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Crawford & Richard will be attending BIO Japan 2007, Yokohama, Japan, 19-21 Sept where we will be exhibiting as The National Biomanufacturing Centre. Visit us at Stand 2-34.
Kassim will be attending Biotech Forum, Stockholm, 24-26 Sept If you would like to set up a meeting with Kassim please contact him
Crawford will be presenting at European Generic Medicines, Berlin, 25-27 Sept
David Simpson will be presenting at EuroBIO 2007, Lille, 26-28 Sept and Tamara will be participating in the partnering meetings. If you would like to set up a meeting please contact Tamara
I seem to be spending far too much time in Boston at the moment - so I’m afraid the review is coming from the other side of the Atlantic again.
The Cambridge Brewing Company is a short walk from Biotech HQ at Kendall Square. It sells itself on ‘Artisan Beer’ (beer drunk by artists?) and ‘Beer Cuisine’ (food made out of beer?). The beer was very, very good although I confess to a thrill of trepidation when two waiters staggered to the table carrying the ‘Tower’ of Tall Tale Pale Ale (5.9% abv) we ordered. The ‘Tower’ turns out to be several litres of beer in a glass column, much like a measuring cylinder, with a base and tap at the bottom. I’d tell you how much it held precisely but strangely enough my memory of the latter parts of the evening borders on hazy. The food was pretty good with an extensive menu - I can vouch for the Blue Marlin at least.
Moving up market I somehow got manoeuvred into paying for dinner for three at no. 9 Park in Boston. This would be a step up from ‘Beer Cuisine’ to ‘Fine Dining with Faeries’. After a brief contretemps with the booking manager who had us down for the following night (always a good start to an evening, especially when you have invited dinner guests standing behind you), we were wafted to our table by a slightly unusual, middle aged lady in a silver ‘Faerie’ dress. The service turned out to be great, the food fairly polished but it was very expensive, even with the current exchange rate. It was a shame the Faerie didn’t leave her wand lying around as I could have done with making the bill vanish!
Finally - probably the best burger I have ever eaten can be found at the Cheesecake Factory (a restaurant chain across the USA, with a branch at the Galleria Mall in Cambridge). Ask for the ranch burger - words just can’t describe. But be prepared for hunger to be a stranger for the next 36 hours at least…
Derek Ellison
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Thank you for reading the 10th edition of our newsletter, which must be an anniversary of some sort?
We continue to welcome your feedback, thoughts and suggestions! So that no-one can accuse me of bias - I particularly welcome contributions to the restaurant/hotel review section.
Ask almost any medical scientist their thoughts on human embryonic stem-cell (ESC) research and you will likely receive an enthusiastic response on the values of stem cell therapy and its potential to dramatically alter the treatment of human disease including cancer, Parkinson’s and other neural disorders including spinal cord injuries. Regarded as the basic ‘building blocks’ of life, stem cells have the ability to grow into different types of tissue or organs. Embryonic stem-cells are considered to be the most versatile, hence their value.
However, politically ESC is a sensitive issue. Some observers in the US describe the situation as a ‘persistent negative political climate’ with the most vocal critics decrying the possible use of human embryos.
Interestingly, a few American states continue to go against Washington dogma by approving constitutional amendments to protect human embryonic stem cell research. Missouri, for example, late last year endorsed ESC research. Although it was not without heated debate, the move was encouraging to those in favour. Unfortunately, the action was largely symbolic as no funds were voted to support the measure.
On the other hand in 2004 California approved a comparable measure which included $3 billion in public financing for ESC research, to be managed by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Considered to be the largest single source of human embryonic stem-cell research funding in the world, scientists hailed it as a momentous occasion.
More recently, CIRM named Richard A. Murphy, former president of the well-known Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, as the new interim president, a six-month appointment. Observers expect the move to have a positive effect on the agency which some feel, despite the high-level of funding, had been drifting for a number of months following the departure of its former president.
Geron Corporation, a Californian biotech company, has also been in the news for their support of research using stem cells to treat spinal cord injury. The work has been headed by Hans Keirstead at the University of California Irvine where he has been successful in restoring severed spinal cords in rats. Kierstead describes his approach as one that ‘re-insulates the electrical conduits of the spinal cord that lost their insulation following injury.’ Geron reports that further safety tests are now underway and that a clinical trial is targeted for 2008.
In June of this year, based on his paper published in Nature, The Times and other major newspapers reported that Shinya Yamanaka, one of Japan’s preeminent genetics researchers, had declared his team was within months of producing an ‘ethical’ human stem cell without using a human embryo. Using mouse skin cells Yamanaka was able to genetically manipulate the cells back to their embryonic state. Merlin the Magician would have been envious as scientists lauded Yamanaka’s achievement as ‘transforming lead into gold.’
Hot off the press - scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, report they’ve been successful in growing breast cancer stem cells from normal tissue. The achievement is noteworthy because it’s been thought that these types of cells are part of cancer’s spread, and isolating them could be very valuable in stopping the disease.
Specialised service providers are now beginning to appear in this area. Progenitor Cell Technology is widely acknowledged for it’s expertise in both guiding clients through complex regulatory maze and providing development and manufacturing services.
Considering it has been the holiday season, it has been a busy few months for us all with four new contracts being signed over the last seven weeks:
We have been selected by Cancer Research UK to develop and manufacture two therapeutic candidates for the treatment of advanced intra-abdominal and head and neck cancer in a deal that could be worth £1.5 million. Cancer Research UK is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to cancer research and we will provide consultancy, process development and manufacturing services for two leading gene therapy products: AdhTR- NTR for advanced intra-abdominal cancer and Ad.CP62 for head and neck cancer.
We are also very pleased to announce that we are working with Denmark based Borean Pharma ApS to manufacture MBP-DC-SIGN, a novel therapeutic candidate for the treatment of a range of cancers, for use in key preclinical studies.
And on the academic side we are working with University of Birmingham to develop and produce a therapeutic candidate for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis; and the University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited (UMIP) providing a range of services for the development of Opticin, a novel therapeutic for treatment of macular degeneration and cancer.
On a sad note, we have had to say goodbye to our recent class of undergraduate placement students who are now returning to college. The quality of work and value brought to us by our students really has exceeded all expectations. On a brighter note we welcome Suzanne Battom, Holly Birchenough, Ashley Hudson, David McBeth, Alex Ryan, Emma Thomas and wish you every success over the next 12 months. The bar has been set really high!
Crawford Brown, Eden’s CEO recently had an article entitled ‘The new paradigm in CMO contracting’ published in last month’s issue of Drug & Market Development. To view the article - click here.
Mandy Shipman, Eden’s senior project manager and Graham Clarke, CEO of ImmBio had their joint article entitled ‘Cell-Culture-Based Manufacturing: Meeting the Challenge of 21st Century’ in August’s issue of BioPharm International. To view the article - click here.
This newsletter is prepared by Eden Biodesign and comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Please address them to: Johanne Tabern (Tel: 0151 728 1750)
Eden Biodesign
National Biomanufacturing Centre, Estuary Banks
Estuary Commerce Park, Speke Road, Liverpool L24 8RB
www.edenbiodesign.com
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in the future, please email Johanne to be removed from the mailing list.
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