News
News and information relevant to AlfaGene's endeavors is listed below.
Top Stories
July
20, 2009
Newspaper article in The Hindu concerning the signing of the MOU Agreement
Between AlfaGene Bioscience, Inc. and JSS University
July 16, 2009
Signing of "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) Agreement
Between AlfaGene Bioscience, Inc. and JSS University
AlfaGene Biosciences (AGB) and Jagadguru Sri
Shivarathreeshwara University (JSSU), two biomedical and
biotechnology focused organizations signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) agreement, agreeing to “explore opportunities
for cooperation and collaboration with each other in the field of
biotechnology and research related work.”
The memorandum’s purpose is to create a shared program for
human adult stem cell treatment research and applications, initially
focusing on inflammatory diseases and cancers of the
gastrointestinal tract such as Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis,
and colon cancer.
AlfaGene, a USA
corporation focusing on human adult stem cells of the
gastrointestinal
tract (GI), is a rising resource for GI clinical research and
biopharmaceutical production.
The company was founded in 2007 by Mayur Doshi and Dr. Asit
Panja to take advantage of its own proprietary technology for the
isolation and establishment of adult stem cell lines from human
patients for biomarker discovery and stem cell therapy for the
treatment of GI disorders.
AlfaGene is the only entity to posses viable human adult stem
cells from every region/tissue of the human GI tract.
Mr Doshi, CEO of AlfaGene, is also CEO of Apogee Pharma, has
more than 20 years of experience in the global generic
pharmaceutical market, and has several philanthropic endeavors.
Dr. Panja, MD, CSO of AlfaGene, has over 20 years of academic
experience and is the individual who
originally invented the procedure for isolation, long term
culturing, and establishment of adult stem cell lines from human GI
tissues, as well as, the processes for deriving primary
non-transformed epithelial cell lines from these established adult
stem cell lines. JSSU was founded in1956 and presently has
over 350 affiliated schools in India, offering education for a broad
spectrum of healthcare and science careers.
JSSU’s vice chancellor, Dr.
Bhojraj Suresh, MPharm PhD DSc, who is also President of both the
Pharmacy Council of India and the Indian Pharmaceutical Association,
signed this “Memorandum of Understanding” along with AlfaGene’s CSO
Dr. Asit Panja, while visiting AlfaGene’s stem cell research
facility in Somerset, New Jersey (US).
For AlfaGene, JSSU provides access to
patients, biological samples, clinical study collaborations, and the
extensive clinical expertise of JSSU.
In return, JSSU will gain access to the human adult stem cell
research related expertise and scientific staff of AlfaGene.
JSSU and AlfaGene will share in collaborative research
efforts and AlfaGene will also provide an additional academic
resource to JSSU by way of the scientists and facilities of AlfaGene
Bioscience. Dr. David
Harrison, AlfaGene’s Director of Biomarker Discovery and
Development, was excited over the prospect of future joint ventures
between the two entities, as well as, the sharing of resources and
ideas. He further
expressed that the benefits and potential opportunities such a
collaboration will provide to both entities was a win-win solution
for all involved and a prime example of the progress that can be
accomplished and good will developed when entities from different
countries come together to share resources. Also in attendence for
the signing were Sreedhar
Venkatraman, Controller of AlphaGene,
Ashish Mahajan,
Director of Business
Development of AlfaGene, Dr. Muthusamy Shanmugam, PhD
JSS Alumni, and Dr.
Satish Palaniappan, PhD
also a JSS Alumni.
Dr. Asit Panja stated that
“this collaboration between JSSU and AlfaGene Bioscience is truly an
excellent representative example of the ever growing trend of Indian
and American organizations joining forces in the name of progress
for the benefit and betterment of mankind.”
May 30-June 4,
2009
Both Dr. Panja and Dr. Harrison, members of AlfaGene's Research Team, attended and presented posters at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2009 in Chicago, IL. This was the 40th anniversary of DDW which has grown into the world's largest educational forum for digestive disease academicians, clinicians, researchers and trainees, as well as, practice managers and other GI health professionals. The meeting had more than 16,000 attendees and over 2,000 sessions and posters. Sponsoring societies included: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), American Gastro (AGA Institute), American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), and Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT).
PDF files of the two posters presented by AlfaGene's Research Team members can be downloaded
by clicking on the links (picture of poster) provided below.
Mechanism of Anti-Inflammatory Action of 5-ASA on
Intestinal Epithelium
Asit Panja
Differential
TLR Expression Profile in Both Epithelial Stem Cells (Epi-SC)
Isolated From Each Segment of the Human Intestinal Tract and Primary
Non-Transformed Epithelial Cell Lineages Derived From the Cultured
Epi-SCs.
David A. Harrison, Shazia Ahmedi, and Asit Panja
March
5, 2009
AlfaGene releases 2nd brochure and launches first product line.
AlfaGene released its 2nd brochure today and launched it's first commercial product line: human adult stem cell lines derived from 10 GI tissues/regions and assorted primary epithelial cell lines derived from the adult stem cell lines. A PDF of the
A PDF file of the brochure (altered for easy printing) can be downloaded
by clicking on the link (picture of the brochure) provided below.
AlfaGene
brochure.
Feb
2, 2009
AlfaGene awarded provisional patent 61/04726
AlfaGene was awarded a provisional patent for "Drug Discovery Methods involving a Preclinical in vitro isolated Gastrointestinal Epithelial Stem Cell–like Progenitor Cell System (US provisional patent application 61/047296).