Stem cells

Scientists are calling for tighter regulation of stem cell treatments, claiming clinics worldwide are offering unproven ‘therapies’ for conditions as varied as hair loss and Parkinson’s. Researchers at the University of Reading and the Universiti Sains Malaysia have identified 114 companies in over 20 countries offering unproven, unregulated, stem-cell derived products to consumers. They are […]

A Phase III clinical trial led by physicians in the US has shown that adding investigational drug motixafortide significantly increases the number of stem cells that can be harvested compared with treatment with the standard agent alone. The standard treatment for patients with multiple myeloma often includes stem cell transplantation in which the patient’s own […]

UK researchers, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and collaborators, have used human stem cells and neurons to investigate what features influence how well CRISPR activation works for different sets of genes. Published in Molecular Cell, the study explains the rules determining to what extent genes respond to CRISPR activation, ensuring that future research can be […]

An investigational gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome – which leads to a form of childhood dementia – has shown promising early results in a proof-of-concept study.  The study found that four out of five patients diagnosed with Sanfilippo have continued to gain cognitive skills in line with development in healthy children after being given the […]

Kevin Hemphill, R&D Manager at PerkinElmer’s Horizon Discovery explores how base editing has emerged as an attractive gene editing option for researchers wanting to develop stem cell-based therapies.   Increasing interest in CRISPR-Cas gene editing systems over recent years has delivered innovative developments in precision genome engineering technologies, holding enormous potential for applications across the healthcare […]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Phase III clinical trial design for BRIM Biotechnology’s lead candidate for dry eye disease (DED), BRM421. BRIM will submit the Phase III study protocol to the FDA later this year.  BRM421 is a novel, first-in-class regenerative peptide therapy which, if successful, could offer patients full […]

Biotech company Mogling Bio has successfully has completed its first seed investment round with a sole investor, Kizoo Technology Capital.  Mogling Bio is developing new pharmacological approaches to rejuvenate old stem cells of the hematopoietic (blood cell formation) system.   Ageing causes stem cells to lose their normal structure by increased activity of the protein CDC42. […]

A group of latent stem cells could be the key to developing new therapeutic approaches to treat brain and spinal cord injuries, research shows. Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute identified a group of latent stem cells in mice which respond to injury in the central nervous system. If the same group is found in […]

Three international life sciences start-ups have received investment from the BioInnovation Institute (BII).   The three new ventures were chosen as part of the BII’s focus on developing scientific initiatives across the therapeutics and health tech space.  The companies, Sevenless Therapeutics, VEIL.AI and Myopax, will receive €1.3 million and will form part of the BII’s community […]

Life sciences provider Axol Bioscience has announced that its human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived ventricular cardiomyocytes have undergone comprehensive in vitropro-arrhythmia assay (CiPA) validation. By using this assay, Axol was able to show that the cells were suitable for measuring cardiotoxicity, offering scientists a robust cardiac model for drug discovery and screening.   Axol’s human iPSC-derived […]