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Showing posts with label Discovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discovery. Show all posts

From DNA To Diagnosis: USTAR Center For Genetic Discovery To Integrate Genome Data Into Patient Care

University of Utah Health Sciences Logo. (PRNewsFoto/Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah)jwplayer.key="2kY/GKwZ2uQZmDlQ9VYArfZt2b4+KhHX3+DM4zisgtE=";SALT LAKE CITY, March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery is partnering with California based Omicia, Inc, to make analyzing a patient's genome as routine as performing a blood test. The center, co-directed by Mark Yandell, Ph.D., and Gabor Marth, D.Sc., was launched this month with $6 million from the University of Utah and the state-funded Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative.

Compared to 10 years ago, sequencing the human genome has plummeted in cost by 1 million-fold and can be completed in a fraction of the time. Yet there are still barriers preventing DNA sequence information from routinely being incorporated into patient care.

"Current systems are not prepared for the increasing amounts of data we will be seeing within the next few years," said Marth, a computer scientist who was instrumental in the success of high profile projects such as the Human Genome Project, HapMap Project, and 1,000 Genomes Project. He relocated to the University of Utah from Boston College to apply his skills in a medical setting.

"At some point all of humanity will be sequenced, and potentially more than one genome per individual," he continued. Marth and Yandell will lead efforts to tame the big data to come not only from personal genomes, but also tumor genomes and "metagenomes" from infectious disease agents such as viruses and bacteria.

Knowing the DNA sequence of a cancer patient's tumor, for example, may reveal a personalized treatment plan for combating the disease. Pinpointing tiny sequence variations in personal genomes will expose inherited diseases that, in some cases, may be life-threatening.

"What we want to be able to do is help the kid who is born with a hard-to-diagnose genetic disorder," said Yandell. "Our genome interpretation tools will be able to identify that disorder and guide treatment."

Together with Omicia, Inc., the USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery is building a web accessible informatics platform, called Opal, to distill genome data to clinically relevant findings. Opal is powered by VAAST, a proven disease gene finder algorithm invented by Yandell. Launched less than two years ago, VAAST has successfully identified causes of inherited diseases, including hard-to-diagnose rare diseases, and is used at 251 institutions worldwide.

The USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery eventually anticipates commercializing its full suite of software tools, and becoming a top genomic health data service provider for medical centers nationwide.

Listen to an interview with Gabor Marth.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

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SOURCE University of Utah Health Sciences

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http://healthcare.utah.edu

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Inovio Pharmaceuticals CEO Receives 2013 Drug Discovery & Achievement Award

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PRNewsFoto/Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.)jwplayer.key="2kY/GKwZ2uQZmDlQ9VYArfZt2b4+KhHX3+DM4zisgtE=";BLUE BELL, Pa., Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: INO) announced today that its President & CEO, Dr. J. Joseph Kim, has been selected to receive the 2013 Achievement in Drug Discovery and Development Award from the Korean American Society in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals ("KASBP"). The Society aims to contribute to the growth of drug discovery and development through collaborations and information exchanges between U.S. and Korean pharmaceutical companies and research centers.

The award, sponsored by Daewoong Pharmaceuticals Inc., the leading Korean pharmaceutical company, recognizes Dr. Kim as one of the leaders in moving the field of DNA vaccines from theory to application and development. Dr. Kim founded VGX Pharmaceuticals, which through acquisition became Inovio, and is the leading biotech company advancing DNA vaccines toward commercialization. Inovio is revolutionizing vaccines and immunotherapies to prevent and treat cancers and challenging infectious diseases with products in Phase II development.

Jae-Hun Kim, Ph.D. of Merck Research Laboratories, the current KASBP President, said, "We are very pleased to present the award to Dr. Joseph Kim. The award committee recognized Dr. Kim's significant achievement for invention and development of the technology as a scientist and as a businessman."

Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President & CEO of Inovio Pharmaceuticals said, "This honor recognizes the work of countless scientists who, like me, have pursued the potential of DNA vaccines because we understand the paradigm-changing contribution that DNA vaccines will make to human health. At Inovio, we've shown clinical results that no other organization can match in generating T cells. We believe this technology will change the practice of medicine in treating cancer, HIV, hepatitis, malaria and other infectious diseases. I thank KASBP for this award and for their tireless work in building a bridge between the U.S. and Korea with a goal to advance drug discovery and development."

About the Korean American Society in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals ("KASBP")

The Korean American Society in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals ("KASBP") is a non-profit organization founded in May 2001. The current members include Korean-American professionals working throughout the U.S., mostly in the Biotech or Pharmaceutical field. The member profile includes not only professionals working in 100 pharmaceutical industries (BMS, Novartis, GSK, Merck, Sanofi, J&J, Pfizer, etc.), but also scientists in academics serving universities as faculty members, researchers, post-docs, or graduate students; as well as government employees in the FDA, NIH, and other local and federal government organizations. 

KASBP aims to promote scientific recognitions in the community, especially for drug discovery and development. KASBP's activities include annual symposiums to contribute to the advancement of drug discovery, development and other pharmaceutical technology in Korean and U.S. companies.  Through a collaboration and networking among the members in Biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies and government funded research centers; KASBP has been helping new drug discovery, technology transfer, drug development and commercialization by Korean companies in Korea and in the U.S markets. One important goal of KASBP is to identify and nurture young Korean-American researchers to become future leaders for Biotech and Pharmaceutical industries in Korea and the U.S. by awarding scholarships.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Inovio is revolutionizing vaccines to prevent and treat today's cancers and challenging infectious diseases. Its SynCon® vaccines, in combination with its proprietary electroporation delivery, are generating best-in-class immune responses, with therapeutic T-cell responses exceeding other technologies in terms of magnitude, breadth, and response rate. Human data to date have shown a favorable safety profile. Inovio's lead vaccine, a therapeutic against HPV-caused pre-cancers and cancers, is in phase II. Other phase I and preclinical programs target prostate, breast, and lung cancers as well as HIV, influenza, malaria and hepatitis. Partners and collaborators include Roche, the University of Pennsylvania, Merck, NIH, HIV Vaccines Trial Network, National Cancer Institute, U.S. Military HIV Research Program, University of Southampton, US Dept. of Homeland Security, University of Manitoba and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative. More information is available at www.inovio.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to our business, including our plans to develop electroporation-based drug and gene delivery technologies and DNA vaccines and our capital resources. Actual events or results may differ from the expectations set forth herein as a result of a number of factors, including uncertainties inherent in pre-clinical studies, clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to, the fact that pre-clinical and clinical results referenced in this release may not be indicative of results achievable in other trials or for other indications, that the studies or trials may not be successful or achieve the results desired, that pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may not commence or be completed in the time periods anticipated, that results from one study may not necessarily be reflected or supported by the results of other similar studies and that results from an animal study may not be indicative of results achievable in human studies), the availability of funding to support continuing research and studies in an effort to prove safety and efficacy of electroporation technology as a delivery mechanism or develop viable DNA vaccines, the adequacy of our capital resources, the availability or potential availability of alternative therapies or treatments for the conditions targeted by the company or its collaborators, including alternatives that may be more efficacious or cost-effective than any therapy or treatment that the company and its collaborators hope to develop, evaluation of potential opportunities, issues involving product liability, issues involving patents and whether they or licenses to them will provide the company with meaningful protection from others using the covered technologies, whether such proprietary rights are enforceable or defensible or infringe or allegedly infringe on rights of others or can withstand claims of invalidity and whether the company can finance or devote other significant resources that may be necessary to prosecute, protect or defend them, the level of corporate expenditures, assessments of the company's technology by potential corporate or other partners or collaborators, capital market conditions, the impact of government healthcare proposals and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, and other regulatory filings from time to time. There can be no assurance that any product in Inovio's pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured, that final results of clinical studies will be supportive of regulatory approvals required to market licensed products, or that any of the forward-looking information provided herein will be proven accurate.

CONTACTS:
Investors: Bernie Hertel, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, 858-410-3101 bhertel@inovio.com 
Media: Jeff Richardson, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, 267-440-4211, jrichardson@inovio.com

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SOURCE Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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Wellspring Biosciences Founder Publishes In Nature On Discovery of Small Molecule Inhibitors of K-Ras

Wellspring Biosciences LLC. (PRNewsFoto/Wellspring Biosciences LLC)jwplayer.key="2kY/GKwZ2uQZmDlQ9VYArfZt2b4+KhHX3+DM4zisgtE=";LA JOLLA, Calif., Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wellspring Biosciences, a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel drugs for the treatment of cancer, announced today a publication from Kevan Shokat, Ph.D., one of its founders and chairman of its scientific advisory board, in the journal Nature that describes the discovery of small molecules that bind irreversibly to a common oncogenic mutant, K-Ras G12C.

Ras genes are mutated in up to 30% of human cancers and are among the most important therapeutic targets in the treatment of human cancer.  Yet, to date, not a single drug that targets Ras proteins or acts on Ras-driven cancers has been developed successfully.  Indeed, tumors harboring Ras mutations are among the most difficult to treat and are excluded from treatment with many therapies.

Dr. Shokat serves as Professor and Chair in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF as well as Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  "We are extremely excited to find a druggable binding pocket on K-Ras, the most frequently mutated oncogene in human cancer" said Professor Shokat.  "Our findings can serve as the starting point for drug-discovery efforts targeting the G12C form of K-Ras and eventually other cancer causing alleles of K-Ras."

"The proto-oncogene K-Ras is mutated in a wide array of human cancers, most of which are aggressive and respond poorly to standard therapies," said Yi Liu, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Wellspring Biosciences.  "This represents one of the most promising approaches to target K-Ras yet reported, and we look forward to continuing to advance this exciting science in the potentially transformative area of drug development."

In February 2013, Wellspring Biosciences, through its affiliate Araxes Pharma, entered into an exclusive arrangement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. to develop first-in-class therapeutics against G12C K-Ras for the treatment of cancer.  Under the agreement, Araxes Pharma will advance the program through Phase I to clinical proof-of-concept.  Thereafter, Janssen has an option for the continued development and worldwide commercialization of products arising under the agreement.

The paper, titled "Inhibitors of K-Ras G12C allosterically control GTP affinity and effector interactions" was made available on November 20, 2013 in the advanced online publication of Nature at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12796.

About Wellspring Biosciences

Wellspring Biosciences LLC is a privately held, drug discovery and development company committed to creating breakthrough medicines for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases.  Our team has a proven track record, having previously played pivotal roles in the discovery of clinical-stage compounds for the treatment of cancer and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases at Intellikine.  Araxes Pharma LLC, an affiliate of Wellspring Biosciences, is engaged in an exclusive arrangement with Janssen Biotech, Inc.  Wellspring Biosciences is located in La Jolla, California.  For more information, please visit the company's website at www.wellspringbiosciences.com.

Contact: Anna Nadolski, 858-500-8803, anna@wellspringbiosciences.com

SOURCE Wellspring Biosciences LLC

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http://www.wellspringbiosciences.com

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