11.1 Related Research

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TAGS: Stem Cell Assay Market Size, Stem Cell Assay Market Growth, Stem Cell Assay Market Forecast, Stem Cell Assay Market Analysis, Stem Cell Assay Market Trends, Stem Cell Assay Market

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Stem Cell Artificial Meat : Industry Analysis and Forecast 2020 2025 By Key Players-, Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Memphis Meats, Boca Foods -…

Report Hive Research adds a new research study titled Stem Cell Artificial Meat Market report to its market intelligence database. This research report is a product of profound market analysis by our team of Research analysts, who are endowed with excellent research skills and years of experience. Our reports are majorly focused on, future trends, market outlook, market drivers, product consumption, production demand, revenue generation, sales volume, and many other important aspects linked to the market dynamics.

Along with focus laid on the important factors that have been positively influencing the Stem Cell Artificial Meat market growth over the forecast timeframe, the analysts have also put forth the restraining factors that are anticipated to slow down business growth in the upcoming future. This is because we believe in complete transparency rather than just shedding praises over the market, so as to sell the report. The challenges anticipated to hamper the market growth are pointed out along with proper guidelines to avoid the unpleasant market situations in the near future.

Key companies operational in the global Stem Cell Artificial Meat market mentioned in the report:

Beyond MeatImpossible FoodsMemphis MeatsBoca FoodsKelloggsMorningstar FarmsSulian

Stem Cell Artificial Meat market By Product Type:

Bovine Stem Cell Artificial MeatFish Stem Cell Artificial MeatOthers

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Bovine Stem Cell Artificial MeatFish Stem Cell Artificial MeatOthers

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Astrocytes Show Protective Role in Early-stage ALS – Technology Networks

Motor neuron disease is a degenerative condition which destroys the nerve cells (motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord, which control movement, speech, swallowing and breathing. The most common type of motor neuron disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which affects around 5,000 people in the UK at any one time.A new study found that in this disease, the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord become sick and die when a protein, called TDP-43, misfolds and accumulates in the wrong place within the motor neurons. Conversely, when this happens in a type of cell that supports motor neurons, called astrocytes, these cells appear comparatively resistant and survive.

When these two types of cells are close together, the more-resistant astrocytes are able to protect motor neurons from the misfolded protein. This rescue-mechanism helps the motor neurons, which are needed to control muscles, live longer.

The role astrocytes have played in dealing with toxic forms of TDP-43 in motor neurons has not been previously well documented in motor neuron disease. Its exciting that weve now found that they may play an important protective role in the early-stages of this disease, explains Phillip Smethurst, lead author. This has huge therapeutic potential finding ways to harness the protective properties of astrocytes could pave the way to new treatments. This could prolong their rescue function or find a way to mimic their behavior in motor neurons so that they can protect themselves from the toxic protein.

This research also established a new model for studying motor neuron disease. This new method more closely resembles the disease in patients as it uses healthy human stem cells, derived from skin cells, and spinal cord tissue samples donated by patients with motor neuron disease, collected post-mortem.

It is thanks to the selfless donations from people with motor neuron disease, that we were able to study the interplay between motor neurons and astrocytes in conditions that closely resemble what happens in humans. These human cell models are a powerful tool for further studies of motor neuron disease and in the hunt for effective therapies. explains Katie Sidle, co-senior author.

For the first time, we have been able to create a model of sporadic motor neuron disease by essentially transferring the toxic TDP-43 protein from post-mortem tissue into healthy human stem cell-derived motor neurons and astrocytes in order to understand how each cell type responds to this insult, both in isolation and when mixed together. The insights made in this work are testament to the power of creative collaboration and interdisciplinarity. It is through many years working together as a group of clinicians, pathologists, stem cell biologists, protein biochemists and other experts, and with a joint aim of increasing knowledge about motor neuron disease (to ultimately help find a cure), that these results have been possible, says Rickie Patani, co-senior author.ReferenceSmethurst et al. (2020) Distinct responses of neurons and astrocytes to TDP-43 proteinopathy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz419

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Mammals Can Delay The Development of Their Embryos, According to Recent Research – Dual Dove

Recent research sheds light on something quite peculiar, exploring a reproductive mystery that is present in more than 130 species of mammals. A team of researchers conducted by Abdiasis Hussein, an associate director of UW Medicines Institute for Stem Cell, also a UW professor of biochemistry, realized the intriguing findings on mammals.

The results not only bring more details for the understanding of postponed embryo implantation. It also indicates how some quickly splitting cells, such as those present in tumors, turn to be inactive.

To find out what leads to a biochemical hold-and-release on embryonic production, the team provoked diapause in a female mouse by decreasing the estrogen rates. Then, they realized a comparison of the diapause embryos to pre-implantation and post-implantation ones. They also provoked diapause in mouse embryonic stem cells by weakening the cells, and analyze those to actively developing mouse embryonic stem cells.

Researchers had also performed comprehensive investigations of how metabolic and signaling pathways manage both the inactive and active phases of mouse embryos and mouse embryonic stem cells in lab vessels.

Metabolism involves the life-supporting chemical actions cells take out to turn substances into energy, develop materials, and discharge waste. By examining those reactions final actions, dubbed metabolites, the researchers could start to realize the full picture of that occurs to cause diapause and how cells are delivered from its grips.

Bears, seals, weasel-like animals, or armadillos, experience seasonal diapause, as a regular part of their reproductive periods. Many classes of bears, for example, breed in the early stages of spring and sometimes even in early summer. The female then uncontrollable hunts for food, and only when it reaches sufficient weight and body fat, one or more of her embryos implant a few months later after she moves to her cave. Any baby bears would be born in late winter.

Ethelene is the main editor on DualDove, she likes to write on the latest science news.

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Banff resident leaves $600,000 legacy to fight blindness – The Crag and Canyon

Doreen Powles legacy will impact people around the world as research discoveries transform lives by leading to treatments that restore sight. Thank you, Doreen, for your generosity, said Doug Earle, President and CEO, Fighting Blindness Canada.

Fighting Blindness Canada said they are grateful for the legacy gift of $600,000 by Banff resident, the late Doreen Marjorie Powles to fight blindness.

The announcement was made in Banff at the annual meeting of the Canadian Retina Society where Canadas retina specialists have gathered to share the latest in research and new treatments.

Fighting Blindness Canada is honoured to announce that Dr. Elizabeth M Simpson at the University of British Columbia is the recipient of the Doreen Powles Award to End Blindness for her project entitled Using gene therapy to Treat Congenital Blindness.

Doreen Powles spent her life in Banff where she lived with a blinding eye disease called congenital blindness. Her blindness was present at birth with reduced ability to detect light and colour, severe nearsightedness and involuntary movements of the eye.

Robert Smyth, executor of Doreen Powles estate said, Doreen was an only child. She left her entire estate to finance eye research, providing scholarships for aspiring researchers and helping people living with blindness. She would be excited by Fighting Blindness Canadas ground-breaking research to restore sight.

G.P. Powles, her father, was a partner in Hornibrook and Powles Insurance in Banff and a Rotarian.

Mr. Powles searched the world at great expense to find a cure for his daughters blindness without success.

Doreen Marjorie Powles graduated in 1952 from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts.

Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC) is Canadas leading private funder of vision research. Over our 45-year history, we have invested over $40 million to support vision research and education across Canada with over 200 research grants that have led to over 600 new discoveries in areas such as stem cell research, neuroprotective therapies, technological developments, pharmaceuticals, and gene therapies.

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Banff resident leaves $600,000 legacy to fight blindness - The Crag and Canyon

Exopharm publishes ‘positive and unique’ results for its exosome platform – Small Caps

Regenerative medicine company Exopharm (ASX: EX1) has received amiable results from a BioMAP testing program operated by Eurofins with respect to its exosome products.

Results showed that Exopharms exosome platform is safe in its mechanism of action and that has different and distinct activities compared to 4,500 other drugs.

Strong lab results raise the chances of Exopharms world-leading exosome products of becoming fully-fledged medicines although further testing is required.

The news is expected to have a positive impact across Exopharms business and will be of interest to potential customers, according to the companys chief executive officer Dr Ian Dixon.

The company said the results confirm this therapeutic approach is a distinct and potentially new class of medicine.

However, Exopharm did temper its positivity by admitting that BioMAP testing results may not translate to future testing in non-clinical or clinical trials and said that unforeseen product safety issues may arise at later stages of testing.

Eurofins BioMAP phenotypic profiling and screening service provides an objective, target agnostic and data-driven approach to understanding a medicines impact on human disease models and translational biomarkers.

Validated with clinically approved drugs and known test agents, the BioMAP platform is powered by human primary cell-based disease systems, a reference database of more than 4,500 compounds, data analytics, and expert interpretation to provide clients with actionable insights.

Headline BioMAP results indicated that Exopharms Plexaris product was safe in both relative and absolute terms and had notable biological activity in tissue remodelling, immunomodulatory and inflammatory-related activities.

Exosomes are natural particles produced by cells, delivering whats known as therapeutic cargoes to other cells to reduce inflammation and promote regeneration.

According to researchers, exosomes are plentiful in young individuals but decline with age.

Recent research has indicated that exosomes can be used as a way of extending the number of healthy functional years extending life quality and span.

Moreover, exosomes secreted by stem cells could be used as a substitute for stem-cell therapy with equal or greater benefit while avoiding various problems associated with stem-cell therapy.

Exopharm said exosome could even be used to deliver targeted novel drugs and serve a diagnostic function within various applications.

In parallel to Plexaris, Exopharms Cevaris product was compared with 4,500 experimental and sold medicines across a panel of 12 human primary cell-based systems.

Cevaris was found to be safe and had notable biological activity in the same areas as Plexaris.

Importantly, neither was shown to be cytotoxic, and neither caused antiproliferative effects at the concentrations tested.

Another key finding was that comparing the screening profiles of both Plexaris and Cevaris against the database of 4,500 medicines did not produce a significant match, thereby suggesting that both Plexaris and Cevaris have different and distinct activities in comparison to existing drugs.

This is a valuable finding, pointing to exosomes as a unique and potentially new class of medicine, with potential application unmet by existing medicines, the company said.

These are very positive results from a detailed external test of two of our experimental exosome products, said Dr Ian Dixon.

The testing showed that both Plexaris and Cevaris had different and distinct activities to comparison drugs. This confirms our belief that exosomes are a distinct and potentially new class of medicine, different from existing medicines.

The results of the BioMAP testing will help Exopharm plan its next studies with additional insights and confidence. After that, further human clinical trials are the next step, said Dr Dixon.

Moving forward, Exopharm said the results indicate several potential mechanisms of action and biological pathways for Plexaris and Cevaris, that will be verified in planned upcoming non-clinical studies.

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