BSI enhances industry understanding of cell therapy technologies with new glossary of terms

Today BSI and the London Regenerative Medicine Network announce the publication of the much anticipated 2nd Edition of the Cell therapy and regenerative medicine glossary (commonly known to the industry as PAS 84 or the ‘Little Purple Book’), to ensure that the sector is kept up to date with current terminology and industry best practice. The Glossary will be available both on the BSI website and in print and online as a Supplement to the May 2012 issue of Regenerative Medicine (www.futuremedicine.com/toc/rme/7/3s).

The revised glossary commissioned by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), is intended to provide a standardized list of terms for everyone involved in cell therapy or regenerative medicine, both within the UK and across the globe.

Regenerative medicine - the pursuit of regeneration by drugs, biomaterials, devices and/or cells - originated in the 1980s and today is an expanding multibillion pound industry. Likewise, the emerging cell therapy industry is predicted to grow from £1 billion in global revenue in 2011 to over £3 billion by 2014, with even greater growth expected to follow.

The revised glossary published by BSI is aimed at helping industry representatives:
• Prepare for legal, commercial and societal issues
• Facilitate a common understanding of the science of cell therapies and regenerative medicine
• Improve communication and understanding of advances in the field
• Demonstrate best practice and product quality
• Reduce language barriers in the cell therapy industry supply chain

It provides a complete set of definitions for regenerative medicine and stem cell research – from ‘allogeneic’ to ‘zygote’ – in clear, non-technical language, in an enhanced format and with many new definitions.

Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said: “Cell therapy is evolving at a phenomenal rate and unless certain barriers are removed, these ambitious growth projections will not be met. There is an imperative for all stakeholders – patients, researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, press, public and politicians, to share a common language. This signals an urgent need for a universally agreed set of terms and definitions.”

Professor Chris Mason at the University College London said: “Scientific breakthroughs, innovation and the overall pace of progress for both regenerative medicine and cell therapy has greatly increased over the last four years and as a result, a great many new terms have come into existence. We therefore welcome the second edition of what has become a highly popular and much used glossary.”


Shirley Bailey-Wood, Director of Publishing at BSI said: “The revision of PAS 84 demonstrates BSI’s ongoing commitment to supporting the development of innovative products and technologies in the UK through standardisation. Together with related specifications such as PAS 83 (http://shop.bsigroup.com/pas83, publication expected June 2012) and PAS 93 (http://shop.bsigroup.com/pas93), BSI has produced an authoritative range of documents for a potentially sensitive market that can be used by organisations looking to successfully and ethically commercialise cell therapy products. We look forward to continuing to support developments in this field.”

The revised glossary is now available to download free of charge. Please visit:
http://shop.bsigroup.com/pas 84
www.futuremedicine.com/toc/rme/7/3s

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About BSI
BSI (British Standards Institution) is a global organization that equips businesses with the necessary solutions to turn standards of best practice into habits of excellence. Formed in 1901, BSI was the world’s first National Standards Body and a founding member of the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). Over a century later it continues to facilitate business improvement across the globe by helping its clients drive performance, reduce risk and grow sustainably through the adoption of international management systems standards, many of which BSI originated. Famed for its marks of excellence including the instantly recognisable Kitemark®, BSI’s influence spans multiple sectors including aerospace, construction, energy, engineering, finance, healthcare, IT and retail. With over 64,000 clients in 147 countries, BSI is an organization whose standards inspire excellence across the globe.

To learn more, please visit www.bsigroup.com


About LRMN
The London Regenerative Medicine Network (LRMN) is the largest and most successful network focused on cell therapy, gene therapy and regenerative medicine in the UK if not globally. Founded in 2005, the LRMN remains an independent ‘not for profit’ organization firmly embedded in the community. This grass-roots network is free for all to join and prides itself on its inclusivity. Through its extensive networking activities, the LRMN is totally focused on accelerating the attainment of one common goal: the delivery of safe, efficacious therapies that can be affordably manufactured at scale for use in routine clinical practice for the benefit of all.


About Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative Medicine provides a forum to address the important challenges and advances in stem cell research and regenerative medicine, delivering this essential information in concise, clear and attractive article formats – vital to an increasingly time-constrained community.Regenerative Medicine has an Impact Factor of 3.358 and is indexed on Medline and all major indexing services. The Senior Editor is Chris Mason, Professor of Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing, University College London, UK.

For more information.please visit www.futuremedicine.com/loi/rme

Personalized Medicine focuses on Genomic Pathology

The peer-reviewed journal Personalized Medicine has published another high-quality special issue this May focusing on the topic of genomic pathology, further highlighting the journal’s commitment to providing leading coverage of recent international efforts to propel personalized medicine into the clinic.

The issue is guest edited by Dr Dennis P. Wall and Dr Peter J. Tonellato (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA) and features contributions from leading opinion leaders in the field.

The importance of genomic pathology has been gaining momentum ever since the first meeting took place, which was held in October 2010 at the Banbury Conference Centre (Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA) entitled “Genome-Era Pathology, Precision Diagnostics, and Preemptive Care: A Stakeholder Summit”. This was then followed by a second meeting held in May 2011 entitled: “The Future of Pathology in Personalized Medicine: A Stakeholder Summit”. Together, these meetings laid the foundation and set the scene for this special focus issue.

Guest editors Drs Tonellato and Wall explain in their commentary the task ahead for pathologists: “...significant resources and commitment is required by the governing pathology associations, academic pathology departments and the biotechnology companies before a clinical whole-genome process will be established in routine pathology care.”

The issue features a range of articles from insightful reviews to commentaries and interviews with key individuals at the forefront of genomic medicine: Dr Paul R Billings (Life Technologies, Inc. USA) and Prof David Korn (Harvard Medical School, MA, USA).

“This special focus issue contains insightful interviews and an editorial from experts with uncommon vision and a strong grounding in realistic expectations. Taken together, these papers provide a logical and comprehensive blueprint for the future of genomic pathology,” explained Dr Jeff Saffitz (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Medical School, MA, USA).

A full listing of articles included in the issue is available at:
http://www.futuremedicine.com/toc/pme/9/3

Contributing corresponding authors include: Mark S Boguski (Harvard Medical School, MA, USA), James M Crawford (North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, NY, USA), Richard Haspel (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, MA, USA), Jeffrey Saffitz (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical, MA, USA), Iris Schrijver (Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA) and Sheila D Walcoff (Goldbug Strategies LLC, USA).

The editorial office is now actively soliciting contributions of reviews, perspectives and editorial articles for Personalized Medicine. For a full range of the exciting new article types included in Personalized Medicine please see our Author Guidelines. If you are interested in contributing then please contact the Senior Journal Development Editor, Tarryn Greenberg, at
t.greenberg@futuremedicine.com.

Selected content from this special issue of Personalized Medicine can be viewed at www.futuremedicine.com/loi.pme. If you are interested in receiving a free 30-day online trial to evaluate the journals content please contact info@futuremedicine.com, quoting PME12PR.

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For further information on Personalized Medicine, please contact Tarryn Greenberg, Senior
Journal Development Editor,
Future Science Group.

T: +44 (0) 20 8371 6090 E: t.greenberg@futuremedicine.com

NOTES FOR EDITORS

ABOUT PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
Personalized Medicine translates recent genomic and proteomic advances into the clinical context, and addresses the impact of pharmacogenomics in modern medicine, providing an integrated forum for all players involved in the healthcare value chain. Coverage includes news and views, current awareness regarding new biomarkers, concise commentaries and analysis, reports from the conference circuit and full review articles. The full Aims & Scope, along with the editorial board, can be found at http://www.future-science.com/loi/pme.

ABOUT FUTURE SCIENCE GROUP The Future Science Group (www.future-science-group.com) is an expanding group of independent publishing companies active in the field of scientific information and endeavor, including Expert Reviews Ltd (formerly known as Future Drugs Ltd) Future Medicine Ltd and Future Science Ltd. As a leading provider of products and services for the medical, science and business communities, we present the most important scientific breakthroughs in an accessible and evaluated format, while at the same time providing the scientific community with unique vehicles for disseminating forward-thinking research information and data. Complete listings of titles under each imprint are available at www.expert-reviews.com, www.futuremedicine.com and www.future-science.com.

PRESS RELEASE FROM FUTURE SCIENCE GROUP

April 2012
Contact: Charlotte Barker, Head of Commissioning, Future Science Group
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8371 6090
Email: c.barker@future-science.com

Future Medicinal Chemistry publishes mini focus on rheumatology

Future Medicinal Chemistry has published a mini focus dedicated to developments in the area of rheumatology, with contributions from academic experts based in Europe, North America and Asia.

Rheumatology is a topic at the forefront of medicinal chemistry research with increasingly strong interest being invested into exploring novel compounds that modulate pathways and molecular targets in rheumatic diseases. Traditional small-molecule therapies, such as gold salts, have been superseded by biologics including the TNF inhibitor etanercept; however, medicinal chemistry has progressed and an increasing number of new small- and large-molecules are being developed as therapeutic candidates.

The mini focus provides a snapshot of the current state of this active field. “This issue focuses both on a look back at established therapies and their limitations and a look forward on new targets and their potentials for developing new therapeutics,” commented contributing author Robert Scheinman of University of Colorado, Denver (USA).

The issue comprises comprehensive reviews and topical opinion pieces by leading experts in the field. Topics include the implications of targeting visfatin and sphingosine kinases in rheumatoid arthritis, the potential use of cannabinoids, and the risks of targeting proteins and pathways that are involved in both rheumatic disease progression and resolution.

The issue features two noteworthy editorials. First, Charles Malemud discusses the synergies between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis drug-discovery projects, anticipating which therapeutic strategies are able to transverse from one disease to the other. Next, drawing on clinical experience, Matthias Seidel considers the use of drugs originally approved to suppress nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The special focus issue can be accessed from the Future Medicinal Chemistry website: http://www.future-science.com/toc/fmc/4/6

Contributing authors include: Robert Scheinman (University of Colorado, Denver, USA), Matthias F. Seidel (University of Bonn, Germany), Rowena Bunning (Sheffield Hallam University, UK), Bernard Leung (National University of Singapore, Singapore), Mari Nowell (Cardiff University, UK), Charles Malemud (Case Western Reserve University, USA)


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ABOUT FUTURE MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY

Future Medicinal Chemistry provides a monthly platform (18 issues annually) for reviews and original research for the ever-expanding and diversifying pharmaceutical chemistry community, by showcasing milestones in R&D and featuring expert analysis of emerging developments. The journal is supported by an international Editorial Board headed by Professor Iwao Ojima (State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA) and Professor David Thurston (King’s College London, UK). The journal is indexed by Medline®/Pubmed, ISI and other major services, and was granted its first impact factor of 1.424 in June 2011. The full Aims & Scope, along with the editorial structure, can be found on the journal’s web page.

ABOUT FUTURE SCIENCE GROUP

The Future Science Group (www.future-science-group.com) is a leading provider of products and services for the medical, science and business communities. The group is comprised by three independent publishing companies active at the forefront of scientific information, including Expert Reviews Ltd, Future Medicine Ltd and Future Science Ltd. Complete listings of titles available under each imprint are available at www.expert-reviews.com, www.futuremedicine.com and www.future-science.com.

“There is perhaps no field of therapeutics in which personalized medicine has been more successfully implemented than breast cancer”, Dr David Flockhart, Indiana University School of Medicine, USA.

Biomarker-driven therapeutics and the use of somatic, transcriptomic arrays to guide therapy have already resulted in quantifiable improvements in the lives of patients with breast cancer such that for a Caucasian woman in her mid 50s who is diagnosed early with low-grade disease, the life expectancy is 15 years or more. However, worldwide, breast cancer remains the second most lethal cancer in women, responsible for more than a million premature deaths per year worldwide and astronomic healthcare costs.

It follows therefore, that optimization of existing therapies is critical, and the development of new and tolerable therapies remains a high priority. For this reason, efforts to identify genetic biomarkers that predict and further focus treatment remain crucial; this special focus issue of Pharmacogenomics is focused on the ongoing effort around the world to do so.

Articles in this special focus issue highlight the ongoing role of pharmacogenomics in mechanisms of disease and review the tests that currently allow for more targeted treatment with aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen and chemotherapy. The cutting edge of future approaches
– including next-generation sequencing of both the germline genome and the somatic transcriptome – are illustrated, whilst placing the science of pharmacogenomics in a clinical context.

The guest editors for the issue are Dr William Newman, from the University of Manchester, and Dr David Flockhart, from Indiana University School of Medicine, USA.

Coverage includes:
Interviews with Richard Weinshilboum (Mayo Clinic, USA) and Alan Ashworth (Institute of Cancer Research, UK)
The pharmacogenomics of sex hormone metabolism: cancer risk in menopausal
hormone therapy

MicroRNAs in breast cancer: ready for real time?
Use of CYP2D6 genotyping in practice: tamoxifen dose adjustment
Pharmacogenetics of aromatase inhibitors
Pharmacogenomics of chemotherapy efficacy in breast cancer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

• The importance of non-pharmacogenetic factors and adherence to endocrine therapy

A full listing of articles included in the issue is available at:
http://www.futuremedicine.com/toc/pgs/13/6

The editorial office is now actively soliciting contributions of reviews, perspectives and editorial articles for Pharmacogenomics. For a full range of the exciting new article types included in Pharmacogenomics please see our Author Guidelines. If you are interested in contributing any of the article types listed then please contact the Commissioning Editor, Natalie Harrison at
n.harrison@futuremedicine.com.

Selected content from this special issue of Pharmacogenomics can be viewed at www.futuremedicine.com/loi.pgs. If you are interested in receiving a free 30-day online trial to evaluate the journals content please contact info@futuremedicine.com, quoting PGSPR12.

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For further information on Pharmacogenomics, please contact Victoria Lane, Senior Editor,
Future Science Group.
T: +44 (0) 20 8371 6090
E: v.lane@futuremedicine.com

NOTES FOR EDITORS ABOUT PHARMACOGENOMICS
Impact factor: 3.876
ISSN: 1462-2416
Volume: Number 13 (2012)
Frequency: 16 issues per year (as of 2012)

Senior Editors

Howard L McLeod, Director, UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy, University of North Carolina, USA
Munir Pirmohamed, NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, MRC Centre for Drug Safety Sciences, The University of Liverpool, UK
David Gurwitz, Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

Description

Advances in pharmacogenomics are facilitating the development of therapeutics that are tailored toward specific diseases in specific individuals. As a consequence, physicians will be able to administer the best available drug therapy on the basis of an individual patient's genotype. The consequences should be enhanced therapeutic benefit, faster recovery time and a reduced incidence of adverse drug reactions. Pharmacogenomics focuses on those aspects of this rapidly expanding field that are of the most direct relevance to industrial and academic R&D scientists and to the wider clinical community.
The journal covers:

Advances in the identification and characterization of genetic polymorphisms associated with drug responses, drug metabolism and adverse drug reactions to individualize treatment
Up to date reviews on the clinical application of genomic information to pharmacology
Association of genetic polymorphisms with adverse drug reactions and drug safety

• Emerging and existing technologies for accessing and exploiting genomic information
implicated in drug development
Latest regulatory guidelines and their impact on pharmacogenomics R&D
Cost–benefit analysis of pharmacogenomic applications in the clinic
Ethical and policy issues in pharmacogenomics

Citations: MEDLINE/Index Medicus, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Chemical Abstracts, Science Citation Index®, Science Citation Index Expanded™ (SciSearch®), Biotechnology Citation Index™, Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition®, Index to Scientific Reviews®, Scopus

ABOUT FUTURE SCIENCE GROUP
The Future Science Group (www.future-science-group.com) is an expanding group of independent publishing companies active in the field of scientific information and endeavor, including Expert Reviews Ltd (formerly known as Future Drugs Ltd) Future Medicine Ltd and Future Science Ltd. As a leading provider of products and services for the medical, science and business communities, we present the most important scientific breakthroughs in an accessible and evaluated format, while at the same time providing the scientific community with unique vehicles for disseminating forward-thinking research information and data. Complete listings of titles under each imprint are available at www.expert-reviews.com, www.futuremedicine.com and www.future-science.com.

In the first half of the 19th Century, the majority of children born with serious congenital heart disease faced nearly uniform mortality in their first year of life. However, during the ensuing two-thirds of a century, a global army of dedicated pediatricians, cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, nurses and researchers worked tirelessly to change those statistics. Today, there are more adults living with congenital heart disease than children, one of the greatest achievements in modern medicine. However, this new population presents renewed challenges for the cardiologist in terms of management and the available treatment options, often difficult decisions have to be made, some not always out of choice. This special issue of Future Cardiology highlights the diverse but specific problems in relation to congenital heart disease.

The Guest Editors for this issue, Shakeel A Qureshi (Evelina Children’s Hospital, London, UK) and Lee Benson (The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada) have bought together 45 authors with one common objective – to provide the reader with a comprehensive and timely view of the field of congenital heart disease, with reference to the growing population of adults with congenital heart disease. The content has been written by individuals who have contributed substantially to our current understanding and also to future approaches and directions in congenital heart disease, including the use of stem cells and genetics which will potentially signal the new dawn in cardiovascular medicine and beyond. A range of international experts have contributed to the issue and articles include a number of Special Reports, Perspectives and Reviews.

“This special focus issue of Future Cardiology provides an overview of pediatric cardiovascular medicine, diagnosis, management, outcomes and the future landscape, highlighting the diverse but specific problems in relation to congenital heart disease. So from the fetus through to adulthood, we gain a glimpse at congenital heart disease today,” commented Lee Benson.

A full listing of articles included in the issue is available at: http://www.futuremedicine.com/toc/fca/8/2


The editorial office is now actively soliciting contributions of reviews, perspectives and editorial articles for Future Cardiology. For a full range of the exciting new article types included in Future Cardiology please see our Author Guidelines. If you are interested in contributing any of the article types listed then please contact the Managing Commissioning Editor, Michael Dowdall at m.dowdall@futuremedicine.com.

Selected content from this special issue of Future Cardiology can be viewed at www.futuremedicine.com/loi.fca. If you are interested in receiving a free 30-day online trial to evaluate the journals content please contact info@futuremedicine.com, quoting FCA12PR.

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For further information on Future Cardiology, please contact Victoria Lane, Senior Editor,
Future Medicine
Future Science Group
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8371 6090
Email: v.lane@futuremedicine.com




NOTES FOR EDITORS

ABOUT FUTURE CARDIOLOGY
Future Cardiology reflects the new era of cardiology and highlights the new molecular approach to advancing cardiovascular therapy. Coverage includes the major technological advances in bioengineering in cardiology in terms of advanced and robust devices, miniaturization, imaging, system modeling and information management issues. We take a new approach to the way information is structured and delivered, so that its value is maximized to the reader. Accessible 'at-a-glance' formats are important in an increasingly time-constrained clinical community. Future Cardiology is currently indexed by MEDLINE/Index Medicus, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Chemical Abstracts and Scopus.

To find out more about Future Cardiology, to view our Editorial Board and past content, please visit our website.

ABOUT FUTURE SCIENCE GROUP
The Future Science Group (www.future-science-group.com) is an expanding group of independent publishing companies active in the field of scientific information and endeavor, including Expert Reviews Ltd (formerly known as Future Drugs Ltd) Future Medicine Ltd and Future Science Ltd. As a leading provider of products and services for the medical, science and business communities, we present the most important scientific breakthroughs in an accessible and evaluated format, while at the same time providing the scientific community with unique vehicles for disseminating forward-thinking research information and data. Complete listings of titles under each imprint are available at www.expert-reviews.com, www.futuremedicine.com and www.future-science.com.