Archive for the ‘Geron’ Category

Feb
28

The dream of human immortality tonics lives on–in worms

Posted under anti-aging drugs, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Geron, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by Ryan McBride

Drug developers have long dreamed of discovering a tonic to trip up the aging process, hunting for genetic clues and compounds that could provide a fountain of youth. U.K. researchers say they have found a recipe for immortality--in flatworms. But the worm study might shine a light on ways to prolong human life too, investigators said.

The University of Nottingham researchers dug deeper into the mechanisms that allow flatworms to regenerate tissue in a prolific manner. Chop one of these slimy planarians in half, and two complete worms will grow from the halves--and so on and so on until you end up with thousands of them. What the researchers found was that these worms maintain the length of a component of DNA known as telomeres, which are known for protecting chromosomes and maintaining cell functions, Reuters reported. Shortened telomeres, on the other hand, are markers of short lifespans.

Building on past telomere research that garnered a Nobel Prize in 2009, lead researcher Aziz Aboobaker and his team found that levels of telomerase, an enzyme associated with the telomere gene, rose as the worms were regenerating tissues. And the organism's ability to keep healthy supplies of the enzyme throughout life offers the potential for the worms to be immortal, according to The Telegraph's report on the findings.

"Our data satisfy one of the predictions about what it would take for an animal to be potentially immortal," said Aboobaker, as quoted by Reuters. "The next goals for us are to understand the mechanisms in more detail and to understand more about how you evolve an immortal animal."

The U.K. researcher isn't alone in his quest, and biotech companies have already trudged down the telomere trail, with little to show for it at this point. Harvard researchers have done some telomere tinkering in mice, showing they could activate growth of brains and testes in the critters. And former Geron ($GERN) scientist Bill Andrews, of course, has evangelized the promise of telomeres to lead to new anti-aging drugs, gaining lots of publicity for his views and fending off the naysayers who have tried to discredit him.

No drugs from the research have yet arrived, but the telomere believers and the quest for new anti-aging remedies won't quit.

- check out the Reuters article
- and the article from The Telegraph

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Feb
26

GSK lassos rare disease program in Angiochem tie-up

Posted under Angiochem, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Geron, GlaxoSmithKline, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, rare diseases, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by Ryan McBride

GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) has grabbed rights to biotech startup Angiochem's early-stage program for treating a lysosomal storage disease. The deal comes as the London-based drug giant and its large pharma peers plunge headlong into the rare diseases field.

Angiochem, headquartered in Montreal, expects to get up to $31.5 million in upfront, research and additional fees from GSK if the drugmaker decides to secure rights to more of the small company's rare disease treatments. Depending on a lot of things going its way in its rare diseases program, and the partnership expanding, Angiochem said that it could bring in more than $300 million from its work with GSK.

GSK, which develops orphan disease drugs internally and via several partnerships, has made treating rare diseases in the brain a main research priority. With Angiochem's technology, GSK hopes to be able to develop at least one enzyme therapy for a lysosomal storage disease that can be smuggled through the blood-brain barrier into the central nervous system--where no current treatments against such rare diseases can reach.

Developers of rare disease drugs are trying to figure out how to get their protein treatments into the brain, including Shire's ($SHPGY) Human Genetic Disease unit, which is working on a device that administers the treatments into the cerebrospinal fluid. Angiochem develops drugs that are linked to a peptide that homes in on the LRP-1 receptor to sneak drugs into the brain, and last year the company began testing an enzyme-replacement drug that is linked to its brain barrier-penetrating peptide, company CEO Dr. Jean-Paul Castaigne told FierceBiotech. His company's research has gone as far as to show that its tech can deliver enzyme drugs for lysosomal storage diseases into the brains of mice.

Venture-backed Angiochem had some early success in using its tech to carry cancer drugs into the brain to attack tumors, and Geron ($GERN) snagged rights to its Phase II brain cancer candidate in 2010 for $35 million. GSK is the small company's first major partner in the rare diseases arena, and Angiochem hopes that success in the partnership will lead to deals with other drugmakers. The CEO said that the company's enzyme replacements for rare diseases are intended to treat tissues in the brain and the rest of the body.

"[The deal] means a lot," Castaigne said. He added that "the fact that we may bring drugs to the market with Glaxo that address the CNS symptoms of these diseases makes all the people in the lab very proud."

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Jan
23

ACT trumpets positive efficacy data from ESC trial sampling

Posted under Advanced Cell Technology, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, embryonic stem cells, Funding, Geron, macular degeneration, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

The beleaguered embryonic stem cell field got a boost today from a clinical trial sample in which two legally blind patients demonstrated partially restored vision after getting an injection of new cells prepared by Advanced Cell Technology ($ACTC). The two subjects suffer from two types of macular degeneration, a common condition in which vision blurs as retinal cells die. And after injections of ESC-derived retinal cells, both scored better on vision tests, leaving ACT to claim bragging rights for reporting the first efficacy data in the ESC field.

"Despite the progressive nature of these conditions, the vision of both patients appears to have improved after transplantation of the cells, even at the lower dosage," says Advanced Cell Technology CSO Robert Lanza. "This is particularly important, since the ultimate goal of this therapy will be to treat patients earlier in the course of the disease where more significant results might potentially be expected."

The data from the tiny Phase I/II study by ACT, which has skirted financial disaster in the past, is being reported in The Lancet. Regulators, obviously, would require much larger trials before even considering an approval. But the news marks a bright spot after a major setback in ESC research.

The recent news that the pioneering ESC company Geron ($GERN) is selling off its programs has cast a pall over the field. Alan Trounson, who runs the California stem cell agency, said recently that Geron's decision to exit the field created "a very strong negative influence internationally." According to the California Stem Cell Report Geron has been talking with two potential bidders.

- read the press release
- here's the story from The Telegraph

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Jan
12

For sale: Geron’s stem cell program

Posted under Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Geron, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Stem Cells, Universities, Videos by Suzanne Elvidge

As the global downturn squeezes the industry, all biotech companies are looking to make the most of their assets and rationalize their costs, and Geron is no different. The company has recruited St Louis-based broker Stifel Nicolaus to help it sell off its cell therapies, CEO John Scarlett told the gathered industry execs at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference this week in San Francisco.

Back in November 2010, Geron announced that it intended to stop clinical trials in spinal injury patients and sell its embryonic stem cell therapy program, leading to a huge drop in stock value. This morning the financial impact seems to have been small, with Geron opening at $1.71, falling two cents from yesterday's close of $1.73. However, the company's stock price has seen an overall fall of 67% over the last year.

Geron has been advertising the partnering opportunities on its website and, according to Scarlett, is in active discussions with partners. The stem cell programs are in preclinical and clinical development and include potential therapies for central nervous system disorders, heart disease, diabetes, immunotherapy and cartilage repair. Geron will tighten its focus on its cancer therapies and has two agents in Phase II clinical trials, with results expected in late 2012. If these are successful, Phase II proof-of-concept data will give the company a solid scientific base to seek further partnerships or collaborations.

"Every company has to make decisions about what they can do, not just what they aspire, or like, to do," Scarlett told Bloomberg. "Today, more than ever, the resources of every biotechnology company at this conference are very finite."

The company has enough money to get through the clinical trials this year without seeking further funding, and the sale of the cell therapies could further boost funding. While embryonic stem cell therapies are still somewhat controversial, the clinical data that Geron has raised so far, and the areas of unmet need that it has targeted, could make this a tasty target.

- check out the article in Bloomberg

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Archive for the ‘Geron’ Category

The dream of human immortality tonics lives on–in worms

GSK lassos rare disease program in Angiochem tie-up

ACT trumpets positive efficacy data from ESC trial sampling

For sale: Geron’s stem cell program