Contemporary pet care takes this approach by offering many of the same thorough treatments available to humans.

Leading the way is Forbes Street Vet Clinic, which has recently relocated to a new and larger purpose-built practice.

Owners Dr Lorraine Vella and Dr Bob Clippingdale said the new facilities would allow them to bring the best services to their clients.

''The end result is happier staff members, pets and owners,’’ Dr Vella said.

One of the interesting and valuable features of the new premises is the separate surgery and prep area and

cat and dog wards that promote the happiness of pets.

''The animals are much calmer with their own space,’’ Dr Vella said.

''Their mental health is very important to us.’’

There are also twice as many consultation rooms as before, which allows for easier access to vets.

Another fantastic feature is the extensive off-street parking.

Forbes Street Vet Clinic takes an innovative approach to pet care and extends it services beyond the

essentials.

Behavioura l consults allow clients to work with the vet to find long-term solutions.

''We treat behavioural issues like spraying cats and barking dogs,’’ Dr Vella said.

The clinic also offers ultrasound, radiography, internal medicine and stem cell therapy for arthritic patients.

Alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractics and herbal medicine are also available.

Open day

What: Forbes Street Vet Clinic Open Day.

The friendly staff will be there to give you a tour of the new facilities and there will be plenty of children’s

entertainment including face painting and colour-ins.

Funds raised from the sausage sizzle will be donated to the dogs’ home.

When: March 4, 10.30am-2pm.

Further information: 6424 1675.

Continued here:
On the leading edge

Doctors Haeck, Eaves, and Rohrich write joint ASAPS/ASPS statement calling for more research into stem cell facelift and stem cell breast augmentation.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) February 22, 2012

There is little evidence to support the safety and effectiveness of procedures, equipment and treatments that have been advertised using adult stem cells for aesthetic reconstruction, including plastic surgery and facial rejuvenation, according to physicians writing in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center and editor-in-chief of the journal, published a position statement on “stem cell facelifts” and “stem cell breast augmentation,” also known as “natural breast augmentation.” Dr. Felmont F. Eaves III of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Dr. Phillip C. Haeck of Seattle, Wash.,collaborated on the statement on behalf of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

“There are encouraging data from studies in laboratories to suggest that the use of adult stem cells is a very promising field and may produce beneficial medical therapies to treat a variety of diseases,” the doctors said in the statement. They emphasized that there is a lack of consistency in the way stem cell facelift procedures are performed, and pointed out that many procedures are being advertised by physicians who are not board-certified for this type of treatment, and devices being sold for aesthetic stem cell treatments have not been approved for human use in the U.S.

In the report, the doctors encourage their peers to continue reporting clinic results and experimental research to peer-reviewed plastic surgery journals to both promote good science and to foster safety and best practices for stem cell use in aesthetic procedures. “Much more research needs to be conducted before any definitive statements can be made,” the report said. “[Until then,] stem cell based procedures should be performed in compliance with FDA regulatory guidelines.”

Dr. Rohrich said many of the advertisements claiming stem cells can aid in restoring facial and body youthfulness come from outside the U.S. “Further direct, approved clinical research is needed to validate those claims,” he said, “but the future is potentially bright for the use of adult stem cells in both plastic surgery and facial rejuvenation, as well as in medical procedures, such as restoring nerve and brain damage resulting from trauma or cancer, as well as reversing the severe effects of auto immune disease.”

To read the complete joint ASAPS/ASPS position statement on stem cell use in aesthetic surgery, including stem cell facelifts and natural breast augmentation, visit the ASPS, at their website.

About Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rod J. Rohrich holds the Betty and Warren Woodward Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He also holds the UT Southwestern Medical Center Crystal Charity Ball Distinguished Chair in Plastic Surgery. He is a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine with high honors, with residencies at the University of Michigan Medical Center and fellowships at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard (hand/microsurgery) and Oxford University (pediatric plastic surgery). He has served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He repeatedly has been selected by his peers as one of America's best doctors, and twice has received one of his profession's highest honors, the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes his contributions to education in his field. Dr. Rohrich participates in and has led numerous associations and councils for the advancement of plastic and reconstructive surgery. He is a native of North Dakota. He is married to Dr. Diane Gibby, also a plastic surgeon. They live in Texas with their two children.

###

Rod J. Rohrich, M.D.
Rod J. Rohrich M.D.
(214) 821-9114
Email Information

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Surgeons Urge Caution: Stem Cell Treatments Untested in Aesthetic Surgery

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pathfinder Cell Therapy, Inc. (“Pathfinder,” or “the Company”) (OTCQB:PFND.PK – News), a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of diabetes and other diseases characterized by organ-specific cell damage, today presented preliminary data highlighting the potential of the Company's unique cell-based therapy for treating diabetes at the 7th Annual New York Stem Cell Summit. Richard L. Franklin, M.D., Ph.D., Founder, CEO and President of Pathfinder, provided an overview of the Company's Pathfinder Cell (“PC”) technology, and presented preclinical evidence demonstrating how treatment with PCs was able to reverse the symptoms of diabetes in two different mouse models.

Pathfinder Cells are a newly identified non-stem cell mammalian cell type that has the ability to stimulate regeneration of damaged tissue without being incorporated into the new tissue. In today's presentation, Dr. Franklin showed how recent experiments performed using a non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse strain were supportive of earlier data that demonstrated complete reversal of diabetes in mice. The earlier results, which used a drug-induced diabetic mouse model, were published in Rejuvenation Research1. Though preliminary, the recent results are encouraging because the NOD mouse model is widely used and highly regarded as being predictive of human type-1 diabetes.

In three separate experiments using this model, 30-50% of the mice treated with PCs at the onset of diabetes returned to normal blood glucose levels. Of the mice that responded well to treatment, the effects tended to be long lasting, up to two months in some cases after just two doses. These results, which were generated by intravenous injection of PC's derived from rat pancreatic tissue, further demonstrate the remarkable ability of Pathfinder Cells to elicit their positive effect regardless of the organ, or even species, of origin.

“We are very encouraged by these preclinical results using NOD mice. This model is the gold standard for type-1 diabetes and the fact that recent experiments mirror what we've seen in previous models may be highly significant,” stated Dr. Franklin. “We have many questions to answer about how PCs act in the body, but we believe, based on previous experiments, that PCs may stimulate regeneration of damaged islet cells that produce insulin. The current NOD mouse data also suggest that PCs may have an effect in modulating the auto-immune process in type 1 diabetes. We continue to conduct experiments aimed at elucidating the optimal dosing and other factors that may be responsible for producing a robust and long-lasting response, as this will be critical as we start to think about how PCs may be used in treating human diabetes.”

In his presentation today, Dr. Franklin also provided further insight into the mechanism of action of PCs, based on recent animal experiments. It was observed previously that PCs produce microvesicles, which are known to play a role in intercellular communication, but through mechanisms that are poorly understood. In a recent experiment, Pathfinder was able to isolate these microvesicles from the PCs and treat animals directly with an injection containing microvesicles only. Remarkably, both PC- and microvesicle-treated mice exhibited similar reductions in blood glucose compared to controls using the same drug-induced diabetes mouse model. This suggests, not only that the microvesicles produced by PCs are central to the mechanism of action, but that the microvesicles alone appear to be sufficient to produce the full effect.

Dr. Franklin commented, “If confirmed, this finding could have a significant positive impact on the future of PC-based therapy. Due to the relatively small amount of material contained within the microvesicles, determining the specific factor(s) that are responsible for regenerating damaged tissue could be more straightforward than we first anticipated, bringing us closer to understanding the mechanism of action. There may also be a number of potential manufacturing and storage benefits to using microvesicles versus PCs that will be interesting to explore in parallel as we work to advance this innovative new therapeutic approach closer to human clinical development.”

The New York Stem Cell Summit brings together cell therapy company executives, researchers, investors and physicians to explore investment opportunities in cell therapy research and innovation. More information can be found at www.stemcellsummit.com.

Presentation details Event: 7th Annual New York Stem Cell Summit Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 Place: Bridgewaters New York, 11 Fulton Street, New York, NY Time: 3:35 pm ET

About Pathfinder

Pathfinder is developing a novel cell-based therapy and has generated encouraging preclinical data in models of diabetes, renal disease, myocardial infarction, and critical limb ischemia, a severe form of peripheral vascular disease. Leveraging its internal discovery of Pathfinder Cells (“PCs”) Pathfinder is pioneering a new field in regenerative medicine.

PCs are a newly identified mammalian cell type present in very low quantities in a variety of organs, including the kidney, liver, pancreas, lymph nodes, myometrium, bone marrow and blood. Early studies indicate that PCs stimulate regeneration of damaged tissues without the cells themselves being incorporated into the newly generated tissue. Based on testing to date, the cells appear to be “immune privileged,” and their effects appear to be independent of the tissue source of PCs. For more information please visit: www.pathfindercelltherapy.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our inability to obtain additional required financing; costs and delays in the development and/or FDA approval, or the failure to obtain such approval, of our product candidates; uncertainties or differences in interpretation in clinical trial results, if any; our inability to maintain or enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon, collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and distribution of any products; competitive factors; our inability to protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate our business; our inability to operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market acceptance; technological changes; and government regulation. We do not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.

1Karen Stevenson, Daxin Chen, Alan MacIntyre, Liane M McGlynn, Paul Montague, Rawiya Charif, Murali Subramaniam, W.D. George, Anthony P. Payne, R. Wayne Davies, Anthony Dorling, and Paul G. Shiels. Rejuvenation Research. April 2011, 14(2): 163-171. doi:10.1089/rej.2010.1099

See the article here:
Pathfinder Presents Preliminary Data on New Regenerative Approach to Diabetes Treatment

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

IntelliCell BioScience, Inc. (OTCQB: SVFC.PK – News) (PINKSHEETS: SVFC.PK – News); (“IntelliCell”) or the (“Company”), A full page Daily News article, titled “Stem Sells” written by Sean Brennan published February 19, 2012, http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/manhattan-basketball-torgrim-sommerfeldt-turned-stem-cell-treatment-back-court-article-1.1025227, describes how Torgrim Summerfeldt’s budding basketball career was saved through Dr. Anthony Maddalo’s treatment using IntelliCell BioSciences proprietary SVF Cells (Stem Cell Therapy). Mr. Summerfeldts, a former star player for the Norwegian National Basketball Team, had undergone six knee surgeries and lived in constant pain. He had forfeited his Wake Forest basketball scholarship. Manhattan College took a chance on him and invited him to join their team. Due solely to the two IntelliCell SVF (Stem Cell) treatments in New York City by Dr. Maddalo near the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, he started his first game for Manhattan College pain free on January 20, 2012.

Dr. Steven Victor, CEO of IntelliCell BioSciences, said “We are very proud that our proprietary technology used by Dr. Maddalo was able to rehabilitate Torgims’s knees and alleviate his pain. Sports related injuries are a predominate focus for our Company. Doctors using our proprietary technology have treated several professional and college athletes with excellent results. Patients have seen cartilage regrow in the knee. We are about to start a multi-center study for several sports injury indications at major centers. We are fortunate to have several top orthopedic surgeons on our advisory board such as; Dr. Andrews, Dr. Hackel, Dr. Dugas and Dr. Nicola. We believe the 2012–2013 years will see significant revenues from the use of our technology to treat athletes. We believe that this is a $1.3 billion market opportunity just in the United States.

About IntelliCell BioSciences, Inc.

IntelliCell is a pioneering regenerative medicine company focused on the expanding regenerative medical markets using stromal vascular fraction derived from adult adipose tissue. IntelliCell intends to initially focus on selling laboratory suites and licensing its technology to doctors for use in their offices for their patients. The company is also setting up Centers of Excellence where doctors can treat their patients. In addition, IntelliCell BioScience in exploring storing the stromal vascular fraction in cryostorage for future uses. The company is also starting FDA IND clinical trials at major medical centers for clinical indication approval. IntelliCell intends to pursue expansion to secondary markets and beyond the U.S. through a combination of company-owned and licensed clinical facilities. For additional information, visit http://www.intellicellbiosciences.com or call 212-249-3050.

Originally posted here:
IntelliCell BioScience Inc. Procedure Enables Norwegian Star Basketball Player to Fully Recover from Patella …

MADISON, WI–(Marketwire -02/22/12)- Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQX: NVLT.OB – News) a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for treatment and diagnosis of cancer, today announced that the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, a leading medical oncology research institution, has enrolled the first patient in a Phase 1-2 positron emission tomography (PET) imaging trial of I-124-CLR1404 (LIGHT), a cancer-targeted PET imaging agent, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Details of the trial design are available at www.clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT00582283, or at www.novelos.com in the 'Clinical Trials' section. Anne M. Traynor, M.D., is the trial's principal investigator.

“Surgical resection in properly selected NSCLC patients offers the best chance for long-term survival and may be curative. Consequently, accurate pre-operative assessment of local, regional and distant metastatic spread is critical for effective disease management,” said Dr. Traynor. “If metastatic spread can be more accurately detected, we may be able to customize and optimize treatment decisions.”

“We are very pleased to be expanding our collaboration with the UW Carbone Cancer Center,” said Harry Palmin, President and CEO of Novelos. “We look forward to obtaining initial LIGHT imaging data in the second quarter of 2012 in lung cancer patients. We believe positive data would establish proof-of-concept for LIGHT as a PET imaging agent for NSCLC, could advance our partnering discussions and could be used to calculate effective doses for Phase 2 clinical trials of HOT. HOT is our chemically identical small-molecule, broad-spectrum, cancer-targeted molecular radiotherapeutic that delivers cytotoxic radiation directly and selectively to cancer cells and cancer stem cells.”

About LIGHT
LIGHT is a small molecule imaging agent that we believe has first-in-class potential for selective detection of tumors and metastases in a broad range of cancers. LIGHT is comprised of a small, non-pharmacological quantity of CLR1404 (COLD, acting as a cancer-targeted delivery and retention vehicle) labeled with the short-lived radioisotope, iodine-124, a new PET imaging isotope. PET imaging used in conjunction with CT scanning has now become the imaging method of choice in oncology. In studies to date, LIGHT selectively illuminated malignant tumors in 52 of 54 animal models of cancer, demonstrating broad-spectrum, cancer-selective uptake and retention. Investigator-sponsored Phase 1-2 trials of LIGHT as a PET imaging agent are ongoing. The trials include brain metastases, lung cancer and starting in the second quarter of 2012 other solid tumors. These human trials, if successful, will serve two important purposes. First, they would provide proof-of-concept for LIGHT itself as a PET imaging agent with the potential to supplant the current “gold standard” agent, 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG), due to what we believe to be LIGHT's superior cancer-specificity and more favorable logistics of clinical use. Second, favorable results would accelerate clinical development of HOT by predicting efficacy and enabling calculation of efficacious doses of HOT for Phase 2 trials.

About the UW Carbone Cancer Center in Madison
The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC) is recognized throughout the nation as one of the leading innovators in cancer research, quality patient care and active community involvement. It is the only comprehensive cancer center, as designated by the National Cancer Institute, in Wisconsin. An integral part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the UWCCC unites physicians and scientists who work together in translating discoveries from research laboratories into new treatments that benefit cancer patients. To learn more about clinical studies and other initiatives, visit www.uwhealth.org/uw-carbone-cancer-center/for-researchers/uwccc/28373

About Novelos Therapeutics, Inc.
We are a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Our three cancer-targeted compounds are selectively taken up and retained in cancer cells (including cancer stem cells) versus normal cells. Thus, our therapeutic compounds appear to directly kill cancer cells while minimizing harm to normal cells. This offers the potential for a paradigm shift in cancer therapy by providing efficacy versus all three major drivers of mortality in cancer: primary tumors, metastases and stem cell-based relapse. LIGHT is a small-molecule cancer-targeted PET imaging agent. We believe LIGHT has first-in-class potential and Phase 1-2 clinical trials are ongoing. HOT is a small-molecule, broad-spectrum, cancer-targeted molecular radiotherapeutic that delivers cytotoxic radiation directly and selectively to cancer cells and cancer stem cells. We believe HOT also has first-in-class potential. HOT Phase 1b dose-escalation trial is ongoing and we expect HOT to enter Phase 2 trials in the first quarter of 2013 as a monotherapy for solid tumors with significant unmet medical need, subject to additional funding. COLD, a cancer-targeted non-radioactive chemotherapy, works primarily through Akt inhibition. We plan to file an IND for COLD in the first quarter of 2013, subject to additional funding. Together, we believe our compounds are able to “find, treat and follow” cancer anywhere in the body in a novel, effective and highly selective way. For additional information please visit www.novelos.com

INVESTOR CONTACTS
J. Patrick Genn, Vice President of IR
Novelos Therapeutics, Inc.
Ph: (858) 775-7456
Email: jpgenn@novelos.com

Anne Marie Fields, Senior Vice President
Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
Ph: (212) 838-3777
Email: afields@lhai.com

Novelos Therapeutics, Inc.
Madison, WI
Boston, MA

This news release contains forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by our use of words such as “may,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plans,” or their negatives or cognates. Such statements are valid only as of today, and we disclaim any obligation to update this information. These statements are only estimates and predictions and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future experience and results to differ materially from the statements made. These statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations as to such future outcomes. Drug discovery and development involve a high degree of risk. Factors that might cause such a material difference include, among others, uncertainties related to the ability to attract and retain partners for our technologies, the identification of lead compounds, the successful preclinical development thereof, the completion of clinical trials, the FDA review process and other government regulation, our pharmaceutical collaborators' ability to successfully develop and commercialize drug candidates, competition from other pharmaceutical companies, product pricing and third-party reimbursement.

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Novelos Therapeutics Announces Enrollment of First Patient in Lung Cancer Trial With I-124-CLR1404 (Light) Cancer …

Bioethicist Glenn McGee’s new job raised questions of conflict of interest at the journal he founded.

J. WILSON/KRT/NEWSCOM

The field of bioethics is embroiled in a period of soul-searching, sparked by a startling career move by one of its biggest names.

Glenn McGee is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Bioethics (AJOB), the most cited bioethics journal, which he founded in 1999. Since December 2011, he has also been president for ethics and strategic initiatives at CellTex Therapeutics in Houston, Texas, a controversial company involved in providing customers with unproven stem-cell therapies. A CellTex press release says that “Dr McGee’s responsibilities will include ensuring that all of the firm’s work, centered on adult stem cells, will meet the highest ethical standards of the medical and scientific communities.”

Although McGee has said he will leave the journal on 1 March, many bioethicists have criticized him, the journal’s editorial board and its publisher, London-based Taylor and Francis. They argue that in holding both posts, McGee has a conflict of interest between his responsibilities to the journal and his new employer’s desire to promote the clinical application of stem-cell treatments that are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

“Imagine if the Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine took a job as Vice President at Merck, and the Mass Medical Society asked him to stay on as Editor, opining that the conflicts of interest would be manageable. One might rightly wonder, ‘What are these people smoking?’,” says John Lantos, director of the Children’s Mercy Bioethics Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and a past president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities.

More broadly, bioethicists are questioning whether it can ever be acceptable to work for companies, which, they argue, may be using the appointment to present a veneer of ethical probity. The episode brings to a head concerns that have emerged among bioethicists over the past decade, says Insoo Hyun, a stem-cell bioethicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. “It’s a perfect storm,” he says.

McGee is a leading voice on one side of the debate, arguing that bioethics must have practical relevance. For the past three years he has been chair of bioethics at the non-profit Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, where he ran a course for those who might go on to chair hospital ethics committees or serve as ethical advisers to corporations.

But during McGee’s tenure as editor-in-chief of the AJOB, four editors are known to have resigned from the editorial board because of differences in opinion over how the journal handles conflicts of interest. Two left this month, including Lantos, who wrote on his blog that he will no longer work with the journal because of McGee’s simultaneous employment at the AJOB and CellTex, and frustration over the lack of a clear conflict-of-interest policy at the AJOB. In response to Nature’s questions about the situation, Taylor and Francis responded that it “is grateful for Dr McGee’s editorship of AJOB” and “supportive of Glenn’s decision to step down”.

On 17 February, McGee announced that he is merely acting in an advisory capacity at the journal until 1 March, when its new editors-in-chief take over. They are David Magnus, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University, California, and Summer Johnson McGee, director of graduate studies at the Center for Practical Bioethics and the journal’s current executive editor. She is also Glenn McGee’s wife.

“Mainstream bioethics is no longer speaking truth to power.”

Responding to questions from Nature, Summer Johnson McGee says that the journal has a conflict-of-interest policy that requires editors to withdraw from reviewing a manuscript if they perceive a conflict. She calls allegations that her appointment results from her relationship with her husband “baseless and sexist”. “David Magnus and I were hired by our publisher, not by my husband.” Magnus says that at least a dozen editorial board members have supported his and Summer Johnson McGee’s appointments. Two even indicated that Glenn McGee should have been able to retain an advisory or editorial role.

Other bioethicists’ blogs and Twitter feeds about the episode have expressed concerns, however. Leigh Turner of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, called on the entire editorial board of the AJOB to resign for allowing the situation to persist. And many say that McGee’s move illustrates a broader problem. “Mainstream bioethics is no longer speaking truth to power,” complains Jan Helge Solbakk at the University of Oslo. “Instead it has become the handmaiden of the medico-industrial complex, and of bioscience and technology.”

So how should companies get their advice on bioethics? Magnus never takes cash from industry for advising or speaking — “I’m a hardass about that” — but he believes that bioethicists can work for industry as long as they give up their academic positions, including posts on journal editorial boards.

Working for a respected company may be acceptable to some bioethicists, but McGee’s new employer comes with a great deal of baggage. CellTex, which was founded last year and as yet has no website, licenses stem-cell technology from Seoul-based RNL Bio. The South Korean company has made a business out of taking fat cells from people, processing them in a way that they say increases the number of mesenchymal stem cells, and then reinjecting them in an effort to treat conditions such as spinal cord injury.

McGee already had a connection with RNL Bio. In 2010, two patients died following injections of RNL’s cells. McGee, working for stem-cell lobby group the International Cellular Medicine Society, based in Salem, Oregon, helped to conduct an investigation into the company. This concluded that only one of the two cases was likely to be related to the injections, and because the patient understood the risk the company was not culpable.

Jin Han Hong, the then president of RNL’s US subsidiary, admitted in 2010 that there was no clinical-trial evidence proving that these treatments are effective (Nature 468, 485; 2010). As treatment with RNL’s stem cells is not approved in the United States or South Korea, for the procedures the company sends patients to China or Japan, where regulations are less strictly enforced. Using RNL’s methods, CellTex is banking stem cells that have gone on to be used in a number of patients, including Rick Perry, governor of Texas (Nature 477, 377–378; 2011). CellTex says that it does not conduct medical procedures itself.

When Nature contacted McGee to put the criticisms to him, he directed us to previous statements indicating that he wants to put CellTex on firmer ethical ground by having it conduct clinical trials that meet standards set by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, based in Deerfield, Illinois, which represents most mainstream stem-cell researchers around the world.

Hyun warns that working directly for business can be fraught with danger, however good a bioethicist’s intentions. In 2005, he helped to craft the informed consent procedure for egg donations used in a cloning procedure by disgraced Korean stem-cell scientist Woo Suk Hwang. Following Hwang’s claim, later proved fraudulent, that he had cloned human embryos and harvested stem cells from them, it emerged that he had ignored the consent procedure for egg donations (Nature 438, 536–537; 2005), leading to embarrassment for Hyun.

“I know first hand how difficult it is to separate conflict of interest — to maintain the role of bioethicist,” says Hyun. “I know you need to not be too chummy with enterprises trying to speed ahead in stem cells.”

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Editor’s move sparks backlash

Bioethicists debate how to remain impartial as a bioethics journal editor joins a company that peddles unproven stem cell therapies.

By Sabrina Richards | February 22, 2012

Bioethicists are debating how, or even whether, one can remain impartial when working for industry as Glenn McGee, founder and editor of the American Journal of Bioethics, joins CellTex, a company that banks patients’ cells for untested stem cell therapies, reported Nature. McGee, who joined CellTex in December of last year and will step down from AJOB on March 1, says he hopes to bring ethical standards to CellTex’s stem cell trials.

CellTex licenses therapies from RNL Bio, a South Korea-based company that converts patients’ fat cells into patient-specific mesenchymal stem cells, which the company claims can be reinjected to treat conditions like spinal cord injury. To date, no clinical trials have been completed that back these claims.

Though criticism has been leveled at McGee for joining CellTex while remaining at AJOB, observers also wonder whether bioethicists can work in industry at all. McGee has argued that bioethicists have a place in industry, thereby helping bioethics to have a practical purpose. Others, such as Insoo Hyun, a stem-cell bioethicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, are doubtful. Hyun developed patient consent procedure for egg donation for Woo Suk Hwang, the infamous Korean stem cell researcher whose claims of human cloning later proved fraudulent.

“I know firsthand how difficult it is to separate conflict of interest—to maintain the role of bioethicist,” Hyun told Nature. “I know you need to not be too chummy with enterprises trying to speed ahead in stem cells.”

Teenage Tourrette’s Outbreak?

By Edyta Zielinska

School-district officials in northwestern New York State are puzzled by a spate of high school students reporting symptoms of the neuropsychiatric disorder.

Wireless Drug Chip

By Jef Akst

The world’s first programmable drug-delivery chip passes the test, accurately and safely delivering an osteoporosis drug.

News from AAAS

By Jef Akst

A roundup of recent research announced last weekend at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Read the original:
Bioethics Backlash

ATLANTA, GA–(Marketwire -02/21/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC.BB: VSTA.OB – News) (OTCQB: VSTA.OB – News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy, has retained MissionIR, a national investor relations consulting firm, to develop and implement a strategic investor relations campaign. Through a network of investor-oriented online websites and full suite of investor awareness services, MissionIR broadens the influence of publicly traded companies and enhances their ability to attract growth capital and improve shareholder value.

“VistaGen's work with human stem cell technology is groundbreaking,” said Sherri Snyder, Director of Marketing at MissionIR. “The company's versatile platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™, provides clinically relevant predictions of potential heart toxicity of new drug candidates long before they are ever tested on humans. Guided by a management team with decades of experience, VistaGen's stem cell technology can potentially save billions of dollars in the healthcare industry while recapturing prior R&D investment in once-promising new drug candidates.”

“We are pleased to bring MissionIR on board as our external investor relations partner,” said Shawn Singh, VistaGen's Chief Executive Officer. “The crucial work our company is doing can fundamentally change the way medicine is developed. Paired with MissionIR's global presence and sound investor relations programs, we can further grow our shareholder base and accelerate internal initiatives already in place to bring our stem cell technology platform to the forefront of drug development.”

About MissionIR

MissionIR is committed to connecting the investment community with companies that have great potential and a strong dedication to building shareholder value. Through a full suite of investor relations and consultancy services, we help public companies develop and execute a strategic investor awareness plan as we've done for hundreds of others. Whether it's capital raising, increasing awareness among the financial community, or enhancing corporate communications, we offer a variety of solutions to meet the objectives of our clients.

For more information, visit www.MissionIR.com

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen is a biotechnology company applying human pluripotent stem cell technology for drug rescue and cell therapy. VistaGen's drug rescue activities combine its human pluripotent stem cell technology platform, Human Clinical Trials in a Test Tube™, with modern medicinal chemistry to generate new chemical variants of once-promising small-molecule drug candidates. These are once-promising drug candidates discontinued by pharmaceutical companies during development due to heart toxicity, despite positive efficacy data demonstrating their potential therapeutic and commercial benefits. VistaGen uses its pluripotent stem cell technology to generate early indications, or predictions, of how humans will ultimately respond to new drug candidates before they are ever tested in humans.

Additionally, VistaGen's small molecule drug candidate, AV-101, is in Phase 1b development for treatment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain, a serious and chronic condition causing pain after an injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system, affects approximately 1.8 million people in the U.S. alone. VistaGen plans to initiate Phase 2 clinical development of AV-101 in the fourth quarter of 2012. VistaGen is also exploring opportunities to leverage its current Phase 1 clinical program to enable additional Phase 2 clinical studies of AV-101 for epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and depression. To date, VistaGen has been awarded over $8.5 million from the NIH for development of AV-101.

Visit VistaGen at http://www.VistaGen.com, follow VistaGen at http://www.twitter.com/VistaGen or view VistaGen's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/VistaGen.

Link:
VistaGen Therapeutics Engages MissionIR as Its Investor Relations Advisor

A businessman is accused of stealing £16,500 from a trust fund set up to pay for his son to have stem cell treatment in China for motor neurone disease.

Cardiff Crown Court heard people raised £55,000 in sponsored runs after Julian Emms, 46, of Caerwent, Monmouthshire, established a charity for son Michael.

A blank cheque he obtained to take him on a £3,000 trip to New York was cashed for the larger amount, the jury heard.

Mr Emms denies fraud. The trial continues.

The jury was told on Tuesday that Michael Emms was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, a degenerative neurological condition, while in his teens.

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Emms went to their home and burned the cheques in front of them in a way which was deliberately theatrical”

End Quote Meirion Davies Prosecuting

The fundraising allowed him to go abroad for stem cell treatment but this failed.

After this, the jury was told, Mr Emms told his family he wanted £3,000 to fulfil Michael's dream of visiting New York.

He approached Michael's grandmother, Anne Brandon, one of the four people authorised to sign the charity's cheques, the court heard.

Meirion Davies, prosecuting, said: “Emms said he was booking a holiday to the USA for Michael and needed two cheques.

“One was for £3,000 for the holiday and the other was £300 for insurance.

“Mrs Brandon wrote the cheques out to a travel agency called Travelcare and signed them – but left them blank because Emms didn't know the exact amounts.”

Bio diesel processor

But Mrs Brandon and her husband David changed their minds and asked Mr Emms to return the cheques, Mr Davies said.

He said: “Emms went to their home and burned the cheques in front of them in a way which was deliberately theatrical.

“But one of them was in fact a blank piece of paper.”

The court was told the defendant already cashed the other cheque for £16,500 after changing the payee to “cash”.

Mr Emms was buying a £30,000 bio diesel processor at the time the cheque was cashed, the court was told.

The trial continues. Mr Emms denies fraud.

Michael Emms died in 2011, aged in his mid 20s.

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Man 'stole dying son's care cash'

Global leader in animal stem cell technology is poised for significant expansion through new partnership with top U.S. companion animal health distribution company.

Las Vegas, Nevada (PRWEB) February 22, 2012

MediVet-America, the global leader in veterinary stem cell technology and regenerative medicine, has entered into a distribution partnership with Butler Schein Animal Health, a division of Henry Schein, the leading companion animal health distribution company in the U.S., to sell and distribute stem cell kits and equipment to veterinarians serving the nation’s fast-growing $50 billion pet industry.

The announcement was made today at the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas by Jeremy Delk, CEO of MediVet-America.

The two companies will partner to sell and distribute MediVet-America’s advanced stem cell technology to more than 26,000 veterinary clinics nationwide. Adult animal stem cell technology uses the body’s own regenerative healing power to help treat dogs, cats, horses and other animals suffering from painful arthritis, hip dysplasia and tendon, ligament and cartilage injuries and other ailments.

The Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Procedure Kit and state of the art equipment, co-developed with Medical Australia, enable veterinarians to remove a small sample of fat, separate the stem cells, then activate and inject them into affected areas.

“We are pleased to be teaming up with Butler Schein, the largest companion animal health distribution company in the nation,” said Delk. “Their strong track record in sales and distribution will further fuel our rapid growth and bring this breakthrough technology to more leading veterinary practices across the country.”

To introduce the distribution partnership, Delk said MediVet-America has developed an exclusive program of product and service offers that will be made available only to Butler Schein customers.

Veterinary practitioners in more than 200 markets throughout 42 states now perform the drug-free procedure entirely in their own clinics more quickly, effectively and economically than earlier generation animal stem cell therapy. MediVet-America’s new treatment, developed in Australia, is available in 26 countries worldwide.

“This exciting partnership will allow even more of our colleagues unparalleled access to MediVet-America’s superior technology, providing the most affordable and efficacious stem cell therapy in the industry,” said Mike Hutchinson, D.V.M., the world’s leading animal stem cell practitioner. Dr. Hutchinson, who has spoken around the world about stem cell therapy, most recently in Tokyo, has performed more than 300 procedures over the last 18 months in his practice near Pittsburgh, PA.

Partnering with the leading animal health manufacturers in the world, Butler Schein maintains an order-fill ratio greater than 98 percent, and is positioned to bring the broadest selection of veterinary products and strategic business solutions to veterinarians, including:

    A comprehensive product offering for companion animal, equine and large animal practices including biologicals, diagnostics, nutritionals, parasiticides and pharmaceuticals

    Technology hardware and software solutions     Capital equipment, supply products and repair services     Practice design and remodeling, client marketing and financial solutions

Stem cells are basic biological cells with the ability to differentiate into specialized tissue cells and regenerate new cells to replace or repair damaged tissue. The stem cells used in veterinary medicine are not embryonic, which have attracted controversy over the years, but are taken from adipose (fat) tissue of the adult animal.

Americans spent an estimated $50.8 billion in 2011 on their companion animals, according to the American Pet Products Association, up from $28.5 billion in 2001. MediVet-America’s stem cell treatment costs about $1,800 for small animals, $2,400 for horses. Stem cells also can be frozen and banked for future use through MediVet Lab Services.

MEDIVET-AMERICA

A research and development company and global leader in veterinary stem cell technology, MediVet-America provides innovative cell applications for the therapeutic care of animals. Headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, MediVet-America develops advanced cellular designed kits and services for the treatment of arthritis and degenerative joint disease. The company also offers MediVet Lab Services in multiple locations around the world that provides technical support for in-house stem cell vets, as well as regional and national Adipose stem cell processing and cryo banking services for pets at a young age or for a maintenance program, autologous conditioned serum processing, and cell counting for in-house stem cell procedures. http://www.MediVet-America.com

BUTLER SCHEIN ANIMAL HEALTH

Butler Schein Animal Health is the leading U.S. companion animal health distribution company. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company operates through 18 distribution centers and 12 telecenters. Approximately 900 Butler Schein Animal Health team members, including 300 field sales representatives and 200 telesales and customer support representatives, serve animal health customers in all 50 states. http://www.ButlerShein.com

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Dick Roberts
Roberts Communications
(412) 535-5000
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MediVet-America Partners With Butler Schein Animal Health to Distribute World's Leading Animal Stem Cell Technology to …