Search Results for: stem cell biotech

Great news as Sherley v Sebelius officially over: Supreme Court Takes a pass

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Today the Supreme Court agreed to review three cases, none of which were Sherley v Sebelius. What a great day! For those curious, Certiorari Granted (subheading on Supreme Court announcement) means the Court has granted review of these cases. This is wonderful news for patients, the stem cell field, and probably biotech Advanced Cell Technology […]

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Real and imaginary conflicts of interest: a helpful guide

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What are Conflict of Interests (COI)? The term COI is sometimes used inappropriately as a weapon by one party to attempt to discredit others. We see this more and more frequently in the stem cell field with boosters of for-profit, non-FDA vetted adult stem cell clinics attacking scientists for supposed COIs for what…..apparently for simply

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What does Geron’s departure mean for ACT? Some perspectives

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About two months about Geron shocked and disappointed the stem cell community by dropping its stem cell program. The move was reportedly made for financial, not scientific reasons. Biotech companies have to be financially sound in order to help stem cell researchers turn science into cures and Geron’s leadership had to do what it thought

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The Scarlett letter? What the experts really think about Geron

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The grapevine is afire with the Geron news and there are many interpretations out there of what it means and why it happened. Based on several accounts from folks who remain anonymous, here is the most probable prediction of what happened to lead us to yesterday’s announcement. Geron has been worried for a long time

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Bad news as Geron to quit hESC SCI trial for financial reasons

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Reportedly, Geron has decided to only focus on cancer research and for financial reasons has shut down its hESC trial for spinal cord injury. This is a very sad day for stem cell science. (Update in 2020: the firm still exists, but is working in different areas. The stock has struggled.) No more spinal cord

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The news of CIRM and clinical trial: don’t forget the patient

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As much as so many were excited yesterday about the enrollment of the first patient in a CIRM-funded clinical trial, I did not see a mention of a very important element. The patient. Our excitement about the clinical trial moving forward is understandable, but we also need to keep a sober perspective on the fact

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California pays its sports coaches alone more than the entire payroll of CIRM

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There has been a largely media-fed hullabaloo about the salary for the new Chair of CIRM, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, $400,000. Now don’t get me wrong, that sounds like a lot of money to me personally, but we need to put it in perspective and when we do, the salary is reasonable and

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Great news: FDA gives ACT the green light bringing hope to millions of people with blindness

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The FDA has given Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) the go ahead to begin their clinical trial using retinal progenitor cells derived from hESC by clearing the company’s IND application, bringing hope to those with vision loss and even blindness. The trial will be a combined Phase I/II to treat Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy and has huge

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