I just heard some very good news on the regenerative medicine front. US Senators Barbara Boxer and Mark Kirk today introduced The Regenerative Medicine Promotion Act, which would keep track of and promote regenerative medicine efforts. This is really exciting and provides hope. One of the neat things about this news is that Boxer is […]
Great News: Senators Boxer & Kirk Introduce Regen Med Bill Read More »
What does the future hold for CIRM? I asked former CIRM Board Chair and Prop 71 leader, Robert Klein, about that and more in the interview below. He also says some particularly exciting clinical trial and other developments in the stem cell field are coming soon. What got you excited for the very first time
Interview with Robert Klein on CIRM’s Future Read More »
I recently posted on the dangerous situation with the Stamina Foundation. I discussed the controversy surrounding it that has impacted scientists, politicians, the media, and patients. Stamina’s unproven stem cell treatments in Italy should be of concern to everyone across the globe in the stem cell field. For example, here in the US where I
More on Stamina Foundation Controversy: Letter from Michele Simonato Read More »
Osiris, a cellular therapy biotech, recently received a so-called “untitled letter” from the FDA. The text of the letter seems on the whole negative in my opinion, while the company’s public reaction to the letter on the other hand could be seen paradoxically as rather cheery. What’s going on here? With Halloween coming, one has
Osiris FDA Letter: Trick or Treat? Read More »
By Dr. Susan Lim A record 4100 delegates attended the 11th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), held at the Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston from 12-15 June 2013. Co-sponsored by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the Meeting featured 7 Plenary sessions including a Presidential Symposium, 20 concurrent scientific
Delightful overview of ISSCR 2013 by guest blogger Dr. Susan Lim Read More »
One of the great areas of confusion over the human cloning development this week is whether human cloning is legal or illegal. With few exceptions, human cloning in general is legal in the US. Update: in 2020 it still appears that reproductive human cloning is legal in the US. It just hasn’t gotten that much
Deja you: human cloning generally legal in the US Read More »
Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) has confirmed that one of the patient in a clinical trial that it is running for treatment of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness worldwide, has shown a striking improvement in vision. The patient reportedly had 20/400 vision prior to treatment and now has 20/40 vision after treatment. ACT uses an
Striking improvement in vision in one ACT trial participant Read More »
Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) is making a big announcement today about stems, the biggest they say in their almost decade-long existence. Last night I speculated/predicted some possible announcements. Today I’m betting they will announce the discovery of a novel factor called Betatrophin. More on Betatrophin in a minute, but first why do I think
What is Betatrophin & why is Harvard so excited about it? Read More »
Allan Robins of Viacyte (pictured at left–sorry for the fuzzy image) and Paul Simmons of Mesoblast presented this morning at the CIRM Grantee Meeting. Both talks were outstanding. Robins went first. He started by saying how Viacyte had a productive pre-IND meeting with the FDA last year. I believe a target for them is to
Viacyte & Mesoblast present at CIRM Meeting Read More »
I’m here in San Francisco at the annual CIRM Grantee Meeting. As President Alan Trounson said, this is the best stem cell meeting in the world. We had two speakers tonight to kick off the meeting. Let me tell you my thoughts on each one. First, we had Rainer Storb from The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
CIRM Grantee Meeting on Wednesday March 6: fantastic talks by Drs. Storb & High Read More »