For advanced therapies, the sky’s the limit

by Guest | Aug 22, 2023

Phil Vanek is responsible for technical due diligence and evaluation of potential investments, as well as guiding operational, R&D and strategic initiatives carried out at portfolio companies. An entrepreneurial and strategic international business leader, Phil...

Eye on AI: Key takeaways from POLITICO’s sit-down with Peter Marks

by Cal Strode | Aug 16, 2023

In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO reporter Robert King at the Next Generation of Health Care Therapies event, Dr. Peter Marks, Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), discussed cell and gene...

Science communication: The skillset our field desperately needs

by Guest | Aug 10, 2023

Ben McLeod has been fascinated by cellular biology since he was 13. He remembers learning that cells are just like miniature cities – with factories, data storage, waste disposal, transportation and communication systems. That fascination drives his work in cell...

Right Turn: Did you miss last year’s blog carnival? Don’t worry it’s back!

by Stacey Johnson | Aug 4, 2023

It’s August already. For many, this means vacation time and soaking up as much summer as possible before work and life ramp up again in the fall. For me, August means multiple family birthdays ($) and the return of the blog carnival! What is a blog carnival you ask?...

The two biggest (unexpected) takeaways from Summer by Design 2023

by Guest | Jul 26, 2023

Dr. Tyler J. Wenzel (Twitter: @TylerJWenzel, Instagram: @TylerJWenzel, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerjwenzel/), is a postdoctoral fellow currently affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan (Canada), where he oversees the facility for the mass,...

Current state of affairs, part 2: Five more Canadian cell therapy companies to watch

by Stephie Leung | Jul 20, 2023

A few months ago, I summarized seven local cell therapy companies in Canada that caught my attention. Since then, one full quarter of the financial calendar has passed. In the world of biotechnology start-ups, this could mean one more key milestone achieved, a new...

Peeling back the label: Is Right To Try just a repackaging of existing options?

by Cal Strode | Jul 12, 2023

In 2017, Signals’ blog carnival focused on Right to Try (RTT) legislation – laws that allow patients with life-threatening conditions to ask drugmakers for medicines that have cleared some testing hurdles, but still haven’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug...

Cure for ALS now closer than ever with stem cell therapy

by Peace Chukwu | Jul 6, 2023

Imagine slowly losing control of your body and the muscles necessary to live healthily, until you eventually lose your ability to breathe. This disease is known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and is caused by the degeneration of motor neurons that send...

Mesenchymal stromal cell snapshot: are new therapies on the horizon?

by Kevin Robb | Jun 29, 2023

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been at the front line of cell therapy and regenerative medicine efforts for decades. Investigators hotly pursued MSCs as prospective cell therapies for a wide range of diseases, but enthusiasts were left wanting when several...

Cell-based therapy approved as alternative to standard UCB transplant for hematological malignancies

by Sara M. Nolte | Jun 21, 2023

In addition to showers, flowers and warmer weather, this spring also brought renewed hope for patients with hematological malignancies undergoing stem cell transplants (SCTs) in the form of the approval of Gamida Cell’s Omisirge® (omidubicel). This cell-based therapy...