PROTEONOMIX, INC. (OTC.BB:PROT), a biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics based upon the use of human cells and their derivatives,reported that Mr. Michael Cohen, Chairman and CEO, is scheduling a multi-city European road trip to create additional awareness of the Proteonomix, Inc. investment opportunity to institutional investors.
Scheduled for early October, Mr. Cohen will discuss with sophisticated investors the recent contract to establish a joint venture with a group of investors that will establish a new stem cell treatment and research facility in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). In addition, Mr. Cohen will discuss the opportunity to set up additional joint ventures in other countries using the U.A.E. arrangement as a model.
The recent contract calls for the joint venture partner to invest $5 million on or before September 10, 2010 in a Joint Venture company, XGEN Medical LLC. (“XGen”), a Nevis Island limited liability company. For additional details about the joint venture agreement, please refer to the August 17, 2010 press release.
“Proteonomix has made great strides recently,” stated Mr. Cohen, “and we have been contacted by several European entities that have requested additional information about our proprietary stem cell activities. In recognition of the interest in Europe and the potential for additional joint venture agreements in various European countries, we recognize that it is propitious to meet with a number of the European institutional investors both to educate them on the intrinsic value of Proteonomix shares and garner interest in strategic relationships.”
StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM) reports that its technology was recently used by independent researchers to achieve the first genetically engineered rat derived from rat embryonic stem (ES) cells. This breakthrough, published this month in the international peer-reviewed journal Nature, opens the door to the types of genetic manipulations previously only possible in mice, and paves the way for modeling a broader range of human diseases with the rat. Both mice and rats are used as animal models of human disease; however certain aspects of the rat’s physiology, behavior, and metabolism are closer to the human, making rats the preferred species for drug development and studying human disease. The creation of this first rat model using rat ES cells validates intellectual property owned by StemCells, which includes the rights to patents covering both rat ES and rat induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells as well as genetically engineered rats derived from these cells.
StemCells’ broad rat pluripotent stem cell intellectual property portfolio is based upon groundbreaking research led by prominent academic researchers at the University of Edinburgh, including Dr. Qi-Long Ying who was the first to succeed in deriving and culturing the true germline competent rat ES cells required for precise genetic engineering. In this newly published study, Dr. Qi-Long Ying and his colleagues at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of Southern California demonstrated for the first time the creation of genetically modified rats using rat ES cells that have been gene targeted via homologous recombination, a method which involves adding DNA sequences to the cells to delete (‘knock-out’), add (‘knock-in’) or otherwise modify genes of interest. This latest work resulted in the successful generation of knock-out rats missing the tumor suppressor gene p53 for use in studying cancer, and serves as a proof-of-principle for creating genetically engineered rats using rat ES cells.
Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. report that data from the phase 3 study of mipomersen in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (heFH) were presented at the European Society of Cardiology�s Congress 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden. The study met its primary endpoint with a 28 percent reduction in LDL-cholesterol, compared with an increase of 5 percent for placebo. The trial also met all of its secondary and tertiary endpoints. Frequently observed adverse events were injection site reactions, flu-like symptoms and elevations in liver transaminases, as seen in other mipomersen studies.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study was designed to test the efficacy and safety of adding mipomersen to stable lipid-lowering therapy. Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive a 200 mg dose of mipomersen or placebo weekly for 26 weeks. The trial included 124 adult heFH patients at 26 sites in the United States and Canada. All of the patients had pre-existing coronary artery disease and LDL-C levels greater than 100 mg/dL, and were taking a maximally tolerated dose of a statin, as well as additional lipid-lowering drugs in most cases. Prior to study enrollment, 78 percent of patients had previously experienced at least one cardiovascular event and 49 percent had more than one previous cardiovascular event.
One of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 12,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2009 revenues of $4.5 billion. In 2010, Genzyme was named to the Fortune 500.
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