The Dish’s Weekly News Wrap Up – April 25, 2014
This week’s headlines include, drug makers’ move toward specialization, Novartis buying GSK cancer drugs, Aastrom buys Sanofi’s Cell Therapy businesses, 2014 blockbuster drugs report, stem cells from adults, and cord blood stem cells evaluated for cerebral palsy.
Cell Culture Events
Webinar – “Modeling Human Neurological Disease with Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells”
Thursday May 8th, 10:00 AM PDT, 1:00 PM EDT
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-based models hold tremendous potential for the study of human neurological disease. Advances in technologies, including improvements in the ease and efficiency of generating neural progenitor cells from iPS cells, have resulted in increased adoption of these models by the neuroscience community. Learn how iPS cell-based models can enable you to increase the physiological relevance of your research, by watching this free webinar.
Webinar – “Achieving FDA Acceptance and Releasing your Bio Product with Rapid PCR Mycoplasma Testing”
Thursday May 15, 6:00 AM PDT, 9:00 AM EDT
Validation of release methods and approval by authorities can be a lengthy, technically complex and sometimes costly process involving lots of misunderstandings along the way. Mycoplasma is the most common reason for contamination in cell culture and can greatly impact the quality and end-result of cell-based biopharmaceutical products. In this free webinar, Roche Custom Biotech will discuss FAQs asked by regulatory authorities and showcase how Roche Pharma addressed all these questions during validation of the MycoTOOL Test, including the experiments performed and the results that were presented to the FDA.
PEGS Boston
May 5-9, 2014 – Seaport World Trade Center – Boston, MA http://www.pegsummit.com/
TIDES
May 12-15, 2014 – Rhode Island Convention Center – Providence, Rhode Island http://www.ibclifesciences.com/TIDES/overview.xml
World Stem Cells Regenerative Medicine Conference
May 20-22, 2014 – London, UK – http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/stem-cells/index.stm
Bioconjugates: From Targets to Therapeutics –
June 04-06, 2014 · Grand Hyatt Hotel · San Francisco, CA
IBC Life Sciences’ Bioconjugates: From Targets to Therapeutics is taking place June 4-8, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, CA. Increase your market share with the latest conjugation design and manufacturing science. This event brings together protein engineers with medicinal chemists in an interdisciplinary forum to foster innovation. Download a copy of the brochure today to see what this year’s event has to offer
Next Generation Protein Therapeutics Summit –
June 04-06, 2014 · Grand Hyatt Hotel · San Francisco, CA
IBC Life Sciences’ Next Generation Protein Therapeutics Summit is taking place June 4-8, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, CA. Cross-fertilize ideas from multiple disciplines and turn promising new molecules into differentiated products. This event attracts world-renowned academics and industry visionaries to share ideas, clinical updates, and best practices. Download a copy of the brochure today to see what this year’s event has to offer.
Protein Aggregation, Oligomerization, Stability & Solubility –
June 04-06, 2014 · Grand Hyatt Hotel · San Francisco, CA
IBC Life Sciences’ Protein Aggregation, Stability & Solubility is taking place June 4-8, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, CA. Reduce protein degradation and safeguard your product’s efficacy with this new scientific meeting dedicated to minimizing protein aggregation from discovery through bioprocessing. Download a copy of the brochure today to see what this year’s event has to offer.
Single-Use Applications for Biophamaceutical Manufacturing
June 09-10, 2014 · Boston Park Plaza Hotel · Boston, MA http://www.ibclifesciences.com/SingleUse/overview.xml
Empowered Antibodies Congress 2014
June 17 – 19 2014, Hotel Fira Palace, Barcelona, Spain http://www.informa-ls.com/event/EmpoweredAntibodies2014
Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research
June 18-21, 2014, -Vancouver, Canada http://www.isscr.org/home/2014annualmeeting/media
BIO International Convention
June 23-26, 2014 – San Diego, CA http://convention.bio.org/
Informa Life Sciences’ 7th Annual Viral Safety for Biologicals 2014–
June 24-25, 2014 – Pullman Hotel, Cologne, Germany
Informa Life Sciences’ 7th Annual Viral Safety for Biologicals 2014 conference will provide you with the latest technological developments and practical strategies to screen and detect new adventitious agents, optimise viral clearance and implement upstream and downstream viral risk mitigation measures to manage and prevent potential contaminations as quickly as possible.
Informa Life Sciences’ 3rd Annual Biopharmaceutical Raw Materials 2014 –
June 24-25, 2014 – Hotel Pullman Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Effective raw materials and supply chain quality management is crucial to ensure appropriate material quality and to enhance the safety and consistency of a pharmaceutical product. Informa Life Sciences’ 3rd Annual Biopharmaceutical Raw Materials is Europe’s only dedicated conference focused on optimising raw material and supply chain quality, with 10+ industry experts and first-hand regulatory advice from Paul-Ehrlich-Institut.
Headlines:
“Deal Flurry Shows Drug Makers’ Swing Toward Specialization,” The Wall Street Journal
“A new flurry of drug deals shows how the global pharmaceutical industry is reversing course, as companies narrow their focus after decades of diversifying their drug portfolios. Swiss drug giant Novartis AG NOVN.VX -1.90% and the U.K.’s GlaxoSmithKline GSK.LN +0.52% PLC on Tuesday were the latest to illustrate that about-face, announcing more than $20 billion in deals. Novartis will sell its animal-drugs business to Eli Lilly LLY -1.48% & Co. and most of its vaccine business to Glaxo, and Novartis will buy a portfolio of cancer therapies from Glaxo.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Troubleshooting Media Development for Bioprocessing”
“Novartis to Buy Glaxo Cancer Drugs, Sell Animal Health,” Bloomberg
“Novartis AG (NOVN) will focus more on cancer, GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) on vaccines and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) on animal health as the drugmakers announced a series of deals for a total of as much as $28.5 billion today. The transactions, as well as a plan to form a consumer-health joint venture with Glaxo, are part of an overhaul of the pharmaceutical industry spurred by the loss of sales as best-selling medicines lose patent protection. Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker, sold its infant-nutrition business to Nestle SA for $11.9 billion in 2012, and then last year spun off its animal-health unit.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Highlights from the 14th World Vaccine Congress – A Cell Culture Perspective”
“In a Cloning First, Scientists Create Stem Cells from Adults,” Reuters
“Scientists have moved a step closer to the goal of creating stem cells perfectly matched to a patient’s DNA in order to treat diseases, they announced on Thursday, creating patient-specific cell lines out of the skin cells of two adult men. The advance, described online in the journal Cell Stem Cell, is the first time researchers have achieved “therapeutic cloning” of adults. Technically called somatic-cell nuclear transfer, therapeutic cloning means producing embryonic cells genetically identical to a donor, usually for the purpose of using those cells to treat disease.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Animal Component Free Recombinant Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Critical to Enhancing Human Neural Stem Cell Proliferation”
“Aastrom Nabs Sanofi’s Cell Therapy Business for $6.5M,” Genetic Engineering News
“Aastrom Biosciences is picking up Sanofi’s Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine (CTRM) business for $6.5 million, gaining global commercial rights to three autologous Cell Therapy products:
Carticel® (autologous cultured chondrocytes), an autologous chondrocyte implant (ACI) marketed in the U.S. for the treatment of articular cartilage defects;
Epicel® (cultured epidermal autografts), a permanent skin replacement for full thickness burns greater than or equal to 30% of total body surface area, marketed worldwide; and
MACI® (matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implant), a third-generation ACI product marketed in the EU.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Flexible Facilities for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing”
“A Tale of Two Stem Cell Research Papers,” The Boston Globe
“This is a tale of two Stem Cell Research papers. One took the scientific world aback when it appeared in late January: a report by a team of Boston and Japanese researchers that stem cells could be created simply by dipping mature cells in an acid bath. The second was less splashy, but also surprising. A 2012 paper described how the heart naturally replenishes itself; it reported a rate of renewal of heart muscle cells that was dramatically higher than other researchers had found. The work, led by a prominent Brigham and Women’s Hospital researcher, also showed that the rate of cell regeneration increased as people got older — contrary to expectations.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Stem Cell Therapy Indications for Cardiovascular Disease in Phase II/III Clinical Trials”
“Money Churning Drugs of 2014: Report,” BioSpectrum
“Gilead’s drug Sovaldi for hepatitis C virus, GlaxoSmithKline/Theravance’s Anoro Ellipta for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and Gilead’s Idelalisib for indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are the leading drugs to watch in 2014, according to a report by Thomson Reuters. The three potential blockbuster treatments are anticipated to gain more than USD1 billion in sales through 2019, after entering the marketplace in 2014, according to analysis by Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Choosing a Cell Culture Media Development Strategy for Biopharmaceutical Production”
“Cord Blood Registry Clinical Trial at UTHSC Evaluates Stem Cells for Cerebral Palsy Therapy,” Bio News Texas
“Cord Blood Registry is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial at University of Texas Health Science Center to evaluate the safety and efficacy of delivering stem cells intravenously to cerebral palsy patients. The goal is to recruit 30 children with cerebral palsy, aged two to ten years, and administer either autologous cord blood stem cells (collected at the time of birth) or autologous bone marrow stem cells (collected from a bone marrow harvest). Five patients from either group will receive a placebo at baseline but will be given the option to receive stem cell treatment after one year. Follow-ups at 6, 12, and 24 months will be conducted at the University of Texas Health Medical School and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Captivating Cell Images”