Military Researchers to Conduct Clinical Study of a "Skin Substitute" Using a Patient's Own Cells to Treat Complex Burns and Soft Tissue Injuries

CORAL SPRINGS, Florida, October 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Cooperative research and development efforts with the military, universities and the biotech industry can potentially lead to advancements in the treatment of severe wounds.  Biotech companies with recent developments, partnerships and advancements in focus are Amarantus Bioscience Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: AMBS), Array BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY), Avanex Life Sciences Corp. (OTCQX: AVXLD), Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO), and Progenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PGNX)

According to a Military Times article published on October 11, 2015 entitled "Bio-Engineering Skin to Treat Severe Burns", military researchers are putting the final touches on a study of a "skin substitute" grown from a patient's own cells to treat complex burns and soft tissue injuries.  

The new research study underway at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio holds promise for treating burn patients, including those with severe, life-threatening wounds. The treatment, called "engineered skin substitute," or ESS, combines tissue cultivated from a patient's skin along with collagen-producing cells to replace the two top components of skin, the epidermis and dermis. Using the patient's cells avoids the need for foreign substitutes and lowers the chances of infection, which in turn avoids the need for immunosuppressants and reduces the number of surgeries required.

ESS is being developed by California-based biotechnology firm Amarantus BioScience (OTCQX: AMBS) and researchers from USAISR and Rutgers University.

Skin autografts - using an individual's own cells or skin to replace damaged tissue - have been around for years, but the technology for rapidly growing replacement skin to use in large-scale burn replacement has lagged.  Moreover, many current products replace either one layer of skin or the other, but not the top two layers together. A comprehensive substitute has long been the "Holy Grail of burn surgery," said Army Col. Booker King, director of the USAISR's Burn Center. "To be able to treat a patient who has burn injuries, you have to remove the deeply burned tissue [and cover it]. Skin is complex … a burn will not heal on its own. You have to have grafting," King said.

Read the full Military Times Article at http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/health-care/2015/10/11/bio-engineering-skin-treat-severe-burns/73511584/.

In other biopharmaceutical news and developments of interest:  Array BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer, recently presented clinical trial results from its wholly-owned MEK inhibitor, binimetinib, and BRAF inhibitor, encorafenib, at the European Society of Medical Oncology's (ESMO) annual European Cancer Conference (ECC). At the meeting, preliminary data were shared from both a Phase 2 combination trial of binimetinib and encorafenib in BRAF-mutant melanoma patients (LOGIC2) and a Phase 1b/2 combination trial of binimetinib and ribociclib (Novartis, LEE011), a CDK4/6 inhibitor in NRAS-mutant melanoma patients.

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (OTCQX: AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing drug candidates to treat Alzheimer's disease, other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain, and various types of cancer, announced on October 7th the presentation of full PART A data and preliminary PART B data from the ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial of ANAVEX 2-73 at the upcoming Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference in Barcelona, Spain from November 5-7, 2015.  The late-breaking oral session will be presented by the trial's Principal Investigator, Stephen Macfarlane, FRANZCP, Director and Associate Professor, Aged Psychiatry at Caulfield Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Juno Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: JUNO) a company building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on revolutionizing medicine by re-engaging the body's immune system to treat cancer, was highlighted on October 6, 2015 in a research update from FBR& Co., a full an investment bank headquartered in Arlington, Va. FBR has an outperform rating on Juno with a price target of $73 per share.  In an excerpt from the update the FBR analyst stated, "We believe the company is different from competitors in its selection and activation of the cells, and this differentiation can be in part credited to its proprietary reagents and the attention it pays to process development. We believe investors are focused on leukemia and solid tumors and may be unaware of the advancements that Juno is making in lymphoma. We anticipate that this indication will start to draw more investor interest and that the company is already highlighting it more in presentations. The company's pipeline is deep with 10 candidates potentially in clinical trials using either CAR or TCR by early 2016."

Progenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PGNX) a company developing innovative medicines for oncology, with a pipeline that includes several product candidates in later-stage clinical development, announced on October 12 2015 its offer to acquire EXINI Diagnostics AB (publ), a leader in the development software solutions for medical decision support based on advanced image analysis, through a public offer to the shareholders of EXINI (the "Offer"). EXINI is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, and is listed on Nasdaq First North, Stockholm. The acquisition of EXINI complements Progenics's strategy to support its imaging and therapeutic agents with sophisticated software and other technologies that help physicians and patients visualize, understand, target and treat cancer.

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