Vascular BioSciences News
June 11, 2013 – Vascular BioSciences to Present at NHLBI Innovation Conference
March 26, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences Awarded STTR Matching Grant from the State of North Carolina
January 24, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences Moves Research and Development to North Carolina
December 3, 2003 – VBS announces that Erkki Ruoslahti, MD, PhD, joins its Board of Advisors
San Diego CA, June 11, 2013 – Vascular BioSciences (VBS) announces it will be presenting at a National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) conference from 10:30 to 5pm at the Janssen Research & Development Labs, 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego CA 92130.
This conference will bring together small businesses, angel investors, venture capitalists, strategic partners, and business leaders from the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. The conference is intended to provide a valuable opportunity for companies to present their technology and network with potential investors and partners. The conference will feature presentations by top NHLBI funded companies with innovative technologies on the brink of commercialization, an expert panel of investors, and opportunities for partnering and networking. VBS will give a fifteen‒minute platform presentation as well as a poster presentation during the conference.
VBS CEO David Mann commented, “Having received several NHLBI grants for our research, it is a further honor to be selected as a presenting company at next Tuesday’s conference. We look forward to sharing the story of our CAR peptide and its potential.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult‒to‒treat diseases.
More information is available at Vascular BioSciences and www.vbspharma.com.
More information on the 2013 NHLBI Innovation Conference is available at: http://nhlbisdinnovationconference2013-es2.eventbrite.com/?rank=3
Goleta, CA., April 10, 2013 – Vascular BioSciences announces the publication of “Vascular Histomolecular Analysis By Sequential Endoarterial Biopsy in a Shunt Model of Pulmonary Hypertension” to the current issue of the Pulmonary Circulation, Volume 3, Number 1, January to March 2013, pp. 50‒57 by Abraham Rothman, Robert G. Wiencek, William N. Evans, Humberto Restrepo, Valeri Sarukhanov, Erkki Ruoslahti, Roy Williams, and David Mann. This article details how endoarterial biopsy provides a new method of assessing pulmonary vascular histology and gene expression in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Percutaneous pulmonary endoarterial biopsy coupled with histologic and molecular analysis represents a potential new paradigm for diagnosis and potential treatment of PAH. This analysis could identify novel applications for existing and new PAH drugs. The detection of stage‒ and disease‒specific variation in gene expression could lead to individualized therapies.
Histomolecular analysis could become a routine component of the diagnostic information obtained in patients with pulmonary vascular diseases at the time of cardiac catheterization. In addition to obtaining pressures, cardiac output, calculation of pulmonary vascular resistance, angiography and vasodilator testing, endoarterial biopsy with histologic and molecular analysis would add a whole new dimension of biologic information to aid in diagnosis and choice of therapy.
Dr. Abraham Rothman, M.D., of the Children’s Heart Center, Nevada and Professor of Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and study first author states, “We describe a new model for endovascular histomolecular analysis in PAH. This technique could improve out understanding of the mechanisms associated with experimental and clinical PAH and identify novel drug targets and detect stage‒ and disease‒specific variations in gene expression.”
Vascular BioSciences CEO and study co‒author David Mann, commented, “Performing transcriptional profiling of biopsies has long been a hallmark of modern cancer care. This study extends that paradigm to pulmonary vascular diseases and can also be applied to diseases affecting other vascular beds.”
A link to the article can be found here: Histomolecular analysis and PAH 2013.pdf
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult‒to‒treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vbspharma.com.
Goleta, CA., October 11, 2012 – Vascular BioSciences recently awarded a NIH SBIR/STTR Phase I Commercialization Assistance Award to develop the CAR peptide as a therapeutic adjuvant.
CEO David Mann remarked, “The NIH SBIR/STTR Phase I Commercialization Assistance Award is a helpful step forward in commercializing our CAR peptide therapeutic adjuvant. We look forward to working with Foresight Science and Technology to develop a market entry strategy for our products.”
The National Health Institute (NIH) issues a Niche Assessment Program for those that wish to stimulate commercialization. In collaboration with the NIH SBIR/STTR awardees, the Foresight Science & Technology Incorporated provides a Technology Niche Analysis that presents a company with data about market-oriented information such as market size, potential consumers, and competing technologies. Companies selected to win the award are given an in-depth, unbiased assessment of appropriate market niches for products and given opportunities to connect with potential customers, licenses, investors, or commercial partners.
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult‒to‒treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com
San Diego, CA., October 10, 2012 – Vascular BioSciences announces CEO David Mann will present “CAR Peptide, a Disease Selective Therapeutic Adjuvant For Targeted Drug Therapy” during the 7th Annual Therapeutic Peptide Symposium to be hosted at The Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA on October 25th and 26th, 2012.
“A major limitation in the treatment of disease is the lack of therapeutic selectivity. Our therapeutic peptide adjuvant addresses this need by homing to areas of disease, internalizing into targeted tissues, and enabling co‒administered drugs to achieve selective therapeutic effects,” commented CEO David Mann.
CARSKNKDC (CAR), a 9 amino acid cyclic peptide selectively targets and internalizes into a range of diseased tissues. CAR targets hypertensive vessels, angiogenesis, fibrotic lesions, areas of inflammation, acute lung injury, asthma, wounds, and tumors. Interestingly, CAR peptide also enables a multiplicity of co‒administered drugs to preferentially affect disease tissues to increase localized concentrations of therapeutics without requiring the drug to be conjugated to the CAR peptide adjuvant. There is also evidence to indicate that CAR possesses oral bioavailability. In addition to oral availability, CAR peptide has a long half‒life (27 hours), and no toxic effects seen to date in pre‒clinical models.
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult‒to‒treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vbspharma.com.
About The Peptide Therapeutics Symposium
The Peptide Therapeutics Symposium is a non-profit annual meeting established in 2005 to promote research and development of peptide therapeutics. More information on this year’s symposium as well as previous symposiums can be found at: www.peptidetherapeutics.org.
Goleta, Calif., July 3, 2012 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that Dr. Kalju Kahn, PhD, has been named head of Medicinal Chemistry.
Dr. Kahn, an expert in computational chemistry and drug design at the University of California Santa Barbara, brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for chemistry to our drug development efforts. “We are very excited about the addition of Dr. Kahn as head of medicinal chemistry to our team,” remarked CEO David Mann, “Kalju brings a wealth of technical excellence and a deep understanding of the underlying chemistry that is of great value as we explore the correlation between molecular structure and pharmacological activity of our targeted therapeutic compounds.”
Dr. Kahn commented, “I look forward to contributing my talents in computational chemistry and drug design to help advance the exciting new therapeutic agents we are developing at VBS. I believe that with my broad background in experimental biochemistry and expertise in computational analysis of biomolecular interactions, I can significantly contribute toward achieving our goal to develop novel solutions for hard to treat diseases.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult‒to‒treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com and www.vbspharma.com.
Durnham, North Carolina, June 27, 2011 – Vascular BioSciences announces the publication of a scientific article which describes the sequential hemodynamic, angiographic, and histologic characterization of an aortopulmonary shunt animal model of chronic pulmonary hypertension (PAH) by using an experimental endoarterial biopsy catheter in the current issue of Comparative Medicne.
The paper “Hemodynamic and Histologic Characterization of a Swine (Sus scrofa domestica) Model of Chronic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” in the current issue of Comparative Medicne, Volume 61, Number 3, June 2011 , pp. 258-262(5) by Abraham Rothman, Robert G. Wiencek, Stephanie Davidson, William N Evans, Humberto Restrepo, Valeri Sarukhanov, Amanda Rivera-Begeman, and David Mann, describes the use of an experimental endoarterial biopsy catheter to describe the hemodynamic, angiographic, and histologic progression of a swine aortopulmonary shunt model of chronic pulmonary hypertension. The use of the endoarterial biopsy catheter allowed for sequential pulmonary vascular biopsy procedures as the PAH model developed. This PAH large animal model can be used to test therapeutic agents or interventions at several hemodynamic and disease stages, including at baseline prior to shunt surgery, during the initial high-flow but low-pressure state, and during the development of PAH.
The animal model described in this paper showed hemodynamic, angiographic, and histologic characteristics of chronic pulmonary arterial hypertension that mimicked the arterial pulmonary hypertension of systemic‒to‒pulmonary arterial shunts in humans. Experimental data obtained using this and other models and application of an in vivo endoarterial biopsy technique may aid in understanding mechanisms and developing therapies for experimental and human pulmonary arterial hypertension.
A unique aspect of this study was the use of an experimental endoarterial biopsy catheter to obtain several biopsy samples sufficient enough for tissue examination. The catheter was safe and effective in this model. Biopsy procedures were performed without complication and biopsy samples collected supported analysis of DNA, mRNA transcripts, and microRNAs. Use of the endoarterial biopsy catheter now adds the potential of sequential study of vascular tissue at different stages of PAH evolution and therapy. Genetic and structural endovascular changes can be tracked with biopsies in the course of a specific therapy. Application of this biopsy catheter may increase understanding and open new avenues for therapy in human PAH.
Comments Vascular BioSciences CEO David Mann, “This paper demonstrates the utility and safety of the endoarterial biopsy catheter in a large animal model of rapidly evolving PAH with similarities to types of PAH seen in patients. We have now successfully used the biopsy catheter to sample pulmonary arteries more than 1000 times preclinically, and we look forward to further application of our device.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and
prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through
it’s majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult to treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com. and www.vbspharma.com.
Goleta, Calif., June 24, 2011 – A recently published paper from Vascular BioSciences (VBS) in collaboration with Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the University of South Alabama has been selected by the Faculty of 1000 (F1000) as one of the top 2 percent of all published articles in the biological and medical sciences in 2011. F1000 is a global collaboration of the worlds leading scientists who identify and evaluate the most important articles in biology and medical research publications.
The paper, “Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension,” is published in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology, was authored by Takeo Urakami, Tero A.H. Järvinen, Michie Toba, Junko Sawada, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, David Mann, Ivan McMurtry, Masahiko Oka, Erkki Ruoslahti, and Masanobu Komatsu. The paper was selected for The Faculty of 1000 Biology by F1000 member Dr. Yuichiro Suzuki, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The article describes the discovery of CAR, a novel peptide that specifically targets and penetrates the vasculature of lungs affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension. Reviewer Suzuki commented, “Specific targeting of drugs to affected areas within the pulmonary vasculature should significantly advance the treatment strategies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a serious and lethal condition. The authors discovered a peptide which specifically targets affected tissues of remodeled pulmonary vasculature, providing a promising technology for drug delivery to treat PAH patients.”
“We are honored to have our paper highlighted by such a prestigious group as the Faculty of 1000. To have our paper selected by such an elite group of reviewers validates the tremendous potential our discoveries have in the PAH field,” said senior author Dr. Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, Florida.
First author Dr. Takeo Urakami, Ph.D., also of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, Florida, stated, “To our knowledge, this paper presents the first technology that allows for the selective targeting of PAH and we believe that the future breakthroughs in PAH lies in targeted therapies utilizing molecules like the CAR peptide. To have our paper considered to be among the top two percent of scientific articles in the biological and medical sciences by the F1000 further justifies our approach to the development of PAH treatments.”
“Our goal as a company is to provide therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of those suffering from life-threatening diseases like PAH. We believe CAR has tremendous potential to help PAH patients and are honored to have our efforts and progress acknowledged by the Faculty of 1000,” commented co‒author and VBS Pharmaceuticals CEO, David Mann.
About VBS Pharmaceuticals
VBS Pharmaceuticals, a majority owned subsidiary of Vascular BioSciences, develops targeted therapeutics for difficult to treat diseases.
For more information please visit: www.vbspharma.com.
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve disease outcomes for patients with significant unmet medical needs.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
About Sanford‒Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Sanford‒Burnham Medical Research Institute is dedicated to discovering the fundamental molecular causes of disease and devising the innovative therapies of tomorrow. Sanford‒Burnham, with operations in California and Florida, is one of the fastest‒growing research institutes in the country. The Institute ranks among the top independent research institutions nationally for NIH grant funding and among the top organizations worldwide for its research impact. From 1999 – 2009, Sanford-Burnham ranked #1 worldwide among all types of organizations in the fields of biology and biochemistry for the impact of its research publications, defined by citations per publication, according to the Institute for Scientific Information. According to government statistics, Sanford-Burnham ranks #2 nationally among all organizations in capital efficiency of generating patents, defined by the number of patents issued per grant dollars awarded.
Sanford‒Burnham utilizes a unique, collaborative approach to medical research and has established major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and infectious, inflammatory, and childhood diseases. The Institute is especially known for its world‒class capabilities in stem cell research and drug discovery technologies. Sanford‒Burnham is a nonprofit public benefit corporation.
For more information, please visit www.sanfordburnham.org.
About University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama, a diverse and vibrant public university, is making a difference in the lives of the people of Alabama and the nation through teaching, research, service and health care. The University offers a wide range of high-quality undergraduate and graduate academic programs, and the USA Health System, which includes the College of Medicine, USA Physicians, USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and USA Hospitals, provides state‒of‒the‒art health care and medical education.
Goleta, Calif., June 10, 2011 – VBS Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, and the University of South Alabama, announces the publication of a scientific article which describes a novel peptide that specifically targets and penetrates the vasculature of lungs affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
The paper, “Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”in the American Journal of Pathology 2011; 178(6): 2489-2495, by Takeo Urakami, Tero A.H. Järvinen, Michie Toba, Junko Sawada, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, David Mann, Ivan McMurtry, Masahiko Oka, Erkki Ruoslahti, and Masanobu Komatsu, describes the first discovery of a highly selective PAH targeting and tissue‒penetrating cyclic peptide CARSKNKDC (CAR). Injection of CAR resulted in the accumulation of the peptide in induced hypertensive lungs but not healthy lungs or other organs of the PAH rats. CAR also accumulated in various regions of the pulmonary system that play a crucial role in the development and pathogenesis of PAH. These findings support the future utility of CAR in the targeted delivery of therapeutic compounds and imaging probes to PAH lungs.
First author Dr. Takeo Urakami, Ph.D., of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, Florida, stated, “To assess the potential utility of CAR in targeting human PAH, we tested the binding abilities of CAR to human cells in culture. The expression of CAR in these cells demonstrated the presence of necessary receptors in human cells, suggesting that the application of CAR targeting to human PAH is feasible.”
Senior author Dr. Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., also of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona stated “The use of peptides for human therapy is a growing concept within the pharmaceutical industry. The successful targeting of the pulmonary system utilizing the CAR peptide can offer unique opportunities to target multiple cell types important in the pathogenesis of PAH.”
Despite recent advances in the treatment of PAH, with eight approved clinical therapies and additional therapies undergoing clinical trials, PAH remains a serious life-threatening condition. The lack of pulmonary vascular selectivity and associated systemic adverse effects of these therapies remain the main obstacles to successful treatment. Co‒author and VBS Pharmaceuticals CEO, David Mann concluded, “Current limitations in PAH regimens require the development of target specific treatments and to our knowledge, CAR presents the first technology that allows for this selective targeting of PAH.”
About VBS Pharmaceuticals
VBS Pharmaceuticals, a majority owned subsidiary of Vascular BioSciences, develops targeted therapeutics for difficult to treat diseases.
For more information please visit: www.vbspharma.com.
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve disease outcomes for patients with significant unmet medical needs.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
About Sanford‒Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Sanford‒Burnham Medical Research Institute is dedicated to discovering the fundamental molecular causes of disease and devising the innovative therapies of tomorrow. Sanford‒Burnham, with operations in California and Florida, is one of the fastest‒growing research institutes in the country. The Institute ranks among the top independent research institutions nationally for NIH grant funding and among the top organizations worldwide for its research impact. From 1999 – 2009, Sanford-Burnham ranked #1 worldwide among all types of organizations in the fields of biology and biochemistry for the impact of its research publications, defined by citations per publication, according to the Institute for Scientific Information. According to government statistics, Sanford-Burnham ranks #2 nationally among all organizations in capital efficiency of generating patents, defined by the number of patents issued per grant dollars awarded.
Sanford‒Burnham utilizes a unique, collaborative approach to medical research and has established major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and infectious, inflammatory, and childhood diseases. The Institute is especially known for its world‒class capabilities in stem cell research and drug discovery technologies. Sanford‒Burnham is a nonprofit public benefit corporation.
For more information, please visit www.sanfordburnham.org.
About University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama, a diverse and vibrant public university, is making a difference in the lives of the people of Alabama and the nation through teaching, research, service and health care. The University offers a wide range of high-quality undergraduate and graduate academic programs, and the USA Health System, which includes the College of Medicine, USA Physicians, USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and USA Hospitals, provides state‒of‒the‒art health care and medical education. The Center for Lung Biology is a world recognized research center with active research programs in lung injury and pulmonary hypertension. The CLB collaborates with clinical programs at USA including a vibrant Pulmonary Hypertension Center.
Santa Barbara, Calif., April 24, 2011 – Opening speaker David Mann presented the following remarks at the SCURC at the University of California at Santa Barbara on April 23, 2011. Reflecting from personal experience, he presented the following motivation and advice to the undergraduates honored in the conference:
“In the course of building Vascular BioSciences I’ve had the good fortune to work with people who are not only very smart, but also very nice as well.
During the past 2 years of working with Dr Kalju Kahn in medicinal chemistry and drug design, I’ve come to appreciate that he is one of those very smart and very nice people.
It’s the expertise and consideration of faculty like Kalju Kahn that help make UCSB’s chemistry program one of the best in the world.
Since I launched a branch of VBS in the Santa Barbara area, our company has benefited greatly through our association with UCSB’s chemistry department.
I started my company, Vascular BioSciences in the 1990’s, but my passion to develop science‒based healthcare solutions goes back much farther.
When I was 21 I watched my Mom die of cancer. She was only 54.
- As I looked on helplessly as her doctors failed to save her, a thought occurred to me:
- When people get sick, they go to their doctors for help.
- But when doctors dont have the solution, who do they turn to for help?
In my inability to help my Mom a desire was born to become a person who helps the doctors solve the seemingly unsolvable problems so that someone else in a similar situation could be spared, or at least delay, having to go through what I went through.
It’s the awareness of knowing that you contributed something that can potentially help make a positive difference that provides so much satisfaction to a career in science.
But careers in science, even the most successful ones, are often marked by failure.
When you try to do something you have never done before, let alone something no one has done before, you’re likely to fail, at least on your initial attempts.
But if you persevere, and I can tell that many in this audience are the persevering type, many times you can eventually succeed.
And your reward for persevering? You get to proceed to the next step in your path that you’ve never done before. At which you will fail again, and again, until you succeed.
From the outside, some may judge you a success, but to yourself, you’re often failing.
And that, I would submit, is the key to a successful career in science and a successful life: challenging yourself with new tasks and new goals that are initially met with failure. Because only by exposing ourselves to the possibility, even the certainty, of failure can we be ultimately successful.
All the presenters here, of both the oral talks as well as the poster presenters, are successes because they had the courage to face failure, and the perseverance to overcome it.
Vascular BioSciences is proud to be a sponsor of this conference along with the American Chemical Society.
Welcome to the conference and enjoy the
science.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve disease outcomes for patients with significant unmet medical needs.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
Santa Barbara, Calif., April 23, 2011 – Vascular BioSciences will be a major sponsor of the 2011 Southern California Undergraduate Research Conference in Chemistry and Biochemistry to be held at the University of California Santa Barbara.
The Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research (SCURC) is a distinguished gathering that recognizes outstanding research achievements among undergraduates in chemistry and biochemistry. The SCURC conference attracted over 340 research submissions from chemistry and biochemistry undergraduates throughout southern California. The SCURC provides a forum for chemistry and biochemistry undergraduates to present their research to their peers and the scientific community.
“Sponsoring an undergraduate research conferences such as SCURC is one way to help recognize and nurture the scientific research community of tomorrow. I look forward to seeing the presentations and learning more about the research being done today by undergraduates at Southern California universities. Presenting their research in such a setting helps undergraduates prepare for the road ahead. It will also be an honor to share my knowledge and experiences with them on a personal level,” commented David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences, who will also present opening remarks at the conference.
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve disease outcomes for patients with significant unmet medical needs.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com. and www.vbspharma.com.
Durham, NC, December 24, 2010 – Vascular BioSciences announced today it has received, in collaboration with the University of South Alabama, a two year Exploration/Development grant from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the amount of $412,850. The 1R21HL106101 award was given to the project, “Cell‒targeted drug delivery for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension,” and will be performed in collaboration with principal investigator Masahiko Oka, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of South Alabama, and David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences.
With the R21 Grant, the group looks to identify homing peptides that can be used to deliver pharmacological agents selectively to hypertensive pulmonary arteries. The discovery and isolation of such peptides can lead to the development of a targeted drug delivery system to improve the future treatment of PAH.
“I am honored to receive this R21 Grant,” said principal investigator Dr. Oka. “Despite modern advances in the treatment of PAH, it still remains a life‒threatening condition. The NIH award has made it evident that novel research ideas are urgently needed in order to progress towards better treatment of PAH.”
David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences and co-principal investigator of the project commented, “We are very fortunate to receive this grant award to further develop our research on homing peptides. The recognition from the NIH supports our confidence in the potential impact of our ideas on the future treatment of PAH. This award also highlights the creativity and dedication of our entire collaborative group including our co‒investigators Ivan McMurtry, Ph.D., and Michie Toba M.D., of the University of South Alabama Medical Center and Erkki Ruoslahti M.D., Ph.D., and Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D. of the Sanford‒Burnham Medical Research Institute.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through it’s majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult to treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com. and www.vbspharma.com.
About University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama, a diverse and vibrant public university, is making a difference in the lives of the people of Alabama and the nation through teaching, research, service and health care. The University offers a wide range of high-quality undergraduate and graduate academic programs, and the USA Health System, which includes the College of Medicine, USA Physicians, USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and USA Hospitals, provides state‒of‒the‒art health care and medical education. The Center for Lung Biology is a world recognized research center with active research programs in lung injury and pulmonary hypertension. The CLB collaborates with clinical programs at USA including a vibrant Pulmonary Hypertension Center.
San Diego, CA, November 9, 2010 – Vascular BioSciences was awarded a grant in the amount of $181,876 from the U.S. Government’s Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) Program. The grant will be used to support the development of CAR peptide as a therapeutic adjuvant.
The QTDP grant program provides support for innovative projects that are determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to have reasonable potential to result in a new therapy, reduce health care costs, or significantly advance the goal of curing cancer. The QTDP program was created by Congress on May 21, 2010 under Section 48D of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The highly competitive QTDP program provides a 50% tax credit or grant for qualified investments by eligible companies in taxable years beginning in 2009 and in 2010 in connection with qualifying projects.
- Qualifying projects included those designed to:
- Treat or prevent diseases or conditions by conducting pre-clinical activities, clinical trials and clinical studies, or carrying out research protocols for the purpose of securing federal government approval by the FDA.
- Diagnose diseases or conditions or to determine molecular factors related to diseases or conditions by developing molecular diagnostics to guide therapeutic decisions.
- Develop a product, process or technology to further the delivery or administration of therapeutics.
The U.S. federal government awarded $1 billion in grants and tax credits to nearly 3,000 biotechnology companies with 250 or fewer employees. Congress allocated the money as part of last years health‒care reform law to protect biotechnology jobs, and increase the country’s efficiency in the development of lifesaving drugs and devices.
“We are very pleased to receive this QTDP grant,” said Vascular BioSciences CEO David Mann. “This grant acknowledges the innovation of our approach in developing targeted therapeutics, and it will greatly speed our efforts to develop more selective treatments for desperately ill patients.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through its majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult to treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com. and www.vbspharma.com.
Goleta, Calif., January 8, 2010 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that it has opened a new office and pilot catheter manufacturing facility in Goleta, California. The new Goleta office will also serve as the company’s center for medicinal and computational chemistry.
The Goleta facility will feature an ISO 6 (Class 1,000) clean room for manufacturing the endoarterial biopsy catheter as well as offices and lab space for VBS Pharmaceuticals. This new office is an expansion from the company’s currently established offices in San Diego, California and Durham, North Carolina. Located near the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), this new facility will allow for scientific collaboration between Vascular Biosciences, VBS Pharmaceuticals, and distinguished researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara. With VBS Pharmaceuticals’ increasing focus in research and development, the Goleta office’s close proximity to UCSB’s research centers provides a strategic location for the advancement of VBS Pharmaceuticals’ research efforts.
David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences and VBS Pharmaceuticals, commented, “The Goleta office will be a great addition to our headquarters in Research Triangle, North Carolina, and provide vital additional research and clean room manufacturing capabilities in California. With a research partnership already established with scientists at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at UCSB, the opportunity to work closely with other UCSB faculty will greatly benefit our company’s progress.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and
prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through
it’s majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult to treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com. and www.vbspharma.com.
San Diego, CA, February 18, 2009 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that it was awarded US Patent No. 7,491,176 titled “A Kit for Obtaining an Endoarterial Biopsy Sample” on February 17, 2009 to Vascular BioSciences’ CEO David Mann.
VBS also previously awarded European Patent number EP 1331883B1 on Feb 20, 2008 for “A Kit for Obtaining an Endoarterial Biopsy Sample.”
The patent describes a kit for obtaining an endoarterial biopsy from a patient and business methods for the remote analysis of endoarterial biopsy samples.
David Mann, Vascular BioSciences CEO and sole inventor of the patents, said, “Cardiovascular catheterizations are often complex procedures that require a multitude of instruments and equipment to successfully complete the procedure. The endoarterial biopsy kit recognizes this need and provides a simple and logical way to streamline endoarterial biopsy procedures. At Vascular BioSciences, we aim to supply physicians with everything they need to perform percutaneous endoarterial biopsy procedures as well as provide them with powerful bioinformatic and analytical tools to interpret endoarterial biopsy information on a histological and molecular level in order to enhance and prolong the lives of their patients.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company with operations in California and North Carolina, provides disease solutions in order to enhance and
prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides molecular diagnostic services, and through
it’s majority owned subsidiary VBS Pharmaceuticals, develops targeted therapeutics for patients with difficult to treat diseases.
More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com. and www.vbspharma.com.
Chicago, Illinois, March 28, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that Abraham Rothman, M.D., will present experimental data on the use of Vascular BioSciences’ endoarterial biopsy catheter in models of pulmonary hypertension, lung transplant rejection, and congenital heart disease at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions annual scientific sessions at this years American College of Cardiology Annual Innovation in Intervention Meeting. Dr. Rothmans presentation will be given from 3:00 to 4:00 pm at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois on March 30, 2008.
Dr. Rothman, a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, will present new techniques to assess pulmonary vascular gene expression, identify novel applications for existing drugs and describe new methods to deliver individualized pharmacogenomics for vascular diseases using endoarterial biopsy.
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company based in Research Triangle, North Carolina, provides solutions for vascular–based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular–based disease patients. More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
Durham, North Carolina, March 26, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences announced today it has been awarded a $100,000 STTR matching grant under the One North Carolina SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program. The One North Carolina SBIR/STTR Matching Grant matches a recently awarded NIH Phase 1 STTR grant “Targeting Pulmonary Hypertension with R-Ras.”
David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences commented, “This matching grant from the State of North Carolina will enable our company to expand our innovative product pipeline and to accelerate our commercialization efforts. I’d like to especially acknowledge the assistance and support of Governor Mike Easley, Congressman David Price, State Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr., State Representative Henry Michaux, Jr., the North Carolina Office of Science and Technology, and the North Carolina Department of Commerce.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company based in Research Triangle, North Carolina, provides solutions for vascular–based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular–based disease patients. More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
Durham, North Carolina, February 1, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences announced today it has received a STTR Phase 1 grant from the National Heart Lung Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $165,745. The STTR award, “Targeting Pulmonary Hypertension with R–Ras,” will be performed in collaboration with principal investigator Dr. Masanobu Komatsu of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and consultant Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at the University of California Santa Barbara.
Dr. Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and principal investigator for the STTR research project commented, “I think this award reflects that the NIH recognizes real potential in R–Ras-based therapies to treat vascular diseases and the importance of pursuing the pulmonary hypertension project we proposed.”
David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences and co-principal investigator of the project commented, “This NIH Phase 1 STTR award validates our approach to pulmonary hypertension research. In addition to pulmonary hypertension, we anticipate applying the unique combination of R–Ras protein transduction therapies and vascular targeting peptide nanotechnologies to other vascular-based disease applications.”
Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Vascular Mapping Center at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at the University of California Santa Barbara and co-discoverer with Dr. Komatsu of the role of R–Ras in vascular homeostasis commented, “I am glad that Dr. Komatsu is continuing the studies we jointly started and that the project is on a path to the clinic with Vascular BioSciences.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company based in Research Triangle, North Carolina, provides solutions for vascular–based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular–based disease patients. More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
Durham, North Carolina, January 24, 2008 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that it has opened an office in Research Triangle, North Carolina that will be the principal location of the company’s research and development efforts.
The Research Triangle office will be the headquarters for the company’s
interventional, molecular diagnostic, and therapeutic research and development pursuits. The company’s
San Diego office will continue to serve as the
coordinating facility for West Coast academic and corporate collaborations.
David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences, commented, “The Research Triangle area of North Carolina is one of the largest biotechnology hubs in the world and offers numerous opportunities to work closely with many outstanding academic institutions and corporate partners. As research and development is the current principal activity of the company, we look forward to further advancing these efforts through this strategic relocation.”
About Vascular BioSciences
Vascular BioSciences provides solutions for vascular-based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular–based disease patients. More information is available at www.vascularbiosciences.com.
San Diego, Calif., October 12, 2007 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that Dr. Roy Williams, Ph.D., will join the company as a Special Consultant for Bioinformatics. Dr. Williams brings extensive expertise in bioinformatics and microarray analysis to the companys Molecular Diagnostics division.
Dr. Roy Williams, Ph.D., an experienced research scientist at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, is an internationally recognized pioneer in genomics, microarray technology, and the computer based analysis of complex genome-wide datasets. Prior to joining the Burnham Institute, Dr. Williams was an important member of the Small Molecule Drug Discovery Group at Diversa Corp in San Diego, CA. Dr. Williams, who received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, performed ground-breaking gene expression post-doctoral research at Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France.
David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences, commented, “Dr. Williams is a brilliant scientist and a pleasure to work with. He provides the company with the necessary expertise to handle the large amounts of data generated in our analysis of endoarterial biopsy samples. Roy’s valuable skill set will greatly accelerate our efforts to provide personalized medicine to patients based on the molecular analysis of endoarterial biopsies. Roy will also be invaluable to our drug discovery efforts at VBS Pharmaceuticals.”
About Vascular BioSciences & VBS Pharmaceuticals
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company based in San Diego, California, provides solutions for vascular–based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular–based disease patients.
A newly formed majority-owned subsidiary, VBS Pharmaceuticals, has been created to provide a framework for Vascular BioSciences to engage in drug discovery and pharmaceutical development targeting vascular-based diseases.
For more information please visit: www.vbspharma.com.
San Diego, Calif., February 28, 2007 – Vascular BioSciences announced today that it has secured a worldwide exclusive license to intellectual property from Burnham Institute for Medical Research relating to work done by Erkki Ruoslahti MD, Ph.D., and Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D. on their discovery of the role of the intracellular protein R-Ras in neointimal hyperplasia, angiogenesis and vascular proliferation. R-Ras is a small GTPase of the Ras family that regulates cell survival and integrin activity. Drs. Komatsu and Ruoslahti found that R-Ras exerts a strong inhibitory effect on mitotic and invasive activities of activated endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, and promotes quiescence of these cells.
The discovery of this unexpected role for R-Ras in blood vessel homeostasis will enable Vascular BioSciences to target R-Ras signaling for therapeutic intervention in a wide range of disorders characterized by pathological vascular remodeling, vascular cell proliferation and endothelial activation. Such diseases include atherosclerosis, sepsis, systemic and pulmonary hypertension, diabetic vasculopathies, acute respiratory distress syndrome, post-angioplasty restenosis, collagen vascular diseases and other conditions. The ability of R-Ras to promote vascular quiescence may also be useful in anti-angiogenesis therapies for cancer and the engineering of mature blood vessels.
David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences commented, “This license agreement with the Burnham Institute for Medical Research represents an extremely important expansion to our existing intellectual property portfolio and product pipeline. In addition to securing this valuable worldwide exclusive license, we gain the ability to work closely with internationally renowned scientists like Drs. Komatsu and Ruoslahti to develop novel innovative treatments for vascular diseases.”
Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, Distinguished Professor and former President of Burnham Institute for Medical Research commented, “I believe that R-Ras opens up some entirely new possibilities for the treatment of vascular diseases and look forward to working with Vascular BioSciences on further development of this technology.”
About Vascular BioSciences & VBS Pharmaceuticals
Vascular BioSciences, a diversified biomedical company based in San Diego, California, provides solutions for vascular-based diseases in order to enhance and prolong human life.
Vascular BioSciences makes interventional catheters to obtain endoarterial biopsies, provides diagnostic services, and advances therapies in order to improve outcomes for vascular-based disease patients.
A newly formed majority-owned subsidiary, VBS Pharmaceuticals, has been created to provide a framework for Vascular BioSciences to engage in drug discovery and pharmaceutical development targeting vascular-based diseases.
For more information please visit: www.vbspharma.com.
About Burnham Institute for Medical Research.
Burnham Institute for Medical Research conducts world-class collaborative research dedicated to finding cures for human disease, improving quality of life, and thus creating a legacy for its employees, partners, donors, and community. The La Jolla, CA campus was established as a nonprofit public benefit corporation in 1976 and is now home to three major centers: the National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center, the Del E. Webb Center for Neurosciences and Aging, and the Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center. Burnham today employs over 750 people and ranks consistently among the world’s top 20 research institutes. In 2006, Burnham established a presence at the University of California, Santa Barbara, led by Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, Distinguished Professor. Burnham is also establishing a campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida that will focus on diabetes and obesity research and expand the Institute’s drug discovery capabilities. For additional information about Burnham and to learn about ways to support its research, visit www.burnham.org.
San Diego, Calif., February 17, 2006 – Vascular BioSciences (www.vascularbiosciences.com) announces a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research (USAISR) to develop diagnostic and therapeutic solutions addressing acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to battlefield trauma.
The agreement, signed by Vascular BioSciences CEO David Mann and USAISR commander, Colonel John B. Holcomb, M.D., focuses on increasing the in-hospital survival of Department of Defense personnel at risk for developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a as a result of battlefield trauma.
“This agreement reflects our ongoing efforts to further expand our combat casualty care research, and is consistent with our mission to develop medical solutions for our injured soldiers,” said Colonel John B. Holcomb, commander of the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research.
“We look forward to working with the USAISR to help save the lives of our nation's brave fighting men and women, and are proud to contribute to our country's military medical research efforts,” said David Mann, CEO of Vascular BioSciences. “;We look forward to expanding our collaboration with the USAISR to include further initiatives for improving combat casualty care.”
“The pathophysiology of ARDS secondary to battlefield trauma is poorly understood, and therapeutic options are limited,” said Colonel Lee Cancio, M.D., co-principal investigator, recently returned from Iraq and chief of research at the U.S. Army’s Burn Unit. “The survival of injured soldiers could be improved if we could accurately predict and diagnose ARDS in our patients while there is still time for effective counter-measures. The goal of our collaborative research with Vascular BioSciences is to develop therapeutic as well as diagnostic solutions for ARDS.”
ARDS is an enormous problem in civilian as well as military hospitals. According to the non-profit ARDS Foundation (www.ardsusa.org), over 150,000 cases were reported last year in the U.S. resulting in approximately 75,000 deaths. If the other causes of ARDS such as sepsis, severe sepsis, and multi-organ failure syndrome are combined with ARDS, then over 750,000 cases occur annually resulting in 215,000 deaths or 9.3% of annual deaths in the US.
About the United States Army Institute for Surgical Research (USAISR):The U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) is part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) and is collocated with Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC). The USAISR is dedicated to both laboratory and clinical trauma research. Its mission is to provide requirements-driven combat casualty care medical solutions and products for injured soldiers from self-aid through definitive care across the full spectrum of military operations; provide state-of-the-art trauma, burn, and critical care to Department of Defense beneficiaries around the world; and provide Burn Special Medical Augmentation Response Teams.
The USAISR has recently supported Operation Iraqi Freedom by deploying surgeons and nurses into theater, training over 1,200 deployed personnel, establishing a semiautomated nationwide daily burn bed availability system, providing logistical support, creating a widely utilized Army Knowledge Online distance learning website, assisting in fielding new hemorrhage control products on the battlefield, and receiving every significant burn casualty from the conflict.
For
more information contact:
U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research
Telephone: (210) 916-3219
3400 Rawley E. Chambers Avenue
Fort Sam
Houston, Texas 78234-6315
Web Site: WWW.USAISR.AMEDD.ARMY.MIL
The U.S Government or the USAISR does not directly or indirectly endorse any product or service provided, or to be provided, by Vascular BioSciences, and this press release shall not in any way imply an endorsement of any such product or service.
San Diego, Calif., April 20, 2005 – Vascular BioSciences (www.vascularbiosciences.com) announced today that Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., a member of Vascular BioSciences’ (www.vascularbiosciences.com) Advisory Board, and co-founder of VBS Pharmaceuticals, has been awarded the 2005 Japan Prize in the category of cell biology. Dr. Ruoslahti shares the 50 million yen prize with Dr. Masatoshi Takeichi, Director of RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan.
Dr. Ruoslahti was awarded the prize for “Fundamental contributions in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion.” Dr. Ruoslahti is being recognized for his pioneering contributions to the cell adhesion field, which include the discovery and molecular definition of the RGD peptide that interacts with integrin receptor sites during cellular attachment.
The Japan Prize is awarded annually in Tokyo in the presence of the Emperor and Empress of Japan to “people from all parts of the world whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind.”
“We are delighted to see Erkki receive some of the recognition he deserves,” said David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences and VBS Pharmaceuticals. “Dr. Ruoslahti's original approach to scientific research has produced major advances in cell adhesion, vascular targeting peptide technology, drug discovery, nanotechnology, and tumor biology that merit considerable praise. We are proud to work with Dr. Ruoslahti in our collaborations to improve human health.”
For more on the 2005 Japan Prize:
http://www.japanprize.jp
San Diego, Calif., December 3, 2003 – Vascular BioSciences (www.vascularbiosciences.com) announced today that Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D. will join its Board of Advisors.
“We are honored that a physician and scientist of Erkki Ruoslahti’s stature will join our Board of Advisors,” said David Mann, CEO and Chairman of Vascular BioSciences. “Dr. Ruoslahti’s groundbreaking research and scientific expertise in the areas of vascular targeting peptide technology, vascular biology, cell adhesion, and tumor biology will greatly enhance our efforts to improve the diagnosis and treatment of vascular-based diseases. We look forward to working closely with Dr. Ruoslahti to fulfill our shared vision of improving human health.”
Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti is Distinguished Professor at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla, California. He served as the President of the Burnham Institute from 1989 to 2001. He has published more than 400 scientific papers and is the inventor of more than 150 patents. His inventions form the basis of two clinically used drugs as well as several that are under development. He has co-founded several biotech companies and has served as a director or advisory board member of these and other companies. He has been awarded numerous prizes for scientific accomplishment, and was a Nobel fellow at The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Dr. Ruoslahti is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.
“I am very pleased to join Vascular BioSciences because of its continuing commitment to develop innovative technologies for diseases of the vasculature,” said Dr. Ruoslahti, “I am intrigued by the possibilities of the new endoarterial biopsy catheter developed by Vascular BioSciences and look forward to collaborating with the company in the development of new applications for this technology.”
San Diego, Calif., April 15, 2003 – Vascular BioSciences (www.vascularbiosciences.com) announces the publication of a new method to detect lung transplant rejection using the company’s endoarterial biopsy catheter in the current issue of Transplantation, the official journal of the transplantation society.
The paper, “Increased Expression of Endoarterial Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 mRNA in an Experimental Model of Lung Transplant Rejection: Diagnosis By Pulmonary Arterial Biopsy” in Transplantation 2003; 75(7):960-965, was the result of a collaboration between Vascular BioSciences and physicians at the University of California, San Diego. The paper describes how the endoarterial biopsy catheter safely and effectively obtained endoarterial biopsy samples from branch pulmonary arteries in an animal model of lung transplant rejection. VCAM-1 mRNA levels in pulmonary vascular tissue samples obtained with the endoarterial biopsy catheter increased with increasing levels of lung transplant rejection. According to the study, in patients who undergo lung transplantation, the endoarterial biopsy method may be useful in the diagnosis of rejection and infection. Endoarterial biopsies may also aid in detecting early vascular changes associated with bronchiolitis obliterans (chronic lung transplant rejection).
Abraham Rothman, M.D., Co-director of Cardiology at Children’s Hospital San Diego, Professor of Pediatrics at University of California, San Diego, and lead author of the paper stated, “Although the endoarterial biopsy procedure was safe and effective in animals, the procedure has not yet been evaluated in humans. However, extensive experimental experience suggests that the procedure should have similar results in human patients.”
To download a PDF copy of our research
on lung transplant rejection detection with the endoarterial biopsy catheter published in Transplantation, please click here:
Increased Expression of Endoarterial Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 mRNA in an Experimental Model of Lung Transplant
Rejection: Diagnosis by Pulmonary Arterial Biopsy by A. Rothman, D. Mann et. al. Transplantation. Vol. 75, No. 7. April 15, 2003. (Full Text-648k
download)
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