The Dish’s Weekly News Wrap Up – July 25, 2014
This week’s headlines include, stem Cell Therapy for diabetes headed to clinical trials, lack of new drugs for key indications, drugmakers sharing neglected compounds, stem Cell Therapy for chronic heart failure launched, AbbVie wins Dublin’s Shire, U.S. looks to curb pharma companies heading offshore, and top 15 NIH-funded disease areas.
Cell Culture Dish – Ask the Expert Session
Our Next Session – Single-Use Technology for Microbial Fermentation
Microbial fermentation processes are used for biomanufacturing of various drugs and vaccines, such as hormones, antibody fragments, and pneumococcal vaccine. Stirred-tank fermentors up to 100,000 L scale have traditionally been used in such microbial processes and their success has formed the general engineering foundation and principles of the design of bioreactors. The majority of today’s fermentation processes are performed in bioreactors constructed of traditional materials such as stainless steel. However, there is an increased interest in disposable technology to gain flexibility, save batch change-over time, and minimize cleaning and cleaning validation efforts.
Cell Culture Events
The Bioprocessing Summit – August 18-22, 2014 – Renaissance Waterfront Hotel – Boston, MA
http://www.bioprocessingsummit.com/
Cell Line Development & Engineering – September 8-10, 2014 – Doubletree by Hilton Berkeley Marina Berkeley, CA
http://www.ibclifesciences.com/CellLine/overview.xml
Cell Culture World Congress USA – September 15-16, 2014 – The Westin Copley Place – Boston, MA
http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/cell-culture-world-congress-usa/index.stm
Stem Cells Regenerative Medicine Conference –
World Cord Blood Congress –
Headlines:
“A Dearth in Innovation for Key Drugs,” The New York Times
“There is clearly something wrong with pharmaceutical innovation. Antibiotic-resistant infections sicken more than two million Americans every year and kill at least 23,000. The World Health Organization has warned that a “post-antibiotic era” may be upon us, when “common infections and minor injuries can kill.” Even the world’s tycoons consider the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria one of the crucial global risks of our times, according to a survey by the World Economic Forum. Yet the enthusiasm of the pharmaceutical industry for developing drugs to combat such a potential disaster might be best characterized as a big collective “meh.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Single-use Perfusion Culture Enables Continuous Bioproduction”
“Drugmakers to Share Neglected Compounds with British Academia,” Reuters
“A group of seven leading drugmakers has agreed to share an array of neglected experimental medicines with British academic researchers in the latest example of the deepening ties between industry and external scientists.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Stem Cell Therapy Indications for Neurological Disorders in Phase II Clinical Trials”
“CardioCell Launches Trial to Assess Stem Cell Therapy for Chronic HF,” Healio
“CardioCell announced the initiation of a phase 2a trial of ischemia-tolerant mesenchymal stem Cell Therapy for patients with chronic HF due to nonischemic cardiomyopathy.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Single-use Technology for Microbial Fermentation”
“Diabetes Stem Cell Therapy Readied,” San Diego Union Tribune
“In an historic announcement for the stem cell field, San Diego’s ViaCyte said Thursday it has applied to start human clinical trials of its treatment for Type 1 diabetes. ViaCyte grows replacement insulin-producing cells from human embryonic stem cells. The cells are packaged while maturing in a semi-permeable device and implanted. In animal trials, the cells produce insulin, relieving diabetes.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Model Human Disease”
“Top 15 NIH-funded Disease Areas,” Fierce Biotech Research
“The U.S. National Institutes of Health is the single biggest funder of biomedical research in the world, with a current budget of $30.1 billion spread across its 27 separate institutes and centers.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Part II – Key Tools and Technology Hurdles in Advancing Stem-Cell Therapies”
“U.S. Drugmaker AbbVie Finally Wins Dublin’s Shire with $55 Billion Deal,” Reuters
“U.S. drugmaker AbbVie Inc bought Dublin-based Shire Plc on Friday in a 32 billion pound ($54.7 billion) deal that will allow it to slash its tax bill by relocating to Britain. The London-listed company, which makes expensive medicines to treat rare diseases, fought off four earlier bids from AbbVie until the U.S. firm raised its price to 52.48 pounds per share – made up of 24.44 pounds in cash and 0.8960 new AbbVie shares.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Paper or Plastic: A Study on Single-use and Sustainability”
“U.S. Seeks Legislation to Curb Offshore Tax Deals,” Bloomberg
“The mergers used to legally avoid taxes, known as inversion transactions, have become increasingly popular over the past year, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Companies including Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc. (MDT) and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based Mylan Inc. (MYL) have announced plans to move their legal addresses outside the U.S.”
If you like this story, please see our blog titled “Flexible Facilities for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing”