Celgene Corporation (Nasdaq:CELG) and Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:JUNO) announced today a global collaboration for the development and commercialization of immunotherapies. The two companies will leverage T cell therapeutic strategies to develop treatments for patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases with an initial focus on Chimeric Antigen Receptor Technology (CAR-T) and T Cell Receptor (TCR) technologies.
“This transaction strengthens Celgene’s position in the emerging and transformative area of immuno-oncology,” said Bob Hugin, Chairman and CEO of Celgene. “Juno has assembled world class experts and built impressive capabilities and technologies in the areas of T cell biology and cellular therapy; we believe this long-term collaboration enhances the potential of both companies to deliver transformational therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs.”
Broad strategic collaboration leveraging combined immunology expertise and assets to develop and commercialize novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases
Celgene gains option to commercialize Juno programs outside North America and co-promote certain programs globally
Juno gains option to co-develop and co-promote select Celgene programs
Celgene to make initial payment of approximately $1 billion which includes the purchase of ~9.1 million shares of Juno stock at $93.00 per share, with potential to increase its stake over time
Joint conference call scheduled today at 5:00 p.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. PT
Dr. Chris Peterson wins Young Investigator Award Special HIV Cure Prize
Dr. Chris Peterson of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Clinical Research Division will receive the Young Investigator Award Special HIV Cure Prize from the International AIDS Society, or IAS, and the French National Agency for AIDS Research, or ANRS, next month at an IAS conference in Vancouver, B.C. His abstract was chosen from more than 2,500 submissions and singled out by judges for its “originality and vigor.” His research involves removing blood stem cells from a preclinical model and using a gene editing technique involving zinc-finger nucleases, or ZFNs, to disrupt a receptor used as a doorway by most forms of HIV. The modified stem cells were returned to repopulate the immune system. “This is the first time that engraftment of gene-edited blood stem cells has been shown in an autologous transplantation setting in a clinically relevant model,” said Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem, a Fred Hutch stem cell transplant researcher who was senior author of the study. “This will have significant implications not only for the HIV field but also for gene editing in genetic blood disorders such as sickle cell disease.”
Current studies are using viruses to target genes to replace the receptor. This strategy would allow an even greater proportion of the HIV-resistant cells to be present to fight infection, the abstract stated.
Peterson is a staff scientist in Kiem’s laboratory, where his work is part of the Fred Hutch-based defeatHIV, one of three federally funded consortia nationwide investigating different strategies for an HIV cure. Led by Kiem and Fred Hutch virologist Dr. Keith Jerome, defeatHIV seeks to modify an HIV patient’s own stem cells to mimic a genetic mutation called the CCR5 delta-32 deletion, which confers natural resistance to HIV. The mutation prevents CD4 cells – infection-fighting white blood cells that HIV targets – from expressing a receptor, called CCR5, on their surfaces. Without this receptor, it’s as though HIV is left standing at the door without a key to get in.
The approach is based on the only known case in which HIV has been cured, that of Timothy Ray Brown. In 2008 in Berlin, Brown received a bone marrow transplant to treat leukemia. His doctor sought out a donor with two copies of the CCR5 mutation in what turned out to be a successful effort to also cure Brown’s HIV infection. Peterson will present his paper at both the biennial IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention and the Towards an HIV Cure Symposium that precedes it. The meetings take place July 18-22. In addition to Peterson and Kiem, other authors include researchers from the University of Washington and Sangamo Biosciences in Richmond, California. http://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2015/06/good-news-ghajar-peterson-schwartz.html
Dr. John A. Zaia, . John A. Zaia, known for his research into potential gene therapy treatments for HIV, will serve as director of the Center for Gene Therapy within City of Hope’s new Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute. Dr. John A. Zaia of City of Hope. Image via Science10projectZaia will be tasked with maximizing the potential of gene therapy not just for HIV, but also for cancer and other diseases, as City of Hope expands its commitment to the revolutionary field of research.
Zaia, the Aaron D. and Edith Miller Chair in Gene Therapy and past chair of the Department of Virology, is also the principal investigator of the new Alpha Clinic for Cell Therapy and Innovation at City of Hope.
The clinic is dedicated to identifying new stem cell cures for currently incurable diseases, and to helping those cures become a standard option for patients who need them.
Among the treatments tested in the clinic will be immunotherapy approaches developed in the hematologic institute using gene therapy.
“As director of the center, and as principal investigator of the clinic, Zaia will bridge the current gap between the promise and the reality of stem cell treatments, speeding lifesaving treatments to the patients who need them,” according to City of Hope.
“When it comes to gene therapy, John has been both a visionary and a teacher,” said Dr. Stephen J. Forman, director of the new hematologic institute and the Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.
Zaia’s “leadership will be vital in helping doctors and researchers maximize the potential of gene therapy as a source of treatments,” Forman said. “His leadership will be vital in helping us save lives.” A specialist in gene transfer as HIV-related therapy, Zaia has focused on two potential avenues for fighting AIDS. One involves genetic modification of blood stem cells as a way to create resistance to the virus that causes AIDS; the other involves genetic modification of stem cell genes so that they prevent replication of the virus.
“City of Hope has made an important commitment to exploring the potential of gene therapy, and I’m proud to lead the effort as a leader of the gene therapy center within the Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute,” Zaia said.
“The researchers and clinicians at City of Hope have both the potential and the determination to change the course of HIV, cancer and other life- threatening diseases, and I’m looking forward to working with them to develop new gene therapy options,” he said.
Zaia has served as chair of the Department of Virology since 1999. The Harvard University graduate joined City of Hope in 1980 as director of Virology and Infectious Diseases within the Department of Pediatrics.
Prior to that, he was an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a clinical associate at the Dana Farmer Cancer Institute in Boston. — City News Service
Here is the info from Freepatentsonline.com: The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/927,292, filed Nov. 10, 2010
Title:
TARGETED DISRUPTION OF T CELL RECEPTOR GENES USING ENGINEERED ZINC FINGER PROTEIN NUCLEASES
Document Type and Number:
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and compositions for inactivating TCR genes, using zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) comprising a zinc finger protein and a cleavage domain or cleavage half-domain in conditions able to preserve cell viability. Polynucleotides encoding ZFNs, vectors comprising polynucleotides encoding ZFNs and cells comprising polynucleotides encoding ZFNs and/or cells comprising ZFNs are also provided. Disclosed herein are also methods and compositions for expressing a functional exogenous TCR in the absence of endogenous TCR expression in T lymphocytes, including lymphocytes with a central memory phenotype. Polynucleotides encoding exogenous TCR, vectors comprising polynucleotides encoding exogenous TCR and cells comprising polynucleotides encoding exogenous TCR and/or cells comprising exogenous TCR are also provided.
Bonini, Maria Chiara (Milan, IT) Genovese, Pietro (Milan, IT) Gregory, Philip D. (Richmond, CA, US) Holmes, Michael C. (Richmond, CA, US) Naldini, Luigi (Milan, IT) Paschon, David (Richmond, CA, US) Provasi, Elena (Milan, IT) Zhang, Lei (Richmond, CA, US)
Since the news on the Sangamo (SGMO) front has been rather upsetting in the last few months, maybe a note on the lighter side will calm investors nerves. Is it possible the Sangamo BOD/ management team has been granted priority access to try this new GMO crop?
Monsanto Develops First Genetically Modified Strain of MarijuanaUSAgNet - 06/16/2015 Monsanto has announced it has patented the first genetically modified strain of marijuana. Global AgInvesting reports that the news has been welcomed by scientists and leaders of the agriculture business alike as a move forward towards the industrial use of marijuana and hemp products could bring a major shift towards marijuana policies in the U.S.A. and ultimately, to the world.
Under present U.S. federal law, it is illegal to possess, use, buy, sell, or cultivate marijuana, since the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, although it has been decriminalized to some extent in certain states, Monsanto's interest in the field has been interpreted by experts as the precursor to "a major shift in marijuana policy in the U.S." as it is believed the company would not have invested so much time and energy if it had not had "previous knowledge" of the Federal government's "openness" towards the future legalization of marijuana.
Lawyer and marijuana law specialist, Edmund Groensch, of the Drug Policy Alliance, admits Monsanto's involvement in marijuana projects could definitely help the pro-legalization activists.
Although Monsanto's testing on cannabis is only at an experimental stage, no plan has yet been released by the agriculture business firm as to what purposes the patented strain would be used for, although specialists believe answers should come this fall as rumors of a controversial new bill which could "loosen up laws around medical marijuana" is reportedly scheduled to pass before congress coming this fall. http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.php?Id=1270&yr=2015
Washington D.C., June 9, 2015 —
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three men living in California with insider trading in the stock and options of a biotechnology company where one of them worked.
The SEC alleges that Michael J. Fefferman learned material nonpublic information as senior director of information technology at Ardea Biosciences Inc. He tipped his brother-in-law Chad E. Wiegand in advance of major public announcements related to two pharmaceutical trials, a licensing agreement for a cancer drug, and eventually the acquisition of the company by AstraZeneca PLC. Wiegand, a stockbroker, purchased Ardea stock in various customer accounts based on the confidential information he received from Fefferman, and he tipped his friend and fellow stockbroker Akis C. Eracleous so he could similarly buy stock on behalf of his customers. The alleged insider trading resulted in illegal profits of approximately $530,000.
One of Eracleous’s customers, his cousin, has been named as a relief defendant in the SEC’s complaint for the purpose of recovering insider trading profits in his brokerage account. The cousin agreed to pay back the entire amount of illicit profits in his account totaling $219,175 in disgorgement and interest.
Fefferman, Wiegand, and Eracleous have agreed to settlements that are subject to court approval. Disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and penalties will be determined at a later date. Wiegand and Eracleous have agreed to be barred from the securities industry.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California today announced criminal charges against Wiegand and Eracleous.
“As a corporate insider, Fefferman breached his duty to Ardea’s shareholders by tipping confidential information about significant corporate events before they were announced,” said Sharon B. Binger, Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “Wiegand and Eracleous took unfair advantage of the investing public by trading on confidential company knowledge unknown to others.”
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in San Diego, the insider trading occurred from April 2009 to April 2012. The complaint charges Fefferman, Wiegand, and Eracleous with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
The SEC’s continuing investigation is being conducted by Patricia A. Paw, John S. Rymas, and Daniel Koster in the Philadelphia office. The case is being supervised by Brendan P. McGlynn, and the litigation will be led by David L. Axelrod and Michael J. Rinaldi. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
