Asymmetrex Scheduled to Present Unique Perspectives in Stem Cell Biology and Recent Advances in Technologies for Adult Stem Cell Medicine at U.S. and U.K. Conferences
Boston, MA (PRWEB) January 29, 2015 -- Dr. James Sherley, Director of the new biotech start-up Asymmetrex, LLC (formerly known as The Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC) is looking forward to four upcoming opportunities in 2015 to continue to impress both academic and industry audiences with his company’s very frank take on what is needed to accelerate progress in stem cell medicine.
Asymmetrex has set the focus for its efforts on adult stem cells that are found in the organs and tissues of children and adults. Unlike human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), adult stem cells are free of induced mutations, are not tumor-forming, and have the essential ability to continuously regenerate mature human tissue cells like those in children and adults. To date, hESCs and iPSCs have only been able to regenerate immature cells, and even those not continuously.
Previously, the two main challenges hindering wider use of adult stem cells for drug development and medical therapies have been difficulty producing them and difficulty counting them. Asymmetrex has reported, and in many cases secured patents for, new technologies that reduce or eliminate both of these challenges. At the coming conferences, Dr. Sherley will describe the company’s most recent technological advances in this regard and discuss the science that led to them.
In particular, he will highlight the company’s newest technology – developed with partner AlphaSTAR Corporation – for estimating adult stem cell number in any human tissue. The two companies are developing the new technology as an assay to detect drug candidates that will fail in expensive pre-clinical animal studies and clinical trials because of intolerable toxicity against tissue stem cells. By screening-out such drugs earlier in the drug development process, Asymmetrex and AlphaSTAR estimate that together they could save the U.S. pharmaceutical industry $4-5 billion each year.
The four scheduled conferences include the 7th Annual Predictive Toxicology Summit, February 16-18, in London; the 5th World Congress on Cell and Stem Cell Research, March 23-25, in Chicago; the 2015 Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology, March 28-April 1, in Boston; and the Inaugural 3D Cellular Models Conference, June 11-12, also in Boston.
The breadth of conference topics reflects the many important roles that adult tissue stem cells play in human biology and cellular medicine. Dr. Sherley offers that, “Because of the importance of adult stem cells in normal body function, it is not surprising that Asymmetrex’s technologies impact so many different facets of stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, and drug development.
About Asymmetrex
Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. Asymmetrex’s founder and director, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert on the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. The company’s patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems – production and quantification – that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing induced pluripotent stem cells for disease research purposes. Currently, Asymmetrex’s focus is employing its technological advantages to develop facile methods for monitoring adult stem cell number and function in clinically important human tissues.
James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D., Asymmetrex, LLC, http://asymmetrex.com, +1 (617) 990-6819, [email protected]
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