Imagine a man with a recent severe heart attack who has the muscle repaired with stem cells or a child with a severe bladder defect repaired with stem cells grown on a biodegradable scaffold. Sounds like science fiction but these are actual clinical studies in progress today. Stem cell therapies promise to be one of […]
New cells to replace those destroyed in diabetes type 1, cells to help heal a heart attack, cells to cure leukemia — this is the promise of stem cells. Some of this is happening now; more will be available in a few years.” Stem cells will usher in the era of regenerative medicine, allowing the […]
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Ocular Systems Inc. is working to bring medical innovation to an eye surgery that has not changed all that much in 100 years. CEO Jerry Barker founded OSI to prepare corneal tissue for transplant, saving doctors time spent doing that prep work themselves. Last year, OSI received U.S. marketing clearance for its first product, a […]
Regenerative medicine wound healing company SironRX Therapeutics has hired a first-time CEO as its first-ever, full-time CEO. Evan Facher most recently worked as general manager of Pittsburgh interventional operations with MedRad, a medical device company that’s an arm of Bayer HealthCare. In eight years with MedRad, Facher held a variety of roles that included business […]
Regenerative medicine company Tengion (NASDAQ:TNGN) has always planned to take its novel tissue generating technology as far as early-stage clinical studies before finding a partner to finance later-stage work. The company’s lead program treating patients who have had their bladder removed is expected to finish phase 1 enrollment by year’s end. A preclinical kidney program […]
It isn’t easy to get profit-hungry Wall Street excited about a drug that hasn’t yet been tested in humans and is at best years and years away from generating any sales, but Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) CEO Gil Van Bokkelen did his best in a recent conference call with investment analysts. That’s because there are recent signs […]
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Regenerative medicine startup Juventas Therapeutics has begun enrollment in a phase 2a trial of critical limb ischemia patients. The Cleveland-based company, which recently secured an important investment from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is planning to enroll 48 patients and complete enrollment early next year, CEO Rahul Aras said. Juventas’ technology, called JVS-100, works by recruiting stem cells […]
Stem cell therapeutics developer Athersys’ (NASDAQ:ATHX) phase 2 clinical study investigating the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease with partner Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is expected to complete patient enrollment by the end of 2012. Top-line results of the inflammatory bowel disease trial are likely to be available in early 2013, Athersys CEO Gil Van Bokkelen said in […]
Takeda Pharmaceuticals is a strategic investor in regenerative medicine company Juventas Therapeutics’ upcoming series B round of funding. Juventas’ CEO Rahul Aras discussed the investment during a panel at a meeting of the Ohio Venture Association on Friday. “If you think venture capital due diligence is difficult …” Aras joked, “I think [Takeda] called my […]
Results of a preclinical study suggest that stem cell technology from Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) could offer a treatment for patients suffering from a rare disorder called “Hurler’s syndrome.” Hurler’s syndrome is a metabolic disorder in which patients produce too little of an enzyme that helps the body break down a complex type of sugar molecule found […]
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Regenerative medicine company Tengion (NASDAQ:TNGN) plans to start human studies on its experimental kidney disease treatment in 2013. Tengion said that it expects to file an investigational new drug application, or IND, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its lead preclinical program in the first half of next year. Proof-of-concept data from the […]
Stem cell developer Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) has received a U.S patent that covers the use of nonembryonic, multipotent stem cells in the treatment of graft-versus-host disease. Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) often occurs after a stem cell or bone marrow transplant in which the newly transplanted material attacks the transplant recipient’s body. The condition is often associated with […]
Gil Van Bokkelen, CEO of stem cell company Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX), is typically one to speak in cautious and measured tones, but he made a brash statement in the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call. Van Bokkelen said Cleveland-based Athersys’ MultiStem stem cell therapy for ischemic stroke “could easily be one of the biggest blockbusters that […]
We’ve heard of people freezing their eggs, blood and stem cells for use later on, but a health service startup is now enabling patients to freeze their own skin cells for potential future use in diagnostics, therapeutics and regenerative medicine techniques. Next Healthcare Inc.’s goal is to enable personalized healthcare by providing skin and stem […]
Regenerative medicine startup Juventas Therapeutics is planning to begin enrollment in a phase 2 heart failure clinical trial next quarter. The Cleveland-based company’s technology, JVS-100, works by recruiting stem cells from the bone marrow to create new blood vessels and prevent ongoing cell death at the site of a patient’s injury. During the trial, Juventas […]