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Period Ending October 16, 2008
RESEARCH: NIH FUNDS TWO NEW BIOTECH CENTERS IN SAN FRANCISCO AND SAN DIEGO
The National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health, said it will provide up to an estimated $11 million over the next five years to create two new Biomedical Technology Research Centers in California that will provide researchers nationwide with access to specialized research tools, training, and state-of-the-art equipment. One center will develop innovative imaging techniques designed specifically to better diagnose and treat diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, where the nervous system progressively deteriorates. A second center will create cutting-edge software for identifying and analyzing sets of interacting proteins that are important in a wide range of diseases, such as cancer. Each center creates critical and often unique technology to apply to a broad range of basic, clinical, and translational research. The new centers are being established at the Northern California Institute for Research and Education in San Francisco and at the University of California, San Diego. The Northern California Institute for Research and Education in San Francisco will receive a five-year award up to an estimated $6.04 million to develop a center for magnetic resonance imaging of neurodegenerative disorders. This center will develop innovative and improved MRI techniques for clinicians to better understand, detect, diagnose, and treat diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The second award, totaling up to an estimated $4.94 million over five years, will support a new center for computational mass spectrometry that will serve as an international resource in proteomics, enabling more research activities, investigation into unexplored areas of computational proteomics, and support of collaborative research efforts.
The National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health, said it will provide up to an estimated $11 million over the next five years to create two new Biomedical Technology Research Centers in California that will provide researchers nationwide with access to specialized research tools, training, and state-of-the-art equipment. One center will develop innovative imaging techniques designed specifically to better diagnose and treat diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, where the nervous system progressively deteriorates. A second center will create cutting-edge software for identifying and analyzing sets of interacting proteins that are important in a wide range of diseases, such as cancer. Each center creates critical and often unique technology to apply to a broad range of basic, clinical, and translational research. The new centers are being established at the Northern California Institute for Research and Education in San Francisco and at the University of California, San Diego. The Northern California Institute for Research and Education in San Francisco will receive a five-year award up to an estimated $6.04 million to develop a center for magnetic resonance imaging of neurodegenerative disorders. This center will develop innovative and improved MRI techniques for clinicians to better understand, detect, diagnose, and treat diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The second award, totaling up to an estimated $4.94 million over five years, will support a new center for computational mass spectrometry that will serve as an international resource in proteomics, enabling more research activities, investigation into unexplored areas of computational proteomics, and support of collaborative research efforts.
HIV: ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF KEY ENZYME SUGGEST NEW APPROACH TO DRUG DEVELOPMENT
A study published online by the journal Nature reveals the atomic structure of a built-in weapon against HIV that people have—an enzyme known as APOBEC-3G—and suggests new directions for drug development. APOBEC-3G is present in every human cell. It is capable of stopping HIV at the first step of replication, when the retrovirus transcribes its RNA into viral DNA. Researchers at the University of Southern California were able to show the atomic structure of the active portion of APOBEC-3G in a study that suggests how and where the enzyme binds to the viral DNA, mutating and destroying it. The HIV virus has evolved to encode a protein known as Vif that blocks APOBEC-3G. The researchers hope the findings could lead to the development of a drug that would prevent Vif from binding to APOBEC-3G and allow it to do its job.
A study published online by the journal Nature reveals the atomic structure of a built-in weapon against HIV that people have—an enzyme known as APOBEC-3G—and suggests new directions for drug development. APOBEC-3G is present in every human cell. It is capable of stopping HIV at the first step of replication, when the retrovirus transcribes its RNA into viral DNA. Researchers at the University of Southern California were able to show the atomic structure of the active portion of APOBEC-3G in a study that suggests how and where the enzyme binds to the viral DNA, mutating and destroying it. The HIV virus has evolved to encode a protein known as Vif that blocks APOBEC-3G. The researchers hope the findings could lead to the development of a drug that would prevent Vif from binding to APOBEC-3G and allow it to do its job.
CARDIOLOGY: STRESS TESTS TO CONFIRM NEED FOR CARDIAC STENT NOT OCCURRING IN MOST PATIENTS
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco said less than half of Medicare patients who underwent procedures to open narrowed coronary arteries—such as angioplasty and stenting—had documented noninvasive stress testing prior to elective percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI, the clinical name for such procedures. The researchers analyzed a 20 percent random sample of 2004 Medicare claims data, amounting to 23,887 patients who were 65 years or older. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 44.5 percent of the study population underwent stress testing within 90 days prior to receiving elective PCI. PCI is often used to treat angina and ischemia, both of which occur when there is inadequate blood supply to an area of the heart. PCI can provide quicker relief than medical therapy alone, researchers say, but it also carries an increased risk of repeat revascularization, late-stent thrombosis (formation of blood clots) and a decreased quality of life if performed in patients with minimal symptoms.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco said less than half of Medicare patients who underwent procedures to open narrowed coronary arteries—such as angioplasty and stenting—had documented noninvasive stress testing prior to elective percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI, the clinical name for such procedures. The researchers analyzed a 20 percent random sample of 2004 Medicare claims data, amounting to 23,887 patients who were 65 years or older. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 44.5 percent of the study population underwent stress testing within 90 days prior to receiving elective PCI. PCI is often used to treat angina and ischemia, both of which occur when there is inadequate blood supply to an area of the heart. PCI can provide quicker relief than medical therapy alone, researchers say, but it also carries an increased risk of repeat revascularization, late-stent thrombosis (formation of blood clots) and a decreased quality of life if performed in patients with minimal symptoms.
ALZHEIMER’S: VITAMIN B DOES NOT SLOW COGNITIVE DECLINE
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine showed that high-dose vitamin B supplements did not slow the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that patients treated with vitamin B did not score significantly better than other patients on a test of their cognitive abilities as measured by the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog). The researcher did find that symptoms of depression were more common in the high-dose supplement group. The study included supplementation with folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 for 18 months in 409 individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups of unequal size; to increase enrollment, 60 percent were treated with high-dose supplements and the remaining 40 percent treated with identical dosages of placebo.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine showed that high-dose vitamin B supplements did not slow the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that patients treated with vitamin B did not score significantly better than other patients on a test of their cognitive abilities as measured by the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog). The researcher did find that symptoms of depression were more common in the high-dose supplement group. The study included supplementation with folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 for 18 months in 409 individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups of unequal size; to increase enrollment, 60 percent were treated with high-dose supplements and the remaining 40 percent treated with identical dosages of placebo.
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: KEY PATHWAYS PINPOINTED IN DIRECTING EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS TO BECOME HEART CELLS
Researchers from South San Francisco, California-based VistaGen, Toronto’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, have successfully identified key biochemical pathways involved in directing embryonic stem cells to become heart cells. The research, published in the online edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology, shows that by coordinating the signaling of certain molecular pathways, the researchers were able to produce large numbers of functional, highly pure, heart cells for improved drug safety screening and development.
Researchers from South San Francisco, California-based VistaGen, Toronto’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, have successfully identified key biochemical pathways involved in directing embryonic stem cells to become heart cells. The research, published in the online edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology, shows that by coordinating the signaling of certain molecular pathways, the researchers were able to produce large numbers of functional, highly pure, heart cells for improved drug safety screening and development.
HEMOPHILIA: FDA APPROVES BAYER HEALTHCARE’S KOGENATE FS TREATMENT FOR ROUTINE PROPHYLAXIS IN CHILDREN
Berkeley, California-based Bayer HealthCare said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved routine prophylaxis with Kogenate FS Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant) to reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes and the risk of joint damage in patients aged 0-16 years with severe hemophilia A with no pre-existing joint damage. The company said this important approval provides these patients with the only factor VIII treatment that the FDA has determined safe and effective for routine prophylaxis—a treatment regimen recommended by the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Medical and Scientific Advisory. The company said the FDA approval of Kogenate FS for routine prophylaxis in children without pre-existing joint damage is based on the clinical data from a multicenter trial in the U.S. that included 65 boys with severe hemophilia A less than 30 months of age at study entry. Study participants were followed for up to 5.5 years. This U.S. FDA approval may positively affect the prophylactic use of Kogenate FS in certain developing markets, including countries in Asia and South and Central America, where the product is approved based on the U.S. label, the company said.
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: BIOTIME ENTERS COLLABORATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL LONGEVITY CENTER
Alameda, California-based BioTime and the International Longevity Center-USA today said they have entered a collaboration aimed at research, education and advocacy for regenerative medicine and its application in aging. The International Longevity Center is a non-profit international research, policy, and education organization formed to educate individuals on how to live longer and better, and advise society on how to maximize the benefits of technology, such as the emerging field of regenerative medicine for today’s age boom. BioTime is a biotechnology company developing human embryonic stem cell research and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) products from human embryonic stem cells and iPS technology potentially useful in restoring function in tissues afflicted with age-related degenerative disease.
Alameda, California-based BioTime and the International Longevity Center-USA today said they have entered a collaboration aimed at research, education and advocacy for regenerative medicine and its application in aging. The International Longevity Center is a non-profit international research, policy, and education organization formed to educate individuals on how to live longer and better, and advise society on how to maximize the benefits of technology, such as the emerging field of regenerative medicine for today’s age boom. BioTime is a biotechnology company developing human embryonic stem cell research and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) products from human embryonic stem cells and iPS technology potentially useful in restoring function in tissues afflicted with age-related degenerative disease.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY: CODA SIGNS COLLABORATION AGREEMENT WITH GENENCOR
Laguna Hills, California-based CODA Genomics said it entered into a collaboration with Genencor to create highly diverse and complex libraries of synthetic genes and proteins for Genencor. Genencor will screen these libraries for use in future research programs. Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, is a leader in industrial biotechnology and a pioneer in enzyme innovation and systems biology.
Laguna Hills, California-based CODA Genomics said it entered into a collaboration with Genencor to create highly diverse and complex libraries of synthetic genes and proteins for Genencor. Genencor will screen these libraries for use in future research programs. Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, is a leader in industrial biotechnology and a pioneer in enzyme innovation and systems biology.
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