ASCTC’s most advanced product is an assay that can detect, very early in the drug development pipeline, drug candidates that will ultimately fail because of their toxicity to tissue stem cells. The company’s patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems – production and quantification. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing iPSCs.

The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC Participates in Multiple Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Conferences Before Year End

Now approaching the one-year mark since its founding, The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) in Boston, Massachusetts has lined-up participation in three conferences focused on stem cells and regenerative medicine over the next two months. At two of the conferences, ASCTC Director James Sherley will provide updates on the company’s progress with development of its new technology for detecting drug candidates that are toxic to tissue stem cells.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) August 29, 2014

A major challenge before new biotechnology start-up companies, especially ones in the biotech start-up dense realm of Boston-Cambridge, is gaining visibility that can lead to important strategic alliances and able investors. James Sherley, the Director of Boston’s Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC), has made increasing the local and national visibility of his company an important priority since he started the company in September 2013.

In addition to a social media marketing campaign launched earlier in July of this year, Director Sherley has targeted research and development conferences both nationally and internationally to increase industry awareness of ASCTC’s unique portfolio of intellectual property available for licensing and its current commercial development targets. The company is focused on producing two products to address two important needs in drug development and regenerative medicine, respectively, that it is uniquely positioned to address.

ASCTC’s most advanced product is an assay that can detect, very early in the drug development pipeline, drug candidates that will ultimately fail because of their toxicity to tissue stem cells. ASCTC developed the new technology in partnership with AlphaSTAR, Corporation, located in Long Beach, California. Currently, such lurking drugs are not detected until after expensive animal testing, more expensive clinical trials, or worse, after marketing. Director Sherley refers to the second product as, “A future of pounds and pounds of normal adult tissue stem cells.” The company holds a patented technology for mass production of human tissue stem cells. The initial production target is human liver stem cells that can be used to make mature human liver cells for use in drug development and to support liver transplant patients. The company also holds patents for production of pancreatic stem cells and hair follicle stem cells.

The sponsor the 2014 Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Conference, in Boston, September 15-16, Terrapinn, Inc., invited ASCTC to attend as a VIP guest. Although ASCTC will not make a formal presentation at this conference, Director Sherley will participate in a roundtable discussion on the topic, “Articulating value for up-and-coming regenerative medicine, stem cell and cell-based therapies.”

Later in September (22-24), Director Sherley will present one of the selected “Next Generation Presentations” for new companies at BioPharm America 2014, also taking place in Boston. In addition to the public presentation, ASCTC will also participate in confidential partnering meetings with potential investors and strategic alliance partners arranged by conference organizers.

In October, Director Sherley will present to a primarily academic research audience a more detailed accounting of ASCTC’s computer simulation technology for quantifying tissue stem cells in culture. This technology is the basis for the company’s new assay for tissue stem cell toxicity. Director Sherley is particularly interested in the response from several experts in tissue stem cell growth dynamics who are invited speakers. The symposium, which will take place at Rhode Island Hospital, a medical affiliate of Brown University in Providence, has the goal of presenting emerging disruptive research in the area of “Novel Stem Cells and Vesicles.” Director Sherley is a member of the symposium organizing committee. 
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The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) is a Massachusetts life sciences company established in September 2013. ASCTC Director and founder, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is the foremost authority on the unique properties of adult stem cells. The company’s patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems – production and quantification – that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing iPSCs. Currently, ASCTC is employing its technological advantages to pursue commercialization of mass-produced therapeutic human liver cells and facile assays that are early warning systems for drug candidates with catastrophic toxicity due to adverse effects against adult tissue stem cells.^via

Ciaran Finn Lynch and his mom and dad pose with his Pontifical Hero Award on April 12, 2013 in Vatican City. Credit: Stephen Driscoll/CNA.

Vatican Honors Boy for Courage During Stem Cell Trachea Transplant Operation that Used His Own Cells

During the Second International Adult Stem Cell conference at the Vatican, a boy who had his windpipe replaced with one grown using his own stem cells won the “Pontifical Hero Award” for his courage.

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, 14, was the second person to receive the award, and he made the trip from Northern Ireland to the Vatican to receive it.

“Ciaran is a shining example of what this result has shown,” said his father, Paul Finn, in an April 12 interview with CNA.

His mother, Colleen Finn, said “we need to have faith in God to get through all of this.”

“This has made our faith stronger because we need more and more prayers all the time,” she added.

Ciaran was born with long-segment tracheal stenosis, a condition that resulted in a narrow windpipe and made it hard for him to breathe.

He had a major transplant surgery to rebuild his trachea when he was two years-old.

Doctors placed metal stents to hold his windpipe open and he went without any major issues until he was 10 years-old.

One day after school, the stents that had been placed in his windpipe started to cut into his aorta, the main blood vessel coming out of his heart.

He was taken to intensive care at Belfast Hospital and then later transferred to London’s Great Ormond Children’s Hospital.

“He had several operations but he had more bleeding from his stents,” said Doctor Paolo De Coppi, head of the surgery unit at University College London’s Institute of Child Health, during the April 12 morning session of the conference.

“The leader of our team didn’t know what to do next, but an option was to do an operation done before on an adult in Barcelona. But we didn’t have the time to do that,” De Coppi explained.

“But we did something similar and it was a quite difficult operation,” he said.

The operation involved taking a donor trachea and seeding it with stem cells taken from Ciaran’s bone marrow.

The result of the procedure was that after six months, his trachea looked almost normal.

“Ciaran is doing really well and I think he has a chance to become a rock star, since he plays the drums so well,” De Coppi commented after showing a video of Ciaran playing with a band.

Ciaran told CNA that it felt good to receive the award and that he was happy with his life.

His father noted that the stem cells “have been a great contribution to Ciaran’s procedure.”

“What we’ve heard here these last couple of days (at the conference) has been amazing, knowing they’re talking about building other organs,” Paul Finn said.

Ciaran’s mother noted that she was happy that her son is not on any medication, since the operation used his own cells, preventing the need for anti-rejection drugs.

“You just have to keep going on for him, and you can’t show that you’re scared or teary and you just have to put a brave face on,” said Colleen.^via

UCLA researchers report a major breakthrough using adult stem cells to treat Parkinson’s disease. A parkinson patient was treated with his own adult stem cells into only half of his brain, no chance of transplant rejection, no tumors. The patient’s motor skills improved by over 80 percent in the first five years after the procedure, he was able to have an active lifestyle. 

Parkinson's: Adult Stem-Cell Use Proves Successful Once Again!

LifeNews.com reports the results were published in the February issue of the Bentham Open Stem Cell Journal. Dr. David Prentice, a fellow with the Family Research Council, says the research features only one patient.

“The gentleman was treated with stem cells into only half of his brain, and he went almost five years (without symptoms),” he explains. “Now his symptoms did start to return after that, and obviously he’d like the other half of his brain treated.”

The patient’s motor skills improved by over 80 percent in the first five years after the procedure. Prentice says he was able to have an active lifestyle. “During that time he was traveling all around the world and living a full life,” he points out.

David Prentice (FRC)No human embryos were killed in the research. “They used the gentleman’s own adult stem cells, so obviously there’s no chance of transplant rejection, no tumors,” Prentice notes, “and of course, adult stem cells really work in patients.”

UCLA researchers will now expand their work to 15 humans.^via

Revolutionary findings in study by researchers in Korea suggest the first real breakthrough toward preventing Alzheimer's and helping millions of patients and families by relieving its symptoms. Researchers announced this week the results of a study that suggests an astounding possibility: adult stem cells may not only have a positive effect on those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, they can prevent the disease. Using fat-derived adult stem cells from humans, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells, researchers were able to cause Alzheimer's disease brains in animal models to regenerate.  For the first time in history, stem cells were used to identify the mechanism that is key to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and demonstrated how to achieve efficacy as well as prevention of the symptoms of Alzheimer's with adult stem cells, a "holy grail" of biomedical scientists for decades.

Study Shows Stem Cells May Prevent And Cure Alzheimer's

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Korea's leading university and the RNL Bio Stem Cell Technology Institute announced this week the results of a study that suggests an astounding possibility: adult stem cells may not only have a positive effect on those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, they can prevent the disease. Using fat-derived adult stem cells from humans [scientific term: adMSCs, or human, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells], researchers were able to cause Alzheimer's disease brains in animal models to regenerate.  The researchers, for the first time in history, used stem cells to identify the mechanism that is key to treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and demonstrated how to achieve efficacy as well as prevention of the symptoms of Alzheimer's with adult stem cells, a "holy grail" of biomedical scientists for decades.

Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia (loss of brain function), is the 6th leading cause of death, and affects 1 in 8 people -- more than breast cancer.  As of 2010, there were 35.6 million people with Alzheimer's disease in the world, but this number is expected to double every 20 years.  It is estimated that the total cost of Alzheimer's is US $604 billion worldwide, with 70% of this cost  in the US and Europe.  To put that in perspective, Alzheimer's care costs more than the revenues of Wal-Mart (US$414 billion) and Exxon Mobil (US$311 billion), according to the British World Alzheimer's Report of ADI.  The cost of Alzheimer's is at the top of health economists' list of the disorders of aging that could topple nations' entire economies, and that regularly ruin not only the lives of patients but of their relatives.  

According to the results of this first major study, Alzheimer's may soon be a preventable disease, or even a thing of the past.  Equally important, the safety human administration of the kind of adult stem cells used in this experiment has been established in multiple articles and government-approved clinical trials.  

THE RESEARCH:

The study was jointly led by Seoul National University Professor Yoo-Hun Suh and RNL Bio Stem Cell Technology Institute (SCTI) director Dr. Jeong-Chan Ra.  

The researchers and their teams injected stem cells into mice genetically designed to have the core symptoms and physiology of Alzheimer's disease.  They were able to identify that these human stem cells, derived from adipose tissue, behave in a very special way when injected into the tail vein of mice subjects.  The cells migrated through the blood brain barrier, thought by many to be impossible for adult stem cells to cross, and went into the brain. In fact, fluorescent labeled cells were monitored for distribution in subjects and the team identified that the infused cells migrated throughout the bodies including brain except the olfactory organ, and therefore confirmed that IV infused stem cell can reach to the brain across the blood brain barrier. 

The team infused human adipose stem cells intravenously in Alzheimer model mice multiple times two weeks apart from three month to 10 month. Once there, the mice who received cells improved in every relevant way: ability to learn, ability to remember, and neuropathological signs.  More important, for the first time ever, Alzheimer model mice showed the mediation of IL-10, which is known for anti-inflammation and neurological protection.  

The team also found that stem cell restored special learning ability from Alzheimer model subjects with great reduction of neuropathy lesions. This was found using tests used for Alzheimer's disease: behavioral assessment.  In assessment it was found, amazingly, that stem cells' therapeutic effect on Alzheimer's disease was tremendous.  This was also found in pathological analysis.  The key though was prevention:  the scientists showed that stem cells, when infused into Alzheimer's mice, decreased beta amyloid and APP-CT, known to cause brain cell destruction, leading to dementia and Alzheimer's disease.  In the lab it was clear that stem cells increased neprilysin, which hydrolyzes toxic proteins.  No other compound or treatment has ever suggested so strongly the potential to prevent, as well as stop, this epidemic of incurable dementia sweeping across suffering patients and their families.  

Stopping Alzheimer's disease, let alone preventing it, is the focus of thousands of researchers worldwide.  Speaking of their breakthrough discovery, Professor Yoo-Hun Suh, who led the study, said, "It is a ground breaking discovery that such a simple method as IV injection of the safest autologous adipose stem cells, without causing any immune rejection, or any ethical issues, opened a new door to conquering Alzheimer's disease, one of the most horrible, expensive and incurable diseases of our time."  Joining him, leader of the RNL Bio Stem Cell Technology Institute Dr. Jeong-Chan Ra said, "It has never been more clear that it is an ethical imperative for governments to provide patients with incurable diseases with their right to participate not only in studies like this but in therapies with such obvious potential, once they have been tested as many times for safety as has our technology."  Both scientists stressed that the real breakthrough in their complex research is the prevention of the onset of symptoms.

Specifically, stem cells grafted in the brain, in another part of the study, were identified to induce cell division and neuro differentiation of endogenous neuro progenitor cells around the hippocampus and its surrounding cells and increase in great deal the stability of dendrites and synapses. Stem cell also contributed various anti-inflammatory and neuro growth factors, especially increased the expression of IL-10.  This again suppressed apoptosis of brain neurons, the prevention effect against Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Ra of RNL Bio noted that, "RNL Bio has already completed government-approved clinical trials confirming the efficacy of RNL Bio stem cells in the management and treatment of other diseases, including osteoarthritis, limb ischemia, and progressive hemifacial atrophy (Romberg's disease)."

This study was published in a recent volume of the renowned, peer-reviewed U.S. medical journal PLOS ONE.  Images, plans for future efforts, and impact on this crushing disease will be discussed when the scientists discuss the details of this revolutionary study in a press conference in Seoul on September 27th.^via

 

SOURCE RNL BIO CO., LTD.

Type 2 diabetes and its complications are considered to have an underlying immunological component associated with excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines. The immunomodulatory properties of Mesoblast’s Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) provided the rationale for conducting the study.The study investigators concluded there was sufficient evidence to support further evaluation into the use of MPCs in type 2 diabetes and its complications, and to explore further the effects of MPCs on disease mechanisms.

Type 2 Diabetes Trial Using Mesoblast’s Proprietary Adult Stem Cells Yields Positive Results

MELBOURNE, Australia, June 18, 2014 – Results from the Phase 2 trial of Mesoblast’s proprietary adult stem cells in type 2 diabetes patients have been presented at the scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association annual meeting.



Type 2 diabetes and its complications are considered to have an underlying immunological component associated with excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines.

The immunomodulatory properties of Mesoblast’s Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) provided the rationale for conducting the study.

The Phase 2 randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, dose escalation trial was conducted across 18 U.S. sites. The trial evaluated the effects of a single intravenous infusion of 0.3, 1.0 or 2.0 million MPCs/kg or placebo over 12 weeks in 61 patients who were inadequately controlled on metformin alone or with one other glucose-lowering agent. Mean diabetes duration was 10 years.

• There were no safety issues and the cell infusions were well tolerated (with a maximal dose of 246 million cells).

• There was a dose-dependent improvement in glycemic control as evidenced by a decrease at all timepoints after week 1 in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in MPC-treated patients compared with an increase in HbA1c in placebo treated subjects.

• A significant reduction in HbA1c was seen after 8 weeks in the 2 M/kg MPC group compared to placebo (p less than 0.05) which was sustained through 12 weeks.

• The reduction in HbA1c was most pronounced in subjects with baseline HbA1c greater or equal to 8 percent (i.e. those patients with relatively poorer glucose control).

• Fasting insulin levels were reduced in the 1M and 2M/kg groups compared to placebo (P less than 0.05).

• Reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 were observed at 12 weeks in MPC groups compared to placebo.