Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

In this podcast, Motley Fool senior analyst Fool Jim Gillies discusses:

Plus, Motley Fool producer Ricky Mulvey talks with best-selling author Blake Crouch about gene modification, as well as a future that may be closer than most people imagine.

To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on Sept. 28, 2022.

Chris Hill: We've got a closer look at Apple and a future that may be closer than you think. Motley Fool Money starts now. I'm Chris Hill, joining me today, Motley Fool senior analyst Jim Gillies, thanks for being here.

Jim Gillies: Thanks for inviting me.

Chris Hill: Apple has reportedly told suppliers to scrap pre-existing plans to increase production of the iPhone 14. According to a report in Bloomberg, demand for the new iPhones is not as high as previously anticipated. On a day when the overall market is up, Jim, shares of Apple are down more than 3% on this report. I think you and I had the same reaction to this news, it made us both smile.

Jim Gillies: It did. I will fully admit my reaction to Apple being down 3, 4% this morning on a production cut is, oh no, oh terrible. I'm being a little bit facetious of course, but the line from Battlestar Galactica, the reimagined seriesis, "All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again." I look at it a little bit like that. We have seen production shortfalls on prior Apple iPhone model or maybe the iPad wasn't selling as well as iPod. At one point I remember a couple of quarters where they blamed iPad for sales below what some analysts wanted. The stock gets smacked around. Then you take a longer-term, say 15 year. Go look at the 15-year stock chart because the iPhone was introduced in 2007-something. You're going to get one of the prettiest up into the rights you're ever going to see. I have very fond memories of the fourth-quarter of 2018. You may not remember off the top of your head, Chris, but I wrote a column about this in the last week of 2018 and I called it the column, the 2018, the year no one made money.

Because I went through and basically interest rates had gone up, so bond prices had gone down. I know interest rates not to the extent we're currently. Bonds went down, stocks went down, gold went down, silver went down, crypto went down. Of course here in Canada, the big news of 2018 was the legalization of marijuana. In 2018, pot stocks went down for Canadian. So in one of them were the bigger buy the rumor, sell the news style of investing events. Yet in the final quarter of 2018, where Apple suffered a profit warning, a slowdown of production warning much like this, I just smiled like you said, because you were staring at here is the preeminent cash-generating story of our generation. It was trading at 10 11times cash flow. Now, we are not trading, Fools, we are not trading at 11 times cash flow today. We are in fact trading at about 21 times free cash flow, which is decent, yet also probably not a multibagger.

In short order as it was in 2018 at 10 times cash flow, even today's price of Apple, is still well more than a triple if you were a buyer at the end of 2018, early January 2019, which is not bad for the largest publicly traded company in the world to have done in in just over three years. But yes, the 14, sounds like they are going to have less uptake than they perhaps thought they were. I'm still willing to bet, and I'm doing so with my own money. I'm willing to bet that five years from now, number of iPhones they're selling is higher. Five years from now, cash flow generating from it is higher and five years from now, the number of shares outstanding will be lower and the dividend will be higher. So the further it falls, I'm all flat out stated, I hope Apple, 4% is nothing, Chris, I want 24%. Knock Apple to it. Let's go.

Chris Hill: They're still aiming to produce 90 million phones, which is in line with what they produced last year. Not that I've seen a lot of this type of commentary this morning. But these are the situations where you will get some commentary in the financial media about the ripple effect for Apple's suppliers. Whenever I hear that, I just think, who do you think is in charge of this relationship? Do you think it's the suppliers or do you think it's the largest company in the world by market cap? I think it's Apple.

Jim Gillies: Yeah, go back to your, what is it? The Porter's five forces, the competitive analysis from business school. The bargaining power here, Apple has it firmly under lock and key. So there might be some ripple effects, but again, I think this is a case of what is your investing mindset. Boy, right now everything is really negative, almost crushingly so. Historically though, again, the end of 2018, Q4, I write an article in 2018, the year no one made money. Apple is a quadruple from the buyout price you were paying them. Again, it was a better relative valuation thing otherwise. But it is during times when the world sucks investing-wise, that you will make your best investments historically speaking. Now, look, have the rest of your financial life ideally together. If you're running around 50K in credit card debt, stay out of the investing world. If you're looking to buy a house, please keep that money nice and safe. Look, there's some things Putin's going a little squirrelly with his stuff. I don't have, what's a guy -- I don't have a meteorite plan, I don't have a specific plan for if something truly negative happens.

I'll deal with that on that day because I don't care what your emergency fund or how much cash you have set or how you have your financial life set up. If Putin launches a broader war in Europe, we will deal with that when it comes. But in the, assuming that the crazy volatile world of the stock market is, as it ever has been with alternating periods of despair and euphoria, we are in one of the former right now. Certainly, the markets are not happy. I'm just going to say, if you've got cash on the sidelines at a time when the markets are not happy, when the news is almost overwhelmingly pessimistic, that is a great time to start adding to your investments, even if you're just an index fund investor. Especially if you got a free trading account, dribble some money in the index funds, find some companies that you know and you like, you're willing to hold for five years. I am an Apple shareholder. I have added to Apple many times over the years. We'll see where I am in terms of how far this goes down and if I have a window that I'm allowed to trade and maybe I'll add. But these are the times you want to be an investor, even though it doesn't feel like it.

Chris Hill: Jim Gillies, always great talking to you. Thanks for being here.

Jim Gillies: Thank you.

Chris Hill: When we want to talk about the future, we like to check in with industry analysts, but sometimes we like to mix it up and talk with a science fiction writer. That's where the motley part of our show comes in. Ricky Mulvey caught up with Blake Crouch, author of Upgrade, a sci-fi thriller about gene modification that's set in the near future. While he writes about science fiction, Crouch believes this story is about a future that is actually very close.

Ricky Mulvey: Writing a book takes years, you've been involved in dark matter in some capacity, I believe, since 2014, so why take the dive into genetic engineering, CRISPR, or in your book, Scythe?

Blake Crouch: Well, what I've been doing lately with my work realized recently is taking well-worn sci-fi tropes and putting my spin on them. There's been no scarcity of multiverse stories since sci-fi started getting written or time-travel stories, which Recursion basically is. The big next one for me seem to be genetic engineering. What else is more relevant to the times that we're living in what it means to be human? That's what I'm looking for when I start thinking about what my next book might be is what is this: A, something that genre may have done, things that's done well, and B, what is the emerging tech that is relevant to our lives in our world right now. Nothing seems more relevant to me than the gene modification potential that CRISPR affords us.

Ricky Mulvey: In my mind it's straight, it is a phase change for humanity in line with what the atom bomb and the internet. Do you see it in a similar way? Is that why it's more relevant to you than most other topic?

Blake Crouch: Not similar. Unless we end up destroying ourselves with nuclear weapons, which is entirely possible, CRISPR genetic modification maybe not in our lifetime, but maybe in our lifetime is the greatest invention of humanity, period. There's literally nothing. What's bigger? It's wizardry, it's rewriting our own DNA. It's magic.

Ricky Mulvey: You've mentioned in other podcasts that you see two paths for genetic engineering and your book touches on it. What do you think those two paths are and how do you think we avoid the darker one?

Blake Crouch: We avoid the darker one by talking about it, by making the public aware of it. When this book really started, when I was doing some press for Dark Matter and I was on Science Friday and said he knew what my next book should be and he was like have you heard of CRISPR? I'd heard of it, but I really didn't have a full awareness of what it was and this would have been back in 2016. I definitely didn't have enough of an awareness to try to just wing it on Sci Fri.I think that a lot of people still don't really know what it is. I think your average person. "Yeah, it's like gene modification, it's like what they do in the movie sometimes, it's like limitless."

I think it is a real responsibility of scientists, of tastemakers, of entertainers to help educate the public about this stuff because there's such a distrust from the masses I think right now with regards to scientists. I think some of that is the hangover from the way that COVID was rolled out. I understand why it was rolled out that way. I don't think it was a conspiracy, I think it was an evolving situation. People had no idea what was happening and they were reacting in real time. But the public wants science to be exact and accurate and I think there's a little bit of a distrust there. I think that the public needs to be made aware that this technology exists that right now we can edit, it's technically illegal. Embryos can be edited right now. It's highly illegal, but it can happen. This exists.

Ricky Mulvey: It's already happened. Scientists in China, I believe, edited embryos to essentially be less susceptible to getting HIV.

Blake Crouch: Exactly. Successfully and it also weirdly lowers the longevity. People aren't sure why, but that's the thing. You get an added benefit but there is a takeaway and what these are we don't know. It's not one-to-one, it's so unbelievably complicated.

Ricky Mulvey: You researched genetic engineering quite a bit and it is, there is a heaviness with talking about it that makes it intimidating. You worked with a scientist named Michael Wiles. From my understanding, he really pushed you to even go further with what CRISPR could do. How did he do that? What were your conversations with him like?

Blake Crouch: I've had subject matter experts on all my books, but I've never needed one so much and so involved as with this one because the sciences and you punch in and out of it, it's on every page. I would send them a manuscript he would redline it. What I would basically say is, "Hey, this is what I want to happen." Here's the thing. When you're a writer and you want professional scientists to weigh in your stuff, typically what they do is they try to pull you back because they want it to be accurate, they don't want you to break the test tubes. But the stuff with CRISPR is so potential laden and I found the complete opposite was the case here. Dr. Wiles was always like, "Oh, let's go bigger here. Oh no, it could actually do this." The things I didn't even realize we're already doing. It was the complete opposite of almost every other experience I've had.

Ricky Mulvey: There's possibilities where we have tiny pink gorillas, we can change our bone density possibly with CRISPR. You can even edit genes essentially to replace painkillers, to edit the sense of the pain we feel. That's the one where I see the second-order effects being particularly optimistic and dangerous.

Blake Crouch: Yes.

Ricky Mulvey: What are some of the possibilities right now from CRISPR that we're close to that you're excited about or that you're mixed on? That might be a better way of putting it.

Blake Crouch: Well, I'm really excited about the cancer treatments. I think that's hugely exciting. It's obviously a horrific disease and if that could be targeted not through chemo which often kills the subjects as much as what we're trying to eradicate. That could be a massive win and it could also be a win that gives the public a comfort level with this technology. There's still a huge backlash against like GMOs. There's a real hurdle to overcome. We can't even agree to eradicate polio still apparently. You're going to sell the public on rewriting their DNA you can imagine the conspiracy memes that are going to emerge out of this. I think knocking down cancer will be a huge win.

Ricky Mulvey: For me, it would be through epigenetics as my understanding, but you can affect the way that one experiences pain. The clinical application of that would be, hey, let's say you have a surgery. We're going to make a temporary change to your genome so you don't feel pain and then that way we don't have to prescribe you painkillers.

Blake Crouch: That's right.

Ricky Mulvey: The optimistic river of that is that, great, fewer opioids. But there's also the pessimistic part of my mind is that now you have a way of making it so people don't feel pain. I think there might be second-order effects to that that we don't know and what we don't know is what scares me about that. When you hear about a lot of these applications, I was wondering if there was one that was sticking in your mind where you felt extraordinarily mixed on.

Blake Crouch: I'm mixed on all of it because the human genome is such a miracle of complexity. It literally adapted over billions of years to combat external stimuli to survive and to work as a system. It would be us going into the source code of something like the Call of Duty and just changing a few of those ones and zeros, it's not like that, it's not actually ones and zeros. But for the metaphor, I'll go with it. The whole thing just crashes because it's so interconnected. Gene systems are not one-to-one, there's not a pain gene that we can just up or down regulate. It's 40 or 50 or 800 different genes and gene networks all working together to regulate how we experience it. The thing that's really holding us back at this point from truly mastering genome manipulation is really processing power because you need a computer. The same time we have a computer that's powerful enough to really game out our genome and to map genotype to the way it expresses. At that point, you will also have the computing power probably to solve all other things and probably invent super intelligence. It's going to be like a threshold moment.

Ricky Mulvey: Well, I think it's not just processing power, it's also stakes in the case of a lot of CRISPR treatments, you're making a permanent change to one's genome. It's not like you get a do-over I think if you screw up.

Blake Crouch: That's right. Well, there's a couple of layers of editing and the one that's really off-limits is embryonic, it's like editing human zygotes. But that's where the changes are much easier to make and much more long-lasting, to do somatic changes to adults. It's adult specimens. It's really difficult, we're already well on down the path. Yes, some things can be changed but I never read terrible sci-fi, "Oh, we're using gene modification to change the way our face looks." That's actually not the way it works. A lot of times when these experimental gene therapies are attempted out at the somatic level, there are millions of unintended consequences. Again, just complexity. We are far more complex than the most advanced quantum annealing processor that exists out there. We're a biological machine and we definitely don't have the expertise or the understanding to know how each gene system truly expresses in what we see when we we're walking around looking at our fellow human beings.

Ricky Mulvey: You and John Scholes, you have something in common when you write about fake meat in the future and that's that it's never going to taste as good as the real thing. Is that artistic license on your part or do you not imagine a future where let's say a lab-grown steak passes the meat Turing test?

Blake Crouch: The meat Turing test, I love that. I don't know, maybe it will be proved wrong, but I think it's like the uncanny valley of tastes. It's not going to taste exactly the same, I just feel like it won't. I don't feel like it's going to be the matrix when Neo is sitting there, not Neo, but the guy who turns and say, I can't tell. I know it's different but I know it's not real but just tastes through. I just don't think that's going to happen but who knows?

Ricky Mulvey: Blake Crouch, his day job, he writes philosophical thrillers. His latest book is Upgrade. Thank you for coming on Motley Fool Money.

Blake Crouch: Thanks so much, everyone.

Chris Hill: As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. I'm Chris Hill, thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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Making Sense of the Latest Apple-iPhone News - The Motley Fool

Gene and cell-based treatment is promising solutions for the control and cure of some chronic and life-threatening diseases such as sickle-cell disease (SCD), haemophilia, blood cancers, and HIV. Most of the current gene therapy clinical trials on SCD and HIV are conducted in North America.The treatment is either by using someone elses cells or those of the patient. Gene therapy, also called genetic engineering, involves getting ones cells (a patient), improving them either by enhancing them to fight disease or as a replacement for the diseased cells and using them to treat the disease.

Unlike in agriculture where a lot of the genetic engineering is on seed, Dr Cissy Kityo, the executive director at Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) says in medicine, the human seed (ova or sperm) or the embryo is not touched.Its not about engineering custom humans as this has no current ethical basis. Therefore, it presents a new treatment paradigm, Dr Kityo says.

Gene therapy is administered once in a lifetime. Therefore, for someone with HIV, that eliminates the burden of taking ARTs. It also has the potential to save the overall healthcare cost and increase the individuals productivity.Research is ongoing to ensure this treatment is effective, safe, and free from off-target effects and any contamination.

The processDr Francis Ssali, the deputy executive director in charge of clinical care and research at JCRC, says genetic modification involves a series of processes, the first of which is to collect specialised white blood cells called T-cells and blood-forming stem cells from the patients blood.These cells are then taken to a clean medical laboratory where they are counted, checked for viability, and purified. Thereafter, the gene to correct the disease is inserted into these cells and this is done by either using special enzymes called CRISPR or by the use of self-inactivating partial viruses called Lentiviral vectors. The lentiviral vector delivers the required gene into the cells without resulting in viral infection in the patients cells, he says.

The process of introducing the corrective gene into the patients cell is called transduction and it can take between four to seven days to perform in the laboratory. Once the cells have received this gene modification, they are checked for quality and safety before they are ready for reinfusion back into the patient.In some instances, the patient is given medical treatment to enable them to receive the gene therapy cells, he adds.However, Dr Ssali says the current approaches to gene-therapy cell manufacturing are labour intensive and take a relatively long time to prepare, and require a large clean laboratory space.

Thankfully, there are newer laboratory instruments that can automate this genetic engineering work in a single closed instrument, with efficiency, he says.Uganda has 1.4 million people living with HIV and 400,000 people living with sickle cells yet adherence to medicine is inconsistent for some.Some HIV-resistant viral variants have emerged which threaten the efficacy of the treatment programme. As such, genetic engineering will be a blessing.Globally, the first-generation cure trials for HIV were done, second-generation trials are coming up and there is hope that soon a short-term cure will be got.

Ugandan perspectiveIn Uganda, Dr Ssali says the hope is that by 2030, Uganda will have controlled HIV/Aids greatly and also contributed to finding a functional cure.Dr Kityo says JCRC hopes to start HIV gene therapy trials in Uganda in 2024.The other focus is technology transfer where these gene therapy products are produced where they are needed, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively. That is why there will be more compact systems rather than the large labs, she adds.

In Africa, Uganda ranks fifth among countries with sickle cell disease and whereas bone-marrow transplants can cure SCD, only 10 percent of the eligible patients can get a matched donor. Nonetheless, with gene therapy, this will not be an issue since the patients own cells are used.Thankfully, the current gene therapy treatment technologies for HIV are the same used in sickle cell cure research. That is why preparing to address HIV also works to tackle the sickle cell disease, Dr Kityo says.

The joint Clinical Research Centre is working towards building the research teams and creating the necessary infrastructure for this novel research and clinical care. Arthur Makara, the coordinator of Uganda Biotechnology and Biosafety Consortium, calls for several partnerships because even when JCRC creates these technologies, they need help to mass produce them for a bigger population. Gene therapy only works on an individual, not on the sperm or ovary. Therefore, Dr Kityo says even after treatment, a sickle cell patient will still have sickle cell gene but normal cells in their marrow and live a normal life.

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Gene therapy brings hope to people with sickle cell, HIV - Monitor

VIRCA Plus Products KALRO Mtwapa Hannington Obiero(right) showing a section of stakeholders a cassava plantation that is in the trial field at KALRO Mtwapa. The Genetically Modified cassavas will be resistant to Cassava Mosaic Disease and Cassava brown stick disease that are a threat to the crop. [Maureen Ongala, Standard]

After 10 long years of battle between proponents and opponents of Genetically Modified (GM) crops, the government finally lifted the ban on GM organisms (GMO). In doing this, it okayed cultivation and importation offood crops and animal feeds produced through biotechnology.

This is a huge success for individuals and organisations who have been lobbying for lifting of the ban. Barely two weeks ago, in an educational workshop on agricultural biotechnology, stakeholders from Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA) called for swift government intervention that would boost feed production and save livestock from starvation.

Kenya has had an overreliance on white maize, which is in short supply, for use in production of both animal feed and human food. As a debilitating drought rages on, putting the lives of millions of Kenyans at risk. Tens of thousands of livestock have also perished.

After feeds manufacturers complained they could not access non-GM yellow maize in the market, the government, in June 2022, allowed 26 companies to import yellow maize that is 99.1 per centnon-GM. This also proved difficult to find in the market. Animal feed continued to be scarce, with GM imports banned.

They remained optimistic that the new government would give a greenlight to import and use GM products, as they saw President William Ruto, a scientist who understands these things and expected him to do what his predecessor(s) did not. And he did just that.

Richard Oduor, a Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology currently serving at Kenyatta University as Director, Research Support and Dissemination said Dr Ruto is a scientist who had pronounced himself very positively to this technology and on that the ban would be lifted a few years ago. And on October 3, 2022. So today, we will breakdown all things GMO.

What is GMO?

Agenetically modified organism (GMO)is an animal, plant ormicrobewhose genetic makeuphas been influenced using genetic engineeringtechniques. Genes, made up of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid), a set of instructions that determine cell growth, division and development, can be altered.

In conventional breeding, genes from two organisms mix, creating an organism that carries the characteristics of the two parent organisms. GMOs are manufactured in a more targeted way where, in a lab, genes can be inserted into the nucleus of cells of the organisms that need the modification to pass certain characteristics aimed at making the new organism better than the original one.

The modified cell will grow and divide, withthe resulting new cells adopting the specialised functions as contained in the inserted gene. All of the organisms cells in the regenerated plant contain that new gene.

Why the resistance to GMO?

In September 2012, French molecular biologist Gilles-Eric Seralini published a research in the journalFood and Chemical Toxicology. Christened Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. The research was widely disputed and was, consequently, retracted on November 28, 2013, due tostrongcriticismfrom the scientific community.

The article claimed that rats fed Roundup-resistant GM maize for two years had a higher percentage of tumours and kidney and liver damage than normal controls. The author attributed these results to the endocrine-disrupting effects of Roundup and the metabolic impact of consumption of the transgene in GM maize.

Even as many scientists faulted the research, including in an argument that the research was severely flawed on methodological and ethical grounds, fears of cancerous effects of genetically modified crops persisted. Countries quickly banned GM crops but some later dropped the ban.

How did Kenya react?

In November 2012, President Mwai Kibaki banned GM foods after Public Health minister Beth Mugo raised safety concerns. Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) had raised a concern on the potential cancerous effects of consumption of GM crops. Some experts say it was a knee-jerk, and emotional, reaction. The ban, however, stuck for nearly 10 years.

What has the authorities been doing about GM crops in Kenya?

Meanwhile, National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has approved a number of projects for contained use trials (research) that include bacterial-wilt-disease-resistant banana, insect-resistant pigeon pea, stress-tolerant cassava, nematode-resistant and virus-resistant yam, among others.

For confined-use trial, most of it being carried out at various Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation centres, NBA has approved water-efficient/drought tolerant transgenic maize at Kiboko, virus-resistant transgenic Cassava at Alupe, vitamin-A-enhanced cassava at Alupe, Bio-fortified sorghum at Kiboko and virus- resistant cassava at Mtwapa.

For imports and transits, the authority has approved genetically modified products for importation and transboundary movement through Kenya for humanitarian assistance and relief supplies. These include: insect-resistant/herbicide-tolerant corn soya blend and insect-resistant/herbicide-tolerant maize meal.

What benefit does the country get from lifting GMO?

GMO crops are made to be pest, disease and/or drought resistant. This alleviates food shortages. The crops also grow faster, and are made to be of superior quality. Prof Oduor says GMOs are not a silver bullet but a complementary measure to ensure better food security.

There is no non-GM insulin, yet people use it without complaining. Many solutions to many conditions are out of genetic modification, he says.

How many countries in Africa grow GM crops?

According to Prof Oduor, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Malawi, E-swatini and South Africa do not have a ban on growing of GM crops. Egypt backtracked after having been one of the first countries to favour GMOs, while Burkina Faso abandoned Bt cotton farming due to shorter fibre lint and ginning machines extracting proportionally less lint from harvested cotton bolls.

Why did Kenya government lift ban?

The decision, according to dispatch from the Cabinet, was reached in accordance with the recommendation of the Taskforce to Review Matters Relating to Genetically Modified Foods and Food Safety, and in fidelity with the guidelines of the NBA on all applicable international treaties including the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB).

In accordance with the recommendation of the Task Force to Review Matters Relating to Genetically Modified Foods and Food Safety, and in fidelity with the guidelines of the National Biosafety Authority on all applicable international treaties including the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), Cabinet vacated its earlier decision of November 8, 2012 prohibiting the opencultivationof genetically modified crops and theimportationof food crops and animal feeds produced through biotechnology innovations; effectivelyliftingthebanon Genetically Modified Crops. By dint of the executive action opencultivationandimportationof White (GMO) Maize is now authorised, read the statement.

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Century Therapeutics, Inc.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Therapeutics(NASDAQ: IPSC), an innovative biotechnology company developing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies in immuno-oncology, today announced that preclinical data from the Companys iPSC-based cell therapy platform will be presented in two posters at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 37th Annual Meeting, on November 8-12, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Details of the poster presentations are as follows:

Abstract Number:265Title:Empowering iPSC-Derived iNK Cells with Multiple Gene Edits to Improve Persistence and Anti-Tumor EfficacySession Date: Thursday, November 10, 2022Session Time:9:00 AM ET 9:00 PM ETPresenter:Buddha Gurung, PhD, Director, Cell Engineering, Century Therapeutics

Abstract Number:262Title:Multiple Targeting of Solid Tumors with iPSC-derived Gamma Delta CAR T Cells in Combination with Therapeutic Antibodies Session Date: Friday, November 11, 2022Session Time:9:00 AM ET 8:30 PM ETPresenter:Hillary Millar Quinn, Director, In Vivo Pharmacology, Century Therapeutics

About Century TherapeuticsCentury Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IPSC) is harnessing the power of adult stem cells to develop curative cell therapy products for cancer that we believe will allow us to overcome the limitations of first-generation cell therapies. Our genetically engineered, iPSC-derived iNK and iT cell product candidates are designed to specifically target hematologic and solid tumor cancers. We are leveraging our expertise in cellular reprogramming, genetic engineering, and manufacturing to develop therapies with the potential to overcome many of the challenges inherent to cell therapy and provide a significant advantage over existing cell therapy technologies. We believe our commitment to developing off-the-shelf cell therapies will expand patient access and provide an unparalleled opportunity to advance the course of cancer care. For more information on Century Therapeutics please visit http://www.centurytx.com.

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Century Therapeutics Forward-Looking StatementThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of, and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of, The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as may, might, will, should, expect, plan, aim, seek, anticipate, could, intend, target, project, contemplate, believe, estimate, predict, forecast, potential or continue or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance These risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Risk Factors section of our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at http://www.sec.gov. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

For More Information:Company: Elizabeth Krutoholow investor.relations@centurytx.comInvestors: Melissa Forst/Maghan Meyers century@argotpartners.comMedia: Joshua R. Mansbach century@argotpartners.com

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Century Therapeutics to Present at the SITC 37th Annual Meeting - Yahoo Finance

At around 7 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2020, three young adults and their teacher gathered for dinner at the restaurant of the swank 1880 club in Singapore. They ordered chicken and waffles and, on the side, chicken baos. History Made, proclaimed the menus, because those diners had eaten the worldsfirst portions of chicken meat manufactured from cells, rather than slain birds.

The location was unlikely, but no accident. After a California-based start-up, Eat Just, succeeded in cultivating chicken meat from cells, it chose Esco Aster, a Singapore-based synthetic biology (syn-bio) contract manufacturing company, to manufacture cultivated chicken nuggets andbreasts as well as shredded chicken. Then the Singapore Food Authority (SFA) gave Eat Justpermissiontoproduce small batches of cultured cells in Esco Asters food-safe bioreactors, and to sell the products locally once they had met its stringent food safety criteria. Thus, the SFAbecame theworlds first regulatory authorityto approve the sale of cultured chicken meat.

Unlikeother nations, Singapore is wooing syn-bio start-ups across the world to make the city their home base.In addition to cell-basedmeats, the government is catalyzing the manufacture of proteins from plants, algae, and fungi. Ithas set up aFuture Ready Food Safety Hubto help companies navigate its approvals process, and to speed up the launch of bio-engineered products.

Over two dozen syn-bio food companiessuch as Shiok Meats, which recently launchedthe worlds first lab-grown crab and shrimp meatshave set up shop in Singapore. Thus, the city-state, which has hardly any farmland or livestock, plans to scale new technologies tomeet its goal of producing30% of its food locally by 2030, and boost economic growth by turning intoone of the worlds firstand biggestcultivated meat exporters.

Singapore may be showing the way, but most countries, unaware of the potential of syn-bio, havent put the emergent industry at the top of their policy agendas. As a result, the syn-bio industrys growth may be getting stymied. For instance, several forecasts in 2020 suggested that cultivated meat was likely to grow into a$150 billion segmentby the end of this decade, and account for around 10% of the global meat market. Two years later, that seems unlikely, not because the technologys development has slowed but because governments have been slow to legislate, regulate, and foster the industry.

Its shocking because syn-bio products have several advantages over conventional ones. Theyre sustainable, using little, or no, water, land, or carbon-emitting materialsand much less that most traditional livestock. They promise to make humanhealth better, with new syn-bio therapies likely to vanquish many diseases. And novel products, such as soil-nourishing bacteria, will help boost agriculturalproduction manifold. In fact, the technology offers governments the ability todecouple economiesfrom global supply chains, andreduce their dependence on raw material imports.

Syn-bio is clearly the next growthfrontier, sodeveloping suitable policies will be critical to unlock its benefits. According to aBCG study,syn-bio technologiescould reshape industries that will account for nearly a third of global GDP by 2030 if governments develop the appropriate regulations and rules. Moreover, as Singapore has shown, creating the conditions in which syn-bio start-ups will flourish isnt solely the prerogative of large, industrialized countries.

Although eachnations starting point will differ, every government must tackle challenges on three fronts to benefit from syn-bio.

Governments must, first and foremost, invest in advancing nations and companies knowledge of synthetic biology, much of which is still uncharted territory. As theU.S. recently did, countries can orchestrate syn-bio research by announcing formal policies, creating budgets, and setting up national agencies to spearhead the process.

Policymakers should focus on gathering and synthesizing scientific and technical knowledge by funding basic research programs; creating R&D facilities; and catalyzing the creation of graduate and post-graduate education programs in universities and colleges. One key objective should be to create talent for applied areassuch as bioreactor builders and fermentation specialistsso that they develop efficient microorganisms that use second-generation feedstock, such as organic waste, rather than processed sugars. Another priority should be to create computing resources, in terms of people and processing power, because the amount of biological data available is fast outpacing countries processing capabilities.

Apart from creating national repositories of scientific knowledge that any individual or institution can access, governments must push for the development of open standards and protocols to facilitate knowledge dissemination. They must create trusted data-sharing platforms and partner with institutions such asiGEMandBioBricks, which have developed the Get & Give philosophy and established standards for syn-bio parts to ensure their interoperability. For instance, Googles DeepMind and its A.I.,Alpha Fold, in tandem with a European intergovernmental organization, recently made public the structures of nearly all the proteins known to science.

Nations that are starting out on syn-bio quests must harness international forums and open platforms to move up the learning curve. Syn-bio research is becoming global; in 2022, iGEMs well-known syn-bio competition saw46 countries participating, 50% of which were developing countriestwice as many as a decade ago.

Second, policymakers must support business scaling of syn-bio applications,stipulating design-to-cost milestones to ensure that the efforts develop applications that will make an impact. A recentBCG study, for instance, projected when different industries are likely to be affected by syn-bio technologies. Governments must monitor the maturity of these emerging technologies by tracking cost and scale tipping points, and develop funding roadmaps that will help grow them to commercial scale.

Co-ordination can maintain the design-to-cost focus from the get-go, and help overcome the hurdles in the way of the commercialization of syn-bio technologies. Dont forget, only a few microbes such asE. coliand common yeast have been produced at scale. Others, such as mammalian cells, havent reached that stageyet.

Because syn-bio technologies dont scale linearly, engineering and development will be crucial to make it possible. Governments must use multilateral forums to forge connections between local and global stakeholders, and use technical collaborations to reduce knowledge gaps.

Countries trying to catch up should nurture the capabilities to develop applications that have commercial precedents, such as bio-catalysts and bio-chemicals. They best ways of doing that are to both orchestrate cross-border joint ventures and technology transfers, and intensify research efforts at home. Governments would be wise to attract global investments in late-stage startups, so the latter can scale and wont need to be acquired by multinational giants.

In most countries, incubators and accelerators that have seed funds and innovative financing models will help translate research into commercial ventures, and plant the financial foundations of healthy syn-bio ecosystems. For instance, in 2014,Singapore piloted intellectual property valuations, which raised awareness about IPs use as collateral and helped create an effective syn-bio ecosystem in the city.

Finally, governments must balance the need to create a friendly regulatory environment for syn-bio ventures with the need to win a social license.People have deep suspicions about syn-bio applications, just as they have about organismswhose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology (GMOs).Policy-makersmust keep educating society about syn-bio technologys potential and risks, and gauge perceptions and acceptance of its applications, so they can make course corrections.

Stakeholders must be involved at every stage of the value chain, from lab to market, to ensure that consumers buy syn-bio products. Its smart to proactively discuss the intent of the new technology. For instance, DARPA quietly launchedInsect Allies, a $45 million project to test the ability of engineered virus-carrying insects to protect crops from pestilence, in 2016. After manyU.S. scientists criticizedthe projects intent, DARPA was forced todefend itselfby highlighting its benefits and describing the safeguards it had deployed.

Syn-bio ventures must ensure the equitable use of shared resources, such as water, if they are to retain the social license from stakeholders such as farmers and indigenous populations. When Amyris set up afermentation facility in Brazilrecently, for example, it sourced feedstock from local sugarcane farms that didnt contribute to deforestation; required minimal irrigation; and didnt suck up drinking water. Local regulators must ensure syn-bio firms adhere to rules and laws even as they engage with local communities to identify all their concerns.

Finally, governments must keep in mind that the same syn-bio products can be created in different ways, and so, the regulatory regimes will need to vary. For instance, startups such as Impossible Foods, Mosa Meat, and Meati all compete in the cultured meats market, but, because they use microbes, cells, and fungi, respectively, to develop products, they must be subject to different legal frameworks. That could create entry barriers if policy-makers dont streamline the regulatory landscape.

Just as the 1990s belonged to the Internet, the 2020s mark syn-bios coming of age. As the worlds knowledge and use of syn-bio technologies grow, governments have no choice but to develop policies that will allow the industry to flourish. Because the technology creates novel and sustainable offerings, policy-makers must come to grips with syn-bio if they wish to boost economic growth even as they safeguard the environment. Only policy-makers that seize this dual opportunity by enacting supportive policies will be able to build their nations competitive advantage for the Bio Age.

ReadotherFortunecolumns by Franois Candelon.

Franois Candelonisa managing director and senior partner at BCG and global director of the BCG Henderson Institute.

Maxime Courtauxis a project leader at BCG and ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Vinit Patelis a project leader at BCG and ambassador at the BCG Henderson Institute.

Some companies featured in this column are past or current clients of BCG.

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Cultured meat could help solve the climate crisis. Heres what it will take to move it from the lab to the dinner table - Fortune

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing proprietary genetic engineering platform technologies to create cell and gene therapeutics with the capacity to cure, today announced that it will present a Trial in Progress poster at the upcoming Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting, being held in Boston and virtually from November 8 12, 2022.

The poster presentation will highlight the trial design, dosing regimen, and study protocol for the Company's ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of P-MUC1C-ALLO1. The multi-center, open-label, dose escalation study is evaluating patients with locally advanced or metastatic epithelial derived solid tumors that are refractory to standard of care therapy or ineligible or refused another existing treatment. The study is following a 3+3 design and is evaluating the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of P-MUC1C-ALLO1. The Company expects to report initial clinical data from this trial by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

Details of the presentation are as follows:

Title: Phase 1 study of P-MUC1C-ALLO1 allogeneic CAR-T cells in patients with epithelial-derived cancersPresenter: Jason Henry, MD, Sarah Canon Research InstituteSession Date and Time: Poster Hall opens Friday, November 11, 2022, 9:00 AM - 8:30 PM ETAbstract Number:728Location:Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Hall C

The poster will also be available to meeting attendees through the virtual poster hall on the SITC virtual meeting platform.

About P-MUC1C-ALLO1P-MUC1C-ALLO1 is an allogeneic CAR-T product candidate in Phase 1 development for multiple solid tumor indications. Poseida believes P-MUC1C-ALLO1 has the potential to treat a wide range of solid tumors derived from epithelial cells, such as breast, colorectal, lung, ovarian, pancreatic and renal carcinomas, as well as other cancers expressing a cancer-specific form of the Mucin 1 protein, or MUC1-C. P-MUC1C-ALLO1 is designed to be fully allogeneic, with genetic edits to eliminate or reduce both host-vs-graft and graft-vs-host alloreactivity. Poseida has demonstrated the elimination of tumor cells to undetectable levels in preclinical models of both triple-negative breast and ovarian cancer.

AboutPoseida Therapeutics, Inc.Poseida Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to utilizing our proprietary genetic engineering platform technologies to create next generation cell and gene therapeutics with the capacity to cure. We have discovered and are developing a broad portfolio of product candidates in a variety of indications based on our core proprietary platforms, including our non-viral piggyBac DNA Delivery System, Cas-CLOVER Site-specific Gene Editing System and nanoparticle- and AAV-based gene delivery technologies. Our core platform technologies have utility, either alone or in combination, across many cell and gene therapeutic modalities and enable us to engineer our portfolio of product candidates that are designed to overcome the primary limitations of current generation cell and gene therapeutics. To learn more, visitwww.poseida.comand connect with us onTwitterandLinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, expected timing and plans with respect to clinical trials; the potential benefits of Poseida's technology platforms and product candidates; Poseida's plans and strategy with respect to developing its technologies and product candidates; and Poseida's ability to prioritize and utilize its resources efficiently and expected benefits from any such prioritization. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Poseida's current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, Poseida's reliance on third parties for various aspects of its business; risks and uncertainties associated with development and regulatory approval of novel product candidates in the biopharmaceutical industry; Poseida's ability to retain key scientific or management personnel; and the other risks described in Poseida's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. Poseida undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

SOURCE Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.

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Poseida Therapeutics to Present Trial in Progress Poster for Phase 1 P-MUC1C-ALLO1 Study at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting -...

The world of science is reaching new heights. Scientists have now developed mosquitoes that will bite you but not cause malaria.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers called Transmission: Zero at the Imperial College of London. The results of the research were published in the Science Advances journal.

Genetically modified mosquitoes have the ability to slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in their gut, an innovation that can help prevent transmission of the disease to humans.

Owing to the devastating effects of Malaria, which is putting about half of the worlds population at risk, scientists came up with this new method in the hope to deter the growth of the parasite.

Co-author of the study Dr Tibebu Habtewold, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, said: Since 2015, the progress in tackling malaria has stalled. Mosquitoes and the parasites they carry are becoming resistant to available interventions such as insecticides and treatments, and funding has plateaued. We need to develop innovative new tools.

Lets take a closer look at the new research.

How was the research conducted?

Researchers from the Institute for Disease Modelling at the Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation developed a model which can assess the impact of such modifications if used in a variety of African settings.

They found that the modification in question could be effective even where transmission is high.

Team Transmission: Zero engineered the mosquitoes by employing the existing gene drive technology that will spread the modification of the design and drastically cut malaria transmission.

Gene drive is one such powerful weapon that in combination with drugs, vaccines and mosquito control can help stop the spread of malaria and save human lives, study co-lead author Professor George Christophides said.

With partners in Tanzania, the team set up a facility to generate and handle genetically modified mosquitoes and conduct some first tests. These include collecting parasites from locally infected schoolchildren, to ensure the modification works against the parasites circulating in relevant communities.

The team is currently aiming to conduct field trials but will first thoroughly test the safety of the new modification before applying it for real-world tests.

How will it work?

Normally, the disease is transmitted between people after a female mosquito bites someone who is infected with the malaria parasite. It then develops into its next stage in the mosquitos gut and travels to its salivary glands, following which the mosquito becomes capable of infecting the next person it bites.

However, only around 10 per cent of mosquitoes live long enough for the parasite to develop far enough to be infectious. The team aimed to lengthen the odds even further, by extending the time it takes for the parasite to develop in the gut.

These engineered mosquitoes produce compounds that impede the growth of malaria-causing parasites, which are then unlikely to reach the mosquitoes salivary glands and be passed on in a bite before the insects die.

Under laboratory conditions, the technique proved to be an essential tool in reducing the possibility of malaria spread. If proven safe and effective in real-world settings, it could offer a powerful new tool to help eliminate malaria.

Researchers from the Transmission: Zero team, genetically modified the main malaria-carrying species of mosquito in sub-Saharan Africa, Anopheles gambiae, such that the mosquito produces antimicrobial peptides in its guts when it takes a blood meal.

By the time, the next parasite stage could reach the mosquito salivary glands, most mosquitoes in nature are expected to die.

We need to develop innovative new tools because mosquitoes and the parasites they carry are becoming resistant to available interventions such as insecticides and treatments, and funding has plateaued, said co-first author of the study, Tibebu Habtewold.

Delaying the parasites growth in the mosquito has opened many more opportunities to block malaria transmission from mosquitoes to humans, said study co-first author, Astrid Hoermann.

Will the technique be used in real-life settings?

To use genetic modification to prevent malaria spread in the real world, it needs to be spread from lab-bred mosquitoes to wild ones. According to a report by Science Daily, normal interbreeding of the mosquitoes would spread the technique only to a certain extent. Since the innovation has a fitness cost that will reduce the lifespan of mosquitoes, scientists think that it will most likely be quickly eliminated, thanks to natural selection.

The method of gene drive can be added to mosquitoes that would cause the anti-parasite genetic modification to be preferentially inherited, making it spread more widely among any natural population.

Being new, it would, however, require extremely careful planning to minimise risks before any field trials.

The Transmission: Zero team is, therefore, creating two separate but compatible strains of modified mosquitoes one with the anti-parasite modification and one with the gene drive.

They can then test the anti-parasite modification on its own first, only adding in the gene drive once it has been shown to be effective.

They are also fully risk assessing any potential releases of modified mosquitoes, taking into account any potential hazards and making sure they have buy-in from the local community. But they are hopeful that their intervention can ultimately help in eradicating malaria.

How prevalent is malaria?

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Malaria remains one of the most severe public health problems worldwide.

Nearly half the worlds population lives in areas that are at risk of malaria transmission, as per the 2021 World Malaria Report. In 2020, the disease caused around 241 million clinical episodes and 627,000 deaths. Almost 95 per cent of these deaths were reported from the African region.

With inputs from agencies

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Explained: How scientists engineered mosquitoes that will cut the transmission of malaria - Firstpost

With each passing day, technology continues to advance. With technological advances comes advances in healthcare. In the past few years alone, there have been major breakthroughs in treating and detecting diseases in ways that weve never been able to before. Machine-learning, smart devices, and artificial intelligence (AI) are rising in the biomedical field ranks, and its implementation in healthcare has only just begun. Below is a list of a few of the biggest health industry news of 2022 (so far!):

Among the various types of cancer, pancreatic cancer has the lowest five-year survival rate. Its projected to become the second leading cause of cancerous death in the US by 2030. As with all types of cancer, early detection can be key in successfully treating the disease. Computed tomography (CT) is the method most commonly used in detecting pancreatic cancers, but it is not without its drawbacks. CT scans have only modest sensitivity in detecting small tumors; they miss approximately 40% of tumors smaller than 2 cm. CT scanning is also interpreter-dependent, which may be limited by availability and expertise of radiologists.

A nationwide, population-based study, published in the September issue of Radiology, sought to develop a tool to combat the acknowledged inefficiencies in CT scanning. Researchers in Taiwan developed a computer-aided detection (CAD) tool which included a segmentation convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify the pancreas on CT scans. Researchers also created an ensemble classifier, comprising five classification CNNs that predict whether pancreatic cancer is present. Researchers tested this tool on 669 patients with pancreatic cancer and a control group of 804 patients without pancreatic cancer. The deep learningbased tool demonstrated 90% sensitivity and 93% specificity in real-world subjects. Furthermore, tests showed satisfactory sensitivity for tumors smaller than 2 cm at around 75%. The CAD tool may serve as a supplement for radiologists to enhance the detection of pancreatic cancer, said co-senior author, Wei-Chi Liao, MD, PhD, from National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University Hospital.

Sources: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/963876 ; https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.220152

Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA molecule that complements DNA. The mechanisms of mRNA within the cell are complex and vitally important, but put simply, mRNA is genetic material that tells your body how to make proteins. The growth of mRNA technology has been monitored and reported on due to its prominent role in the creation of COVID-19 vaccines. mRNA is emerging as a promising alternative to previously implemented vaccination methods as it offers several advantages. mRNA vaccines have proven to be safe for immunocompromised patients, are relatively cheap and easy to produce, and have demonstrated upwards of 95% efficacy.

As is the way with almost all technological advances, development of mRNA technology has captured the attention of leading biotech companies around the world. mRNA technology seems to be ushering in a new era of vaccinology and the future of medical advancements is exciting. Because of its success in combating COVID-19, there is a lot of clinical research being done to develop mRNA therapies to treat other viruses, such as HIV, Lyme disease, Ebola, Zika virus, and many more. Moreover, researchers are studying mRNAs effect in the production of proteins and how they may be able to combat diseases in which proteins are missing (e.g., cystic fibrosis, diabetes, sickle cell anemia) which would radically alter costly treatments that are associated with care.

Sources: https://www.atlantichealthpartners.com/immunization-insights-1/the-rise-of-mrna-vaccines-a-new-era-of-vaccinology ; https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-comparison

Adoptive cell therapy is a method of treatment for many types of cancers. It is a type of immunotherapy in which an individuals immune system is trained to destroy their tumor. Adoptive cell therapy involves genetically engineering T cells, which are lymphocytes that act in the immune response. The problem, however, is that its challenging to even identify T cell receptors that can recognize cancer-specific alterations.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health tackled this challenge, identifying unique expression profiles in 55 genes that help identify rare anti-tumor lymphocytes that can infiltrate and destroy metastatic epithelial tumors. Researchers designed sensitive assays that identify tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) which recognize the products of mutations that can cause cancer. By identifying these TILs, researchers can develop personalized and effective cancer immunotherapies for patients who dont respond to standard treatments.

Steven Rosenberg, MD, PhD, chief of the Surgery Branch at the Center for Cancer Research and National Cancer Institute, spearheaded a study published in the February issue of Science. Researchers looked at every potential mutation in a tumor that could be a target. Over the course of several years, Dr. Rosenbergs study team developed this new assay that identifies the gene expression profiles of a few rare lymphocytes that recognize mutated cell surface proteins of cancerous cells. This development in cell-based immunotherapy encourages tumor shrinkage in patients with stomach, esophageal, ovarian, and breast cancers, among other types of metastatic cancers.

Sources: https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2022/gene-expression-profile-personalized-immunotherapy ; https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl5447

In a study published in the February issue of Nature Medicine, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, hypothesized that an arrangement of specialized epidural electrical stimulation targeting a cluster of dorsal roots involved in leg and trunk movements would result in superior effectiveness after severe spinal cord injury (SCI). To test their hypothesis, researchers developed software supporting the rapid configuration of activity-specific stimulation programs. The stimulation programs reproduced the natural activation of motor neurons that make activities such as standing, walking, cycling, and swimming possible.

Included in the study were three paralyzed patients, men who had no sensation or control over their legs after suffering SCIs in motorcycle accidents. In the ongoing clinical trial, the men were able to take supported steps after one day. After a few months, they were able to walk on their own with a walker. Researchers reported that neurorehabilitation supported sufficient improvement to restore these activities in community settings. While this nerve-stimulating device doesnt cure SCIs, it nevertheless provides patients and medical professionals hope and excitement for further developments in this kind of assistive technology.

Sources: https://www.science.org/content/article/next-generation-spinal-implants-help-people-severe-paralysis-walk-cycle-and-swim ; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01663-5

Type 2 diabetes, the most common type, is a chronic and progressive condition in which the body cannot make or utilize insulin normally. This leads to high levels of glucose in the blood (hyperglycemia) and can damage the vessels that supply blood to vital organs, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems. While there are many types of medications to treat type 2 diabetes, many people still have difficulties maintaining normal blood sugar levels. In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro) injections to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes, in addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise. According to the FDA, tirzepatide was proven to be more effective in improving blood sugar levels than other diabetic therapies when compared in clinical trials.

In five separate clinical trials, three different doses of tirzepatide (5mg, 10mg, and 15mg) were evaluated as either a stand-alone therapy or as an add-on to other diabetic medicines. The outcome measurement in the studies was the measure of blood control, otherwise known as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels. Used as a stand-alone therapy, patients that were randomized to 15mg of tirzepatide had an average lowering of their HbA1c level 1.6% more than placebos. When compared to other commercially used diabetes medications, tirzepatide resulted in a lowering of HbA1c up to 1.0%. Additionally, as many individuals with type 2 diabetes are obese, tirzepatide resulted in more weight lost in patients when compared with placebo and other diabetes medications.

Source: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-novel-dual-targeted-treatment-type-2-diabetes

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency that results from the bodys extreme chain reaction to an infection already in the body, most often originating in the lungs, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract. If not treated quickly, sepsis can swiftly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and even death. Sepsis is easy to miss because symptoms, such as fever and confusion, are common in other conditions. According to the CDC, 1 in 3 people who die in a hospital had sepsis sometime during that hospitalization. Traditional methods of testing for sepsis can include blood cultures looking for bacterial infections or testing for viral infections.

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new AI system to detect sepsis nearly six hours earlier in patients when compared with traditional methods. Their findings suggest patients are 20% less likely to die thanks in part to this early detection. Published in the July issue of Nature Medicine, the studys early detection tool boasted a high sensitivity rate; among the 9,805 retrospectively identified sepsis cases, over 80% of were identified. The adaptive technology has even been tailored to identify patients at risk for pressure injuries (i.e., bed sores), bleeding, acute respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest. Its adaptive and takes into consideration the diversity of the patient population, the unique ways in which doctors and nurses deliver care across different sites, and the unique characteristics of each health system, allowing it to be significantly more accurate and to gain provider trust and adoption, Suchi Saria, research director of the Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare at Johns Hopkins University and lead author of the study, said.

Sources: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-01895-z ; https://hub.jhu.edu/2022/07/21/artificial-intelligence-sepsis-detection/ ; https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/what-is-sepsis.html#:~:text=Sepsis%20is%20the%20body%27s%20extreme,%2C%20skin%2C%20or%20gastrointestinal%20tract.

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Here Are the Biggest Health Industry News Items of 2022 So Far - DocWire News

Belgian investigators have improved the flavor of contemporary beer by identifying and engineering a gene that is responsible for much of the flavor of beer and some other alcoholic drinks. The research appears in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

For centuries, beer was brewed in open, horizontal vats. But in the 1970s, the industry switched to using large, closed vessels, which are much easier to fill, empty, and clean, enabling brewing of larger volumes and reducing costs. However, these modern methods produced inferior quality beer, due to insufficient flavor production.

During fermentation, yeast converts 50 percent of the sugar in the mash to ethanol, and the other 50 percent to carbon dioxide. The problem: the carbon dioxide pressurizes these closed vessels, dampening flavor.

Johan Thevelein, Ph.D., an emeritus professor of Molecular Cell Biology at Katholieke Universiteit, and his team had pioneered technology for identifying genes responsible for commercially important traits in yeast. They applied this technology to identify the gene(s) responsible for flavor in beer, by screening large numbers of yeast strains to evaluate which did the best job of preserving flavor under pressure. They focused on a gene for a banana-like flavor because it is one of the most important flavors present in beer, as well as in other alcoholic drinks, said Thevelein, who is also founder of NovelYeast, which collaborates with other companies in industrial biotechnology.

To our surprise, we identified a single mutation in the MDS3 gene, which codes for a regulator apparently involved in production of isoamyl acetate, the source of the banana-like flavor that was responsible for most of the pressure tolerance in this specific yeast strain, said Thevelein.

Thevelein and coworkers then used CRISPR/Cas9, a revolutionary gene editing technology, to engineer this mutation in other brewing strains, which similarly improved their tolerance of carbon dioxide pressure, enabling full flavor. That demonstrated the scientific relevance of our findings, and their commercial potential, said Thevelein.

The mutation is the first insight into understanding the mechanism by which high carbon dioxide pressure may compromise beer flavor production, said Thevelein, who noted that the MDS3 protein is likely a component of an important regulatory pathway that may play a role in carbon dioxide inhibition of banana flavor production, adding, how it does that is not clear.

The technology has also been successful in identifying genetic elements important for rose flavor production by yeast in alcoholic drinks, as well as other commercially important traits, such as glycerol production and thermotolerance.

Reference:Souffriau B, Holt S, Hagman A, et al. Polygenic Analysis of Tolerance to Carbon Dioxide Inhibition of Isoamyl Acetate Banana Flavor Production in Yeast Reveals MDS3 as Major Causative Gene. App Enviro Micro. 2022;88(18):e00814-22. doi:10.1128/aem.00814-22

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Microbiologists Improve the Flavor of Beer - Technology Networks

Century Therapeutics, Inc.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IPSC), an innovative biotechnology company developing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapies in immuno-oncology, today announced the appointment of Daphne Quimi and Timothy Walbert to the Companys Board of Directors. Ms. Quimi is currently Chief Financial Officer of Amicus Therapeutics and brings experience in public accounting and financial reporting to Century. Mr. Walbert is currently Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Therapeutics, and brings expertise in product portfolio building and commercialization. In conjunction with these new appointments, Century also announced that Eli Casdin, Chief Investment Officer of Casdin Capital, has resigned from the Board of Directors, effective as of October 1, 2022.

I am thrilled to welcome both Daphne and Tim to our Board. They will each play critical roles as we accelerate our next-generation cell therapy platform, said Lalo Flores, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Century Therapeutics. Daphnes strong financial background and experience at both biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies will be a tremendous asset as we enter the next transformative years for Century. Tims background, which includes numerous product launches, will be instrumental to our continued evolution, particularly as we progress our pipeline candidates with the ultimate goal of delivering innovative cancer therapies. Additionally, on behalf of the management, Board and all of our employees, we would like to thank Eli for his contributions to Centurys rapid growth and his leadership in our early formative years, where he was a key strategic thought partner.

Before serving as Amicuss Chief Financial officer, Ms. Quimi was Amicuss Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller. Ms. Quimi is currently a member of the Board of Directors at Amylyx Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Amicus, Ms. Quimi served as Director of Consolidations and External Reporting at Bristol-Myers Squibb. She also held roles of increasing responsibility in the finance department at Johnson & Johnson. Earlier in her career she worked for KPMG. Ms. Quimi received a B.S. in Accountancy from Monmouth University and an M.B.A from the Stern School of Business of New York University.

In addition to his current role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Therapeutics, Mr. Walbert has served as Chairman of Horizons Board of Directors since 2010. Before joining Horizon, Mr. Walbert served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of IDM Pharma Inc., and also held prior senior roles at NeoPharm Inc., Abbott (AbbVie), G.D. Searle & Company, Merck & Co. Inc. and Wyeth. Mr. Walbert received a B.A. in Business from Muhlenberg College.

About Century Therapeutics

Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IPSC) is harnessing the power of adult stem cells to develop curative cell therapy products for cancer that we believe will allow us to overcome the limitations of first-generation cell therapies. Our genetically engineered, iPSC-derived iNK and iT cell product candidates are designed to specifically target hematologic and solid tumor cancers. We are leveraging our expertise in cellular reprogramming, genetic engineering, and manufacturing to develop therapies with the potential to overcome many of the challenges inherent to cell therapy and provide a significant advantage over existing cell therapy technologies. We believe our commitment to developing off-the-shelf cell therapies will expand patient access and provide an unparalleled opportunity to advance the course of cancer care. For more information on Century Therapeutics please visit http://www.centurytx.com.

Century Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of, and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of, The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as may, might, will, should, expect, plan, aim, seek, anticipate, could, intend, target, project, contemplate, believe, estimate, predict, forecast, potential or continue or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance These risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Risk Factors section of our most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at http://www.sec.gov. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

For More Information:

Company: Elizabeth Krutoholow investor.relations@centurytx.com

Investors: Melissa Forst/Maghan Meyers century@argotpartners.com

Media: Joshua R. Mansbach century@argotpartners.com

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Century Therapeutics Announces Appointment of Daphne Quimi and Timothy Walbert to its Board of Directors - Yahoo Finance