Category Archives: Stem Cell Clinic


Platelet Rich Plasma and Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Research Growth by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast Analysis to…

About The Author Market Study Report

Market Study Report, LLC. is a hub for market intelligence products and services.

We streamline the purchase of your market research reports and services through a single integrated platform by bringing all the major publishers and their services at one place.

Our customers partner with Market Study Report, LLC. to ease their search and evaluation of market intelligence products and services and in turn focus on their company's core activities.

If you are looking for research reports on global or regional markets, competitive information, emerging markets and trends or just looking to stay on top of the curve then Market Study Report, LLC. is the platform that can help you in achieving any of these objectives. [emailprotected] | https://twitter.com/MarketStudyR/

Read more from the original source:
Platelet Rich Plasma and Stem Cell Alopecia Treatment Market Research Growth by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast Analysis to...

Pulmonary embolism in acute lymphoblastic leukemia An observational study of 1685 patients treated according to the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol. -…

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a serious complication of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We examined the cumulative incidence and clinical presentation of PE in a well-defined cohort of patients with ALL aged 1-45years treated according to the Nordic Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (NOPHO) ALL2008 protocol. As part of the mandatory toxicity reporting of NOPHO ALL2008, thromboembolism including PE was reported consecutively. The cumulative incidence of first-time PE was calculated using the Aalen-Johansen estimator during a 2.5-year period from ALL diagnosis. We used Fishers exact test to examine categorical variables and Cox logistic regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for PE. PE was diagnosed in 32 of 1685 patients. The 2.5-year cumulative incidence of first-time PE increased with age: 0.43% (95% CI, 0.18-1.03) in children aged 1-9years, 3.28% (95% CI, 1.72-6.22) in children aged 10-17years, and 7.22% (95% CI, 4.61-11.21) in adults aged 18-45years. The majority of PEs, 78% (25/32), occurred during asparaginase treatment. HRs adjusted for age and sex were associated with male sex (HR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.0-5.6) and older age (10-17years: HR 7.5; 95% CI, 2.5-22.2), 18-45years: HR, 16.5; 95% CI, 6.1-44.5). In two-thirds of the patients (63%; 17/27), PE and its treatment had no impact on the administered doses of asparaginase. PE-associated 30-day mortality was 9.4% (95% CI, 1.9-25.0). Awareness of PE is warranted during ALL treatment. Larger multicenter studies are needed to examine predictors of PE in ALL.

2020 The Authors. Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

PubMed

Here is the original post:
Pulmonary embolism in acute lymphoblastic leukemia An observational study of 1685 patients treated according to the NOPHO ALL2008 protocol. -...

Seer raises another $55M and finally reveals proteomic tech can it hold up? – Endpoints News

Two years ago, Omid Farokhzad left his prominent nano-medicine lab at Bostons Brigham and Womens Hospital and moved across the country to found a startup off technology that, he said, could change the field of proteomics and, with it, parts of medicine, agriculture and a range of fields.

Today, Farokhzad has finally revealed what that technology is. In aNature Communicationspaper, he showed how his company, Seer, and their lead product, called the Proteograph, can use nanoparticles to analyze the protein compositions in a single blood sample, like a fishing net webbing the contents of a particular swath of sea. Or to use the companys preferred metaphor like a sequencing machine reading out the base pairs on a particular strand of DNA.

Alongside the publication, Seer also announced a new $55 million round to help launch the product, bringing its total financing to over $150 million.

We now enable what was previously not possible, Farokhzad toldEndpoints News.Today about every 25 seconds, someone [can] sequence anothers human genome. This technology allows you to begin to interrogate the human proteome in an unbiased way, deep, in speed and scale.

Its a bold talk for a field full of it, although its now at least burnished by peer-reviewed data something that cannot be said for all of Seers competitors. The proteome has long been a source of fascination for scientists, for the simple fact that were built of proteins, and changes in the concentration or shape of proteins are what ultimately underlie changes in function and disease.

The problem is that its far harder to get a complete picture of someones proteins than it is of their genes. Genes are comparatively simple: 4 base pairs, each of which can only bind in one direction. Proteins can be made of up to 20 amino acids that bind in myriad ways. They can also change after translation. The technological or computing power simply did not exist to analyze all of them at a rate comparable to how researchers can analyze genes.

Thats changed to a degree in recent years. Several companies have popped up, most notably SomaLogic, offering to screen peoples blood for a limited set of proteins data have indicated correlates with disease. Researchers also have techniques to map out every protein in a blood sample, but it can take months.

Seer claims to be able to do screening in a fast and unbiased way, similar to how we can now analyze genes a quick and complete picture. A new company, called Nautlius, launched this year with over $100 million from prominent tech funds with a similar promise, but they are earlier stage and have yet to disclose their tech. And everyone is comparing themselves to Illumina, the $60 billion sequencing giant, which itself has a proteomics division.

The key variable that next-gen sequencing and in particular that Illumina technology changed was the ability to access the genome or the transcriptome in an unbiased, deep way, rapidly and at scale, Omead Ostadan, a former Illumina executive who was recently named Seers COO and president, told Endpoints. With Seers proteomics tech, you enable enormous depth and breadth analogous to the biologic insight that emerged when you could [first] access genomic information.

Seer has developed over 250 nanoparticles for its Proteograph. These different particles, when put in the blood, attract different proteins that bond to chemical groups on the surface, forming a corona, or a kind of molecular halo around the protein. Other proteins then bind to those proteins and so on. Not every nanoparticle will bind to every protein, but if you put in enough, the different coronas will give a kind of picture both of what proteins exist and if those proteins have changed shape.

As a proof of concept, the company looked at samples from early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients and found proteins that correlated with disease.

This kind of analysis, Farokhzad said, could be used to diagnose patients early a goal shared by well-backed liquid biopsy companies like GRAIL and Karius. It could also, he said, be used to find new proteins associated with cancer, and those proteins could then become biomarkers or targets for new therapies. There are also applications in agriculture and environmental science.

For now, the company is focused on building new nanoparticles and launching the product next year, before finding new applications. Theyll have to seal partners and buyers, who in turn will be able to say if the product is just as transformational as they claim.

It sounds simple, but having lived through product development and commercialization, theres a lot to do, Ostadan said.

Read more here:
Seer raises another $55M and finally reveals proteomic tech can it hold up? - Endpoints News

Potential Risks of Treatment with Unapproved Regenerative Medicine Products – FDA.gov

By: Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

Protecting patients is at the core of what we do at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Now the FDA is providing additional resources to help consumers understand the risks associated with unapproved stem cell, exosome, and other products marketed as regenerative medicine products. The agency is also facilitating the reporting of side effects that may occur after their use. The FDAs receipt of this information is important to developing a better understanding of the risks associated with these products and to helping the agency identify those clinics and manufacturers putting patients at risk.

Several times in recent years, the FDA warned consumers who have been treated with, or who are considering use of, unapproved stem cell, exosome, or other products marketed as regenerative medicine products, about their potential risk. These illegal products are often marketed by clinics under the umbrella term of regenerative medicine as being safe and effective for treatment of a wide range of diseases or conditions (e.g., Alzheimers disease and other neurologic disorders, orthopedic conditions), even though they have not been adequately studied in clinical trials. And more recently, some of these clinics have been marketing or distributing their unproven products to treat complications related to COVID-19 claims that are not based on adequate clinical data.

Consumers may also have been told by clinics and health care providers that because some of these products are made from their own cells, the FDA does not need to review or approve the treatment. That is simply not true. Further, claims that a clinics FDA registration or inspection equates to FDA approval or a form of FDA endorsement, or that listing a clinical study on clinicaltrials.gov means that it has been reviewed and allowed to proceed by the FDA, are also false.

It is of utmost concern that unapproved regenerative medicine products that have no proven clinical benefit and that may cause serious harm are marketed to patients. Using these products may lead to delays in getting a proper diagnosis and could also discourage patients suffering from serious illnesses from receiving safe and effective treatments that may be available. Whats also concerning is that we know that because these products are not FDA-approved, its very likely that adverse events are underreported by health care providers who treat patients with these products, and by patients who may have been harmed. We therefore strongly encourage patients and their family members to ask questions before receiving these types of products has the product been approved by the FDA? Has the product been approved for this use? Is the product being studied in a clinical trial that has been reviewed and allowed to proceed by the FDA? Am I being charged for an unapproved product?

We encourage patients and their health care providers to report to the FDA any potential adverse events and complaints related to the use of these products using the FDAs MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. Stem cell, exosome, or other products marketed as regenerative medicine products may have the potential to treat many medical conditions and diseases. But for almost all these products, it is not yet known whether each product has any benefit or if the product is safe to use. We want to make sure patients understand these potential risks in order to protect themselves from being treated with and paying for an unproven and illegally marketed products. The FDA has posted a webpage for consumers that provides information about products marketed as stem cells, exosomes or other regenerative medicine products, including the conditions for which they are approved, and which products are not approved at all. The webpage also provides information on how to submit information about adverse events to the FDAs MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting Program.

Unfortunately, weve found numerous instances of products being marketed to patients without FDA approval, as well as products being manufactured with significant deviations from current good tissue practice (CGTP) and/or current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements. These violations have included deficient donor eligibility practices, and inadequate aseptic practices to prevent product contamination violations that have the potential to place patients at risk. Patients have been harmed after being administered some of these violative products.

We encourage consumers who are considering treatment with regenerative medicine products to work with their health care providers to learn about the treatment being offered, and to visit our webpage. It is important to ask questions and understand the potential risks of treatment with unapproved products. The FDA will continue to work with the manufacturers of these products to support their development. But we will also continue to take appropriate action against those who put patients in harms way.

Additional Resources:

Here is the original post:
Potential Risks of Treatment with Unapproved Regenerative Medicine Products - FDA.gov

GV’s David Schenkein comes in to help mentor and bankroll a gene therapy 2.0 player, intrigued by their ‘science heavy’ approach to conquering…

One of the leading programs for a new coronavirus vaccine was championed today as investigators from Oxford and AstraZeneca spelled out a dual hit with neutralizing antibodies as well as a surge in specific T cells targeted against the virus.

According to the study:

Humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein peaked by day 28 postprime and cellular responses were induced in all participants byday 14. Neutralising antibodies were induced in all participants after a second vaccine dose. After two doses, potent cellular and humoral immunogenicity was present in all participants studied.

The results largely confirm what was already previewed: One dose was sufficient to elicit some antibody response in over 90% of people, and a second dose pushed it to 100%, at levels similar to whats observed in convalescent patients. Spike-specific effectors T cells were observed as early as day 7, peaking at day 14 and maintained up to day 56 as expected with adenoviral vectors.

In a media briefing, AstraZeneca biopharma R&D head Mene Pangalos noted that the ongoing Phase III trials will almost certainly be testing two doses, as it would be the safest approach to making sure we hit efficacy. Lower doses can then be worked out in the future.

Unlock this story instantly and join 85,500+ biopharma pros reading Endpoints daily and it's free.

SUBSCRIBE SIGN IN

Continue reading here:
GV's David Schenkein comes in to help mentor and bankroll a gene therapy 2.0 player, intrigued by their 'science heavy' approach to conquering...

2 immunotherapies merged into single, more effective treatment – Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Visit the News Hub

Mouse study suggests strategy may work against variety of cancers

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have combined two types of immunotherapy into a single treatment that may be more effective and possibly safer than current immunotherapies for blood cancers. Shown is a type of immune cell called a memory-like natural killer cell (right) attacking a leukemia cell (left). In the new study, the researchers modified the natural killer cells to help them find the leukemia cells more effectively.

Some of the most promising advances in cancer treatment have centered on immunotherapies that rev up a patients immune system to attack cancer. But immunotherapies dont work in all patients, and researchers have been searching for ways to increase their effectiveness.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have combined two immunotherapy strategies into a single therapy and found, in studies in human cells and in mice, that the two together are more effective than either alone in treating certain blood cancers, such as leukemia. Evidence also suggests that the new approach could be safer than one of the most recent cellular immunotherapies to be approved by the FDA, called CAR-T cell therapy, in which the immune systems T cells are engineered to target tumor cells. Cell-based immunotherapies are most commonly used against blood cancers but can be harnessed against some solid tumors as well, such as prostate and lung tumors and melanoma.

The study appears online in the journal Blood.

In the new research, the scientists have harnessed the technology used to engineer CAR-T cells and, instead of modifying specialized immune cells called T cells, they have used similar technology to alter different immune cells called natural killer (NK) cells. The resulting immunotherapy combines the benefits of both strategies and may reduce the side effects that are sometimes seen in CAR-T cell therapy. In some patients, for example, CAR-T cell therapy causes a cytokine storm, a life-threatening overreaction of the immune system.

Immunotherapies show great promise for cancer therapy, but we need to make them more effective and more safe for more patients, said co-senior author Todd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine. This combined approach builds on the treatment strategy that we developed for leukemia patients using natural killer cells. We can supercharge natural killer cells to enhance their ability to attack cancer cells. And at the same time, we can use the genetic engineering approaches of CAR cell therapy to direct the natural killer cells to a tumor target that would normally be overlooked by NK cells. It fundamentally changes the types of cancer that NK cells could be used to treat, both additional blood cancers and potentially solid tumors as well.

In past work, Fehniger and his colleagues showed that they could collect a patients own NK cells, expose the cells to a specific recipe of chemical signals that prime the cells to attack tumors, and then return the primed cells to patients for therapy. This chemical exposure is a sort of basic training for the cells, according to the investigators, preparing the NK cells to fight the cancer. When the cells are then returned to the body, they remember their training, so to speak, and are more effective at targeting the tumor cells. Because their training has given the NK cells a memory of what to do when they encounter tumor cells, the researchers dubbed them memory-like NK cells.

In small clinical trials conducted at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, such cells were effective in putting some patients with leukemia into a lasting remission, but they didnt work for everyone. Some tumor cells still evaded the memory-like NK cells, despite the cells basic training. To help the cells find the tumor cells, so their basic training can kick in and kill the correct target, the researchers modified the memory-like NK cells with the same CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) molecule that is typically used to target T cells to tumor cells. The CAR molecule is flexible and can be modified to direct the cells to different tumor types, depending on the proteins on the surfaces of the cancer cells.

The resulting hybrid cells were more effective in treating mice with leukemia than memory-like NK cells alone, leading to longer survival for mice treated with CAR memory-like NK cells. The researchers also found the therapy to be effective despite the fact that the mice were given relatively low doses of the cells.

One aspect of this study I find most exciting is how nicely these hybrid NK cells expand in the mice to respond to their tumors, said co-senior author Melissa Berrien-Elliott, PhD, an instructor in medicine. We can provide a tiny dose and see an incredible amount of tumor control. To me, this highlights the potency of these cells, as well as their potential to expand once in the body, which is critical for translating these findings to the clinic.

Fehniger also pointed out that an advantage of NK cells in general and for biological reasons that the scientists are still working to understand NK cells dont trigger a dangerous immune response or the long-term side effects that T-cell therapy can cause in attacking the patients healthy tissues, a condition called graft-versus-host disease.

In all of the clinical trials exploring any type of NK cells, we dont see the troublesome side effects of cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity that we see with CAR-T cells that can profoundly affect patients, Fehniger said. These side effects can be life-threatening and require intensive care. Were still working to understand how NK cells are different. But if you can get the benefits of CAR-T cells with few if any of the side effects, thats a reasonable line of research to pursue. Another benefit of this safer therapy is the potential to give these cells to patients at an earlier stage in their disease, rather than using them as a last resort.

Other groups have developed CAR-NK cells, but a major difference is that other groups NK cells came from donated cord blood or induced stem cells, rather than adult donors or the patients themselves.

The other groups have artificially differentiated stem cells into something that resembles an NK cell, Fehniger said. With that strategy, theres no guarantee that those cells will have all the properties of typical mature NK cells. In contrast, were starting with adult NK cells, so were more confident that they will have all the inherent properties and behavior of adult NK cells, which we have already shown to be effective in certain types of cancer patients, especially those with leukemia. Inducing memory properties adds to their persistence and effectiveness against many cancer types.

Over the next several years, we would like to be able to scale up this process to produce enough cells for a first-in-human clinical trial, and investigate their effectiveness in different types of human blood cancers, he said.

This work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant numbers F32CA200253, T32HL00708843, K12CA167540 and R01CA205239; and a NIH SPORE in Leukemia, grant number P50CA171063. Additional funding was provided by the Siteman Cancer Center through NIH grant number P30CA091842; the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; the V Foundation for Cancer Research; the Childrens Discovery Institute at Washington University School of Medicine; the Jamie Erin Follicular Lymphoma Research Fund; and the Steinback Fund.

Berrien-Elliott and Fehniger are inventors on patents related to this study that have been filed by Washington University. Fehniger has received research support from ImmunityBio, Compass Therapeutics, and HCW Biologics, and advises Kiadis, Nkarta, Indapta, and Orca Biosystems. Other authors report serving as a consultant for Kiowa Hakka Kirin and C4 Therapeutics; receiving research funding from Bristol Myers-Squibb, Verastem Pharmaceuticals, Innate Pharmaceuticals, Genentech/Roche, Celgene, and Corvus Pharmaceuticals; having direct ownership of equity in and a consultancy with Wugen; serving on the consulting/advisory committee for Rivervest, Bioline, Amphivena and Bluebird, Celegene, Incyte, NeoImuneTech, and Macrogenics and ownership investment in Magenta and WUGEN.

Gang M, Marin ND, Wong P, Neal CC, Marsala L, Foster M, Schappe T, Meng W, Tran J, Schaettler M, Davila M, Gao F, Cashen AF, Bartlett NL, Mehta-Shah N, Kahl BS, Kim MY, Cooper ML, DiPersio JF, Berrien-Elliott MM, Fehniger TA. CAR-modified memory-like NK cells exhibit potent responses to NK-resistant lymphomas. Blood. July 2, 2020.

Washington University School of Medicines 1,500 faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals. The School of Medicine is a leader in medical research, teaching and patient care, ranking among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Childrens hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Here is the original post:
2 immunotherapies merged into single, more effective treatment - Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Can fully shutting down the estrogen receptor make a difference in breast cancer? Olema scores $54M to find out in the clinic – Endpoints News

From tamoxifen to aromatase inhibitors to fulvestrant, theres been no lack of endocrine treatments targeted at estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. But Olema Oncology believes theres room for more.

The San Francisco-based biotech has convinced investors to pour in $54 million to prove it.

We saw the need for a drug that could more fully shut down the estrogen receptor, Cyrus Harmon told Endpoints News. We call it a complete estrogen antagonist to distinguish from other compounds.

After iterating through multiple generations of candidates for more than a decade funded by the founders themselves, angel investors and a now-defunct pharma collaboration Olema closed its first venture round in 2018 from BVF Partners.

BVF returned to co-lead the Series B alongside Logos Capital and Janus Henderson Investors, while new investors Cormorant Asset Management, RA Capital Management, Wellington Management Company, Surveyor Capital, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, and Foresite Capital joined.

We were attracted to Olema by its excellent science, robust preclinical data, experienced management team, and potential to make a significant impact on what remains a large unmet need among patients with breast and other hormone-positive cancers, Gorjan Hrustanovic, principal at BVF Partners, said.

The new cash will bankroll the program Phase I/II for OP-1250, evaluating the oral pill as a single agent for patients with ER+, HER2- who have seen their cancer come back despite treatment.

If the drug does what Olema wants it to do in the first-in-human testing, the next step will be to study it as a potential backbone therapy in combinations with others.

Thereve been a number of targeted therapies for breast cancer that have been developed in the last decade or so, such as the CDK4/6 inhibitors and PI3 kinase alpha inhibitors, Harmon said.

Whereas endocrine therapy was originally always used just by itself, it appears to pair well with these new classes of drugs.

That would require more money and likely a larger team than the current 12 to run bigger studies perhaps even an IPO that Harmon says is too early to discuss. But first, they need to get into the clinic.

One step at a time, he said.

Read the original here:
Can fully shutting down the estrogen receptor make a difference in breast cancer? Olema scores $54M to find out in the clinic - Endpoints News

‘Missing link’: Bayer, Morningside help catapult a new kind of delivery tech to cell and gene therapy – Endpoints News

Robert Millman co-founded and led Semma Therapeutics as CEO while also a managing director of MPM Capital. By the time he left the stem cell therapy pioneer two years before it would be sold to Vertex he had left VC life behind.

Instead, he went around scouting new technologies, visiting with tech transfer offices and academics in the Boston/Cambridge area to find worthy ideas that could benefit from his IP expertise.

And he found quite a few.

One of them is Vesigen Therapeutics, which is launching with $28.5 million to turn a new class of extracellular vesicles into packaging and delivery tools for a variety of cargos mRNA, Cas9, base editors, PROTACs, you name it.

The barrier to being a drug company right now is not technology or targets, he told Endpoints News. Theres plenty of targets, theres plenty of technology, but theres no way of getting the two of those into a patient.

Vesigens platform stems from scientific co-founder and Harvard professor Quan Lus work on ARMMs, or arrestin domain-containing protein 1 [ARRDC1]-mediated microvesicles. As he wrote in Nature Communications in March 2018, ARMMs are distinct from exosomes, in that they lend themselves to more controlled production and cargos that can be recruited into the vesicle during the process of manufacturing rather than put together after the fact.

I dont understand really why a whole lot of venture firms didnt jump on it at the time, Millman said. I think its because most were focused on exosomes and just thought that this was another exosome company, and there was already Codiak and Evox.

But Lu showed in his paper delivery of function p53 protein to an p53 deficient animal and restoring p53 activity: To me it was revolutionary.

And compared to the current workhorses of genetic medicines such as viral vectors and lipid nanoparticles, ARMMs promise to package bigger and more varied payloads, get into more organs, and stay in circulation longer without triggering toxicity.

Faced with the Willy Wonka-like range of possibilities, Millman said the top order right now for his team of seven is to figure out a manufacturing setup that would load the cargos efficiently and be cleared by regulators.

In the three years that it will likely take to get to the cusp of the clinic, Vesigen is also collaborating with researchers to show how ARMMs can get into tissues that no one can go to with implications in ocular and neurological diseases as well as cancer.

The Series A, co-led by Leaps by Bayer and Morningside Ventures and joined by Linden Lake Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments, should fund the company until 2025, when Millman expects to have built out the team to 30.

Its exactly the kind of projects that his group likes to invest in early, Leaps by Bayer head Jrgen Eckhardt said, especially as big believers in the cell and gene therapy space who see delivery as the missing link. For Vesigen, it also opens up opportunities to find partners within the pharma giants network down the road.

While Millman is keen not to lose focus, he also isnt hiding ambitions to make this the next big one.

I saw all of the problems Alnylam I was there for three years, we couldnt get delivery. I worked very early at Celera and established collaborations with Ionis and again delivery was limited. I was helping set up Verve Therapeutics and again delivery of Cas9 was a problem, he said. And here was an eloquent solution. I was just pleased to be at the right place at the right time.

Here is the original post:
'Missing link': Bayer, Morningside help catapult a new kind of delivery tech to cell and gene therapy - Endpoints News

Maui Economic Development Board kicks off their 2020 STEM Drive – Maui Time

Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) announces the kick-off of their first-ever 2020 STEM Drive, a benefit for the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund. This online fundraiser runs now through August 15, 2020. Visitwww.MEDBpathways.org.

Donations received will go towards advancing MEDBs Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs from kindergarten to careers; as well as helping MEDB continue to support meaningful pathways that benefit the lives of our residents in Maui County and statewide. Contributions are 100 percent tax deductible.

According to Leslie Wilkins, MEDBs President and CEO, For the past 13 years, our community has gathered in August for our annual Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner and auction to raise needed funds to support STEM education in Hawaii. This year, to protect the health and safety of our community, we will not be hosting our traditional in-person gala. However, the public can still make a difference in the lives of our keiki by donating to our STEM Drive.

Since the Fund was launched in 2006, MEDBs STEM programs continue to empower students and teachers across our state. To date, 344 grants have gone to support needed STEM equipment, robotics programs, media labs, environmental/sustainability projects, internships, training for our teachers and more.

To make a donation, please visit the MEDB STEM Drive website http://www.MEDBpathways.org. Donations can be made online or my mailing a check to Maui Economic Development Board, at 1305 N. Holopono Street #1, Kihei, HI 96753. A variety of sponsorship opportunities are also available that include publicity on the events website and social media.

This website also includes information about the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund, inspiring stories of those who have benefited from MEDBs STEM programs, and highlights of the upcoming STEM Week in Maui County.

Jobs today and in the future depend on the preparation of our students in critical thinking, communication, problem solving, collaboration, and creativity all skills nurtured by STEM education, said Wilkins. The MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund was created to provide STEM tools for our youth and educators in an effort to open doors to emerging career opportunities. We extend a heartfelt mahalo to all those who have supported the Ke Alahele Education Fund in the past and hope you are able to make a contribution this year. Its truly an investment in our youth one that will help to shape our community and our world.

About MEDB

The Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation established in 1982 with a focus on diversifying Mauis economy. MEDB partners with the private, public and nonprofit sectors at the local and national levels to achieve our goals. Our programs which are founded on a respect for our culture and precious environment assist growth industries, educate and train our residents for new career pathways, and build consensus in addressing our communitys challenges and opportunities.

Photo credit Maui Economic Development Board

comments

Excerpt from:
Maui Economic Development Board kicks off their 2020 STEM Drive - Maui Time

Homology Medicines Appoints Jeff Poulton to the Board of Directors – BioSpace

- Executive with Extensive Rare Disease Expertise in Global Finance andCommercial Operations -

BEDFORD, Mass., July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Homology MedicinesInc. (Nasdaq: FIXX), a genetic medicines company, announced today that Jeff Poulton has been appointed to the Board of Directors. Mr. Poulton is the Chief Financial Officer at Alnylam. Mr. Poulton brings 25 years of experience to Homologys Board of Directors, including leading finance, business development and commercial operations at companies using differentiated technologies to develop treatments for patients with rare diseases.

I had the pleasure of working with Jeff before, and I know first-hand how his strategic financial and operational leadership contributed to the success of a global rare disease commercial business, said Arthur Tzianabos, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Homology Medicines. Jeff has also displayed a long-term commitment to help patients and their families, which aligns with Homologys mission to develop our gene therapy and nuclease-free gene editing platform into new treatments and potential cures. He joins at an important time in the development of our pipeline, and we look forward to his guidance as we progress our Phase 1/2 pheNIX gene therapy clinical trial for adults with PKU and work toward bringing our other development candidates to the clinic.

Prior to his role at Alnylam, Mr. Poulton served as CFO at Indigo Agriculture where he supported the initial commercial scale-up of the business, including expansion outside the US. Mr. Poulton previously held various roles of increasing responsibility at Shire Plc, concluding his service as CFO and a member of its Executive Committee and Board of Directors. During his tenure at Shire, Mr. Poulton led the rare disease commercial operations in the US, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, as well as its global rare disease business unit. Prior to Shire, he led corporate finance and business development initiatives in both the energy and materials manufacturing sectors in financial leadership positions at Cinergy Corp and PPG industries. He also served in the US Navy as a Commissioned Officer. Mr. Poulton has an MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and a bachelors degree in Economics from Duke University. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors at EIP Pharmaceuticals.

I am drawn to companies with transformative technologies, and I believe Homologys genetic medicines platform has the potential to change the lives of patients with rare diseases, said Mr. Poulton. I look forward to working with the team at Homology, many of whom have successful careers in developing and commercializing drugs at prior companies that are continuing to make a positive impact in the lives of patients and families living with rare diseases.

About Homology Medicines, Inc. Homology Medicines, Inc. is a genetic medicines company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients suffering from rare genetic diseases with significant unmet medical needs by curing the underlying cause of the disease. Homologys proprietary platform is designed to utilize its human hematopoietic stem cell-derived adeno-associated virus vectors (AAVHSCs) to precisely and efficiently deliver genetic medicinesin vivoeither through a gene therapy or nuclease-free gene editing modality across a broad range of genetic disorders. Homology has a management team with a successful track record of discovering, developing and commercializing therapeutics with a particular focus on rare diseases, and intellectual property covering its suite of 15 AAVHSCs. Homology believes that its compelling preclinical data, scientific expertise, product development strategy, manufacturing capabilities and intellectual property position it as a leader in the development of genetic medicines. For more information, please visitwww.homologymedicines.com.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding our expectations surrounding the potential of our genetic medicines platform; the potential, safety, efficacy, and regulatory and clinical progress of our product candidates; and our position as a leader in the development of genetic medicines. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and operations, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and on general economic conditions; we have and expect to continue to incur significant losses; our need for additional funding, which may not be available; failure to identify additional product candidates and develop or commercialize marketable products; the early stage of our development efforts; potential unforeseen events during clinical trials could cause delays or other adverse consequences; risks relating to the capabilities and potential expansion of our manufacturing facility; risks relating to the regulatory approval process; our product candidates may cause serious adverse side effects; inability to maintain our collaborations, or the failure of these collaborations; our reliance on third parties; failure to obtain U.S. or international marketing approval; ongoing regulatory obligations; effects of significant competition; unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives; product liability lawsuits; failure to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; the possibility of system failures or security breaches; risks relating to intellectual property and significant costs as a result of operating as a public company. These and other important factors discussed under the caption Risk Factors in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020 and our other filings with theSECcould cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent managements estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.

Follow this link:
Homology Medicines Appoints Jeff Poulton to the Board of Directors - BioSpace