News: Innovative nanoparticle gene therapy system eliminates cancerous brain cells |
Despite decades of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy treaments for glioma, a cure for this life-threatening brain cancer has remained elusive. In a study published on the website of the journal ACS Nano, BME Associate Professor Jordan Green and other Johns Hopkins researchers have successfully used compound-filled biodegradable nanoparticles to effectively kill brain cancer cells — and extend survival in rats. The biodegradable nanoparticles filled with a DNA-encoded enzyme, herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSVtk), proved to be potent in killing brain cancer cells. When researchers combined this with the compound ganciclovir, the loaded nanoparticles were 100 percent effective at killing glioma cells grown in laboratory dishes. Read more... |
News: U.K. Parliament approves controversial three-parent mitochondrial gene therapy |
The United Kingdom’s House of Commons voted overwhelmingly today to allow British researchers to pursue a new fertility treatment that could prevent certain kinds of genetic diseases. The technique, called mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy, could allow women who carry disease-causing mutations in their mitochondrial genes to give birth to genetically related children free of mitochondrial disease. The measure, which passed 382 to 128, has been controversial, especially because it would alter the DNA of an embryo in a way that could be passed on to future generations. Some scientists and nongovernmental organizations have argued that not enough is known about possible side effects of the technique to go forward in human patients. “We believe the House of Commons has made a serious mistake, which we hope does not have dire consequences,” said Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, California, in a statement. Read more... |
Conference: 5th Biosimilars Conference 2015 |
The 5th Biosimilars conference is scheduled for March 3 to 5, 2015 in London. Three days of informative, scientific and business development presentations, workshops, 1 to 1 meetings , speed networking sessions and interactive corporate exhibition. Over 200 attendees representing leading pharmaceutical organisations and global biotechnology companies, and internationally renowned academic institutions.
Over 60 presentations, case studies, workshops and panel discussions focused on the key issues in follow-on biologics development and corporate business strategy 4 interactive streams: • Corporate Commercial Strategy and Business Development • Manufacturing Biosimilars and Biobetters • Patent and Legal Issues in the Development of Biosimilars • Future Biosimilar Market, Ecomonic Models , Financial Analysis and Big Data in Pharma.
Gene Therapy Net members can attended to 5th Biosimilar conference 3rd-5th March 2015 with discount. Only 4 discount tickets are available. Register and use the promotional code BS141.
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Conference: Annual Spring Symposium of the NVGCT |
The Spring Symposium of Netherlands Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (NVGCT) will take place from March 12 and 13, 2015 at congrescentrum de Werelt in Lunteren, The Netherlands. The final program is now available.
Key note speaker: Federico Mingozzi (Genethon, Paris, FR). Overcoming immune responses in AAV gene transfer for inherited diseases. Educational lectures: Jeffrey Beekman (UMCU) on CRISPR-CAS9 mediated gene editing of CFTR in intestinal organoids. Mihai Netea (RadboudUMC) on Trained Immunity: A memory for innated immune defence.
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Conference: 9th Australasian Gene Therapy Society Meeting |
The 9th Australasian Gene Therapy Society (AGCTS) meeting is scheduled for April 29 to May 1, 2015 in Melbourne. This is a must-do event for medical researchers and clinicians fascinated by the recent progress in gene therapy and stem cell biology. We are expecting over 200+ professionals in gene therapy, cell-based therapies, RNA therapeutics, biomarkers and related fields to attend.
The agenda will include internationally renowned speakers who will present cutting edge gene therapy trials on inherited and acquired genetic disorders, recent developments in viral and non-viral gene therapy vectors, novel oligonucleotide therapeutics and the latest in biomarker development.
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Conferences |
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26 - 28 February 2015, 211th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Gene Therapy (DG-GT e.V.), Vienna, Austria |
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12 - 13 March 2015, Spring Symposium of the Netherlands Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (NVGCT), Lunteren, The Netherlands |
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19 - 20 March 2015, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (SFTCG) Annual Congress, Paris, France |
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30 March - 3 April 2015, EMBO workshop: Modern DNA concepts and tools for safe gene transfer and modification, Evry, France |
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29 April – 1 May 2015, 9th Australasian Gene Therapy Society Meeting (AGTS), Melbourne, Australia |
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13 - 16 May 2015, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 18th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana |
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27 - 30 May 2015, International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) 21th Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV |
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9 - 11 June 2015, Annual conference of the British Society for Gene Therapy (BSGT), Glasgow, UK |
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13 - 16 June 2015, 9th International Conference on Oncolytic Virus Therapeutics, Boston, MA |
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21 - 26 June 2015, Gordon Research Conference: Virusses & Cells, Girona, Spain |
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24 – 26 July 2015, The 21th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Gene Therapy (JSGT), Osaka, Japan |
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10 – 12 August 2015, 4th International Conference and Exhibition on Cell & Gene Therapy, London, UK |
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17 – 20 September 2015, XXIII Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) and the Finnish Society of Gene Therapy, Helsinki, Finland |
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4 – 6 November 2015, 8th Congress of the Spanish Society of Gene (SETGyC) and Cell Therapy, San Sebastian, Spain |
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4 – 6 November 2015, ATMP 2015 - Issues and Challenges from Bench to Bedsite, Tutzing, Germany |
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18 – 20 November 2015, 14th Annual Gene Therapy Symposium for Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases, Sonoma, CA |
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March 2016, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (SFTCG) Annual Congress, Marseille, France |
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4 - 7 May 2016, American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 19th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC |
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28 – 30 July 2016, The 22th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Gene Therapy (JSGT), Venue to be determined, Japan |
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18 – 21 October 2016, XXIV Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) and the International Society for Stem Cell Research, Florence, Italy |
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