Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) said today it closed its acquisition of manufacturing assets from Neovasc‘s (NSDQ:NVCN) advanced biological tissue business, as well as picking up a 15% equity investment in the company, spending a total of $75 million on both. With the completed acquisition, Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific said it will integrate certain manufacturing assets and biologic […]
Regenerative Medicine
Bayer, Versant close $225m Series A to launch stem cell company
Bayer (ETR:BAYN) and Versant Ventures said today that the 2 groups closed a $225 million Series A financing round to launch BlueRock Therapeutics, a regenerative medicine company focused on developing induced pluripotent stem cell therapies. The funds are estimated to support the company for 4 years as it advances cell therapy clinical programs for cardiovascular and degenerative diseases. “Accessing […]
Researchers develop insulin-producing artificial beta cells
Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed artificial beta cells that can measure blood glucose concentration and respond by producing insulin. The team’s work was published this week in Science. The ETH researchers used the natural glucose transport proteins and potassium channels found in the membrane of human kidney cells and modified them with a voltage-dependent calcium channel, […]
InGeneron inks collaboration with German Accelerator Life Sciences
InGeneron said today that it landed a collaboration with the German Accelerator Life Sciences program, establishing an additional U.S. presence in Cambridge, Mass. The initiative is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs & Energy. The GALS program will provide InGeneron with a group of mentors to help leverage its network within the […]
Lab-grown bone shows 100% success rate in small, early study
Israel’s Bonus Biogroup (TLV:BONS) said today that it successfully injected its lab-grown, semi-liquid bone graft into the jaws of 11 people in an early stage clinical trial evaluating bone loss repair. The company is presenting its results at the International Conference on Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in Spain today. The material is grown in a lab from […]
Zimmer Biomet touts preliminary data for stem cell therapy
Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) touted data today from an investigational device exemption trial evaluating the use of autologous concentrated bone marrow aspirate for the treatment of critical limb ischemia. The stem cell study is the 1st pivotal trial of its kind to complete enrollment and a 1-year follow-up in a patient population that is ineligible for revascularization, […]
Sofregen buys Allergan’s Seri surgical scaffold
Sofregen Medical said today that it bought the Seri surgical scaffold from Allergan (NYSE:AGN) for an undisclosed amount. Polaris Partners and other investors provided financing for the acquisition, according to the Medford, Mass.-based company. Seri, which is approved by the FDA for use as soft tissue support in plastic and reconstructive surgical procedures, is the only approved […]
Stanford uses CRISPR to correct sickle cell, human trials planned
Researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have reportedly used CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, to repair the gene that causes sickle cell disease. The team is planning the 1st human clinical trial using this technique to correct cells with sickle cell disease, according to Reuters. “What we’ve finally shown is that we can do it. It’s […]
SanBio touts 1-year data on stem cell transplant for stroke
SanBio Inc. (TYO:4592) released 1-year interim data from the phase 1/2a, open-label, single-arm dose escalation study of its intracerebral stem cell implant designed for stroke patients. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company touted the results, which indicated that itsSB623 stem cell treatment was generally safe, well-tolerated and associated with improved motor functions in patients suffering with chronic impairment following […]
FDA OKs stem cell, gene therapy trial for ALS
The FDA approved a combination stem cell-gene therapy clinical trial to test the treatment’s ability to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It’s the 1st clinical trial to use neural stem cells to deliver a particular protein in the hopes of slowing ALS progression, according to researchers at the ALS clinic at Cedars-Sinai Medical […]
Anika’s pipeline & clinical data create steady growth in Q3
Shares in Anika Therapeutics (NSDQ:ANIK) rose yesterday after the company met expectations on Wall Street with its 3rd-quarter results. The Bedford, Mass.-based company posted profits of $8.9 million, or 59¢ per share, on sales of $25.8 million for the 3 months ended Sept. 30, for bottom-line growth of 6.8% on sales growth of 8.9% compared with the same period […]