BOSTON, Mass. – August 6, 2012 - BiotechLikemind, the Boston biotech network and idea exchange incubator, will host a panel presentation by two of the area’s leading gene therapy and cancer targeting companies titled, “Towards Novel Medical Therapies - Transformative Therapies for Cancer and Genetic Disease” on Thursday, August 9, 2012 at the Space with a Soul conference center, 281 Summer Street in Boston at 7:00 pm. Event detail and registration information is available at http://biotechlikemind1-estw.eventbrite.com/.
Presenting will be Mitchell Finer, Chief Science Officer for bluebird bio, on the company’s transformative one-time gene-based therapeutics for the treatment of severe genetic disease. The firm’s approach utilizes gene transfer in the context of autologous bone marrow transplantation as a safer and more efficacious approach compared to the current standard of care, including allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
Also presenting is Christopher Pazoles, VP at Novelos Therapeutics, on company’s development of novel drugs for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Novelos’ three cancer-targeted compounds are selectively taken up and retained in cancer cells, including cancer stem cells, versus normal cells. Thus, the company’s therapeutic compounds appear to directly kill cancer cells while minimizing harm to normal cells. This offers the potential for a paradigm shift in cancer therapy by providing efficacy versus all three major drivers of mortality in cancer: primary tumors, metastases and stem cell-based relapse.
“These companies are in the vanguard of gene therapy, stem cell-based drug discovery and transformative cancer therapeutics -- among the premier trends in biotech,” said Elmar Nurmemmedov, Harvard Medical School scientist and founder of BiotechLikemind. “We are looking forward to hear the stories behind their innovations and visions for the future, toward the ultimate goal of developing novel therapeutic solutions.”
About BiotechLikemind
BiotechLikemind is Boston-based biotechnology platform whose mission is to grow a bio-entrepreneurial ecosystem through connecting innovative likeminds from various biotech and biotech-sympathizer sectors. As a part of its mission, BiotechLikemind aims to organize monthly events - each with a specific theme, and online content.
About bluebird bio
bluebird bio is developing innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders. At the heart of bluebird bio’s product creation efforts is its broadly applicable gene therapy platform for the development of novel treatments for diseases with few or no clinical options. The company’s novel approach uses stem cells harvested from the patient’s own bone marrow into which a healthy version of the disease causing gene is inserted. bluebird bio’s approach represents a true paradigm shift in the treatment of severe genetic diseases by eliminating the potential
complications associated with donor cell transplantation and potentially presenting a one-time transformative therapy using a patient’s own stem cells. bluebird bio has two later stage clinical products in development for childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CCALD) and betathalassemia, and plans to initiate a program in sickle cell disease. Led by a world-class team, its operations are located in Cambridge, Mass. and Paris, France. For more information, please visit www.bluebirdbio.com.
About Novelos Therapeutics, Inc.
Novelos Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Our three cancer-targeted compounds are selectively taken up and retained in cancer cells, including cancer stem cells, versus normal cells. Thus, our therapeutic compounds appear to directly kill cancer cells while minimizing harm to normal cells. This offers the potential for a paradigm shift in cancer therapy by providing efficacy versus all three major drivers of mortality in cancer: primary tumors, metastases and stem cell-based relapse. I-124-CLR1404 (LIGHT) is a small-molecule cancer-targeted PET imaging agent. We believe LIGHT has first-in-class potential and Phase 1-2 clinical trials are ongoing. I-131-CLR1404 (HOT) is a small-molecule, broad-spectrum, cancer-targeted molecular radiotherapeutic that delivers cytotoxic radiation directly and selectively to cancer cells and cancer stem cells. We believe HOT also has first-in-class potential. HOT Phase 1b dose-escalation trial is ongoing and we expect HOT to enter Phase 2 trials in the first quarter of 2013 as a monotherapy for solid tumors with significant unmet medical need. CLR1404 (COLD), a pre-clinical cancer-targeted non-radioactive chemotherapy, works primarily through Akt inhibition. Together, we believe our compounds are able to “find, treat and follow” cancer anywhere in the body in a novel, effective and highly selective way.
For additional information please visit www.novelos.com
About Space with a Soul
Space with a Soul is a mission accelerator that provides managed office space, event space, shared services, and a network of affordable service providers to nonprofits, small companies, and start-ups. The services available at the Center allow small organizations to reduce their operational overhead and provide access to benefits available to larger enterprises. As a result, money saved can be redirected to realizing the mission. In addition to operational benefits, residents at Space with a Soul benefit from being part of a thriving community working to change the world.Space with a Soul is rapidly expanding, and is currently home to thirty-six of Boston’s most innovative companies and organizations. Stas Gayshan, the founder of Space with a Soul, was recently named one of the 12 most innovative people in Massachusetts Business by the Boston Globe, and Space with a Soul was named as one of the 100 hottest things about Boston in Stuff Boston Magazine. For more information, please visit www.spacewithasoul.org.
