Industry updates with Dusko Ilic: September 2019

Written by Dusko ILIC

Read highlights from the latest installment of Dusko Ilic’s industry updates, which discuss the latest developments and news in regenerative medicine and stem cell research, and are published every month in Regenerative Medicine.

Every month, Dusko comments on news of note. Read the full update for September 2019 on Regenerative Medicine here>>

Find previous updates here>>

What happened this month that you were expecting?

 

Deep partial-thickness thermal burns are complex skin injuries in which the damage extends through the entire epidermis and into the lower part of the dermis. Mallinckrodt’s (UK) StrataGraftâ„¢ was showing excellent results and it was a matter of time when the data from Phase 3 clinical trial will be announced. StrataGraft skin tissue is provided as a suturable circular patch of stratified epithelial tissue composed of a living dermal matrix containing dermal fibroblasts overlaid with human epidermal cells (NIKSâ„¢ cells). StrataGraft was developed by Wisconsin-based company Stratatech, which Mallinckrodt has acquired in 2016 for US$ 76 million.

What happened that surprised you this month?

Vertex (MA, USA), known for the use of rational drug design and cystic fibrosis drug Symdeco® (tezacaftor/ivacaftor), is jumping on stem cell bandwagon. The company is in process of acquiring Harvard’s spin-off Semma Therapeutics (MA, USA), a developer of a cell-based therapy for diabetes from pluripotent stem cells.

If we only read about one story this month, what should it be?

Google announced a new policy on advertising for speculative and experimental medical treatments. This new policy will prohibit ads selling treatments that have no established biomedical or scientific basis. The new policy also includes treatments that are rooted in basic scientific findings and preliminary clinical experience, but currently have insufficient formal clinical testing to justify widespread clinical use. Kudos to Google!

Read the full industry update for September 2019>>

Dr Dusko Ilic

Dusko Ilic is a Senior Lecturer in stem cell science, coordinator of the cross-divisional postgraduate program in stem cells and regenerative medicine, and Head of the Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Core Facility at King’s College London (London, UK). He is also Head of the Assisted Conception Unit’s Human Embryonic Laboratories at Guy’s Hospital (London, UK). He is also a member of the editorial board of the journal Regenerative Medicine, where he writes the Industry Report, a regular feature compiling information from non-academic institutions in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine.