StemCell Therapy

A STUDY has shown for the first time that genetics may play a part in how well children respond to treatment for asthma.

Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) say their findings indicate that childrens asthma symptoms could be better controlled with personalised treatments.

Dr Tom Ruffles, honorary consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine, worked with a study team led by Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay, chairman in paediatrics at the Royal Alexandra Childrens Hospital and BSMS.

Dr Ruffles and Professor Mukhopadhyay presented the results from their trial at the virtual European Respiratory Society International Congress.

According to Dr Ruffles, asthma affects one in 11 children in the UK and a child is admitted to hospital because of their asthma every 18 minutes.

He told the conference: Asthma is a common condition in children that causes coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing.

We have a number of medicines that are generally effective in treating children with asthma, but they dont work equally well for all children.

We think that genetic differences could have an effect on whether these medicines work and thats what we wanted to examine in this study.

Previous research suggests the majority of children with asthma will benefit from standard treatment with a medicine called salmeterol and their regular steroid inhaler.

However about one in seven children have a small genetic difference which means using this medication could actually result in them having more asthma symptoms.

The BSMS study involved 241 young people aged between 12 and 18 who were all being treated for asthma.

Participants were randomly assigned either to receive treatment according to existing guidelines, or treatment according to particular genetic differences their genotype an approach known as personalised medicine.

Children in the personalised medicine group were treated with an alternative asthma medicine called montelukast.

Researchers followed the children for a year to monitor their quality of life, with a score between one and seven according to how their symptoms were and whether their normal activities were limited by their asthma.

They found that for children with a particular gene who were given personalised treatment, they experienced an improvement in their quality of life score.

Professor Mukhopadhyay said: These results are very promising because they show for the first time, that it could be beneficial to test for certain genetic differences in children with asthma and select medication according to those differences. In this study we saw only a modest effect, but this may be partly because the childrens asthma was generally very well controlled and only a few children experienced any serious symptoms during the 12-month period.

Larger trials, with a focus on those with poorer asthma control, may help us determine the true benefit for children of prescribing in this way.

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Brighton researchers lead study on genetics and asthma - The Argus

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, SUZHOU,China and XINXIANG, China, Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour BioMed (HBM), a global, clinical-stage, innovative biopharmaceutical company today announced a strategic partnership agreement with Hualan Genetic Engineering Co., Ltd (Hualan Genetic) to develop HBM's three proprietary innovative monoclonal and bispecific antibodies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hualan Genetic will be responsible for preclinical and process development in exchange for exclusive rights for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of these innovative antibody drugs in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). HBM will retain the rights for advancing the clinical development and commercialization in rest of the world. Both parties will collaborate on clinical developments and drug manufacturing. HBM will receive an upfront payment of USD 8.75M and royalties based on sales in Greater China.

Using its proprietary H2L2 and HCAb fully human transgenic mouse platforms, HBM has developed a series of novel antibody candidates against oncology and immunological diseases. Many of these candidates have already progressed to preclinical and clinical stages. HBM has developed an immune cell engager platform HBICE, and one productof this collaboration with Hualan Genetic is HBICE bispecific antibody.

Hualan Genetic has been dedicated to R&D and the production of monoclonal antibodies, recombinant human coagulation factors, recombinant hormone drugs. To date, the company has 19 recombinant protein products under development and 7 monoclonal antibody products that received approval for the clinical trial, among which several are under Phase III clinical study. Hualan Genetic is a novel biopharmaceutical company specializing in R & D, production and sales with product indications covering a dozen major diseases, including breast cancer, melanoma, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and diabetes mellitus.

"We are pleased to join forces with Hualan to accelerate the development of novel therapeutics based on our HCAb platform that gives us the flexibility to design and develop innovative therapeutics. This collaboration brings together complementary capabilities to address patients' needs across the world." said Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of HBM. "As a global biopharma, we have been collaborating with several industry and academic partners around the world to leverage complementary capabilities in both research and development to advance the next generation of therapeutics in oncology and immunology." he added.

Dr. Wenqi An, General Manager of Hualan Genetic, said, "Business of antibody drugs is one of the core strategic directions for the future development of Hualan Genetic. Previously, Hualan Genetic has successfully completed R&D of 7 monoclonal antibody drugs and established an antibody-drug production line with a scale of 10,000L. Hualan Genetic is on the development path transiting from the production of biosimilars to R&D of products concentrated on the latest antibody technologies (such as HBICE bispecific antibody). Hualan is very pleased to cooperate with HBM to accelerate our buildup ofinnovative product pipeline and accomplish the upgrade from biosimilars to bio-innovative drugs."

About Harbour BioMed

Harbour BioMed is a global, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics in the fields of immuno-oncology, immunologic diseases, and COVID-19. The company is building its proprietary pipeline through internal R&D programs, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners and select acquisitions.

The company's internal discovery programs are centered around its two patented transgenic mouse platforms (Harbour Mice) for generating both fully human monoclonal antibodies, heavy chain only antibodies (HCAb) and HBICE immune cell engager technology for developing bispecific antibodies. Harbour BioMed also licenses the platforms to companies and academic institutions. The company has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Suzhou & Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit: http://www.harbourbiomed.com

About Hualan Genetic

Hualan Genetic has been dedicated to R&D and production of monoclonal antibodies since its foundation in 2013. From generics to biologics, Hualan Genetic has started its independent innovation development path transiting from production of biosimilars to R&D of products with the latest antibody technologies (such as innovative drugs of bispecific antibody and heavy-chain-only antibody). The company has advanced and complete R&D testing platform, pilot test workshop, scale production workshop and inspection testing platform, with four 2,500L and two 500L cell culture production lines of EU and WHO standard design, and various fully automatic filling lines, which can realize production, filling and packaging and lyophilization for various products of different scales at the same time. Hualan also provides CRO and CMO services of biomacromolecules including monoclonal cell strain screening, assessment, process R&D, drug analysis, preparations development, submission and approval for production, filling and packaging and labeling.

Media and Investor Contact:

Harbour BioMed Atul Deshpande PhD, MBA Chief Strategy Officer and Head, US Ops. Phone: +1-908-210-3347 E-mail: [emailprotected]

Hualan Genetic International Business Director Kevin Cai E-mail: [emailprotected]

SOURCE Harbour BioMed

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Harbour BioMed and Hualan Genetic Announced Collaboration to Develop Multiple Innovative Antibody Programs - PRNewswire

Young people who are genetically predisposed to risk-taking, low extraversion and schizophrenia are more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, cannabisor other illicit drugs, according to a new University College London-led study.

The researchers say that the findings, published in Addiction Biology, are in line with the notion that people who are more vulnerable to psychopathology or certain personality traits are more inclined to try several types of drugs or use them to 'self-medicate'.

The study used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n=4218) and applied traitstateoccasion models to delineate the common and substancespecific factors based on four classes of substances (alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis and other illicit substances) assessed over time (ages 17, 20 and 22 years). The researchers generated 18 polygenic scores indexing genetically influenced mental health vulnerabilities and individual traits.

The results implicated several genetically influenced traits and vulnerabilities in the common liability to substance use, most notably risk taking (bstandardised, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.10-0.17), followed by extraversion (bstandardised, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.06)and schizophrenia risk (bstandardised, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02-0.09).

Educational attainment (EA) and body mass index (BMI) had opposite effects on substancespecific liabilities such as cigarette use (bstandardised EA, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.12 and bstandardisedBMI, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.02-0.09) and alcohol use (bstandardisedEA, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.03-0.11 and bstandardisedBMI, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.02).

These findings point towards largely distinct sets of genetic influences on the common versus specific liabilities.

Co-lead author Dr Tabea Schoeler (UCL Psychology and Language Sciences) said: Treatment and prevention programmes that target risk-taking behaviours among young people, while also focusing on adolescents with early signs of schizophrenia, could be beneficial in reducing the risk of developing substance use problems.

Iob E, Schoeler T, Cecil CM, Walton E, McQuillin A, Pingault JB. Identifying risk factors involved in the common versus specific liabilities to substance use: A genetically informed approach. Addict Biol. 2020 Jul 23 [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1111/adb.12944. PMID: 32705754. View full text

This article originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

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Genetic Links to Drug and Alcohol Use Among Young People With Mental Health Risks - Medscape

An epidemiological family tree shows how different strains of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spread out across different regions of the world. The red circle highlights WA1, the first confirmed case reported in Washington state and the United States. Click on the image for a larger view. (Nextstrain Graphic)

Detailed genetic analyses of the strains of virus that cause COVID-19 suggest that the outbreak took hold in Washington state in late January or early February, but went undetected for weeks.

Thats the upshot of two studies published by the journal Science, based on separate efforts to trace the genetic fingerprints of the coronavirus known as SARS-CoV-2.

The studies draw upon analyses of more than 10,000 samples collected in the Puget Sound region as part of the Seattle Flu Study during the early weeks of the outbreak, plus thousands more samples from other areas of the world.

One of the studies was conducted by a team including Trevor Bedford, a biologist at Seattles Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who has been issuing assessments of the virus and its spread since the earliest days of the outbreak. The first version of the teams paper went online back in March and was revised in May, months in advance of todays peer-reviewed publication.

The other study comes from researchers led by the University of Arizonas Michael Worobey, who also published a preliminary version of their results in May.

There are subtle differences between the two analyses. For example, Bedford and his colleagues say its most likely that the majority of the infections in Washington state arose from a single case that was introduced in late January or early February.

Worobeys team, however, suggests multiple travelers returning from China during that time frame may have brought the virus to Washington and California.

Bedford and his colleagues say theres not yet enough evidence to rule out the hypothesis that the community spread of coronavirus started with the first reported case, known as WA1, which dates to Jan. 19. But the other teams analysis, which involved running simulations of the virus spread, argues against that scenario.

Worobey and his colleagues also argue against the possibility that the virus came to Washington state via British Columbia, which was an alternate scenario suggested by the data. Instead, they say its more likely that the virus made the jump directly from China.

At the time, foreign travelers were barred from coming to the U.S. from China, but tens of thousands of U.S. citizens and visa holders continued to make the trip even after the ban took effect. Worobey and his co-authors say a similar scenario led to separate introductions of the virus to the U.S. East Coast from China via Europe.

Both studies suggest that closer surveillance of COVID-19 cases, based on the model established by the Seattle Flu Study, could have lessened the impact of the pandemic in the U.S. But in a news release, Worobey said theres a silver lining to the researchers gloomy conclusions.

Our research shows that when you do early intervention and detection well, it can have a massive impact, both on preventing pandemics and controlling them once they progress, Worobey said. While the epidemic eventually slipped through, there were early victories that show us the way forward: Comprehensive testing and case identification are powerful weapons.

Trevor Bedford, Alex Greninger, Pavitra Roychoudhury, Lea Starita and Michael Famulare are the lead authors of Cryptic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Washington State. Jay Shendure and Keith Jerome are the senior authors and there are scores of co-authors, including investigators with the Seattle Flu Study.

In addition to Worobey, the authors of The Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Europe and North America include Jonathan Pekar, Brendan Larsen, Martha Nelson, Verity Hill, Jeffrey Joy, Andrew Rambaut, Marc Suchard, Joel Wertheim and Philippe Lemey.

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Genetic sleuths flesh out the story of how coronavirus got its start in Washington - GeekWire

California lawmakers passed a law that allows consumers to revoke consent for genetic testing companies like 23andMe and Ancestry to use their data, mandating the companies to destroy the DNA samples within 30 days, STAT reported in its weeklynewsletter.

California law boosts genetic data privacy. Business Insider Intelligence

For context, direct-to-consumer (D2C) DNA testing firms often give customers the opportunity to opt into research by consenting to pass along their samples: For instance, 8 million of 23andMe's network of 10 million users haveopted in to participate in research. States are taking the helm at passing D2C genetic testing regulation, while federal lawmakers remain mumcreating a patchworked legal landscape for genetic testing companies to operate in.

Privacy laws have yet to be enacted on a federal level, so state lawmakers are stepping in: Florida recently passedlegislation prohibiting insurance companies from accessing members' genetic insights, which could impact the type and cost of coverage. But as states take charge putting forth their own laws, genetic testing companies will be faced with new obstacles, and it's unclear how they'll navigate adhering to the changing legal ecosystem.

In reference to the new law passed in California, Justin Yedor, a Los Angeles-based data privacy attorney, wascitedin Bloomberg asking, "are [D2C companies] going to provide these rights strictly for Californians or are they going to extend them to all consumers regardless of jurisdiction?" Contending with new rules passed on a state-by-state basis could cause hangups in operations, exacerbating the alreadysofteningD2C genetic testing market.

While a hodgepodge of legislation across the US will be a hurdle, increased privacy laws could assuage consumers' fears and translate into more sales.In a recent YourDNA survey,40%of consumers who had never taken a DNA test cited privacy concerns as the driving reason for why they've shied away. But if companies are transparent about granting consumers more autonomy over their data and how it's handled, they may be more likely to take the plunge.

Still, we think high-flying genetic testing firms will lean more heavily on their healthcare-focused initiatives as they navigate the shifting D2C realm: Some DNA testing firms likeColorandYouScriptthe latter of which is now owned by Invitaeare powering hospitals' precision medicine initiatives, for example.

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New California law gives consumers more agency over data they share with genetic testing firms - Business Insider

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced the appointment of Kimber Lockhart to its Board of Directors, effective September 10, 2020.

"We are excited to welcome Kimber Lockhart to our board of directors, bringing expertise in scaling fast-growth businesses that will provide valuable insight as we continue to grow," said Sean George, co-founder and chief executive officer of Invitae. "Her expertise as a product, engineering and infrastructure leader, combined with her perspective on leveraging technology to improve healthcare for patients, will be a valuable addition to our board as we continue to pursue our mission to bring genetics to mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people around the world."

"I'm happy to join the board of directors at Invitae at this exciting time in the company's continued growth," said Lockhart. "Invitae's approach is unique and the company's capabilities combined with its dedication to its mission to make comprehensive genetic information services widely available has the potential to transform healthcare for patients worldwide."

Lockhart is an experienced technology leader, scaling technology platforms to support rapid business growth. Since 2015, Lockhart has served as chief technology officer at One Medical, a national leader in technology-enabled primary care, where she was previously vice president of engineering from 2014 to 2015. Prior to joining One Medical, Lockhart served in various engineering leadership roles at online file-sharing service Box from 2009 to 2014. Previously, Lockhart was co-founder and CEO of Increo Solutions, provider of document rendering and collaboration technologies, which was acquired by Box in 2009. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University.

About Invitae

Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company's website atinvitae.com.

Contact:Laura D'Angeloir@invitae.com(628) 213-3369

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/invitae-appoints-kimber-lockhart-to-its-board-of-directors-301128086.html

SOURCE Invitae Corporation

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Invitae Appoints Kimber Lockhart to its Board of Directors - BioSpace

If a patient learns that they do carry a mutation in their BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, a genetic counselor can discuss potential options with them.

A common option for women is to undergo increased screening, including getting a breast exam from a health care provider every six months, and also a yearly mammogram and breast MRI.

There are also medications that people with BRCA gene mutations can take to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, she says.

Doctors call these medications chemoprevention, but that makes it sound like chemotherapy, which its not, Milliron says. It is a medication that you do take for several years, and I think it's really important to have that discussion about the pros and cons and what to expect with a specialized health care provider. Women have to be at least age 35 and finished with family planning before they can consider taking a medication to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer because there is a risk of causing birth defects.

The medication that is usually given to premenopausal women is called tamoxifen, and studies point to more clear benefit for women with BRCA2 mutations. There are additional, related medications that are usually prescribed to postmenopausal women if tamoxifen is not a good option for those women.

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Some women chose to have both breasts removed a prophylactic/risk reducing bilateral mastectomy which has been shown to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by about 90% to 95%, Milliron notes.

This is obviously a very, very personal choice, Milliron says. If you look at the statistics of the women who choose increased screening with mammogram and breast MRI, and the women who choose risk reducing or prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, there is no difference in the chance of passing away from breast cancer between those two groups. So that is something that I think is very important for patients to know and to understand.

These decisions can be influenced by watching family or friends go through cancer treatment, as can family dynamics as well as cultural and religious considerations, she adds.

Ovarian cancer is a different story than breast cancer, however.

I've been a genetic counselor for 22 years, and that is the only thing that has not yet changed about my job is that we still do not have a screening tool for ovarian cancer that works, Milliron says. So for a woman who has a BRCA1 gene mutation, we usually talk about having the ovaries and the fallopian tubes removed between 35 and 40. And then for a woman who has a BRCA2 gene mutation, we usually talk about having them removed between 45 and 50.

While the statistics vary slightly between studies, research shows this surgery can reduce the risk of developing ovarian cancer and fallopian tube cancer by 80 to 95%.

Birth control pills are also a potential option for women with these mutations to reduce their risk of developing ovarian cancer.

That may influence their breast cancer risk, however, so that's a conversation that we have to have, Milliron adds.

Men who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, are at increased risk for prostate cancer. And these can be more aggressive and develop at younger ages. For them increased screening starting about age 40 to 45 is recommended, including prostate-specific antigen, commonly referred to as PSA, testing and a digital rectal exam yearly.

The Rogel Cancer Center is very lucky to have a prostate cancer risk assessment clinic, Milliron says. So many times men are somewhat forgotten in the BRCA1, BRCA2 picture.

You can learn more about cancer genetics on the Rogel Cancer Centers website.

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BRCA1 and BRCA2 Gene Mutations: I Have a Mutation, What Are My Options? - University of Michigan Health System News

The discovery was heartbreaking for biologists, who consider the mountain lions of Southern California to be among the most threatened mammals in North America: a young male with the distortions of inbreeding a tail kinked like the letter L and only one descended testicle.

The cougar found in the Santa Monica Mountains in March represented the first documented physical manifestations of extremely low genetic diversity within an isolated population of less than two dozen mountain lions still roaming the rugged canyonlands just north of Los Angeles.

Since then, scientists have found two more lions with similar deformities. Announcement of the findings was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

This is something we hoped to never see, said Jeff Sikich, a biologist with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area and an expert on local mountain lion populations. We knew that genetic diversity was low here, but this is the first time we have actually seen physical evidence of it.

Mountain lions are not a formally threatened species in California. But state officials earlier this year concluded that six isolated and genetically distinct cougar clans from Santa Cruz to the U.S.-Mexico border make up a sub-population that may warrant listing as threatened under the state Endangered Species Act. Such a step could limit highway construction and development on thousands of acres of real estate.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the species status in response to a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity and the nonprofit Mountain Lion Foundation, which argued that the populations constitute an evolutionary significant unit that should be listed as state endangered.

The California Fish and Game Commission is expected to make a final decision sometime next summer.

Recent scientific studies suggest theres an almost 1-in-4 chance that Southern California mountain lions could become extinct in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountain ranges within 50 years.

Thats partly because of how difficult it is to diversify the gene pool for the dozen adult lions still prowling in the Santa Monica Mountains: The 101 freeway is a near impenetrable barrier to gene flow for mountain lions. In the Santa Ana Mountains, the 15 freeway limits the movement of a family of 20 cougars.

Sometimes, the animals manage to cross the freeways without getting hit.

Just like climate change, extinction risk for Southern Californias mountain lions is not a future threat its already here, said Brendan Cummings, the centers conservation director. As California continues to encroach into wildlife habitat, they have become a test case as to whether were capable of living in this large state with wild animals.

A team led by Sikich discovered the problem on March 4 while placing a GPS radio-collar on P-81, a mountain lion weighing 95 pounds and estimated to be about 1 years old.

A few days later, another male mountain lion, also with a kinked tail, was recorded on a remote camera in the same area. Scientists believe the two cougars may be related and perhaps siblings.

Review of remote camera footage taken in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains between the 405 and Hollywood freeways suggests that a third mountain lion in the area also appears to have a kinked tail.

They underscore the results of extensive genetic analyses conducted over the past two decades: Cougars in the Santa Monica and Santa Ana mountains south of Los Angeles have the lowest levels of genetic diversity ever documented in the West, said Seth Riley, wildlife branch chief for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

The only population with lower levels was in south Florida a few decades ago, when Florida panthers were teetering on the edge of extinction. The really interesting, and worrying, thing, Riley said, is that they saw the same type of kinked tails and cryptorchidism among Florida panthers.

Cryptorchidism is a condition in which one or both testes fail to descend from the abdomen into the scrotum.

In the face of such a dire prognosis what biologists call an extinction vortex conservationists are stepping up calls for construction of a $60-million wildlife overpass that would cross the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, one of the last places where natural habitat abuts the highway on both sides.

The bridge could help diversify the gene pool among the lions remaining in the Santa Monicas south of the freeway as well as in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains to the north, they say.

Because the bridge would cross the freeway, Caltrans is overseeing design and construction but the transportation agency is not providing funding. Instead, roughly 80% of the funds are expected to come from private philanthropy and corporate donations.

As of September, the fundraising campaign led by the National Wildlife Federation had brought in about $15.4 million, including $3 million from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, $2.2 million from the State Coastal Conservancy, $1 million from the Annenberg Foundation, $250,000 from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and $100,000 from Boeing Co.

The project is currently in the final design phase, officials said. If fundraising stays on track, construction could begin in late 2021.

Farther south, however, conservationists are open to the idea of trans-locating mountain lions across the 15 freeway, even as they work with the California Department of Transportation on a relatively low-cost plan to improve freeway underpasses that would allow cougars freedom to roam.

These lions kinked tails are a genetic cry for help, telling us we must make it easier for them to move around and find mates, said Tiffany Yap, a biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity. More wildlife crossings are part of it, but we need to stop sprawl developments that cut these beautiful cats off from each other.

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Deformities linked to inbreeding found in L.A. County cougar - Los Angeles Times

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, has uncovered a genetic vulnerability present in nearly 10% percent of all breast cancers tumours, and found a way to target this vulnerability and selectively kill cancer cells.

Each year, over five thousand newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer in the UK alone will carry this particular genetic fault, a proportion roughly double that driven by hereditary mutations such as those in the well-known BRCA genes.

A University of Oxford team of scientists led by Professor Ross Chapman, working together with researchers working at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA, discovered that cells originating from a specific subset of human breast cancer tumours, could be killed with a chemical that inhibits PLK4, an enzyme important for a specialized part of a cell called the centrosome. A cells centrosomes performs important functions during cell division, where it regulates the process in which copies of each chromosome are accurately segregated between two identical daughter cells. Normally, cells have safety mechanisms that protect them from losing their centrosomes. But the researchers discovered that these breast cancer cells could not survive without centrosomes.

The Oxford team wondered if the cancer cells they were studying had a genetic change that made them especially reliant on their centrosomes, and turned their attention to one feature of these cancer cells, an abnormal repeated stretch of a particular segment on chromosome 17. This genetic abnormality, known as 17q23 amplification, is already familiar to cancer researchers given its very high incidence in breast cancer.

Peter Yeow, a graduate student in Dr Chapmans laboratory, performed experiments that then revealed a gene known as TRIM37 was much more active in cells that had 17q23 amplification. They then went on to show overactive TRIM37 resulted in faulty centrosomes, which in turn led to mistakes during cell division. They speculate that the daughter cells born of these abnormal cell divisions are much more likely to acquire new genetic mutations.

We think that what is happening is that if cells acquire too many copies of TRIM37, the normally very carefully orchestrated process of cell division goes haywire, which in turn leads to our genomes becoming unstable says Professor Chapman, from the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University. This kind of genomic instability, where cells acquire all sorts of alterations to their genomes as they divide, is one of the hallmarks of cancer development.

This means that cells with the 17q23 amplification are more likely to become cancerous. However, the researchers revealed this characteristic of cancer comes at a cost, the exact same defect leaves the cells entirely reliant on their centrosomes for cell division, a process central to tumour development. The researchers then demonstrated this weakness could be exploited using a drug that targets PLK4 and causes cells to lose their centrosomes, and that this treatment killed cancer cells with 17q23 amplification.

It is slightly ironic that the same thing that makes the cells more likely to become cancerous also makes them uniquely vulnerable to losing their centrosomes, but is useful to us as scientists, because it means that we may be able to selectively target this kind of cancer cell in patients without affecting their healthy cells, says Professor Chapman.

Unfortunately, the chemical PLK4 inhibitor that the researchers used to deplete centrosomes in cancer cells is not suitable for use in patients. However, they hope this information can be used to search for new PLK4-targeting drugs that have the same effect.

Weve found a previously unknown genetic vulnerability in breast cancer, and discovered a means to exploit this vulnerability and selectively kill cancer cells, says Dr Chapman. We now hope that other researchers and pharmaceutical companies can generate new drugs that can target this process, to produce more effective and safer cancer treatments.

Whats also promising is that this genetic fault has also been detected in other cancer types, apart from breast cancer. Virtually any tumour, irrespective of origin, could be targeted if it harbours the 17q23 amplification. This greatly expands the number of patients that stand to benefit from therapies that may emerge from our study, says Yeow.

Dr. J. Ross Chapman is a Cancer Research UK Career Development Fellow and Lister Institute Research Prize Fellow. The work was funded predominantly through grants from Cancer Research UK and the National Institutes of Health (USA).

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Previously unknown genetic vulnerability in breast cancer cells target of research - India Education Diary

FULL TIME FACULTY POSITION IN CELL AND MOLECULARBIOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES ST.KITTS

Starting Date of Position: The opening isavailable immediately and will remain open until a suitablecandidate is selected. Starting date is flexible.

The University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS) is afour-year school of medicine located in St. Kitts, W.I. withcorporate offices in New York City. UMHS is currently expanding itsCell and Molecular Biology department and is recruiting a newfaculty member to fill a recently-created position. This willinvolve instructing students in medical cell and molecular biology,and possibly segments in other medical courses as assigned by theDean. The position will involve classroom teaching as well asholding daily office hours. In addition to classroom teaching hoursthe position will require serving on university committees as wellas some research involvement with student and faculty researchprojects

UMHS is committed to educating uniquely skilled and diversemedical professionals eager to meet the need for physicians invarious settings throughout the United States and the world. With afocus on quality patient care and utilizing the latest in advancedtechnological instruction and personalized education, our aim is toproduce genuinely passionate physicians highly prepared forpractice in a changing medical landscape. This position willalso involve academic advising and guidance with a segment ofassigned students. This position is full time and requires livingon the beautiful island of St. Kitts, B.W.I.

Cell and Molecular Biology Course Description:This course develops the necessary understanding of how the cellfunctions at the cellular, organelle and molecular levels. Studentsare exposed to a wide variety of topics, such as cell structuresand their functions, membrane transport, signal transduction, DNAreplication and repair, transcription, translation, regulation ofgene expression, cancer and molecular biology techniques.

Responsibilities: The successfulcandidate will be responsible for team-teaching the three creditmedical genetics course and the six credit cell and molecularbiology course. The UMHS calendar year has three fifteen weeksemesters, with two to three weeks break between semester forfaculty leave. Responsibilities include:

Personal Attributes:

Qualifications:

Please send a letter of interest andaccompanying resume via email to hr@umhs-sk.net.

Please view our beautiful island andour state-of-the-art campus on our website: http://www.umhs-sk.org

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CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY job with University of Medicine and Health Sciences | 286368 - The Chronicle of Higher Education

LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ:MNOV) and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced that BioComo, co-developer of MediciNovas SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for COVID-19, announced that its Respiratory Syncytial (RS) virus vaccine using BC-PIV technology induced high neutralizing antibodies in mice. BioComo issued a press release on September 11, 2020.

BioComos RS virus vaccine was created using the BC-PIV and VLP-BC-PIV platform technology developed by BioComo and Mie University. The RS virus specific antigen was loaded into BC-PIV and VLP-BC-PIV and mice were inoculated by intranasal administration. Strong induction of neutralizing antibodies against the prefusion F antigen was confirmed.

RS virus is known to infect the human respiratory tract and re-infection occurs throughout life. In general, RS virus only cause mild cold symptoms in healthy adults. However, infants with a first-time infection, immunocompromised people, and elderly people may develop severe diseases such as bronchitis, bronchiolitis, or pneumonia. RS virus vaccine development has been ongoing for the past 30 years, but without success to date.

The successful induction of neutralizing antibodies against the RS virus using BC-PIV technology and the intranasal route of administration support the scientific and technical rationale of MediciNovas intranasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for COVID-19. This confirmation of neutralizing antibody induction by the RS virus vaccine strongly supports the likelihood of successful induction of neutralizing antibodies by MediciNovas intranasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine which also uses BC-PIV technology.

BioComos RS virus vaccine mouse model study was conducted at Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI) in Leipzig, Germany. IZI is the largest research and development institute in the field of medicine and life sciences in the EU. MediciNova is also planning to work with IZI for additional animal studies for its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development.

Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc., commented, "We are very pleased to confirm that an intranasal vaccine using BC-PIV technology induces neutralizing antibodies as demonstrated by BioComos RS virus vaccine. We look forward to reporting additional progress on our intranasal COVID-19 vaccine using BC-PIV as soon as possible.

About the BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine for COVID-19

BC-PIV, an innovative non-transmissible viral vector co-developed by BioComo and Mie University, is derived from the recombinant human parainfluenza virus type 2 (hPIV2). It is highly efficient in its ability to transfer multiple foreign proteins to recipients and has a strong safety profile as no secondary infectious virus is produced. BC-PIV is designed to display not only the gene but also the foreign protein itself on the surface and inside of the viral membrane. Therefore, it can carry the large membrane proteins of viruses and signal transduction receptors/ligand proteins on the viral surface. BC-PIV is able to carry the proteins that require a proper three-dimensional structure or multimeric structure while maintaining the structure. BC-PIV elicits good immunogenicity against antigen proteins without adjuvants. The BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prototype has been developed to include the specific SARS-CoV-2 antigen protein in order to express maximum antigenicity. The BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine can be developed as an intranasal vaccine in addition to an intramuscular injection because of its high affinity to nasal and upper respiratory tract mucosa, which is the same route of the natural infection of SARS-CoV-2. An intranasal vaccine is expected to induce local mucosal immunity. To date, BioComo has succeeded in producing a recombinant Ebola virus vaccine (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49579-y) and a Respiratory Syncytial virus prefusion F vaccine (unpublished data) using this BC-PIV platform technology.

About BioComo

BioComo, a biotech company founded at Mie Prefecture, Japan in May 2008, is developing cutting-edge technology platforms for creating the novel and predominant vaccine carriers and adjuvants to enhance immunity in collaboration with the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department of Mie University. They have already succeeded in the development of a highly efficacious and state-of-the art vaccine carrier and novel adjuvant candidates. Their technology will be applied to the production of the next generation vaccines for the prevention of infections such as RS virus, Ebola virus, Influenza virus, and SARS-CoV-2. It will also enable faster and more cost-effective production of those vaccines. BC-PIV is the core platform technology which carries the corporate namesake, BioComo, and the leading vaccine carrier that is derived from the recombinant human parainfluenza virus 2 (hPIV2) vectors. BioComo is dedicated to inventing new vaccines for both global infection threats as well as malignant tumors.

About MediciNovaMediciNova, Inc. is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company founded upon acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs with a primary commercial focus on the U.S. market. MediciNova's current strategy is to focus on BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for COVID-19, MN-166 (ibudilast) for neurological disorders such as progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and substance dependence (e.g., alcohol use disorder, methamphetamine dependence, opioid dependence), as well as prevention of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19, and MN-001 (tipelukast) for fibrotic diseases such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). MediciNovas pipeline also includes MN-221 (bedoradrine) for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and MN-029 (denibulin) for solid tumor cancers. MediciNova is engaged in strategic partnering and other potential funding discussions to support further development of its programs. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit http://www.medicinova.com.

Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future development and efficacy of BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, MN-166, MN-001, MN-221, and MN-029. These forward-looking statements may be preceded by, followed by or otherwise include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "can," "could," "may," "will," "would," considering, planning or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks of obtaining future partner or grant funding for development of BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, MN-166, MN-001, MN-221, and MN-029 and risks of raising sufficient capital when needed to fund MediciNova's operations and contribution to clinical development, risks and uncertainties inherent in clinical trials, including the potential cost, expected timing and risks associated with clinical trials designed to meet FDA guidance and the viability of further development considering these factors, product development and commercialization risks, the uncertainty of whether the results of clinical trials will be predictive of results in later stages of product development, the risk of delays or failure to obtain or maintain regulatory approval, risks associated with the reliance on third parties to sponsor and fund clinical trials, risks regarding intellectual property rights in product candidates and the ability to defend and enforce such intellectual property rights, the risk of failure of the third parties upon whom MediciNova relies to conduct its clinical trials and manufacture its product candidates to perform as expected, the risk of increased cost and delays due to delays in the commencement, enrollment, completion or analysis of clinical trials or significant issues regarding the adequacy of clinical trial designs or the execution of clinical trials, and the timing of expected filings with the regulatory authorities, MediciNova's collaborations with third parties, the availability of funds to complete product development plans and MediciNova's ability to obtain third party funding for programs and raise sufficient capital when needed, and the other risks and uncertainties described in MediciNova's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MediciNova disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements.

Link:
MediciNova Announces that BioComo's Intranasal RS Virus Vaccine Successfully Induced Neutralizing Antibodies against the RS Virus in Mice using BC-PIV...

This article was originally published here

Cancer Cytopathol. 2020 Sep;128(9):601-610. doi: 10.1002/cncy.22318.

ABSTRACT

The advent of molecular targets for novel therapeutics in oncology, notably for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), led the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) to establish a national network of 28 hospital Molecular Genetics Centers for Cancer (MGCC) in 2007. In each University in France, laboratories were established to develop molecular biology testing to evaluate a few genomic alterations, initially a selection of genes, by using specific targeted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. In a second phase, the number of studied genes was increased. In 2015, the MGCC benefited from an additional dedicated budget from the INCa to develop next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. In the meantime, a new financial regulation for innovative testing has been established for the acts out of nomenclature. Consequently, all private and public laboratories in France have access to funding for molecular biology testing in oncology. The gene-based PCR assays or NGS tests have benefitted from reimbursement of cost testing by the INCa. Today, the laboratories consider this reimbursement to be only partial, and its use to be complex. In 2018, a strategic plan for medical genomic analyses (France Mdecine Gnomique 2025) was implemented to introduce more systematic sequencing into the health care pathway and oncology practice. The large panel of molecular tests should be centralized to a limited number of molecular genetic centers. This review describes the evolution of the different stages of implementation of molecular pathology testing for NSCLC patients over the last few years in France.

PMID:32885912 | DOI:10.1002/cncy.22318

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Predictive molecular pathology in non-small cell lung cancer in France: The past, the present and the perspectives - DocWire News

Like nearly all other aspects of life, the normal routines of Duke research labs came to a grinding halt due to COVID-19. Duke researchers shared their reflections on the struggles and insights the process of research shutdown and reboot has had within their labs during a Virtual Research Town Hall on Thursday, September 3rd.

The Town Hall, titled The Impact of COVID 19 on Research at Duke, Overcoming Challenges and Pressures was moderated by Duke Vice President for Research, Larry Carin (Ph.D.). Dr. Carin mentioned that discussion of shutting down the research enterprise began in February, and at that point in time it seemed nearly hysterical. However, by mid-March shut-down plans were fully in progress, leaving labs out of commission until mid-June. To get research at Duke back underway, labs were forced to significantly reduce the density of people in facilities and no undergraduate students were allowed to participate.

Though most of the basic science labs are back in operation now, human subjects research trials have had a slower return. In no way is it business as usual. Detailed planning and scheduling, a focus on social distancing, and daily health surveys are all part of the new normal. There is almost a Big Brother feel to this, Dr. Carin said, comparing the moderated tracking of who enters facilities through their DukeCard swipes to George Orwells 1984 dystopian society.

Associate Professor Debra Silver Ph.D. spoke about her neurodevelopmental lab in molecular genetics and microbiology (MGM). In the three-month shutdown, lab members focused on writing reviews, grants, manuscripts, and took online classes to improve skills. Since re-opening, Silvers lab has implemented lab shifts, pre-scheduled experiments, and coordinated use of shared equipment. Some of the biggest issues are the trainees missing out on critical networking and undergraduates forced to transition to nearly exclusively online work. Silver also voiced serious concern for the mental and physical health of lab members, logistical coordination of childcare and homeschooling, challenges faced by international trainees, and the need for flexibility. However, there were some silver linings as well. The Silver Lab engaged with lots of seminars, had joint lab meetings, and the mutual support for one another grew immensely under the unique circumstances.

Both Silvers lab and the West Lab, led by professor Anne West Ph.D. in neurobiology, are heavily reliant on mice for wet lab work. The mandates to reduce their mouse colonies by more than 50% was a large task and now that the labs are up and running, re-expanding the colonies has been a primary focus. West said that, similar to the Silver Lab members, half of her team picked up writing or a computational project while the other half attended online classes or meetings during shutdown. Undergraduates read and presented research papers which turned out to be a very fruitful training experience.

One major roadblock for the West Labs reopening were the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmoud Arbery. The civic unrest surrounding these deaths and the revivalism of the Black Lives Matter movement became a frequent point of discussion in lab meetings. Some members of the West Lab were unable to work during this time. West emphasized the importance of lowered expectations. She asked everyone to focus on one core experiment and to try to come into the lab for at least a few hours a day, a few days a week. The lab has been gaining traction with new data and research papers nearing completion. Like other panelists, West discussed prevailing issues including anxiety and depression, continued societal uncertainties, and the questionable financial future for research.

Assistant professor of anesthesiology Jamie R. Privratsky MD, Ph.D. highlighted COVIDs impact on clinical and critical care research. Among the positive impacts are the Society of Critical Care Medicines COVID-19 registry database, the abilities to do observational and database research work, and research opportunities for working with COVID patients. However, the rest of critical care research has been completely sidelined, clinician-scientists have been moved to mostly clinical duties, and there have been lots of administrative hurdles for conducting COVID related research.

Many colleagues share Dr. Privratskys mixed thoughts on the gains and losses during the halt of critical care research. For those who were able to conduct some research, the risks to personal health also posed looming anxiety and danger. Dr. Privratsky chose to do what he could being physically away from his lab and worked to update protocols, maintain electronic lab notebooks, write methods sections of papers, and care for his mouse colony. He also submitted three grant proposals and said that he left the shutdown with a clearer vision and direction for his research.

The School of Medicines Vice Dean for Basic Science, Colin S. Duckett Ph.D. closed the town hall with encouraging reflections. Out of 17,000 Duke administered COVID tests, there have been very few positives. Duckett emphasized how seriously the Duke community and its recently returned students are taking the continued threat of Coronavirus. Though communications persist as a challenge and many argue that life right now just doesnt feel right, Duckett called attendees attention to the fact that the research enterprise was successfully ramped down, ramped back up, and lab activities have made a nearly completely return. This was and continues to be no small feat and is possible due to highly collaborative efforts, he said.

Further, there were large insights gleaned from this collective experience; those of researchers resiliency, the importance of community, and the need to look beyond work and check in on each other as human beings. Research and the people who make it possible do not exist in a vacuum away from society. Their work and their well-being are subject to the pandemic just like everyone else. Yet, similar to the broader global public, researchers and their research are emerging stronger than before in the face of COVID-19.

Post by Cydney Livingston

Originally posted here:
Covid Tested the Resilience of Duke's Research | Research Blog - Duke Today

Reported Cases Likely One-Fifth of Total in Chittenden County

Mask-wearers on Church Street in Burlington.(Photo: Joshua Brown)

Vermont Business Magazine A novel new study suggests that the behavior public officials are now mandating or recommending unequivocally to slow the spread of COVID-19wearing a face coveringshould come with a caveat. If not accompanied by proper public education, the practice could lead to more infections.

The finding is part of an unique study, just published as a preprint in SSRN, that was conducted by a team of health economists and public health faculty at the University of Vermonts Larner College of Medicine in partnership with public health officials for the state of Vermont.

The study combines survey data gathered from adults living in northwestern Vermont with test results that showed whether a subset of them had contracted COVID-19, a dual research approach that few COVID studies have employed. By correlating the two data sets, researchers were able to determine what behaviors and circumstances increased respondents risk of becoming sick.

The key risk factor driving transmission of the disease, the study found, was the number of daily contacts participants had with other adults and seniors.

That had relevance for two other findings.

Those who wore masks had more of these daily contacts compared with those who didnt, and a higher proportion contracted the virus as a result.

Basic human psychology could be at work, said Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, an assistant professor and vice chair for Population Health Science in the Department of Radiology at the Larner College of Medicine and the studys principal investigator.

When you wear a mask, you may have a deceptive sense of being protected and have more interactions with other people, she said.

The public health implications are clear. Messaging that people need to wear a mask is essential, but insufficient, she said. It should go hand in hand with education that masks dont give you a free pass to see as many people as you want. You still need to strictly limit your contacts.

Public education messaging should make clear how to wear a mask safely to limit infection, van den Broek-Altenburg added.

In a second key finding, the study found that participants living environment determined how many contacts they had and affected their probability of becoming infected. A higher proportion of those living in apartments were infected with the virus compared with those who lived in single family homes.

If you live in an apartment, youre going to see more people on a daily basis than if you live in a single family home, so you need to be as vigilant about social distancing, van den Broek-Altenburg said.

The study controlled for profession to prevent essential workers, who by definition have more contacts and are usually required to wear masks, from skewing the results.

Its generally known that essential workers are at higher risk, and our study bore that out, van den Broek-Altenburg said. We wanted to see what else predicted that people were going to get sick, she said.

Reported cases in Chittenden County only one-fifth of likely total

The study provides the first estimate of unreported cases in Vermonts Chittenden County, where most study participants live. The survey found that 2.2 percent of the survey group had contracted the virus, suggesting that an estimated 3,621 Chittenden County residents were likely to have become ill, compared with just 662 reported cases, just 18%.

That figure translates to a hospitalization rate of 1.2% and adjusted infection fatality rate of 0.55%.

This finding is important for local policy-makers, van den Broek-Altenburg said.

If you know how many people are sick or have been sick, you're much better equipped to make precise predictions of will happen in the future and fashion the appropriate policies, she said.

It also shows the importance of serologic and PCR testing of the general population, she said.

If you only test symptomatic patients, youll never be able to find out how many people have already had the virus. With our random sample study we were able to show that Vermont has so far only tested less than one-fifth of the people who have likely had the virus. To capture the larger population, random samples of the population are needed so we can also capture asymptomatic patients, which appears to be the majority of COVID-19 cases.

The study is a proof of concept, van den Broek-Altenburg said. I hope it leads to other, larger studies that combine survey data with widespread testing. This approach is essential to both understanding the dynamics of this pandemic and planning our response to futures ones.

Ten of the 454 survey respondents who took the serologic test had antibodies for Covid-19, and one tested positive for the virus. Given the small number, researchers simplified their models and were able to reach a high confidence level in the two key findings.

We tested our models and found that the results were robust through several different model specifications, van den Broek-Altenburg said.

To create the study group, the researchers sent a survey to 12,000 randomly selected people between the ages 18 and 70 who had at least one primary care visit at the University of Vermont Medical Center, which services primarily northwestern Vermont, in the past three years.

Coauthors on the study include Eline van den Broek-Altenburg, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Department of Radiology; Adam Atherly, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Center for Health Services Research; Sean Diehl, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; Kelsey Gleason University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine; Victoria Hart, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine; Charles MacLean, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine; Daniel Barkhuff, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Emergency Department; Mark Levine, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Department of Medicine; Jan Carney, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Department of Medicine.

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UVM Study: Without right messaging, masks could lead to more COVID-19 spread - Vermont Biz

New York, Sept. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Precision Medicine Market: Focus on Ecosystem, Technology, Application, Country Data (21 Countries), and Competitive Landscape - Analysis and Forecast, 2020-2030" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05965013/?utm_source=GNW By Application: Cancer, Infectious Disease, Neurology, Cardiovascular, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology and Other Applications By Region: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Rest-of-the-World

Cross Segmentation

Applied Sciences: By Product, By Technology, By End User, By Region Precision Diagnostics: By Product, By Technology, By End User, By Region Precision Therapeutics: By Product, By Technology, By End User, By Region Digital Health and IT: By Product, By Technology, By End User, By Region

Regional Segmentation

North America: U.S. and Canada Europe: Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, and Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific: Japan, China, India, Australia, and Rest-of-Asia-Pacific Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, and Rest-of-Latin America Rest-of-the-World

Growth Drivers

Advancement of Sequencing Technologies Rising Prevalence of Chronic Diseases Growing Demand for Preventive Care Shifting the Significance in Medicine from Reaction to Prevention Reducing Adverse Drug Reactions Through Pharmacogenomics Test Potential to Reduce the Overall Healthcare Cost Across the Globe

Market Challenges

Unified Framework for Data Integration Limited Knowledge about Molecular Mechanism/ Interaction Lack of Robust Reimbursement Landscape Regulatory Hurdles

Market Opportunities

Targeted Gene Therapy Expansion into the Emerging Markets Collaborations and Partnerships Across Value Chain to Accelerate the Market Entry

Key Companies Profiled

Abbott Laboratories, Almac Group Ltd, Amgen Inc., ANGLE plc, Astellas Pharma Inc., Astra Zeneca PLC, ASURAGEN INC., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., bioMrieux SA., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Cardiff Oncology, CETICS Healthcare Technologies GmbH, Danaher Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Epic Sciences, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, GE Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Illumina, Inc., Intomics A/S, Johnson & Johnson Company, Konica Minolta, Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America, MDx Health, Inc., Menarini Silicon Biosystems, Inc., Merck KGaA, Myriad Genetics, Inc., Novartis AG, Oracle Corporation, Partek, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., QIAGEN N.V., Quest Diagnostics Inc, Randox Laboratories Ltd., Sanofi S.A., Sysmex Corporation, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.

Key Questions Answered in this Report: What are the estimated and projected numbers for the global precision medicine market for 2020 and 2030? What are the drivers, challenges, and opportunities that are influencing the dynamics of the market? What is the competition layout of the market? What are the parameters on which competition mapping is carried out in the study? Which key development strategies are being followed and implemented by major players to help them sustain in the market? How are different segments of the market expected to perform during the forecast period from 2020 to 2030? The segments included in the comprehensive market study are: o product type o region o technology o application Which leading players are currently dominating the marke,t and what is the expected future scenario? Which companies are anticipated to be highly disruptive in the future, and why? How can the changing dynamics of the market impact the market share of different players operating in the market? What are the strategic recommendations offered in the study?

Market Overview

Precision medicine refers to the medicine developed as per an individuals genetic profile.It provides guidance regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.

The segmentation of the population is done depending on the genome structure of the individuals and their compatibility with a specific drug molecule.In the precision medicine market, the application of molecular biology is to study the cause of a patients disease at the molecular level, so that target-based therapies or individualized therapies can be applied to cure the patients health-related problems.

This industry is gaining traction due to the increasing awareness about healthcare among individuals, integration of smart devices such as smartphones and tablets into healthcare, and increasing collaborations and agreements of IT firms with the diagnostics and biopharmaceutical companies for the development of precision diagnostic tools.

The current precision medicine market is mainly dominated by several majors, such as Abbott Laboratories, Almac Group Ltd, Amgen Inc., ANGLE plc, Astellas Pharma Inc, Astra Zeneca PLC, ASURAGEN INC., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., bioMrieux SA., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Cardiff Oncology, CETICS Healthcare Technologies GmbH, Danaher Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Epic Sciences, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, GE Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Illumina, Inc. Intomics A/S, and Johnson & Johnson Company, Konica Minolta, Inc.

Within the research report, the market is segmented on the basis of product type, ecosystem application, and region, which highlight value propositions and business models useful for industry leaders and stakeholders. The research also comprises country-level analysis, go-to-market strategies of leading players, future opportunities, among others, to detail the scope and provide 360-degree coverage of the domain.

Competitive Landscape Major players, such as Abbott Laboratories, Almac Group Ltd, Amgen Inc., ANGLE plc, Astellas Pharma Inc, Astra Zeneca PLC, ASURAGEN INC., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., bioMrieux SA., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Cardiff Oncology, CETICS Healthcare Technologies GmbH, Danaher Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Epic Sciences, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, GE Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Illumina, Inc., Intomics A/S, Johnson & Johnson Company, Konica Minolta, Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America MDx Health, Inc., Menarini Silicon Biosystems, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Myriad Genetics, Inc., Novartis AG., Oracle Corporation, Partek, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., QIAGEN N.V., Quest Diagnostics Inc., Randox Laboratories Ltd., Sanofi SA, Sysmex Corporation, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. including among others, led the number of key developments witnessed by the market. On the basis of region, North America is expected to retain a leading position throughout the forecast period 2020-2030, followed by Europe. Countries Covered North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany France Spain U.K. Italy Rest-of-Europe Asia-Pacific Japan China India Australia Rest-of-Asia-Pacific (RoAPAC) Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest-of-Latin America (RoLA) Rest-of-the-World Israel Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates South Africa RussiaRead the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05965013/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Originally posted here:
Global Precision Medicine Market: Focus on Ecosystem, Technology, Application, Country Data (21 Countries), and Competitive Landscape - Analysis and...

Photo credit: Cesar Carlevarino Aragon, via Unsplash.

Rocks dont care if they break. The very concepts of proofreading and repair imply accuracy for a purpose. In cells, complex multi-part machines find errors and fix them. Is this not evidence of intentionality and programming? As these new research papers show, the machines involved show exquisite craftsmanship and efficient action to keep other parts machines outside their own structural needs humming along.

How can they do that? How do they know? They bear an uncanny resemblance to surgeons or linemen that are trained as first responders to potentially catastrophic situations, and yet they work robotically in the dark without eyes or brains. Such things do not just appear by blind material processes. Proofreading and repair systems had to be operational from the beginning of life, because considering the lethal consequences without them, its hard to conceive of any primitive organism surviving, let alone progressing up an evolutionary ladder. Now, behold in wonder what is going on in our cells.

Before cells divide, billions of DNA base pairs must be precisely duplicated. About one time in 10 million, a wrong base is inserted into the copy. Researchers at North Carolina State University found genome guardians that stop and reel in DNA during this important operation. Two enzymes cooperate to proofread the copy. They halt the duplication when a mismatch is found until more machines can fix the error.

A pair of proteins known as MutS and MutL work together to initiate repair of these mismatches. MutS slides along the newly created side of the DNA strand after its replicated, proofreading it. When it finds a mismatch, it locks into place at the site of the error and recruits MutL to come and join it. MutL marks the newly formed DNA strand as defective and signals a different protein to gobble up the portion of the DNA containing the error. Then the nucleotide matching starts over, filling the gap again. The entire process reduces replication errors around a thousand-fold, serving as one of our bodys best defenses against genetic mutations that can lead to cancer. [Emphasis added.]

Well, is that not a tragedy for Darwin? Evolutionists need those mutations to build eyes and wings!

When cells divide, double-stranded breaks can occur. These are particularly dangerous, often associated with cancer. Medical researchers at University of Texas Health in San Antonio confirm that DNA repair requires multiple tools. Drs. Daley, Sung, and Burma at UT knew that the repair operation, called homologous recombination, is done by resection enzymes, but they were curious why so many different enzymes were involved. Why does the cell need three or four different enzymes that seem to accomplish the same task in repairing double-strand breaks? The perceived redundancy, they concluded, is really a very nave notion. Like a skilled workman, the cell maintains An array of tools, each one finely tuned.

Its like an engine mechanic who has a set of tools at his disposal, Dr. Sung said. The tool he uses depends on the issue that needs to be repaired. In like fashion, each DNA repair tool in our cells is designed to repair a distinctive type of break in our DNA.

Another type of error can occur when a gene is being transcribed. If RNA polymerase (RNAP, the transcribing machine) hits a lesion caused by UV radiation or some other mutagen, the transcription can stall. Thankfully, there is a programmed response called transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) that knows what to do. Thats a good thing, because faulty repair can lead to the severe neurological disorder Cockayne syndrome, characterized by microcephaly, delayed development, short stature, low weight gain, and numerous other problems like oversensitivity to sunlight, hearing loss, vision loss, severe tooth decay, bone abnormalities, hands and feet that are cold all the time, and changes in the brain that can be seen on brain scans (Genetics Home Reference).

Four researchers from Washington University, publishing in PNAS1, learned more about the poorly understood process of TC-NER, and revealed a plethora of molecular machines and factors involved. The initiation of TC-NER upon RNAP stalling requires specific factors, they begin. These factors respond rapidly to transcription-blocking DNA damage, binding to stalled RNAP to coordinate assembly of downstream NER factors. Moreover, the repair program must be able to handle a variety of situations. The technical details are too inscrutable for most readers to describe here (and this was about research on yeast!); suffice it to say that TC-NER is a well-choreographed, irreducibly complex process that, fortunately, works most of the time. Children with Type 2 Cockayne Syndrome may only live up to age 7 (NIH).

The cell has mechanisms for preventing errors, too. Research at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City has unraveled for the first time the three-dimensional structure and mechanism of a complex enzyme that protects cells from constant DNA damage, opening the door to discovery of new therapeutics for the treatment of chemotherapy-resistant cancers. They used cryo-electron microscopy to study DNA polymerase at a near-atomic level. This important enzymes architecture and mechanism have been a mystery to scientists for years. Could any primitive life-form get by without something like this?

DNA polymerase is the crucial enzyme that allows cells to battle the more than 100,000 DNA-damaging events that occur daily from normal metabolic activities and environmental intrusions like ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation, and industrial carcinogens. The Mount Sinai team, which included first author Radhika Malik, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacological Sciences, learned how the enzyme protects the cells from natural and manmade environmental as well cellular stresses through an intricate structure of four different proteins that connect to each other in a pentameric, or daisy chain-like, configuration.

Didnt the Darwinians tell us that UV light and ionizing radiation were sources of the building blocks of life and the mutations that nature can select to build humans from bacteria? No way. These findings are published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology2.

DNA bases on opposite strands connect via hydrogen bonds, but sometimes a protein interloper makes a bogus connection. Covalent cross-links between proteins and DNA are among the most hazardous types of DNA damage, says the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. Fortunately (again), theres an app for that.

Chemical lesions in the genetic material DNA can have catastrophic consequences for cells, and even for the organism concerned. This explains why the efficient identification and rapid repair of DNA damage is vital for survival. DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), which are formed when proteins are adventitiously attached to DNA, are particularly harmful. DPCs are removed by the action of a dedicated enzyme the protease SPRTN which cleaves the bond between the protein and the DNA.

DPCs can occur during natural metabolism or by contact with synthetic chemicals. SPRTN has a challenging job, they say, because it must be able to tackle a variety of situations; the enzyme has to be able to identify many different structures as aberrant. Its two domains must engage for it to recognize the error and fix it. Julian Stingele explains this fail-safe system:

One binds to double-stranded, and the other to single-stranded DNA. So the protein uses a modular system for substrate recognition. Only when both domains are engaged is the enzyme active and DNA in which double-stranded and single-stranded regions occur in close proximity is often found in the vicinity of crosslinks, says Stingele.

When this system isnt working properly, patients are subject to liver cancer and early aging.

We have just looked at five different types of errors that are repaired by five different systems of molecular machines. Each system must first recognize the error and then know what to do; otherwise, the consequences can be catastrophic. In each case, the machinery is well designed and finely tuned to solve the problem, and it does so rapidly and efficiently. That takes foresight, and foresight implies intelligent design. As Marcos Eberlin says in his book Foresight: How the Chemistry of Life Reveals Planning and Purpose, This act of anticipation foresight is not a characteristic of blind material processes. It is an act of intelligence, of a mind (p. 81).

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In Cells, Proofreading and Repair Testify to Intelligent Design and Foresight - Discovery Institute

While identifying new genetic targets and developing novel drugs is important for the future of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), more emphasis should be put on improving patient access to existing targeted treatments, according to Dr. Nathan A. Pennell.

In an interview with OncLive, CUREs sister publication, Pennell, an associate professor in thedepartment of medicine and director of the lung cancer medical oncology program at theTaussig Cancer Institute of Cleveland Clinic,spoke about current and emerging treatment options in NSCLC, including immunotherapy combinations and personalized treatments involving T cells.

But when it comes to the future, Pennell said, identifying targetable genetic alterations in patients and treating them with existing drugs should be a key area of focus.

Studies have shown that probably fewer than half of people with targetable genetic alterations in lung cancer are being identified and never receiving treatment for this, Pennell said, and I think before we move on to the next exciting drug or the next exciting marker, we should spend a little time making sure that every patient is identified and gets access to the treatments that we already have.

Transcription:

We've made such tremendous progress over the last decade. And just it seems like every year, new targets are emerging and new drugs are getting approved. And so, the speed with which we're moving from discovery to actually treating people has been staggering, and I hope that continues.

There continue to be very promising emerging biomarkers including KRAS mutations, again, HER2 mutations. There certainly is lots of room for improving the efficacy of immunotherapy, which can be tremendously life changing and potentially even curative in patients with metastatic disease. But unfortunately, it's only really working in a minority of patients and so lots of room to be improved in that.

I think combinations of immunotherapy and perhaps even more personalized immunotherapy, using T-cells that recognize individual patients tumors, may be the future for this, or personalized tumor vaccines.

But honestly, instead of just focusing on discovering new treatments and new targets, I think we should focus more on applying what we already know. So, we have tremendous treatments for patients with specific subgroups of lung cancer, but studies have shown that probably fewer than half of people with targetable genetic alterations in lung cancer are being identified and never receiving treatment for this. And I think before we move on to the next exciting drug or the next exciting marker, we should spend a little time making sure that every patient is identified and gets access to the treatments that we already have.

Link:
Personalized Medicine, Genetic Testing Could Shape the Future of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - Curetoday.com

3D printing or additive manufacturing has opened a new avenue in the personalized patient care. It is still a relatively emerging technology in the global healthcare industry. The market has seen vast potential in technologies that help surgeons and clinicians understand the complexity of the geometry of human organs and offer timely treatment. 3D printing is rising in clinical significance in printing organs that would be transplanted to the diseased populations, should other options be uncertain or exorbitantly costly. 3D-printed implantable organs will no longer be novelty but a necessity, paving way for lucrativeness of the healthcare 3D printing market. Another area where 3D printing is being utilized is printing of drugs and devices by pharmaceutical and medical companies, world over. The increasing trend of precision medicine and personalized treatments has fuelled the evolution of the healthcare 3D printing market.

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3D printing technology has helped clinician advance their patient care. New additive manufacturing technologies have acted as key accelerators of patient-specific model. Particularly, healthcare 3D printing will expand the armamentarium for surgeons to substantially expand their knowledge of patient specific anatomy of crucial lungs such as heart and lungs. The growing availability and affordability of 3D printing techniques will help carve out new avenues in the market. Advances in raw materials used, notably in hydrogel, has also catalyzed prospects in the healthcare 3D printing market. Researchers over the past few years have aimed at changing the consistency of 3D printing materials to make them more biologically adaptable as well as functional. This has also helped them to commercialize the printing process. The increasing shift to patient-specific care will increase the use cases of healthcare 3D printing around the world. New 3D printing technologies will pave way to transforming patient-provider relationship in the not-so-distant future. The use of implantable custom devices is a case in point.

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Global Healthcare 3D Printing Market: Overview

The global market for healthcare 3D printing has been rising on account of advancements in the field of medical research, testing, and analysis. 3D printing helps in developing archetypes and blueprints for objects and items, and this technique plays a key role in multiple industries. The use of 3D printing in the field of healthcare has overhauled the growth dynamics of the worldwide healthcare industry. 3D printing helps in development of organ simulations for testing, research, and analysis. Furthermore, the field of medical testing has also gained a strong impetus on account of advancements in the field of healthcare 3D printing. Considering these dynamics, it is safe to ascertain that the global healthcare 3D printing market would grow at a sound pace in the times to follow. The healthcare industry has emerged as the central element in determining the growth dynamics of a regional territory. This is another key driver of demand within the global market for healthcare 3D printing. Improved technologies for 3D printing shall persuade the healthcare fraternity to resort to its usage in the years to come.

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The global healthcare 3D printing can be segmented on the basis of the following parameters: North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The growth of the global healthcare 3D printing can be gauged with the help of the aforementioned segments.

A report added by Transparency Market Research (TMR) on the global healthcare 3D printing market is a holistic description of the forces of demand and supply. The report sheds light on the influence of various external forces on the global healthcare 3D printing market. Moreover, the regional segments within the global healthcare 3D printing market have also been enunciated therein. A list of the leading companies in the global healthcare 3D printing is also a part of the report.

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Global Healthcare 3D Printing Market: Trends and Opportunities

The presence of a stellar healthcare sector that focuses on development of models and archetypes for analysis and research has aided market growth. 3D printing helps in training of medical professionals and doctors with the help of simulated models of body parts. This factor has led to the increased usage of healthcare 3D printing across the world.3D printing also helps in performing knee and hip implants which is another key driver of demand within the global healthcare 3D printing market. There is little contention about the inflow of massive revenues in the global healthcare 3D printing market.

Global Healthcare 3D Printing Market: Market Potential

The global healthcare 3D printing market has generated a plethora of opportunities for improved research and testing within medicine. This factor has had a direct impact on the growth of the global healthcare 3D printing market. Furthermore, the need to develop close archetypes of key body parts such as lungs, heart, and spine has also generated demand within the global healthcare 3D market.

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Global Healthcare 3D Market: Regional Outlook

On the basis of geography, the global healthcare 3D printing market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The market for healthcare 3D printing in North America is projected to grow on account of advancements in the field of medical research and testing.

Global Healthcare 3D Market: Competitive Landscape

Some of the key vendors in the global healthcare 3D printing market are Bio-Rad Laboratories, SOLS, Organovo, Simbionix, RegenHU Ltd.,and Metamason.

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Healthcare 3D Printing Market: Increasing trend of precision medicine and personalized treatments has fuelled the evolution of the market - BioSpace

Personalized and precision medicines are exciting fields that focus on the development of treatment and prevention strategies for a single patient or patient group. The treatments are developed using cutting- edge technologies such as genomic sequencing and genetic engineering, helping to account for the individual variability in both patient and disease characteristics.

This has gained a lot of attention in recent years due to revolutionary breakthroughs in debilitating chronic diseases such as cancer. Traditionally, cancer patients are treated using one size fits all interventions like chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. These vary in their effectiveness and result in damage to healthy tissues.

Personalized and precision medicine, however, can offer specialized treatments that target the patients unique cancer subtype, its genetic mutations, and the affected tissues.

These therapies involve novel pathways and complex processes to aid and deliver treatment, making each therapy a service in its own right. They depend on many touchpoints, stakeholders, partnerships and interdependencies to treat patients.

As a result, designing suitable services to support patients, caregivers and healthcare providers throughout the treatment pathway is essential. However, doing so successfully depends on understanding how to best approach the design of services in this challenging landscape.

Optimizing the service behind the personalized and precision medicine is crucial for turning the treatment into a viable and differentiated option for patients. To make a real difference and ensure the therapy is competitive, we need to adopt a service design approach.

Service design is a multidisciplinary art and science that enables us to take a holistic view of the service experience, along with a deep understanding of the target groups, such as patients and healthcare professionals, and the context they operate in. This can include using empathic methodologies, such as in-depth interviews and field studies.

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the customers needs, how they experience the current service, and how future services address their unmet needs.

Involving different stakeholders throughout the design process to gain a wide range of knowledge and expertise, and to further drive customer-centricity across the business.

Using visual tools such as sketches, maps and prototypes to improve and ease communication and collaboration between the different stakeholders involved in the creative process (surpassing language and knowledge boundaries).

Following a learning-by-doing approach via continuous prototyping and testing to evaluate solutions before investing time and resources on development.

Understanding how the customer experiences the whole service journey and then identifying insight gaps and opportunities for service innovation by looking at the big picture.

Personalized and precision medicines are naturally patient-centered (compared to traditional pharmaceuticals), as the individual patient is central to the product design. Taking this empathic approach throughout the design process provides a deeper understanding of those needs as well as their context.

This means not only adopting collaborative thinking during the design phase but also during production and development.

To deliver these unique therapies to patients, pharmaceutical companies must partner with a wide range of specialized third parties including laboratories, manufacturers, shipping and storing providers.

Looking at the entire service and all of its touchpoints from above is crucial

By engaging with multidisciplinary teams from all levels across the organization, as well as numerous stakeholders during the co-creation process, you will increase the organizations knowledge and expertise, resulting in better and more fit-for-purpose solutions. Bring this sense of collaboration into the design process to encourage a higher level of consistency, placement and commitment to the patient and ensure they are at the center of the service philosophy.

Novel therapies require designers to be adaptive. New developments such as changes in the supply chain, shorter genomic sequencing process or the need for an additional quality assurance step, often lead to changes to the envisaged treatment pathway. As a result, it is necessary to have a view of the whole service, in one place, which can be continuously updated.

Visual tools such as customer journey maps and service blueprints are a core part of service design. Journey maps (such as the one featured on p.16) provide an overarching view of the customer experience, along with the pain points, gaps, unmet needs and opportunities for engagement. Service blueprints visualize the process behind the service and the people impacted by it. These tools not only make it easier to understand the service, but they can also help simplify communication and increase alignment between the many individuals engaged in the project.

For personalized and precision medicines, patient journeys and service blueprints can help capture the front-end of the service, which is visible to patients, and the back-end processes, which are used by healthcare professionals. This gives us insights into the interactions, touchpoints and relationships between the patient and various stakeholders, such as the different healthcare professionals, carers and patient groups. Looking at the entire service and all of its touchpoints from above is crucial for making improvements that enrich the customer experience.

CAR-T is a new individualized cancer immunotherapy that has taken precision medicine to a new level. In a nutshell, CAR-T therapy involves extracting T-cells (a type of white blood cells that play a key role in immune response) from the patient, genetically engineering them to target the cancer cells and infusing them back into the patients body.

The CAR-T treatment pathway for a blood cancer involves a uniquely large number of stakeholders, touchpoints and interdependent processes that take place both in the front-end (i.e. visible to the patient) and back-end (i.e. visible to healthcare professionals). Below is a high- level overview of a typical CAR-T journey that can illustrate this complexity:

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In the precision medicine era, the line between products and services is blurred - - pharmaphorum

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today ClinOne announced a strategic partnership with CQuentia to bring focused and personalized molecular testing to clinical trial patients. ClinOnes mission is to simplify and accelerate clinical trials for those conducting, participating in and benefiting from clinical studies in onsite, remote, and strictly virtual settings. Our goal is to increase patient access to life changing clinical trials, while continually analyzing operations and developing workflows and capabilities to minimize our clients costs, explains Rob Bohacs, ClinOnes CEO. Partnering with a laboratory such as CQuentia, provides a depth of diagnostic testing that expands ClinOnes offering and brings comprehensive lab solutions directly to the patients.

ClinOne continuously evaluates the market for innovative companies and products to add to its suite of e-clinical technologies. CQuentia is a thought leader in genomic testing and a natural fit, given their comprehensive COVID-19 testing capabilities offered at or near patients homes, explains Dr. Elizabeth Esterl, ClinOnes VP of Operations and Research.

CQuentia is a next-generation sequencing FDA CLIA laboratory and data service that brings a sophisticated precision medicine platform to ClinOnes suite of resources. Among the tests conducted by CQuentia and made available through ClinOne are COVID-19 RT-PCR and Antibody tests, Respiratory Pathogen Panel (RPP) and Pharmacogenomic testing (PGx). CQuentias testing improves the overall well-being of patients by reducing risk and enhancing safety protocols. Esterl explains that such actionable and customized clinical information aligns with our clients to expand virtual clinical trials, by enhancing screening, increasing enrollment and keeping participants actively engaged throughout the trial period.

What separates CQuentia from other testing laboratories is our platform agnostic approach to deliver solutions and our ability to create personalize client specific reports and alerts which plays to ClinOnes strengths and uniqueness as they bring mission-critical clinical study details to clients, research sites and patients. We are motivated by the change we can make in peoples lives through this collaboration, explains Alan Meeker, CQuentia CEO.

About ClinOne

ClinOne is a suite of technologies created to improve access to mission-critical clinical study details, manage research site workflow, and provide patients with a solution to manage the clinical trial journey. The companys sole mission is to simplify and accelerate clinical trials through a single, unified central clinical trial operating system between sponsors, research sites and patients. Today, 45 global sponsors and 2,000 research institutions across 55 countries rely on ClinOnes technology. For more information visit http://www.clinone.com.

About CQuentia

CQuentia is a privately-held molecular testing and sequencing laboratory, positioned to provide doctors, governments, hospitals, payers and employers with rapid, reliable results. CQuentia provides precision medicine, data banking and infection identification, thus enabling clients to make informed clinical decisions, improve outcomes and deliver overall value throughout the healthcare continuum. For more information please visit http://www.cquentia.com

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ClinOne Partners with CQuentia to Add COVID-19 and Comprehensive Precision Medicine Testing to Their Suite of Clinical Trial Operating Services and...