UK and China scientists developing new drugs to fight Tuberculosis – University of Birmingham

Micky Tortorella (GIBH) speaking at Guangzhou Municipal Government

University of Birmingham scientists have worked with partners in Guangzhou to develop new drugs that can tackle global health epidemics, which have an impact on Chinas rural communities.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham joined forces with their counterparts at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH) to develop a promising hit for anti-Tuberculosis therapy and initiate a drug discovery effort.

In order further to develop the drug and make it available to TB patients, particularly those with drug-resistant strains of the disease, Birmingham and GIBH are working to progress future development of the compounds through the independent spin-out company Legion.

University of Birmingham Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood heard more about the research project from the collaborative team during his recent visit to Guangzhou.

Professor Sir David Eastwood commented: The University of Birmingham is a world leader in molecular chemistry and biosciences, and our partnership with experts at GIBH is making promising progress in the fight against global health epidemics.

We are a global university with a civic outlook and I am delighted that our work with colleagues at GIBH is progressing development on compounds that could help to improve health outcomes for millions of people, particularly in communities across rural China.

The drug discovery effort has been led by Professor John Fossey and Dr Luke Alderwick, Director of the Birmingham Drug Discovery Facility - from the Universitys Schools of Chemistry and Biosciences. At GIBH, the efforts have been headed by Dr Cleopatra Neagoie, chemistry team leader and Micky Tortorella, Director of the Drug Discovery Pipeline.

Professor John S. Fossey commented: We designed and synthesised the first generation of molecules in Birmingham and a team of expert GIBH researchers synthesised and optimised the molecules. Thanks to a wider team involving our postgraduate students, we developed a number of compounds, which have great promise as therapeutic treatments.

Working online has been essential for us - allowing us smoothly to share project data across borders contributing greatly to the success and sustainability of our partnership. We look forward to a new chapter in drug development as GIBHs spinout company progresses our discoveries in China.

Teams based in Britain and China used innovative data sharing technology developed by the University of Birmingham to help them to work faster and more effectively whilst separated by thousands of kilometres.

One of the most important online tools they used is the University of Birminghams BEAR DataShare facility. This allows the team to share project-related data securely across the world even by mobile phone, using a specially developed app.

Resistant TB is an unmet medical need in China and this joint project is very important to the citizens of China. Great things are on the way and we are delighted that our research is now at the point where we can take it to the next level of development, commented Micky Tortorella.

GIBH is a high-profile research institute, run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Peoples Government of Guangdong Province, and the Peoples Government of Guangzhou Municipality. Research areas include stem cell and regenerative medicine, chemical biology, public health, immunology and infectious diseases.

The University of Birmingham has a long-standing relationship with the city of Guangzhou, which is also the sister city of Birmingham itself. The University opened its Guangzhou Centre in 2011 and its China Institute has forged close links with partners in the city and beyond.

Originally posted here:
UK and China scientists developing new drugs to fight Tuberculosis - University of Birmingham

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market Global and Regional Analysis by Top Key Market Players, Key Regions, Product Segments, and Applications 2024 – Globe…

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7. Track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Stem Cell Therapy Market.

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Do transhumanists need their own bill of rights? – Quartz

In todays future-facing era, phenomena once relegated to the world of science fiction are starting to edge their way into reality.

We have scientists growing brains from stem cells in petri dishes; robots are being granted national citizenship; virtual intelligences experience and expressanger.

For the past 50 years, the microprocessorthe chip that processes information in a computerhas doubled in capacity at least everyyear to two years. Experts predict that machine intelligence will be smarter than humans by 2030.

So heres my question: When the machines weve created possesses an intelligence that equals ours, will they deserve our protection?

Will they desire it? Maybe even demand it?

This should be your question, too. Because in a little longer than a decades time, well need answers if want to avert moral and civil rights mishaps.

Futurists and technologists have been working to prepare the world for radical new sapient technologies and intelligences with publications such as the Cyborg Bill of Rights V1.0 which advocates equality for mutants.

Beyond the microprocessor, instrumental in catapulting machine intelligence to new levels through its ever-increasing speed for calculations, weve seen accelerating advances in genetic editing, stem-cell research, and 3D bioprinting, each which will help to create entities that have both consciousness and intelligence. This year 3D bioprinting has come so far that a team of Israeli scientists were able to successfully print part of a human heart.

Netflix released a popular four-part documentary series called Unnatural Selection on the topic.

Scientists are already wading into murky waters when it comes to the rights of these new intelligent organisms that we create. AtYale University brains from deceased pigs are being stimulated in a vat, which has prompted controversy in the animal rights world.

Do the brains of these animals, once dead, now represent live animals? And if so, do they receive the same legal rights that have informed laws that protect animals against harmful animal testing and animal cruelty?

As a result of these emerging ethical issues, were seeing more debates about new terms of futurist-oriented rights.

But the fact remains that there are few, if any, actual rules for most of our new scientific realities.

This is largely what inspired me to come up with theTranshumanist Bill of Rights, which Wiredpublished in full in 2018. The document recently underwent its third rendition via crowdsourcing.

When the machines weve created possesses an intelligence that equals ours, will they deserve our protection?

Like many of the cyborg bills that existthere are about half a dozen significant ones floating around the internetthis bill includes legal protections for thinking robots, gender explanations for virtual intelligences, laws for genetically engineered sapient creatures, defense of freedoms allowing biohackers to modify their bodies, and many other protections. It even includes policies to fight off environmental destruction and planetary existential threats such as asteroids, plagues, nuclear war, and global warming.

In 2015, Iwalked up to the US Capitol building holdinga single-page print out of the document I had written. The machine gun-toting police standing guard just feet away from me threatened arrest, but there was little need; the taped-on page quickly fell off the building, fluttered off the wall in the wind.

I wasnt arrested. The police and journalists surrounding me chuckled at the bungled ceremonial moment.

I recall that I couldnt help but smile myself at the idea of getting a futurist bill of rights to become a fixed part of US governing policy at the time.

But four years later, with machines showing ever increasing sophisticationhumans are even marrying robotsin some parts of the worlda bill of rights is not as wild as it once sounded. We could easily say the same for genetically-modified babies being born, which happened for the first time inChinalast year.

In my work, I meet with people around the world who are interested in answering not if we need a futurist bill of rights, but when we will need it, from Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government to theCato Institute to theWorld Economic Forumto European ministries.

If you look through the various cyborg-inspired bills of rights already out there, youll find that a major goal is to include cyborg and transhumanist rights in the UNs 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights one day.

The ideas of personhood, a right to education, and freedom of speech were once considered unattainable in some countries. Now these basic human rights are common, and at least some of this change is due to the powerful legal influence of the UNs universal bill, often seen as a blueprint for governments and laws around the globe.

Interestingly, one of the challenges of getting a transhumanist bill of rights taken seriously comes from minorities groups, when its perceived that futurist rights will undermine movements of historically marginalized peoples. While plenty of transhumanists are members of the LGBTQ community, the community has been reluctant to wander intofuturist LGBTQissues, such as nongender roleplaying as different species in virtual environments.

LGBTQ friends of minewhile often sympathetic to transhumanist goalshave told me that they believe that after their historic quest for rights in America especially, they still need to focus on progress for their own movement and its goals. They perceive a futurist bill of rights as a distraction.

I respect and agree with this. Minorities in the US and around the world face social discrimination and violations of rights that warrant our attention. But it wont slow down the trajectory of radical technologies, which is spurring a growing futurist community to call for its own set of rights, rules, and protections.

I understand that at times it seems preposterous to believe the world will need to consider whether super intelligentrobots can vote, or whether human heads can betransplantedto waiting tech-engineered bodies, or if four years of college education canbe downloadedinto human brains.

But these realities are likely to occur long before the century is out.

If society doesnt accept that new sapient lifeformswhether its an autonomous digital avatar living in a supercomputer, or a biological creature with human-level intelligence that genetic editing createdalso need rights, or that new forms of engineered conscious intelligences will walk among humans on Earth as a result of scientific progress, society will undergo another wave of civil strife as we scramble to play catch-up to whats fair and moral.

At the very least, societies and governments need more comprehensive plans to formally deal with these new realities. That begins with a Congressional dialogue and forming preliminary legal documents outlining potential rights for the evolving future.

Ultimately, it comes down to how humans believe new intelligent life deserves to be treated.

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Do transhumanists need their own bill of rights? - Quartz

Global Wound Care Market Outlook to 2024: New Product Approvals/Launches, Emergence of Stem Cell Therapy For Wound Healing – P&T Community

DUBLIN, Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Wound Care Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2019-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global wound care market is growing at a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period 2018-2024.

The adoption of wound care biologics is augmenting the growth of the global wound care market. The commercial availability of a wide array of wound biologics is likely to encourage many end-users to use them in treating wounds as they are clinically proven, safe, and effective than other products.

The growing incidence of infections caused in lesions is another factor accelerating the growth of anti-microbial dressings market segment. Anti-microbial agents such as chlorhexidine, maggots, silver, iodine, and honey are increasingly becoming important in the global wound care market. Therefore, the incorporation of anti-microbial agents in wound dressing products is improving clinical outcomes for the treatment of wounds, thereby driving the global wound care market.

This research report includes detailed market segmentation by products, wound type, end-users, and geography. The increase in the geriatric population is a major contributing factor for the growth of the advanced wound care segment as the prevalence of diabetes and other diseases is more common in the elderly age group than youth.

The advanced segment is also growing as the majority of market players are offering innovative products to meet the demand for wound care worldwide. The rising incidence of diabetes and associated diabetic foot ulcers in the elderly population globally is fueling steady growth for traditional products.

The market is also growing steadily as products such as gauze bandages and adhesive bandages witness sustainable demand for small cuts, bruises as well as for chronic wounds and burns, especially in developing countries. Developing regions such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America are the largest contributors to the traditional products.

The acute wound market is growing mainly due to the rise in surgical site infections (SSI) and the increase in the number of burn cases worldwide. Chronic wounds do not heal through the normal healing process. The segment is growing due to the growing burden of diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, and some surgical site infections that do not heal naturally or with medicines.

The shift from traditional lower technology wound care treatments to the adoption of advanced treatments is a major factor for the high share of the hospitals and specialty wound clinic segment. Long-term care facilities segment is growing at a steady pace because of the growing incidence of chronic wounds due to the increase in chronic diseases such as diabetes. The growing elderly population is contributing to the growth of the segment as they are more prone to chronic diseases.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Research Methodology

2 Research Objectives

3 Research Process

4 Scope & Coverage4.1 Market Definition4.2 Base Year4.3 Scope of the study4.4 Market Segments

5 Report Assumptions & Caveats5.1 Key Caveats5.2 Currency Conversion5.3 Market Derivation

6 Market at a Glance

7 Introduction7.1 Wound Care: An Overview7.1.1 Background7.1.2 Wound Care for Acute & Chronic Wounds7.1.3 Wound Care: Market Snapshot

8 Market Dynamics8.1 Market Growth Enablers8.1.1 Increasing Prevalence of Acute & Chronic Wounds8.1.2 New Product Approvals/Launches8.1.3 Increasing Number of Surgical Procedures8.2 Market Growth Restraints8.2.1 High Cost of Advanced Wound Care Products & Devices8.2.2 Limitations & Complications with Wound Care Products & Devices8.2.3 Intense Competition & Pricing Pressure8.2.4 Shortage of Resources for Wound Care Treatments8.3 Market Opportunities & Trends8.3.1 Focus on Development & Commercialization of Wound Biologics8.3.2 High Demand for Anti-microbial Wound Dressing Products8.3.3 Growing Popularity of Natural Surgical Sealants8.3.4 Emergence of Stem Cell Therapy For Wound Healing

9 Global Wound Care Market9.1 Market Overview9.2 Market Size & Forecast9.3 Five Forces Analysis

10 By Product Type10.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine10.2 Market Overview

11 Advanced Wound Care Products11.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine11.2 Market Overview11.3 Advanced Wound Care Segmentation by Product Type11.4 Advanced Wound Dressings11.5 Wound Therapy Devices11.6 Wound Care Biologics

12 Traditional Wound Care Products12.1 Market Overview12.2 Market Size & Forecast

13 Sutures & Stapling Devices13.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine13.2 Market Overview13.3 Market Size & Forecast13.4 Segmentation by Product Type13.5 Sutures13.6 Stapling Devices

14 Hemostats & Surgical Sealants14.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine14.2 Market Overview14.3 Market Size & Forecast14.4 Segmentation by Product Type14.5 Hemostats14.6 Surgical Sealants

15 By Wound Type15.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine15.2 Market Overview15.3 Acute Wounds15.4 Chronic Wounds

16 By End Users16.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine16.2 Market Overview16.3 Hospitals & Specialty Wound Care Clinics16.4 Long-term Care Facilities16.5 Home Healthcare16.6 Others

17 By Geography17.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine17.2 Market Overview

Key Company Profiles

Other Prominent Vendors

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/iiu23r

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Global Wound Care Market Outlook to 2024: New Product Approvals/Launches, Emergence of Stem Cell Therapy For Wound Healing - P&T Community

New study reveals why breast cancer spreads to the brain – USC News

Most cancers kill because tumor cells spread beyond the primary site to invade other organs. Now, a USC study of brain-invading breast cancer cells circulating in the blood reveals they have a molecular signature indicating specific organ preferences.

The findings, which appear in Cancer Discovery, help explain how tumor cells in the blood target a particular organ and may enable the development of treatments to prevent the spread of cancers, known as metastasis.

In this study, Min Yu, assistant professor of stem cell and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, isolated breast cancer cells from the blood of breast cancer patients with metastatic tumors. Using a technique she developed previously, she expanded or grew the cells in the lab, creating a supply of material to work with.

Analyzing the tumor cells in animal models, Yus lab identified regulator genes and proteins within the cells that apparently directed the cancers spread to the brain. To test this concept, human tumor cells were injected into the bloodstream of animal models. As predicted, the cells migrated to the brain. Additional analysis of cells from one patients tumor predicted that the cells would later spread to the patients brain and they did.

Yu also discovered that a protein on the surface of brain-targeting tumor cells helps them to breach the blood-brain barrier and lodge in brain tissue, while another protein inside the cells shield them from the brains immune response, enabling them to grow there.

We can imagine someday using the information carried by circulating tumor cells to improve the detection, monitoring and treatment of the spreading cancers, Yu said. A future therapeutic goal is to develop drugs that get rid of circulating tumor cells or target those molecular signatures to prevent the spread of cancer.

Yu is a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, and her laboratory is located in the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In addition to Yu, other authors of the study are Remi Klotz, Amal Thomas, Teng Teng, Sung Min Han, Oihana Iriondo, Lin Li, Alan Wang, Negeen Izadian, Matthew MacKay, Byoung-San Moon, Kevin J. Liu, Sathish Kumar Ganesan, Grace Lee, Diane S. Kang, Michael F. Press, Wange Lu, Janice Lu, Bodour Salhia and Frank Attenello, all of the Keck School of Medicine; Sara Restrepo-Vassalli, James Hicks and Andrew D. Smith of USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; and Charlotte S. Walmsley, Christopher Pinto, Dejan Juric and Aditya Bardia of Massachusetts General Hospital.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (DP2 CA206653) the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation, the Stop Cancer Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Alexander & Margaret Stewart Trust, the SC CTSI pilot grant (UL1TR001855 and UL1TR000130), a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) postdoctoral fellowship and a CIRM Bridges award (EDUC2-08381), and the National Cancer Institute (P30CA014089).

More stories about: Cancer, Research

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New study reveals why breast cancer spreads to the brain - USC News

Meet the axolotl: A cannibalistic salamander that regenerates its limbs and might help us better understand human stem cell therapy -…

Imagine youre a smiley-faced, feathery-gilled Mexican salamander called an axolotl. Youve just been born, along with hundreds of brothers and sisters. But salamanders like you live in the wild only in one lake near Mexico City, and that habitat isnt big enough for all of you. Theres not enough food. Only the strongest can survive. What do you do?

If youre an axolotl, you have two choiceseat your siblings arms, or have your arms eaten.

But even if you are the unfortunate victim of this sibling violence, not all hope is lost. In a few months, youll grow a whole new armbones, muscle, skin, nerves and all.

Its pretty gruesome, but cannibalism is a possible reason why they grow their arms back, says associate biology professor James Monaghan. His lab studies regeneration in axolotls, a peculiar species that can grow back limbs and other organs to various degrees.

When an injury occurs, some cues are released in that animal that tells cells near the injury to go from a resting state into a regenerative state, Monaghan says.

His lab is trying to figure out what those cues are, and how we might induce that response in humans, who have very limited regenerative abilities.

Humans are notoriously bad at regenerating, Monaghan says. After were done growing, the genes that tell our cells to grow new organs are turned off.

Thats a good thing because otherwise itd be chaos, he says. No one wants to spontaneously grow an extra finger.

Axolotls can turn back on those genes that we turn off permanently, Monaghan says.

Understanding the specific mechanisms that induce regenerative responses in axolotls is no small task since axolotls have the largest genome ever sequenced.

So far, the lab has identified one molecule, neuregulin-1, which is essential for regeneration of limbs, lungs, and possibly hearts.

When we removed it, regeneration stopped. And when we added it back in, it induced the regenerative response, Monaghan says. Im not saying its a golden bullet for inducing regeneration in humans, too, but it could be part of the puzzle.

A lot of researchers study limb regeneration in axolotls. But Monaghans lab is interested in extending this research to other organs, as well.

When you think of the human condition, most of our issues with disease are with internal organs, Monaghan says.

Take retina regeneration, for example. Monaghan says we can either learn the process axolotls undergo that allows their specialized cells to return back to developmental cells, and then mimic that process in human eyes. Or, we can learn which elements of the axolotl enable their cells to behave this way, and then add those elements to human stem cell therapy.

To test the latter, Monaghan has teamed up with a Northeastern associate professor of chemical engineering, Rebecca Carrier, and her lab to figure out the best way to transplant mammalian retinal cells using molecules found in the axolotl.

In the experiment, Monaghan and Carrier used pig eyes, which are similar to human eyes. When they transplanted stem cells from the retina of one pig into the retina of another, 99 percent of the transplanted cells died. Somethings missing, Monaghan says. The cells dont have the right cues.

But when Carrier and Monaghan injected those same pig stem cells into the axolotl eye, fewer cells died. They were much happier, Monaghan says. Theres something in the axolotl retina that the mammalian cells like.

One reason axolotls are so good at receiving transplants is because, unlike humans, they dont have a learned immune system, meaning they cant distinguish between themselves and foreign entities.

Its really easy to do grafts between animals because the axolotls cant tell that the new tissue isnt theirs, he says. They dont reject it like we might.

An obvious example of this can be seen in axolotls that are genetically modified with a green fluorescent protein found in jellyfish. These naturally white axolotls glow neon green in certain lighting.

With this we can ask really basic questions, like do cells change their fate when they participate in regeneration? Monaghan says.

For example, if Monaghan grafts muscle tissue from a green fluorescent animal onto a white axolotl and then that axolotl regenerates, does the axolotl grow green muscle? Do its bones glow green, too? What about its skin?

Researchers have found, however, that cells dont actually change. Green muscle yields green muscle only.

The axolotl isnt the only animal that can regrow organs. Starfish, worms, frogs, and other species of salamanders can also regenerate. But axolotls are special because, unlike other animals, they can regrow organs that are just as robust as the originals, no matter how old they get.

For example, tadpoles can regenerate limbs. But once they undergo metamorphosis and become frogs, they can only regrow a spike, Monaghan says. They lose the ability to grow back their digits.

The axolotls ability to fully regrow organs, even as it ages, could be partially due to its perpetual juvenile state. Axolotls, unlike most other amphibians, dont undergo metamorphosis naturally, which means they never technically reach adulthood, even though they can reproduce. This condition is called neoteny.

Axolotls come from a species that used to walk on land, Monaghan says. They do have legs, after all. But some mutation occurred that keeps them in the lake and from reaching adulthood.

To test whether their neotenic state is responsible for their ability to regenerate, Monaghan took a group of axolotl siblings and induced metamorphosis in one half by exposing them to thyroid hormones, a chemical that flips on the maturity switch in these amphibians. The other half was kept in the juvenile state.

In the experiment, the juveniles regenerated normally, but all of their adult siblings regenerated slower than usual, and had deformities in their regrown limbs.

There is some association with neoteny and the ability to regenerate, Monaghan says. But its not the main factor.

That main factor is yet to be discovered. But even though some of this might sound like science fiction, you already made an arm once, Monaghan says. If we could just learn how to turn back on those programs, our bodies might do the rest of the work.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Meet the axolotl: A cannibalistic salamander that regenerates its limbs and might help us better understand human stem cell therapy -...

More awareness needed on stem cell donation: expert – The Hindu

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), popularly known as bone marrow transplantation (BMT), is a curative modality for a number of benign and malignant blood disorders, said Dr. Murali Krishna Voonna, surgical oncologist and managing director of Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.

Speaking at an awareness programme on stem cell donation organised here by the hospital, in association with Datri Blood Stem Cell Donor Registry, he said hematopoietic stem cells are immature cells that can develop into all types of blood cellswhite blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. They are found in the peripheral blood and bone marrow.

A sizeable population are diagnosed to have benign diseases such as thalassemia major, sickle cell anaemia and aplastic anaemia, and the HSCT is among the efficient curative measures. Acute leukaemia and other blood cancers also need this procedure, he said.

Highlighting that stem cell donation and a registry are vital, Dr. Muralikrishna explained for a successful hematopoietic stem cell transplant, the patients genetic typing (HLA typing) needs a close match with that of the donor. Every patient has 25% chance of finding a match within the family, he said.

Dr. Muralikrishna stated that in such cases, finding a donor is a pressing need. There are over 80 donor registries and more than 30 million registered donors across the globe, with a very few Indians being a part of it. This reduces the chances of finding a possible match for patients of Indian origin. Patients are more likely to find a possible match within their ethnicity, which means people sharing the same cultural linguistic and biological traits, he explained.

The problem can be solved if the donors enroll themselves with a registry which will store the stem cell details and the details. Pledging to donate stem cells is easy like swabbing the inner-cheek. The donors are contacted if patients have HLA matching, he said, adding that the stem cell donation was carried out only when a match was found for a patient, not when one pledge to donate.

A blood stem cell collection centre was inaugurated at the hospitals premises on the occasion. Earlier, to avail of such service and for HLA-typing, one has travel to Hyderabad and Chennai, Dr. Muralikrishna said.

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More awareness needed on stem cell donation: expert - The Hindu

Lucknow: In a first, 26-yr-old DMD patient in UP survives with stem cell therapy – ETHealthworld.com

Lucknow: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a deadly genetic disorder, 99.9 per cent people suffering from which, die between the age of 13 to 23 years. However, in a first, a 26-year-old patient from Lucknow has survived DMD by regularly taking stem cells for the last five years.

Children, suffering from DMD, usually die of cardio-respiratory failure. But with the stem cell therapy, this patient has not lost muscle power in last five years and heart and lung muscles and the upper half of the body are working well.

Dr. B.S Rajput, the surgeon who is treating this patient, said, "DMD is a type of muscular dystrophy and being a genetic disorder, it is very difficult to treat. Autologous (from your own body) bone marrow cell transplant or stem cell therapy in such cases was started in Mumbai about 10 years back.

Dr Rajput, who was recently appointed as visiting professor at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, said he has treated several hundred DMD patients and recently this combination protocol was published in the international Journal of Embryology and stem cell research.

According to Dr Rajput, this disease is endemic in eastern UP, especially Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Ballia and some of the adjoining districts of Bihar, and one out of every 3,500 male child, suffers from the disease.

Yet the disease is not given as much attention as it should be.

Dr Rajput, who is consultant bone cancer and stem cell transplant surgeon from Mumbai, said though patients in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar get financial support from the Chief Minister's Relief Funds, the treatment of autologous bone marrow cell transplant is not included in the package list of Ayushman Bharat scheme, which deprives many from getting the treatment.

The doctor further informed that efforts are being made to establish the department of regenerative medicine in the medical college, where bone marrow cell transplant and stem cell therapy would be done even for other intractable problems like spinal cord injury, arthritis knee and motor neurone disease.

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Lucknow: In a first, 26-yr-old DMD patient in UP survives with stem cell therapy - ETHealthworld.com

Registration Open for The Eye and The Chip Research Congress – Newswise

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Newswise DETROIT Registration is now open for the 11th The Eye and The Chip research congress, which will take place Nov. 10-12, 2019 at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. This years research congress will focus on the relationship between neurobiology and nanoelectronics with respect to artificial vision. The ultimate goal of the research congress is to advance progress toward artificial vision for many people who suffer from blindness.

Results from this research congress will help move us towards the day when many people who are currently blind will be able to recover some level of useful vision, said Phillip Hessburg, M.D., Medical Director of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, the research arm of Henry Ford Health Systems Department of Ophthalmology. At this collaborative event, the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology brings together more than 30 authorities from various vision science and technology fields.

The Eye and the Chip is dedicated to fostering collaborative relationships between major programs in Europe, America, Asia and Australia that are working to make advances and identify challenges remaining in the global pursuit of true artificial vision. The research congress also seeks to present outcomes of device implantation where it is occurring and identify progress toward FDA approval of various visual neuro-prosthetic devices implantated in humans.

At the end of this three-day research congress, attendees will:

Presenters from around the world will take the stage at this years research congress. For an up-to-date and complete list of presenters and topics, and access to the full congress agenda, please visit the confirmed speakers website. 21.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) (TM) are available, as are 21.50 Non-Physician Credit Hours.

For more information, go to henryford.com/TheEyeAndTheChip or contact program coordinator Roseanne Horne at 313-936-1968 or rhorne1@hfhs.org.

About Henry Ford Health System and the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology:

Henry Ford Health System is a six-hospital system headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the nations leading comprehensive, integrated health systems, recognized for clinical excellence and innovation. Henry Ford provides both health insurance and health care delivery, including acute, specialty, primary and preventive care services backed by excellence in research and education. Henry Ford Health System is led by President & CEO Wright Lassiter III. Visit HenryFord.com to learn more.

The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO) is the research arm of the Henry Ford Department of Ophthalmology, committed to the education and support of the visually impaired, helping them maintain dignity and independence, while learning to how to live productively in a sighted world. The DIO is also a world leader in facilitating collaborative research, sponsoring two international research congresses. Visit HenryFord.com/DIO to learn more.

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Registration Open for The Eye and The Chip Research Congress - Newswise

Cesca Therapeutics Forms Joint Venture with Healthbanks Biotech (USA) to Provide Immune Cell Banking and Cell Processing Services – P&T Community

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cesca Therapeutics Inc.(Nasdaq: KOOL), a market leader in automated cell processing and autologous cell therapies for regenerative medicine, and ThermoGenesis, its wholly owned device subsidiary, today announced that the company has entered into a definitive joint venture agreement with HealthBanks Biotech (USA) Inc., one of the world's leading stem cell bank networks, to commercialize its proprietary cell processing platform, CAR-TXpress, for use in immune cell banking as well as for cell-basedcontract development and manufacturing services (CMO/CDMO). The joint venture will be named ImmuneCyte Life Sciences Inc. ("ImmuneCyte") and is expected to officially launch during the fourth quarter of 2019.

Under terms of the agreement, ImmuneCyte will initially be owned 80% by HealthBanks Biotech and 20% by Cesca. Cesca will contribute to ImmuneCyte exclusive rights to use ThermoGenesis' proprietary cell processing technology for the immune cell banking business and non-exclusive rights for other cell-based contract development and manufacturing services. Cesca will also contribute its clinical development assets to the joint venture, as the company has decided to discontinue these activities in order to focus exclusively on the device business.

Once operational, ImmuneCyte will be among the first immune cell banks in the U.S. to provide clients with the opportunity to bank their own healthy immune cells for future use as a resource for cell-based immunotherapies, such as dendritic cell and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. ImmuneCyte will utilize ThermoGenesis' proprietary CAR-TXpress platform which allows for the isolation of different components from 200 ml of blood in cGMP compliant, closed system. Given that the CAR-TXpress platform can increase cell processing efficiency by up to 16-fold as compared with the traditional, labor-intensive ficoll gradient centrifugation-based cell processing method, ImmuneCyte is expected to offer customers an unparalleled competitive advantage, including an ability to store their own immune cells at a tangibly lower cost.

"The ImmuneCyte joint venture will be paramount to the execution of our strategy to become a preferred cell processing and manufacturing solution provider in the cell and gene therapy field," said Dr. Chris Xu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cesca Therapeutics. "CAR-T therapeutic research is advancing rapidly. Partnering with HealthBanks Biotech, one of the foremost stem cell bank networks, with an experienced team and an established global infrastructure, will offer customers the ability to preserve younger, healthier and uncontaminated immune cells for potential future use. By applying our proprietary CAR-TXpress technology to immune cell banking and other CDMO cellular manufacturing services, we will allow for the manufacture and production of more effective and less costly immunotherapies."

In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two CAR-T cell therapies, under breakthrough designation, for the treatment of advanced B cell leukemia and lymphomas. Both use autologous (a patient's own) immune T cells to fight cancer and have reported an over 80% response rate in the "no-option" patient group, for those who have failed both chemo- and radiation therapies. This has helped to spur massive global interest for the development of additional CAR-T immunotherapies1. By the end of September 2019, there were over 800 CAR-T cell clinical trials registered on the http://www.clinicaltrials.gov website, targeting a wide variety of blood cancers and solid tumors.

Although highly effective, several recent studies on the eligibility of patients to enroll in CAR-T clinical trials showed that as many as 30-50% of cancer patients may not be eligible to enroll or to get sufficient CAR-T cells manufactured for the therapy. Reasons may include: (1) the function of the immune system declines with age and can be negatively affected by other medical conditions, (2) most standard cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation, destroy the immune system, and (3) in many cases of advanced cancer, cancer cells will enter circulation, invade and interfere with the body's natural production of immune cells. According to a recently reported JULIE trial, a CAR-T clinical trial in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), one-third of the 238 screened patients failed to be enrolled, and more than half of the 238 failed to receive the intended CAR-T therapy2,3. ImmuneCyte will offer customers the ability to preserve younger, healthier and uncontaminated immune cells, for potential future use in advanced cancer immunotherapy.

About HealthBanks Biotech (USA) Inc.HealthBanks Biotech, headquartered in Irvine, CA, is one of the leading stem cell bank networks in the world and offers services globally through its sister companies located in the United States and other regions and nations. HealthBanks Biotech is accredited by the FDA, AABB, and CAP. The HealthBanks Biotech group was originally founded in 2001 with a vision that stem cells and cell and gene therapies could transform modern medicine. HealthBanks Biotech is a subsidiary of Boyalife Group, Inc. (USA), an affiliate of Boyalife (Hong Kong) Limited, the largest stockholder of Cesca. For more information about HealthBanks Biotech (USA) Inc., pleasevisit:www.healthbanks.us.

About ImmuneCyte Life Sciences Inc.ImmuneCyte will provide clients with the opportunity to bank their own immune cells when the cells are "healthy and unaffected" as a future resource for cellular immunotherapies, such as CAR-T. ImmuneCyte utilizes a proprietary CAR-TXpress platform, a GMP compliant close-system capable of automated separating and cryopreserving different components from blood.For more information about ImmuneCyte Life Sciences Inc., pleasevisit:www.immunecyte.com.

About Cesca Therapeutics Inc.Cesca Therapeuticsdevelops, commercializes and markets a range of automated technologies for CAR-T and other cell-based therapies. Its device division, ThermoGenesis develops, commercializes and markets a full suite of solutions for automated clinical biobanking, point-of-care applications, and automation for immuno-oncology. The Company has developed a semi- automated, functionally closed CAR-TXpressplatform to streamline the manufacturing process for the emerging CAR-T immunotherapy market. For more information about Cesca and ThermoGenesis, pleasevisit: http://www.cescatherapeutics.com.

Company Contact:Wendy Samford916-858-5191ir@thermogenesis.com

Investor Contact:Paula Schwartz,Rx Communications917-322-2216pschwartz@rxir.com

References:

1. Facts About Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2018). https://www.lls.org

2. Updated Analysis of JULIET Trial: Tisagenlecleucel in Relapsed or Refractory DLBCL (2018).

3. Eligibility Criteria for CAR-T Trials and Survival Rates in Chemorefractory DLBCL. Journal of Clinical Pathways (2018).

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Cesca Therapeutics Forms Joint Venture with Healthbanks Biotech (USA) to Provide Immune Cell Banking and Cell Processing Services - P&T Community