Gene News and Research

Latest Gene News and Research

Scientists develop new therapy for treatment of skin, lung cancer

Scientists at the University of Granada have developed a new therapy for the treatment of skin and lung cancer. This therapy involves the use of a suicide coliphage-gene (gene E) that can induce death to cells transfected with it.. Their studies have demostrated that this technique is not only effective in vitro (using tumour cell cultures), but also in vivo through the use of experimental animals in which tumours were induced.

22 Sep 2010

G-CSF compound may activate virus, increases risk of infection: Research

Research conducted at Oregon Health & Science University's Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute may spur debate about the risks associated with administering a specific compound in some forms of bone-marrow transplantation. The research is published in the current edition of Cell Host and Microbe.

22 Sep 2010

Santaris Pharma paves way to conduct clinical trial of miravirsen in patients with HVC

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that it has advanced miravirsen (SPC3649), the first microRNA-targeted drug to enter clinical trials, into Phase 2 studies to assess the safety and tolerability of the drug in treatment-naive patients infected with the Hepatitis C virus.

22 Sep 2010

Researchers receive $634,000 grant to study environmental factors, MS progression

A $634,000 grant from the Department of Defense is allowing researchers at the University at Buffalo to investigate a trio of environmental factors and their influence on the progression of multiple sclerosis.

22 Sep 2010

Gen-Probe submits PMA to FDA for PROGENSA PCA3 assay

Gen-Probe announced today that the Company has submitted a Premarket Approval Application (PMA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its PROGENSA® PCA3 assay, a new molecular test that may help determine the need for repeat biopsies in men suspected of having prostate cancer.

22 Sep 2010

NIDA's Avant-Garde Awards support novel approaches for treating tobacco and cocaine addiction

A potential immunotherapy, a new gene therapy, an enzyme inhibitor, and a compound originally isolated from a Chinese herb are among the latest approaches scientists are proposing to treat addiction.

22 Sep 2010

ARRA's legacies may solve challenges related to health, energy and environment

The presidents of six leading research universities and two higher-education associations joined Vice President Joe Biden and White House science advisor Dr. John Holdren this morning to discuss the scientific research and related activities that have been made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

22 Sep 2010

Study demonstrates why targeted therapies do not work in majority of people

In order for targeted therapies against cancer to be effective, scientists need to understand upfront what related proteins in a signaling "network" makes a cancer cell resistant to a drug and selectively target them as well, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Fox Chase Cancer Center.

22 Sep 2010

Study links progressive osteoarthritis to IL-1Ra gene variations

Scientists from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today findings from a large clinical study to evaluate the role played by genetic factors in the worsening of osteoarthritis.

22 Sep 2010

New provincial framework released to improve patient safety for Albertans

A new provincial framework released today will guide, direct and support continuous and measureable improvement of patient safety for Albertans. The purpose of the framework is to develop and advance patient safety strategies in Alberta's health care system with the goal of creating a safer system.

21 Sep 2010

New genes associated with osteoarthritis progression

21 Sep 2010

Celera receives patent on KIF6 gene variant

Celera Corporation today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued United States Patent 7,799,530 relating to methods of determining heart attack risk by detecting the KIF6 gene variant and reduction of such increased risk by statin therapy.

21 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

Athersys, Inc. announced today that MultiStem, Athersys' multipotent adult progenitor stem cell therapy, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of graft vs. host disease (GvHD).

21 Sep 2010

Study reveals molecular steps for pneumonia therapy

A structural molecule and the cellular pump that regulates its levels influence the severity of pneumonia and could provide new ways of treating the lung infection, which is a leading cause of hospitalization and death, according to scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Iowa. Their findings are available online in Nature Medicine.

21 Sep 2010

Alpha-synuclein protein in Parkinson's disease inhibits autophagy: Research

A protein linked to Parkinson's disease may cause neurodegeneration by inhibiting autophagy-the process in which cells digest some of their contents-according to a study in the September 20 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology

21 Sep 2010

Inovio Pharmaceuticals completes enrollment for PENNVAX-B vaccine Phase I clinical study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today the Phase I clinical study assessing Inovio's PENNVAX-B DNA vaccine delivered using its proprietary electroporation technology in a preventive setting has fully completed the enrollment of 48 healthy volunteers. The multi-center study is being conducted by Inovio's clinical collaborator, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), at several clinical sites under a protocol designated HVTN-080.

21 Sep 2010

Enzo Biochem streamlines operations, expects gross margin improvements

Enzo Biochem, Inc., announced today that it has streamlined its operations, which is anticipated to result in a reduction in annualized operating expenses of more than $4 million beginning in the fiscal 2011 first quarter. These initiatives are also expected to result in increased gross margins. The Company believes that the operating cost reductions, which affect all of its operating businesses as well as corporate overhead, will result in Enzo generating positive cash flow from operations in 2011.

21 Sep 2010

FDA accepts IND application for vaccine candidate based on iBioLaunch technology platform

iBio, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application filed for a vaccine candidate made with the Company's proprietary transformative technology, the iBioLaunch technology platform. The candidate vaccine was manufactured by iBio's research collaborator, Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biotechnology (FCMB), in its cGMP pilot manufacturing facility in Newark, Delaware.

21 Sep 2010

Six3 gene safeguards future retina

New research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators adds to evidence that the Six3 gene functions like a doorman in the developing brain and visual system, safeguarding the future retina by keeping the region where the eye is forming free of a signaling protein capable of disrupting the process.

21 Sep 2010

Gene links to ovarian cancer and diagnostic delays

According to the latest research a group of genes may help predict a woman's risk of developing ovarian cancer. Studies have also shown that breast and ovarian cancer may share some of the same genetic risk factors.

20 Sep 2010