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How a UCSF team is giving Cronutt the sea lion a second chance with neuroscience – University of California

A cellular therapy for epilepsy developed at UC San Francisco has been employed for the first time in a sea lion with intractable seizures caused by ingesting toxins from algal blooms. The procedure is the first-ever attempt to treat naturally occurring epilepsy in any animal using transplanted cells.

The 7-year-old male sea lion, named Cronutt, first beached in San Luis Obispo County in 2017 and was rescued byThe Marine Mammal Center(TMMC), based in Sausalito, Calif. His epilepsy is due to brain damage caused by exposure to domoic acid released bytoxic algal blooms. Each year, domoic acid poisoning affects hundreds of marine mammals, including both sea lions and sea otters, up and down the West Coast, a problem that is on the rise as climate change warms the worlds oceans, making algal blooms more common.

Like many of these animals, Cronutt cannot survive in the wild due to his epilepsy, and he was transferred by TMMC in 2018 to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif., which has facilities to care for wildlife with special veterinary needs.

In recent months, Cronutts health has declined due to increasingly frequent and severe seizures. With all other options exhausted, his veterinary team sought help from epilepsy researcherScott C. Baraban, Ph.D., in a last-ditch effort to save the sea lions life. For over a decade, Baraban, who holds the William K. Bowes Endowed Chair in Neuroscience Research in UCSFsDepartment of Neurological Surgery, has been developing the cell-based therapy, which has been shown by his research team to be highly effective in experimental lab animals.

This method is incredibly reliable in mice, but this is the first time it has been tried in a large mammal as a therapy, so well just have to wait and see, said Baraban, a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. Over the years Ive come to learn how many marine mammals cant be released into the wild due to domoic acid poisoning, and its our hope is that if this procedure is successful it will open the door to helping many more animals.

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, a team of 18 specialists, including veterinarians from Six Flags and neurosurgeons and researchers from UCSF, successfully completed a precisely targeted injection of brain cell precursors taken from pig embryos called neural progenitor cells into Cronutts hippocampus, the brain region responsible for seizures. Based on extensive observations in rodents, Baraban said, the injected embryonic cells should migrate through his damaged hippocampus over the course of days and weeks, integrating and repairing the brain circuitry causing his seizures.

It was a remarkable convergence. Every year there are many animals suffering from epilepsy for which there isnt any treatment available, while, just across the bridge from The Marine Mammal Center, we at UCSF are trying to develop this new form of therapy and looking for ways to one day translate it to the clinic, saidMariana Casalia, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher who joined Barabans lab in 2015 to work ontranslating the groups successes in rodentsinto therapies, and who has taken the helm of the sea lion epilepsy project. It seemed very natural for us that these animals could be first patients to hopefully benefit from this therapy.

Domoic acid poisoning in marine mammals causes hippocampal damage very similar to that seen in temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of epilepsy in humans. In this disease, damage to hippocampal inhibitory interneurons removes the brakes on electrical activity, leading to seizures. In a vicious cycle, seizures can further damage brain circuitry, which is why epilepsy often worsens over time.

Since 2009, theBaraban labhas been developing a way to replace these damaged interneuronsby transplanting embryonic MGE (medial ganglionic eminence) progenitor cells into the hippocampus. As discovered two decades ago by Barabans UCSF colleaguesArturo lvarez-Buylla, Ph.D., andJohn Rubenstein, Ph.D., MGE cells normallymigrate into hippocampus during brain developmentandintegrate themselves into the local circuitry as inhibitory neurons.

Barabans group has shown that its possible to transplant embryonic MGE cells into the brains of adult rodents with temporal lobe epilepsy, wherethey quickly spread through the hippocampus and repair its damaged circuitry. The procedure reliably reduces seizures in these animals by 90 percent, along with other side effects of epilepsy, such as anxiety and memory problems.

Our laboratorys work has been inspired by the desire to find new solutions for the 30 percent of temporal lobe epilepsy patients who dont respond to available drug treatments, and for whom no new medicines have emerged over the past 50 years. Baraban said. For a number of reasons, including regulatory hurdles, cellular therapies for people with epilepsy are probably still a long way off. However, marine mammals with brain damage from domoic acid poisoning are in a very similar boat with no effective treatments that would let them ever be returned to the wild.

Baraban learned about the hundreds of annual domoic acidrelated strandings of marine mammals from long-time colleague Paul Buckmaster, D.V.M., Ph.D., of Stanford University. Buckmasters seminal studies in collaboration with TMMC in Sausalito had found that these animalssuffer from hippocampal damage almost identical to human temporal lobe epilepsy.

As soon as Mariana and I learned about this issue it was clear that our approach could be a perfect solution to help rehabilitate these animals, Baraban said.

Casalia had spent four years developing and testing a pig source of MGE cells pig tissue is often used for transplants into humans in collaboration with colleagues at UC Davis, work the lab intends to publish soon. On learning about the plight of domoic acidpoisoned sea lions, she partnered with TMMC and the California Academy of Sciences to study sea lion skulls to begin planning an eventual transplant surgery. She ultimately worked with UCSF neurosurgery chairEdward Chang, M.D., and collaborators at the medical software firmBrainLabto create a custom targeting system for the sea lion brain.She had even spent months working closely with the Hamilton Company to create a custom needle for delivering the stem cells to the right spot in a sea lions hippocampus.

All that remained was to find the right patient. And then, in September, 2020, they got a call from a veterinarian at Six Flags asking if they could help save the life of a sea lion named Cronutt.

After rescuing Cronutt in 2017, TMMC had attempted three times to rehabilitate him and release him back into the wild. Each time he would beach himself again, emaciated, disoriented, and approaching humans. Then he began to have seizures. Most marine centers dont have facilities for the long-term care of marine mammals with special needs, but Six Flags volunteered to give Cronutt a new home.

We have cared for a lot of special needs animals over the years, said Dianne Cameron, director of animal care at Six Flags. We adore Cronutt and are committed to providing him a forever home. He has his own apartment in our Sea Lion Stadium with a pool and dry resting area. When hes doing well, he comes out and participates in training sessions. Unfortunately, recently it has been hard to get him to come out of his apartment.

Over this spring and summer, Cronutt had begun a serious decline his seizures were increasing, he was losing weight, and he often seemed disoriented. To oversee Cronutts care, Six Flags hiredClaire Simeone, DVM, a founder and CEO of Sea Change Health, who hadstudied the neurological effects of domoic acid poisoningduring her six years working with TMMC. But it soon became clear that no treatment was working for Cronutt.

Despite our best efforts and all the tools that we have, his seizures were becoming more prolonged and more frequent over time, Simeone said. His brain damage and the effects on his body were getting worse. His decline has been gradual, but we reached a point several months ago where we were questioning what quality of life he had. We had run out of options for how we could successfully manage Cronutts disease and knew that we were going to have to make some hard decisions soon.

Then Simeone recalled a talk Baraban had given at TMMC several years ago about the potential of MGE transplants for marine mammals with domoic acid poisoning. In September, she reached out to ask if the lab might be willing to attempt the procedure as a last-ditch effort to save Cronutts life.

Cronutts health was slipping fast, but Casalias years of preparation for this moment allowed her and her colleagues to quickly assemble everything that would be needed in just one month.

In a bit of serendipity that would prove crucial, Cronutts brain had already been imaged in 2018 by Ben Inglis, Ph.D., of UC BerkeleysHenry H. Wheeler Jr. Brain Imaging Centeras part of an ongoing study ofhow domoic acid poisoning affects the sea lion brain. These MRI images provided critical guideposts that made it possible for UCSF neurosurgeons to plan how they would inject stem cells at just the right spot in Cronutts hippocampus.

Cronutts surgery, conducted in accordance with COVID-19 protocols at the SAGE Veterinary Centers in Redwood City, Calif., went smoothly, and he was returned to Six Flags. In the days after the surgery his veterinary team reported that he had been sleeping and eating well.

Based on prior experiments transplanting pig MGE cells into rats, the researchers expect it to take about a month or so for the cells to fully integrate into Cronutts hippocampus. They will be following up to see if his seizures decrease and his health and behavior improves, and whether his antiseizure medications can be reduced.

This first-ever attempt has been made possible by funding from a Javits Award from the National Institutes of Health and from the UCSFProgram in Breakthrough Biomedical Research. Without these funds, this kind of high-risk, high-reward science would never have gotten off the ground, Baraban added. It also depended on Marianas fearlessness and perseverance in pursuing this very uncertain project.

Casalia, who has degrees in applied science and neurobiology from Universidad National de Quilmes and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, says the surgery felt like a culmination of everything shed been working on in her career so far. Ive always wanted to apply what we are doing in the lab to the clinical setting, she said. For me the ability to do this in reality to help these animals who are suffering is a dream come true.

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How a UCSF team is giving Cronutt the sea lion a second chance with neuroscience - University of California

Months after achieving unicorn status, Orca steers into the fast lane with an RMAT designation for cell therapy candidate – Endpoints News

A few months after its last big catch a $192 million Series D and rare unicorn status Orca Bio has reeled in the FDAs regenerative medicine advanced therapy (RMAT) designation for its experimental cell therapy to treat blood stem cell transplant patients.

Orca, one of this years Endpoints 11 startups, was founded by three entrepreneurs who were intrigued by Irv Weissmans cell purification work while studying at Stanford. Novartis then Sandoz had purchased Weissmans spinout SyStemix in the 90s, then scrapped it due to practical challenges. But Jeroen Bekaert, Ivan Dimov and Nate Fernhoff saw potential there.

Now, the biotech has RMAT and orphan drug designation to steer its cell therapy candidate Orca-T through the clinic. RMAT designation comes with the benefits of both fast track and breakthrough therapy designations.Orca-T entered a Phase I/II trial in patients undergoing stem cell transplants for various blood cancers last November, according to an NIH filing. The biotech expects to read out data from that trial this December at the annual American Society of Hematology meeting.

The RMAT and ODD for Orca-T is uplifting news for patients with various blood cancers including acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and myelofibrosis, Dimov said in a statement.

While a hematopoietic stem cell transplant is the best option for some patients with blood cancer, the procedure can lead to dangerous complications, such as graft-versus-host disease, in which immune cells from the donor attack the patients healthy cells. Orca-T is designed to reprogram the diseased blood system, by matchinga specific composition of stem and immune cells to the immunological needs of a patient.

Orcas recent Series D brought its total raise to about $300 million, and came in as the companys valuation surpassed $1 billion. Plus, the biotech touts Weissman, former Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez, and Lyell head and former NCI chief Rick Klausner as its advisors.

Dimov spoke with Endpoints Newslast month about the inspiration behind the biotechs 2016 launch:

It almost seems unethical from a human perspective because some of the initial results suggest highly curative effects and the whole thing was shut down for over a decade because of some of these challenges of practically implementing these things and deploying them. So that was sort of the key driver for us to get started. And we always knew we wanted to fulfill that dream all the way through and not really stop at a certain stage and leave it for someone else.

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Months after achieving unicorn status, Orca steers into the fast lane with an RMAT designation for cell therapy candidate - Endpoints News

EdiGene Gets $67 Million Infusion to Bring Gene Editing to the Clinic – BioSpace

EdiGene raked in approximately $67 million in a series B financing round to further their genome-editing pipeline and expand the team. The Beijing-based biotech is currently leading the gene editing wave in China with four platforms steadily advancing.

Launched in 2015, EdiGenes pipeline was created around CRISPR gene editing technology. Right now, its fastest progressing projects are ET-01 for severe -thalassemia, a hereditary blood disease, and U Car-T ET-02 for cancer. CEO Dong Wei said thisround will help them transform their pipeline into clinical stage, drawing them closer to their goal of bringing innovative and high-quality gene-editing therapies to patients in need.

Their ET-01 therapy uses gene-editing technology to edit BCL11A erythroid enhancer in hematopoietic stem cells. The aim is to increase fetal hemoglobin levels in red blood cells for severe -thalassemia patients. These patients have few options and are desperate for better treatments.

For their second lead candidate, ET-02, EdiGene is leveraging their partner Immunochinas proprietary CAR-T to create a therapy that can edit immuno-rejection molecules in T cells from healthy donors to treat cancer patients.

CEO Dong Wei said of their partnerships potential, We believe that allogenic T-cell therapeutics has tremendous potential, by offering innovative T-cell therapies off the shelf with more effective quality control and lower cost.

EdiGene also has some in vivo therapies in research phase that use an RNA base editing approach using LEAPER technology. Their front-runner aims to treat Hurler Syndrome, the most severe form of mucopolysaccharidosis, a rare lysosomal storage disease resulting in a wide variety of symptoms caused by damage to several organ systems. They are also working on targeted therapeutics focused on solid tumor treatment.

The biotech has raised approximately $100 million in the last two years. This latest round of financing was led by 3H Health investment, with participation from new investors: Sequoia Capital China, Alwin Capital and Kunlun Capital. Previous partners IDG Capital, Lilly Asia Venture, Huagai Capital and Green Pine Capital Partners also joined in.

We are very pleased to have the support and partnership from our investors, which propels the company to an exciting new stage, said Wensheng Wei, Scientific Founder of EdiGene. Together with the investors, we look forward to translating cutting-edge gene editing technologies into innovative therapies, bringing hope and health to patients and their families.

EdiGene was recognized last year by CYZone, a leading innovation service platform, as one of their 2019 Top 50 Healthcare Innovation Enterprises in China.

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EdiGene Gets $67 Million Infusion to Bring Gene Editing to the Clinic - BioSpace

CAR T-cell Therapies for the Treatment of Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia – OncoZine

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (AML), also called acute myeloblastic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, is an aggressive, fast-growing, heterogenous group of blood cancers that arise as a result of clonal expansion of myeloid hematopoietic precursors in the bone marrow. Not only are circulating leukemia (blast) cells seen in the peripheral blood, but granulocytopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia are also common as proliferating leukemia cells interfere with normal hematopoiesis.

Approximately 40-45% of younger and 10-20% of older adults diagnosed with AML are cured with current standard chemotherapy. However, the outlook for patients with relapsed and/or refractory disease is gloomy. Relapse following conventional chemotherapy remains is a major cause of death.

The process of manufacturing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. [1] T-cells (represented by objects labeled as t) are removed from the patients blood. [2] Then in a lab setting the gene that encodes for the specific antigen receptors is incorporated into the T-cells. [3] Thus producing the CAR receptors (labeled as c) on the surface of the cells. [4] The newly modified T-cells are then further harvested and grown in the lab. [5]. After a certain time period, the engineered T-cells are infused back into the patient. This file is licensed by Reyasingh56 under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.Today, the only curative treatment option for patients with AML is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or allo-HSCT, which through its graft-vs.-leukemia effects has the ability to eliminate residual leukemia cells. But it is an ption for only a minority. And despite a long history of success, relapse following allo-HSCT is still a major challenge and is associated with poor prognosis.

In recent years, rresearchers learned a lot about the genomic and epigenomic landscapes of AML. This understanding has paved the way for rational drug development as new drugable targets, resulting in treatments including the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) gemtuzumab ozogamycin (Mylotarg; Pfizer/Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories).

CAR T-cell Therapies Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells therapies, using a patients own genetically modified T-cells to find and kill cancer, are one of the most exciting recent developments in cancer research and treatment.

Traditional CAR T-cell therapies are an autologous, highly personalised, approach in which T-cells are collected from the patient by leukopheresis and engineered in the laboratory to express a receptor directed at a cancer antigen such as CD19. The cells are then infused back into the patient after administration of a lymphodepletion regimen, most commonly a combination of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. Durable remissions have been observed in pediatric patients with B-ALL and adults with NHL.

CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapies, have, over the last decade, yielded remarkable clinical success in certain types of B-cell malignancies, and researchers have made substantial efforts aimed at translating this success to myeloid malignancies.

While complete ablation of CD19-expressing B cells, both cancerous and healthy, is clinically tolerated, the primary challenge limiting the use of CAR T-cells in myeloid malignancies is the absence of a dispensable antigen, as myeloid antigens are often co-expressed on normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs), depletion of which would lead to intolerable myeloablation.

A different approach Because autologous CAR T-cell therapies are patient-specific, each treatment can only be used for that one patient. Furthermore, because CAR T-cells are derived from a single disease-specific antibody, they are, by design, only recognized by one specific antigen. As a consequence, only a small subset of patients with any given cancer may be suited for the treatment.

This specificity means that following leukopheresis, a lot of work needs to be done to create this hyper personalised treatment option, resulting in 3 5 weeks of manufacturing time.

The manufacturing process of CAR T-cell therapies, from a single academic center to a large-scale multi-site manufacturing center further creates challenges. Scaling out production means developing processes consistent across many collection, manufacturing, and treatment sites. This complexity results in a the realitively high cost of currently available CAR T-cell therapies.

To solve some of the concerns with currently available CAR T-cell therapies, researchers are investigating the option to develop allogenic, off-the-shelf Universal CAR T-cell (UCARTs) treatments that can be mass manufactured and be used for multiple patients.

Allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy are generally created from T-cells from healthy donors, not patients. Similar to the autologous approach, donor-derived cells are shipped to a manufacturing facility to be genetically engineered to express the antibody or CAR, however, in contrast to autologous CAR T-cells, allogeneic CAR T-cells are also engineered with an additional technology used to limit the potential for a graft versus host reaction when administered to patients different from the donor.

One unique benefit ofn this approach is that because these therapies hey are premade and available for infusion, there is no requirement to leukopheresis or a need to wait for the CAR T-cells to be manufactured. This strategy also will benefit patients who are cytopenic (which is not an uncommon scenario for leukemia patients) and from whom autologous T-cell collection is not possible.

Pioneers Among the pioneers of developing allogeneic CAR-T therapies are companies including Celyad Oncology, Cellectis, Allogene Therapeutics, and researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in colaboration with Kite/Gilead.

Researchers at UCLA were, for example, able to turn pluripotent stem cells into T-cells through structures called artificial thymic organoids. These organoids mimic the thymus, the organ where T-cells are made from blood stem cells in the body.

Celyad Oncology Belgium-based Celyad Oncology is advancing a number of both autologous and allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies, including proprietary, non-gene edited allogeneic CAR T-cell candidates underpinned by the companys shRNA technology platform. The shRNA platform coupled with Celyads all-in-one vector approach provides flexibility, versatility, and efficiency to the design of novel, off-the-shelf CAR T-cell candidates through a single step engineering process.

In July 2020, the company announced the start of Phase I trials with CYAD-211, Celyads first-in-class short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-based allogeneic CAR T candidate and second non-gene edited off-the-shelf program. CYAD-211 targets B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and is engineered to co-express a BCMA-targeting chimeric antigen receptor and a single shRNA, which interferes with the expression of the CD3 component of the T-cell receptor (TCR) complex.

During the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Virtual Scientific Program in May 2020, the company presented updates from its allogeneic programs, including additional data from the alloSHRINK study, an open-label, dose-escalation Phase I trial assessing the safety and clinical activity of three consecutive administrations of CYAD-101, an investigational, non-gene edited, allogeneic CAR T-cell candidate engineered to co-express a chimeric antigen receptor based on NKG2D (a receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) cells that binds to eight stress-induced ligands and the novel inhibitory peptide TIM TCR Inhibitory Molecule), for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The expression of TIM reduces signalling of the TCR complex, which is responsible for graft-versus host disease.every two weeks administered concurrently with FOLFOX (combination of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin) in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The safety and clinical activity data from the alloSHRINK trial in patients with mCRC demonstrated CYAD-101s differentiated profile as an allogeneic CAR T-cell candidate. Furthermore, the absence of clinical evidence of graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) for CYAD-101 confirms the potential of non-gene edited approaches for the development of allogeneic CAR-T candidates.

Interim data from the alloSHRINK trial showed encouraging anti-tumor activity, with two patients achieving a confirmed partial response (cPR) according to RECIST 1.1 criteria, including one patient with a KRAS-mutation, the most common oncogenic alteration found in all human cancers. In addition, nine patients achieved stable disease (SD), with seven patients demonstrating disease stabilization lasting more than or equal to three months of duration.

Based on these results, clinical trials were broadened to include evaluating CYAD-101 following FOLFIRI (combination of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and irinotecan) preconditioning chemotherapy in refractory mCRC patients, at the recommended dose of one billion cells per infusion as an expansion cohort of the alloSHRINK trial. Enrollment in the expansion cohort of the trial is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Cellectis Cellectis is developping a universal CAR T-cell (UCART) platform in an attempy to create off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapies. The companys pipeline includes UCART123, a CAR T-cell therapy designed to targets CD123+ leukemic cells in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The investigational agent is being studied in two open-label Phase I trials: AML123 studying the therapys safety and efficacy in an estimated 156 AML patients, and ABC123 studying the therapys safety and activity in an estimated 72 patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN).

UCART22 Another investigational agent in clinical trials is UCART22 which is designed to treat both CD22+ B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and CD22+ B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Cellectis reported that UCART22 is included in an open-label, dose-escalating Phase I trial to study its safety and activity in relapsed or refractory CD22+ B-ALL patients.

UCART22 harbors a surface expression of an anti-CD22 CAR (CD22 scFv-41BB-CD3z) and the RQR8 ligand, a safety feature rendering the T-cells sensitive to the antibody rituximab. Further, to reduce the potential for alloreactivity, the cell surface expression of the T-cell receptor is abrogated through the inactivation of the TCR constant (TRAC) gene using Cellectis TALEN gene-editing technology.[1]

Preclinical data supporting the development of UCART22 was presented by Marina Konopleva, M.D., Ph.D. and her vteam during the 2017 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. [1]

Cellectis is also developing UCARTCS1 which is developed to treat CS1-expressing hematologic malignancies, such as multiple myeloma (MM). UCARTCLL1 is in preclinical development for treating CLL1-expressing hematologic malignancies, such as AML.

Cellectis and Allogene Therapeutics, another biotech company involved in the developmen t of CAR T-cell therapies, are developing ALLO-501, another CAR T-cell therapy which targets CD19 and is being developed for the the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory NHL. Allogene Therapeutics is also developing ALLO-715, an investigational CAR T-cell therapy targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for treating relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and ALLO-819, which targets CD135 (also called FLT3), for treating relapsed or refractory AML.

Allogene, in collaboration with both Cellectis, Pfizer (which has a 25% stake in Allogene) and Servier have numerous active open-label, single-arm Phase I trials for an off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T therapy UCART19* in patients with relapsed or refractory CD19+ B-ALL. Participating patients receive lymphodepletion with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide with alemtuzumab, followed by UCART19 infusion. Adults patients with R/R B-ALL are eligible.

The PALL aims to evaluate the safety and feasibility of UCART19 to induce molecular remission in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory CD19-positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in 18 pediatric patients.

The CALM trial is a dose-escalating study evaluating the therapys safety and tolerability in 40 adult patients; and a long-term safety and efficacy follow-up study in 200 patients with advanced lymphoid malignancies.

Allogene reported preliminary proof-of-concept results during the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in December 2018.

Data from the first 21 patients from both the PALL (n=7) and CALM (n=14) Phase I studies were pooled. The median age of the participating patients was 22 years (range, 0.8-62 years) and the median number of prior therapies was 4 (range, 1-6). Sixty-two percent of the patients (13/21) had a prior allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Of the 17 patients who received treatment with UCART19 and who received lymphodepletion with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and alemtuzumab, an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, 14 patients (82%) achieved CR/CRi, and 59% of them (10/17) achieved MRD-negative remission.

In stark contrast, the four patients who only received UCART19 and fludarabine and cyclophosphamide without alemtuzumab did not see a response and minimal UCART19 expansion.

Based on these results, researchers noted that apparent importance of an anti-CD52 antibody for the efficacy of allogeneic CAR-T therapies. In addition, safety data also looked promising. The trial results did not include grade 3 or 4 neurotoxicity and only 2 cases of grade 1 graft-versus-host disease (10%), 3 cases of grade 3 or 4 cytokine release syndrome which were considered manageable (14%), 5 cases of grade 3 or 4 viral infections (24%), and 6 cases of grade 4 prolonged cytopenia (29%).

Precision Biosciences Precision Biosciences is developing PBCAR0191, an off-the-shelf investigational allogeneic CAR T-cell candidate targeting CD19. The drug candidate is being investigated in a Phase I/IIa multicenter, nonrandomized, open-label, parallel assignment, dose-escalation, and dose-expansion study for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) or R/R B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).

The NHL cohort includes patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive subtype of NHL, for which Precision has received both Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A clinical trial with PBCAR0191 Precision Biosciences is exploring some novel lymphodepletion strategies in addition to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. Patients with R/R ALL, R/R CLL, R/R Richter transformation, and R/R NHL are eligible. Patients with MRD+ B-ALL are eligible as well. This trial is enrolling patients.

In late September 2020, Precision BioSciences, a clinical stage biotechnology amd Servier, announced the companies have added two additional hematological cancer targets beyond CD19 and two solid tumor targets to its CAR T-cell development and commercial license agreement.

PBCAR20A PBCAR20A is an investigational allogeneic anti-CD20 CAR T-cell therapy being developed by Precision Biosciences for the treartment of patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and patients with R/R chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or R/R small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The NHL cohort will include patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive subtype of NHL, for which Precision BioSciences has received orphan drug designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

PBCAR20A is being evaluated in a Phase I/IIa multicenter, nonrandomized, open-label, dose-escalation and dose-expansion clinical trial in adult NHL and CLL/SLL patients. The trial will be conducted at multiple U.S. sites.

PBCAR269A Precision Biosciences is, in collaboration with Springworks Therapeutics, also developing PBCAR269A, an allogeneic BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapy candidate being evaluated for the safety and preliminary clinical activity in a Phase I/IIa multicenter, nonrandomized, open-label, parallel assignment, single-dose, dose-escalation, and dose-expansion study of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. In this trial, the starting dose of PBCAR269A is 6 x 105 CAR T cells/kg body weight with subsequent cohorts receiving escalating doses to a maximum dose of 6 x 106 CAR T cells/kg body weight.

PBCAR269A is Precision Biosciencess third CAR T-cell candidate to advance to the clinic and is part of a pipeline of cell-phenotype optimized allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies derived from healthy donors and then modified via a simultaneous TCR knock-out and CAR T-cell knock-in step with the =companys proprietary ARCUS genome editing technology.

The FDA recently granted Fast Track Designation to PBCAR269A for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma for which the FDA previously granted Orphan Drug Designation.

TCR2 Therapeutics TCR2 Therapeutics is developing a proprietary TRuC (TCR Fusion Construct) T-cells designed to harness the natural T cell receptor complex to recognize and kill cancer cells using the full power of T-cell signaling pathways independent of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA).

While succesful in hematological malignancies, CAR T-cells therapies have generally struggled to show efficacy against solid tumors. Researchers at TCR2 Therapeutics believe this is is caused by the fact that CAR T-cell therapies only utilize a single TCR subunit, and, as a result, do not benefit from all of the activation and regulatory elements of the natural TCR complex. By engineering TCR T-cells, which are designed to utilize the complete TCR, they have demonstrated clinical activity in solid tumors. However, this approach has also shown major limitations. TCR T-cells require tumors to express HLA to bind tumor antigens. HLA is often downregulated in cancers, preventing T-cell detection. In addition, each specific TCR-T cell therapy can only be used in patients with one of several specific HLA subtypes, limiting universal applicability of this approach and increasing the time and cost of patient enrollment in clinical trials.

In an attempt to solve this problem, researchers at TCR2 Therapeutics have developped a proprieatarry TRuC-T Cells which are designed to incorporate the best features of CAR-T and TCR-T cell therapies and overcome the limitations. The TRuC platform is a novel T cell therapy platform, which uses the complete TCR complex without the need for HLA matching.

By conjugating the tumor antigen binder to the TCR complex, the TRuC construct recognizes highly expressed surface antigens on tumor cells without the need for HLA and engage the complete TCR machinery to drive the totality of T-cell functions required for potent, modulated and durable tumor killing.

In preclinical studies, TCR2 Therapeutics TRuC T-cells technology has demonstrated superior anti-tumor activity in vivo compared to CAR T-cells therapies, while, at the same time, releasing lower levels of cytokines. These data are encouraging for the treatment of solid tumors where CAR T-cells have not shown significant clinical activity due to very short persistence and for hematologic tumors where a high incidence of severe cytokine release syndrome remains a major concern.

TCR2 Therapeutics product candidates include TC-210 and TC-110.

TC-210 is designed to targets mesothelin-positive solid tumors. While its expression in normal tissues is low, mesothelin is highly expressed in many solid tumors. Mesothelin overexpression has also been correlated with poorer prognosis in certain cancer types and plays a role in tumorigenesis. TC-210 is being developed for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma and cholangiocarcinoma.

The companys TRuC-T cell targeting CD19-positive B-cell hematological malignancies, TC-110, is being developed to improve upon and address the unmet needs of current CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapies. The clinical development TC-110 focus on the treatment of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). Preclinical data demonstrates that TC-110 is superior to CD19-CAR-T cells (carrying either 4-1BB or CD28 co-stimulatory domains) both in anti-tumor activity as well as the level of cytokine release which may translate into lower rates of adverse events. The development of TC-110 starts with autologous T-cells collection by leukopheresis. These T-cells undergo genetic engineering to create TRuC-T cells targeting CD19.

This strategy combines the best features of CAR T-cells and the native T-cell receptor. It is open for R/R NHL and R/R B-ALL.

AUTO1 Auto1 is an autologous CD19 CAR T-cell investigational therapyis being developped by Autolus Therapeutics. The investigational drug uses a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) called CAT with a lower affinity for CD19 and a faster off-rate compared to the FMC63 scFv used in other approved CD19 CAR T-cell therapies. The investigational therapy is designed to overcome the limitations in safety while maintaining similar levels of efficacy compared to current CD19 CAR T-cell therapies.

Designed to have a fast target binding off-rate to minimize excessive activation of the programmed T-cells, AUTO1 may reduce toxicity and be less prone to T-cell exhaustion, which could enhance persistence and improve the T-cells abilities to engage in serial killing of target cancer cells.

In 2018, Autolus signed a license agreement UCL Business plc (UCLB), the technology-transfer company of UCL, to develop and commercialize AUTO1 for the treatment of B cell malignancies. AUTO1 is currently being evaluated in two Phase I studies, one in pediatric ALL and one in adult ALL.

CARPALL trial Initial results from the ongoing Phase I CARPALL trial of AUTO1 were presented during European Hematology Association 1st European CAR T Cell Meeting held in Paris, France, February 14-16, 2019.

Enrolled patients had a median age of 9 years with a median of 4 lines of prior treatment. Seventeen patients were enrolled, and 14 patients received an infusion of CAR T cells. Ten of 14 patients had relapsed post allogeneic stem cell transplant. Eight patients were treated in second relapse, 5 in > second relapse and 3 had relapsed after prior blinatumomab or inotuzumab therapy. Two patients had ongoing CNS disease at enrollment.

This data confirmed that AUTO1 did not induces severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS) (Grade 3-5). Nine patients experienced Grade 1 CRS, and 4 patients experienced Grade 2 CRS. No patients required tociluzumab or steroids. As previously reported, one patient experienced Grade 4 neurotoxicity; there were no other reports of severe neurotoxicity (Grade 3-5). The mean cumulative exposure to AUTO1 CAR T-cells in the first 28 days as assessed by AUC was 1,721,355 copies/g DNA. Eleven patients experienced cytopenia that was not resolved by day 28 or recurring after day 28: 3 patients Grades 1-3 and 8 patients Grade 4. Two patients developed significant infections, and 1 patient died from sepsis while in molecular complete response (CR).

With a single dose of CAR T cells at 1 million cells/kg dose, 12/14 (86%) achieved molecular CR. Five patients relapsed with CD19 negative disease. Event free survival (EFS) based on morphological relapse was 67% (CI 34-86%) and 46% (CI 16-72%) and overall survival (OS) was 84% (CI 50-96%) and 63% (CI 27-85%) at 6 and 12 months, respectively.

CAR T cell expansion was observed in all responding patients (N=12), with CAR T cells comprising up to 84% of circulating T cells at the point of maximal expansion. The median persistence of CAR T-cells was 215 days.

The median duration of remission in responding patients was 7.3 months with a median follow-up of 14 months. Five of 14 patients (37%) remain in CR with ongoing persistence of CAR T-cells and associated B cell aplasia.

Fate Therapeutics FT819 is an off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD19 being developed by Fate Therapeutics. The T-cells are derived from a clonal engineered master induced pluripotent stem cell line (iPSCs) with a novel 1XX CAR targeting CD19 inserted into the T-cell receptor alpha constant (TRAC) locus and edited for elimination of T-cell receptor (TCR) expression.

Patients participating in the companys clinbical trial will receive lymphodepletion with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. Some patients will also receive IL-2. Patients with R/R ALL, R/R CLL, R/R Richter transformation, and R/R NHL are eligible. Patients with MRD+ B-ALL are eligible as well.

At the Annual Meeting of the American Societ of Hematology held in December 2019, researchers from Fate Therapeutics presented new in vivo preclinical data demonstrating that FT819 exhibits durable tumor control and extended survival. In a stringent xenograft model of disseminated lymphoblastic leukemia, FT819 demonstrated enhanced tumor clearance and control of leukemia as compared to primary CAR19 T-cells. At Day 35 following administration, a bone marrow assessment showed that FT819 persisted and continued to demonstrate tumor clearance, whereas primary CAR T cells, while persisting, were not able to control tumor growth. [2]

CAR-NK CD19 Allogeneic cord blood-derived Natural Killer (NK) cells are another off-the-shelf product that does not require the collection of cells from each patient.

Unlike T-cells, NK-cells do not cause GVHD and can be given safely in the allogeneic setting. At MD Anderson Cancer Center, Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D, Professor, Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, and her team broadly focuses their research on the role of natural killer (NK) cells in mediating protection against hematologic malignancies and solid tumors and strategies to enhance killing function against various cancer.

As part of their research, the team has developed a novel cord blood-derived NK-CAR product that expresses a CAR against CD19; ectopically produces IL-15 to support NK-cell proliferation and persistence in vivo; and expresses a suicide gene, inducible caspase 9, to address any potential safety concerns.

In this phase I and II trial researchers administered HLA-mismatched anti-CD19 CAR-NK cells derived from cord blood to 11 patients with relapsed or refractory CD19-positive cancers (non-Hodgkins lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL]). NK cells were transduced with a retroviral vector expressing genes that encode anti-CD19 CAR, interleukin-15, and inducible caspase 9 as a safety switch. The cells were expanded ex vivo and administered in a single infusion at one of three doses (1105, 1106, or 1107 CAR-NK cells per kilogram of body weight) after lymphodepleting chemotherapy. The preliminarry resilts of the trials confirmed that administration of CAR-NK cells was not associated with the development of cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity, or graft-versus-host disease, and there was no increase in the levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6, over baseline.

The study results also demonstrated that of the 11 patients who were treated, 8 patients (73%) had a response. Of these patients, 7 (4 with lymphoma and 3 with CLL) had a complete remission ICR), and 1 had remission of the Richters transformation component but had persistent CLL. Noteworthy was that responses were rapid and seen within 30 days after infusion at all dose levels. The infused CAR-NK cells expanded and persisted at low levels for at least 12 months. The researchers also noted that a majority of the 11 participating patients with relapsed or refractory CD19-positive cancers had a response to treatment with CAR-NK cells without the development of major toxic effects.[3]

Note * Servier will hold ex-US commercial rights. Servier is the sponsor of the UCART19 trials.

Clinical trials alloSHRINK Standard cHemotherapy Regimen and Immunotherapy With Allogeneic NKG2D-based CYAD-101 Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells NCT03692429 Study Evaluating Safety and Efficacy of UCART123 in Patients With Relapsed/ Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AMELI-01) NCT03190278 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Clinical Activity of UCART123 in Patients With BPDCN (ABC123) NCT03203369 Study of UCART19 in Pediatric Patients With Relapsed/Refractory B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (PALL) NCT02808442 Dose Escalation Study of UCART19 in Adult Patients With Relapsed / Refractory B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (CALM) NCT02746952 Dose-escalation Study of Safety of PBCAR0191 in Patients With r/r NHL and r/r B-cell ALL NCT03666000. Dose-escalation Study of Safety of PBCAR20A in Subjects With r/r NHL or r/r CLL/SLL NCT04030195 A Dose-escalation Study to Evaluate the Safety and Clinical Activity of PBCAR269A in Study Participants With Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma NCT04171843 TC-110 T Cells in Adults With Relapsed or Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma or Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia NCT04323657 Phase 1/2 Trial of TC-210 T Cells in Patients With Advanced Mesothelin-Expressing Cancer NCT03907852 CARPALL: Immunotherapy With CD19 CAR T-cells for CD19+ Haematological Malignancies NCT02443831 Umbilical & Cord Blood (CB) Derived CAR-Engineered NK Cells for B Lymphoid Malignancies NCT03056339

Reference [1] Petti F. Broadening the Applicability of CAR-T Immunotherapy to Treat the Untreatable. OncoZine. October 24, 2019 [Article] [2] Wells J, Cai T, Schiffer-Manniou C, Filipe S, Gouble A, Galetto R, Jain N, Jabbour EJ, Smith J, Konopleva M. Pre-Clinical Activity of Allogeneic Anti-CD22 CAR-T Cells for the Treatment of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Blood (2017) 130 (Supplement 1): 808. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.V130.Suppl_1.808.808 [3] Chang C, Van Der Stegen S, Mili M, Clarke R, Lai YS, Witty A, Lindenbergh P, Yang BH, et al. FT819: Translation of Off-the-Shelf TCR-Less Trac-1XX CAR-T Cells in Support of First-of-Kind Phase I Clinical Trial. Blood (2019) 134 (Supplement_1): 4434.https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2019-130584 [4] Liu E, Marin D, Banerjee P, Macapinlac HA, Thompson P, Basar R, Nassif Kerbauy L, Overman B, Thall P, Kaplan M, Nandivada V, Kaur I, Nunez Cortes A, Cao K, Daher M, Hosing C, Cohen EN, Kebriaei P, Mehta R, Neelapu S, Nieto Y, Wang M, Wierda W, Keating M, Champlin R, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K. Use of CAR-Transduced Natural Killer Cells in CD19-Positive Lymphoid Tumors. N Engl J Med. 2020 Feb 6;382(6):545-553. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1910607. PMID: 32023374; PMCID: PMC7101242.

Featured image: T-cells attacking a cancer cell. Photo courtesy: Fotolia/Adobe 2016 2020. Used with permission.

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CAR T-cell Therapies for the Treatment of Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - OncoZine

Biopharma Money on the Move: October 7-14 – BioSpace

Find out which biopharma companies are raking in the cash this week, as companies from around the globe provide updates on their financing rounds and IPOs.

Evotec

The UAE dropped a load of cash to become a 5.6% stakeholder into Germanys Evotec with $236 million worth of shares purchased by their sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company. Not one to be left out, existing investor Novo increased its stake to 11% by throwing in another $59 million, bringing Evotecs haul to about $295 million. Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company out of Hamburg, Germany. With revenues nearly quadrupling over the last five years and a goal of 10% yearly growth in the future, its no surprise these investors want in big. Evotec plans to use the cash to reach its goals by growing, particularly in the U.S. and Europe as they ramp up global ops.

SQZ Biotech

Allied with Roche to develop new cancer cell therapies, SQZ has turned its focus to the NYSE. With a preliminary goal of $75 million for its IPO, theyve applied for listing as SQZ. While traditional cell therapies require a depletion of the immune cells to improve efficacy, SQZ claims to avoid those limitations with a proprietary technology that, as its name touts, squeezes cells through a microfluidic chip to open the cell membrane and allow the therapeutic load inside. They also tout a huge leg up in manufacturing 24-hour turnaround in comparison with a month or more for current therapies. Plus, without the pre-conditioning to weaken immune systems, SQZs technology aims to shorten hospital stays. The IPO earnings are intended to finance their groundbreaking cancer and infectious disease research.

Galecto Biotech

Just two weeks after completing a $64 million Series D round, Galecto Biotech rounds the corner and goes after the public market, hoping to raise $100 million in its IPO. If successful, the Copenhagen-based company will have totaled over $250 million in financing in just the last two years. Galectos focus is on a wide range of fibrotic disease, with its lead project, GB0139 for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, currently in a Phase IIb trial. The Series D and the new funding from this IPO will go toward getting the program through to approval and commercialization.

Codiak BioSciences

After filing to go public for a second time after withdrawing in 2019, Codiak finally hit the market with an $83 million IPO, falling short of its $100 million originally sought when filed in September. The bulk of the funds will be used to advance its lead program ExoSTING through a phase study in advanced or metastatic, recurrent solid tumors, support discover and preclinical R&Dand expand its engEx technology that supports its programs. Another $10 million will go into its second program, exoIL-12, through a Phase I trial in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

EdiGene

A Series B of $67 million takes EdiGenes track record up to $100 million raised in the last two years. The Beijing-based biotech is currently leading the gene-editing wave in China with four platforms steadily advancing. The company's top candidate is a treatment for hereditary blood disease, with the next in line being a CAR-T treatment for cancer. CEO Dong Wei hopes their T cell therapeutics can help make a higher quality, lower cost option for patients and their families.

Cedilla Therapeutics

Small molecule-focused Cedilla wraps up a $57.6 million Series B round to drug the undruggable. The funding will go into preclinical work on its first two oncology candidates, which are being kept hush hush for now. They also have about five or six oncology programs running that are years away from the clinic. In addition to the Series B, Cedilla is bringing Casdin CIO and founder Eli Casdin and Boxer senior VP Dominik Naczynski onto its board of directors.

RayzeBio

Debuting with $45 million in Series A money, biotech newbie RayzeBio is ready to defeat cancer with radiopharmaceuticals. With a vision to be the first radiopharma platform in the market, RayzeBio has seven active programs and would like to see one development candidate by the second half of 2021. Radiopharmaceuticals have intrigued the biotech sphere lately, but securing a reliable supply of therapeutic radioisotopes has been a hang up. But recently the industry has devised alternate ways to generate Actinium-225, which is the radioisotope RayzeBio is working with. This new development spurred the drive to launch RayzeBio with the intent to penetrate specific tumor targets. The fledgling biotech is now rolling up its sleeves to get to work with the goal of being first.

Priothera Limited

To get more clinical data on its highly-promising therapy for high risk AML patients, Priothera closed on a $35 million USD Series A. The company's drug mocravimod should enhance the curative potential of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treating AML. Allogeneic stem cell transplant is currently the only potentially curative approach for AML patients, but has a high mortality rate. This therapy appears promising for improving survival outcomes. Priothera acquired mocravimod from KYORIN Pharmaceutical.

Ori Biotech

Ori Biotech wants to speed up the innovation of cell and gene therapies via its manufacturing platform, and this weeks $30 million Series A is certainly a step in reaching that goal. Typically, a drug discovery pipeline can take an average of a decade to get from lab to patient. Oris platform closes, automates and standardizes manufacturing for cell and gene therapy developers so the company can move its treatments from pre-clinical to scale commercially. This novel automation will reduce cost of goods and the footprint. In addition to taking its platform to the market, Ori is also expecting to double its 8-head employee count in four months, and double that again by next year.

Kanaph Therapeutics

Kanaph beefs up its initial $8 million start in 2019 with a $21 million Series B in South Korea. This round of funding will go toward expediting the clinical development of Kanaphs pipelines, chiefly its TMEkine molecules platform for immuno-oncology and bi-specific Fc fusions for the treatment of retinal disease. Preclinical studies are anticipated to be completed at the end of this year or beginning of next year, and are ready for the next steps.

Rappta Therapeutics

Novo Seeds plants its stake in emerging biotech Rappta Therapeutics in a $10.5 million Series A round. Rapptas primary focus is developing first-in-class anti-cancer drugs that work by activating protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). The PP2A enzyme is a key tumor suppressor which has historically been tricky to target with drugs. Rappta has derived a unique understanding of the protein along with propriety tools to allow therapeutic reactivation of PP2A, which offers the potential of multiple therapies with this as the platform for a new class of anti-cancer drugs. Jeroen Bakker, Principal at Novo Seeds, will join Rapptas board. Novartis Venture Fund, Advent Life Sciences and one family office also participated in the round.

Lixte Biotechnology

Previously listed on the OTCQB, Lixte is ready to take it to Nasdaq with a $9 million offering of 1.5 million shares at a price range of $5.75 to $6.75. The NY-based biotech has developed two active series LB-100 and LB-200. The current focus is on the LB-100, which targets several types of cancer and has potential for vascular and metabolic diseases. A Phase I trial has already been completed and demonstrated antitumor activity in humans. LB-100 is now in Phase Ib/II.

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Biopharma Money on the Move: October 7-14 - BioSpace

Bone Therapeutics’ allogeneic cell therapy product, ALLOB, shows 90% fusion rate at 24 months in Phase IIa study in lumbar spinal fusion -…

Gosselies, Belgium, 14 October 2020, 7am CEST BONE THERAPEUTICS(Euronext Brussels and Paris: BOTHE), the cell therapy company addressing unmet medical needs in orthopedics and other diseases, today announces positive 24-month follow-up results for the Phase IIa study with the allogeneic cell therapy product, ALLOB, in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion procedures.

The 24-month data show a high percentage of successful lumbar vertebrae fusion of 90%. Patients also continue to experience important clinical improvements in function and pain, from as early as six months after treatment, up to the 24-month follow-up period.

Degenerative spine disorders have a major impact on the quality of life of patients. These impacts include decreases in the stability of the spine and pain in motion,said Dr. Alphonse Lubansu, M.D., Head of the Spinal Clinic, Erasme University Hospital, Universit libre de Bruxelles. The 24 month follow-up data of this Phase IIa clinical trial have demonstrated that patients treated with ALLOB in spinal fusion procedure show a high incidence in fusion, and benefit from a sustained, clinically meaningful improvement in function and pain throughout the 24 months following treatment together with a good safety profile. These results show that ALLOB in combination with the standard spine fusion surgery could be a promising treatment option to address the currently unmet needs of these patients.

This positive data forlumbar spinal fusion complementsthe strong Phase I/IIa results from ALLOB in patients with delayed union fractures,said Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Bone Therapeutics. These studies provide promising clinical evidence for the potential ofBone Therapeuticsunique allogeneic cell therapy platform to address high unmet medical needs in orthopaedics and bone related disorders. We will now hold discussions with global regulators and our partners to explore a variety of options for the next stages of clinical development for ALLOB in different orthopedic indications, while pursuing the phase IIb study of ALLOB in difficult tibial fractures.In addition, theclinical results provide further evidence for the expansion of ALLOB and our platform of differentiated MSCs to other indications.

The multi-center, open-label proof-of-concept Phase IIa study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ALLOB administered, procedure in which an interbody cage with bioceramic granules mixed with ALLOB is implanted into the spine to achieve fusion of the lumbar vertebrae. The main endpoints of the 24-month follow-up analysis included safety and radiological assessments to evaluate vertebrae fusion (continuous bone bridges) and clinical assessments to evaluate improvement in patients functional disability as well as reduction in back and leg pain. The study evaluated 30 patients treated with ALLOB, 29 patients attended the 24-month visit.

Radiological data was collected from CT-scans at 24 months and assessed by three external readers. It showed a successful fusion of the lumbar vertebrae in 27 out of 30 patients (90%). In addition, the remaining 3 patients showed radiological evidence of bone formation. Treatment with ALLOB also resulted in a clear and statistically significant clinical improvement in function and reduction in pain over the 24-month follow-up period. Functional disability improved from the pre-treatment baseline to 24-month by a mean score of 60% (p<0.001) on the Oswestry Disability Index(1). Back and leg pain were strongly reduced by 57 to 62% (p<0.001) and 68 to 70% (p<0.001) respectively compared to pre-treatment baseline. Treatment with ALLOB was generally well-tolerated by the patients, consistent with previous reported results.

(1)The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is an index derived from the Oswestry Low Back Pain Questionnaire used by clinicians and researchers to measure a patients permanent functional disability. This validated questionnaire was first published by Jeremy Fairbank et al. in Physiotherapy in 1980. ODI score of 0%-20%: minimal disability; 21%-40%: moderate disability; 41%-60%: severe disability; 61%-80%: crippled; 81%-100%: bed bound.

About Spinal Fusion

Due to ageing populations and sedentary lifestyles, the number of people suffering from degenerative spine disorders continues to increase. Today, spinal fusion procedures are performed to relieve pain and improve patient daily functioning in a broad spectrum of degenerative spine disorders. Spinal fusion consists of bridging two or more vertebrae with the use of a cage and graft material, traditionally autologous bone graft or demineralised bone matrix placed into the intervertebral space for fusing an unstable portion of the spine and immobilizing a painful intervertebral motion segment. Over 1,000,000 spinal fusion procedures are performed annually in the US and EU, of which half at lumbar level and the market is growing at a rate of 5% per year. Although spinal fusion surgery is routine, non-fusion, slow progression to fusion and failure to eliminate pain are still frequent with up to 35% of patients not being satisfied with their surgery.

About ALLOB

ALLOB is the Companys off-the-shelf allogeneic cell therapy platform consisting of human allogeneic bone-forming cells derived from cultured bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from healthy adult donors, offering numerous advantages in product quality, injectable quantity, production, logistics and cost as compared to an autologous approach. To address critical factors for the development and commercialisation of cell therapy products, Bone Therapeutics has established a proprietary, optimised production process that improves consistency, scalability, cost effectiveness and ease of use of ALLOB. This optimized production process significantly increases the production yield, generating 100,000 of doses of ALLOB per bone marrow donation. Additionally, the final ALLOB product will be cryopreserved, enabling easy shipment and the capability to be stored in a frozen form at the hospital level. The process will therefore substantially reduce overall production costs, simplify supply chain logistics, improve patient accessibility and facilitate global commercialisation. The Company will implement the optimized production process for all future clinical trials with ALLOB.

About Bone Therapeutics

Bone Therapeutics is a leading biotech company focused on the development of innovative products to address high unmet needs in orthopedics and other diseases. The Company has a, diversified portfolio of cell and biologic therapies at different stages ranging from pre-clinical programs in immunomodulation to mid-to-late stage clinical development for orthopedic conditions, targeting markets with large unmet medical needs and limited innovation.

Bone Therapeutics is developing an off-the-shelf next-generation improved viscosupplement, JTA-004, which is currently in phase III development for the treatment of pain in knee osteoarthritis. Consisting of a unique combination of plasma proteins, hyaluronic acid a natural component of knee synovial fluid, and a fast-acting analgesic, JTA-004 intends to provide added lubrication and protection to the cartilage of the arthritic joint and to alleviate osteoarthritic pain and inflammation. Positive phase IIb efficacy results in patients with knee osteoarthritis showed a statistically significant improvement in pain relief compared to a leading viscosupplement.

Bone Therapeutics core technology is based on its cutting-edge allogeneic cell therapy platform with differentiated bone marrow sourced Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) which can be stored at the point of use in the hospital. Currently in pre-clinical development, BT-20, the most recent product candidate from this technology, targets inflammatory conditions, while the leading investigational medicinal product, ALLOB, represents a unique, proprietary approach to bone regeneration, which turns undifferentiated stromal cells from healthy donors into bone-forming cells. These cells are produced via the Bone Therapeutics scalable manufacturing process. Following the CTA approval by regulatory authorities in Europe, the Company is ready to start the phase IIb clinical trial with ALLOB in patients with difficult tibial fractures, using its optimized production process. ALLOB continues to be evaluated for other orthopedic indications including spinal fusion, osteotomy, maxillofacial and dental.

Bone Therapeutics cell therapy products are manufactured to the highest GMP standards and are protected by a broad IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio covering ten patent families as well as knowhow. The Company is based in the BioPark in Gosselies, Belgium. Further information is available atwww.bonetherapeutics.com.

For further information, please contact:

Bone Therapeutics SA Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Luc Vandebroek, Chief Financial Officer Tel: +32 (0)71 12 10 00 investorrelations@bonetherapeutics.com

For Belgian Media and Investor Enquiries: Bepublic Catherine Haquenne Tel: +32 (0)497 75 63 56 catherine@bepublic.be

International Media Enquiries: Image Box Communications Neil Hunter / Michelle Boxall Tel: +44 (0)20 8943 4685 neil.hunter@ibcomms.agency / michelle@ibcomms.agency

For French Media and Investor Enquiries: NewCap Investor Relations & Financial Communications Pierre Laurent, Louis-Victor Delouvrier and Arthur Rouill Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 bone@newcap.eu

For US Media and Investor Enquiries: LHA Investor Relations Yvonne Briggs Tel: +1 310 691 7100 ybriggs@lhai.com

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company or, as appropriate, the Company directors current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such persons officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

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Bone Therapeutics' allogeneic cell therapy product, ALLOB, shows 90% fusion rate at 24 months in Phase IIa study in lumbar spinal fusion -...

The Infodemic: Was Regeneron COVID-19 Treatment Developed Using Stem Cells and Fetal Tissue? – Voice of America

Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here.

Claim:The development of REGN-COV2, the experimental anti-viral antibody cocktail given to U.S. President Donald Trump to treat COVID-19, involved the use of human fetal tissues and embryonic stem cells.

Verdict:Mixture

Read the full story at:Snopes

Circulating on social media:An article claiming to give ultimate proof that the novel coronavirus pandemic was planned to create a new world order.

Verdict:False

Read the full story at:Reuters

More Testing, Faster Testing More types of tests for the coronavirus are becoming available, but how do we know which to use when? -- American Scientist, October 12

Watch: Understanding dexamethasone, the steroid used to treat Trumps Covid-19 It is inexpensive and widely prescribed. But side effects of dexamethasone can be quite serious. -- Stat, October 12

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The Infodemic: Was Regeneron COVID-19 Treatment Developed Using Stem Cells and Fetal Tissue? - Voice of America

COVID-19 Impact on Global Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market 2020 Industry Overview, Demand and Insights Analysis Report by 2026 ESI BIO, Thermo…

New York, United States TheGlobal Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Report 2020-2026(Forecast Period) offers an in-depth study of market growth factors, future evaluation, country-level analysis, market distribution, and competitive landscape study of significant industry players. Every segment of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market is extensively assessed in the research report. The segment analysis offers critical opportunities available in theglobal Human Embryonic Stem Cells marketthrough leading segments. The regional study of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market helps readers to attain a thorough understanding of the developments of the different geographic markets in recent years and also going forth. In addition, the report provides a comprehensive overview of the vital dynamics of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market, including market influence and market effect factors, drivers, threats, constraints, trends, and prospects. The research study also contains other forms of analysis, such as qualitative and quantitative.

This Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data.

NOTE: Our team is studying Covid-19 impact analysis on various industry verticals and Country Level impact for a better analysis of markets and industries. The 2020 latest edition of this report is entitled to provide additional commentary on latest scenario, economic slowdown and COVID-19 impact on overall industry.

>>>Request Free Sample Report Human Embryonic Stem Cells Industry Outlook, Click Here<<<

Industrial Analysis of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market:

ESI BIO, Thermo Fisher, BioTime, MilliporeSigma, BD Biosciences, Astellas Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Asterias Biotherapeutics, Cell Cure Neurosciences, PerkinElmer, Takara Bio, Cellular Dynamics International, Reliance Life Sciences, Research & Diagnostics Systems, SABiosciences, STEMCELL Technologies, Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Takara Bio, TATAA Biocenter, UK Stem Cell Bank, ViaCyte, Vitrolife

Attributes such as new development in Human Embryonic Stem Cells market, Total Revenue, sales, annual production, government norm, and trade barriers in some countries are also mentioned in detail in the report. Human Embryonic Stem Cells Report discusses about recent product innovations and gives an overview of potential regional market shares.

Market Dynamics:-

The report also examines the several volume trends, the pricing history, and the market value in addition to understanding the key dynamics of the Human Embryonic Stem Cells market. Several future growth drivers, challenges, and opportunities are also analyzed to obtain a better view of the industry. This report presents a comprehensive overview, market shares, and growth opportunities of Human Embryonic Stem Cells market by product type, application, key manufacturers and key regions and countries.

This study specially analyses the impact of Covid-19 outbreak on the Human Embryonic Stem Cells, covering the supply chain analysis, impact assessment to the market size growth rate in several scenarios, and the measures to be undertaken by companies in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Segmentation by Type: Totipotent Stem Cells, Pluripotent Stem Cells, Unipotent Stem Cells

Segmentation by Application: Research, Clinical Trials

Impact of COVID-19:

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market report analyses the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the industry. Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to almost 180+ countries around the globe with the World Health Organization declaring it a public health emergency. The global impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are already starting to be felt, and will significantly affect the Human Embryonic Stem Cells market in 2020.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought effects on many aspects, like flight cancellations; travel bans and quarantines; restaurants closed; all indoor events restricted; emergency declared in many countries; massive slowing of the supply chain; stock market unpredictability; falling business assurance, growing panic among the population, and uncertainty about future. COVID-19 can affect the global economy in 3 main ways: by directly affecting production and demand, by creating supply chain and market disturbance, and by its financial impact on firms and financial markets.

Reason to purchase Human Embryonic Stem Cells market report:

The report offers market sizing and growth prospects of the Human Embryonic Stem Cells market for the forecast period 20202026. The report provides the capability to measure Human Embryonic Stem Cells market to aim the growth of upcoming products, pricing strategies, predictions about new launching products. Provides comprehensive insights on the latest industry trends, market forecast, and growth drivers in the Human Embryonic Stem Cells market. The report contains a detailed analysis of market growth factors, market drivers, challenges, and investment opportunities. The report delivers a complete summary of market segments, sub-segments and the regional outlook of the market. Offers an exhaustive summary of the vendor landscape, competitive analysis, and key market strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the Human Embryonic Stem Cells market. Deliver region wise & country-wise detailed & accurate information of market.

The report forecast global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market to grow to reach xx Million USD in 2019 with a CAGR of xx% during the period 2020-2026 due to coronavirus situation. The report offers detailed coverage of industry and main market trends with impact of coronavirus. The market research includes historical and forecast market data, demand, application details, price trends, and company shares of the leading by geography. The report splits the market size, by volume and value, on the basis of application, type and geography.

In this report, we analyze global market from 5 major geographies:Asia-Pacific [China, Southeast Asia, India, Japan, Korea, Western Asia], Europe [Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland], North America [United States, Canada, Mexico], Middle East & Africa [GCC, North Africa, South Africa], South America[Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Peru].

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Table of Content:

Market Overview:This is the first section of the report that includes an overview of the scope of products offered in the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market, segments by product and application, and market size.

Market Competition by Player:Here, the report shows how the competition in the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market is growing or decreasing based on deep analysis of market concentrate rate, competitive situations and trends, expansions, merger and acquisition deals, and other subjects. It also shows how different companies are progressing in the global market in terms of revenue, production, sales, and market share.

Company Profiles and Sales Data:This part of the report is very important as it gives statistical as well as other types of analysis of leading manufacturers in the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market. It assesses each and every player studied in the report on the basis of main business, gross margin, revenue, sales, price, competitors, manufacturing base, product specification, product application, and product category.

Market Status and Outlook by Region:The report studies the status and outlook of different regional markets such as Europe, North America, the MEA, Asia Pacific, and South America. All of the regional markets researched about in the report are examined based on price, gross margin, revenue, production, and sales. Here, the size and CAGR of the regional markets are also provided.

Market by Product:This section carefully analyzes all product segments of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market.

Market by Application:Here, various application segments of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market are taken into account for research study.

Market Forecast:It starts with revenue forecast and then continues with sales, sales growth rate, and revenue growth rate forecasts of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market. The forecasts are also provided taking into consideration product, application, and regional segments of the global market.

Upstream Raw Materials:This section includes industrial chain analysis, manufacturing cost structure analysis, and key raw materials analysis of the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market.

Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors:Here, the research study digs deep into behavior and other factors of downstream customers, distributors, development trends of marketing channels, and marketing channels such as indirect marketing and direct marketing.

Research Findings and Conclusion:This section is solely dedicated to the conclusion and findings of the research study on the global Human Embryonic Stem Cells market.

Appendix:This is the last section of the report that focuses on data sources, viz. primary and secondary sources, market breakdown and data triangulation, market size estimation, research programs and design, research approach and methodology, and the publishers disclaimer.

Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market 2020, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Analysis, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Forecast, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Outlook, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Trends, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Research, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Sales & Price, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Size & Share, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market CAGR Competitive Landscape, Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market Growth

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COVID-19 Impact on Global Human Embryonic Stem Cells Market 2020 Industry Overview, Demand and Insights Analysis Report by 2026 ESI BIO, Thermo...

Yes on 14 | Mailbox | independentnews.com – Livermore Independent

I am a clinical immunologist that happens to also be a stem cell scientist with 45 years of experience. The first CD34 bone marrow transplantation in 1978 was done at Roswell Park using FACS flow cytometry. We watch GvHD take hold to many leukemia patients to these brave patients trying to save their life with no way to treat them, until now with MSC (mesenchymal stem cells).

I watched many patients give their lives to science research for a chance of cures, which we had successes 40 years forward, if you get CML, CLL you have 98% of treatment or cure. CAR T and other treatments etc.

My concerns (are that) the media is presenting a perspective in vacuum of the stem cell world in California. Prop 71 put California in play and pushed embryonic research. The people of California need to protect their investment of $3.3 billion, or the industry leadership will be lost along with the clinical trials supported by CIRM. Please do not underestimate the RPE for blindness. #1 unmet medical need when the Japanese pharma Astellas bought Ocata in 2015 and put it on the shelf setting back embryonic research.

Lets look at say, Mesoblast, a Australian stem cell company and the leader in field with four studies. (They) had a setback recently of their BLA of SR aGvHD for kids under 12 years old (which is a death sentence) using MSC stem cells (approved for treatment in Japan for two years now) on the first stem cells for regenerative medicine to be approved the FDA, on Sept. 30, 2020. Mesoblast has 330 double blind studies for Covid19 treatment.

We will know before Christmas if FDA will approve these cells. MSC will be better than vaccinations, with super antigens stimulating the immune memory cells being develop by many companies and Federal government.

Two points: federal funding for embryonic research is not very well supported, and you cannot put a price tag on the patients who are willing to put their life on the line for hope and a chance.

Stay in the game California - do not be shortsighted.

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Yes on 14 | Mailbox | independentnews.com - Livermore Independent

I’ve Spent Decades Studying How People Build Their Families. Here’s What I’ve Learned Matters Most – TIME

For decades people have raised concerns about families that vary from the structure of one mother, one father and biological children and assumed that the children would be harmed in some way as a result. The greater the difference from the traditional family, the greater the perceived risk of psychological harm to the child, the conventional wisdom goes.

This is wrong. I can say this definitively because Ive been studying different family forms for more than 40 years, analyzing families with lesbian mothers, gay fathers, transgender parents, single mothers by choice, and families created by egg donation, sperm donation, embryo donation and surrogacy, and all my research points to one conclusion: What matters most for children is not the make-up of a family. What matters most is the quality of relationships within it, the support of their wider community and the attitudes of the society in which they live.

My first study, which I began in 1976, addressed the questions raised in custody disputes about the effect on children of growing up with lesbian mothers: Were lesbian mothers less capable as parents? Were their children more likely to experience emotional and behavioral problems? The research found no evidence of raised levels of psychological problems in children who, following their parents divorce, were raised by lesbian mothers. Later studies went on to examine families in which lesbian mothers had their children with sperm donation, which became more common in the 80s and 90s, again finding no differences between these children and children born through sperm donation to heterosexual couples. Today, there is a large body of research confirming the findings of these early investigations.

Questions were also raised about children born to heterosexual couples through assisted reproductive technologies, especially those conceived using donated eggs, sperm or embryos, following the birth of the first baby through in vitro fertilization in 1978. If the child lacked a genetic and/or gestational link to one or both parents, would that interfere with the relationship between them? And would keeping their conception secret, which was common at the time, have a negative impact on the child? Some people even claimed children born via IVF wouldnt have a soul. With surrogacy, for both heterosexual and LBGTQ couples, it was assumed that children would be distressed by the knowledge that they had been created for the sole purpose of being given away to other parents. More recently, concerns have been raised about families with gay fathers, because men are thought to be less naturally suited to parenting than women, about single mothers by choice, whose children usually dont know the identity of their biological fathers, and about children who experience a parents gender transition, because they may find it confusing and difficult to accept.

The longitudinal research that I and my colleagues conducted at the University of Cambridge Centre for Family Research has shown that children born to heterosexual couples through assisted reproduction show high levels of psychological well-being, and that children benefit from being told about their origins at an early age. Our more recent studies on families with gay fathers who adopt or turn to surrogacy, families created by single mothers by choice, and families with transgender parents have produced similar findings. Contrary to the expectation that they would experience problems, we found that these families are just as likely to flourish as traditional families, and sometimes more so.

Still, the existence of these findings has not prevented these families from facing stigma and discrimination. This term the Supreme Court will hear the case of Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, in which Catholic Social Services, a faith-based foster care agency, claims that it should be exempt from the citys law banning discrimination against same-sex couples who wish to be foster parents. The Courts ruling on whether exemptions from non-discrimination legislation on religious grounds are permitted has enormous consequences for adoption and fostering. In 2016, more than 27,000 same-sex couples were raising adopted or fostered children in the United States. These are often children who have experienced trauma, such as neglect or abuse, in their early years, and who, research shows, benefit from being raised in loving gay and lesbian families. A ruling in favor of the Catholic agency could deny future children this opportunity.

The ways in which we build our families will continue to evolve. A 2017 GLAAD survey showed 20% of 18- to 34-year-olds identified as LGBTQ, compared to 7% of 52- to 71-year-olds, meaning we should expect more families that do not involve two straight parents and their biological children in the future. In 2018, BioNews, a weekly online bulletin on whats new in genetics and reproduction, reported on a demographic study predicting that 3% of the worlds population around 400 million people may result from assisted reproductive technologies by 2100, a figure that includes those conceived through assisted reproduction and their descendants. And in their June 2020 article, Reproduction Reimagined, Eli Adashi and Glenn Cohen claimed that the use of gametes derived from human embryonic stem cells to create children who are genetically related to both partners in same-sex couples is just a matter of time.

Just because people become parents in nontraditional ways does not make them less capable ones or love their children less. In fact, my research suggests the opposite. The sooner we accept this, the better off these kids we claim to be so concerned about will be. Because theres another finding that stands out loud and clear from our research: although the make-up of families does not affect the well-being of these kids, intolerance of their family does.

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I've Spent Decades Studying How People Build Their Families. Here's What I've Learned Matters Most - TIME