World's First Tissued Engineered Urethras Deemed A Success

First bladders, now urethras. A research team form the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine built engineered urethras (urinary tubes) for five boys using their own cells. After six years , all five boys are doing well and functioning normally. The alternative would have been an artificial graft with a 50% chance of failure or a lifetime of urinary tract infections and incontinence issues.

Dr. Anthony Atala remarked " This is an example of how the strategies of tissue engineering can be applied to multiple tissues and organs."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12666171http://

TED Touts Printing a Human Kidney

In the last ten years, the number of patients needing organ donations has more than doubled, yet the number of organ transplants has not proportionately increased. Every day patients die waiting for an organ donation. Dr. Anthony Atala asks the question,"Can we grow the organs instead of transplanting them?"

See a 3D printer output a human kidney. Meet Luke, a patient with an engineered bladder, healthy and well, ten years later. http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

Ocular Systems' Cornea Breakthrough

Ocular Systems, Inc. has received FDA clearance to market EndoSerter, a device for inserting replacement cells into the eye during a corneal transplant. The device, invented in Winston-Salem and manufactured in the Piedmont Triad Research Park, is used for a type of corneal transplant known as endothelial keratoplasty. The device inserts cells into the eye, protecting corneal tissue from damage. It is among other developments that will help OSI move closer to commercializing an endothelial cell product for cornea transplantation using technology developed by the Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Read more.

Cook Endoscopy: Needle will ease GI cancer tests

A new kind of needle that can take tissue samples large enough to biopsy from hard-to-reach spots in the gastrointestinal tract could reduce the need for high-cost invasive surgeries, according to officials with Cook Medical.

Cook’s EchoTip ProCore needle was designed and is being manufactured at the Indiana-based company’s Endoscopy business unit headquartered in Winston-Salem. Cook’s campus on Bethania Station Road has about 550 employees in manufacturing, research and development and other roles. Read more.

2011 Technology and Innovation Series

Maximize Innovation in Your Organization. How do you create a culture of innovation? How do you instill creativity at all levels? Whether your business is large or small, traditional or technology-based, you can learn to rethink your business model and develop new products and processes through innovation. Hear from a panel of experts who are transforming Winston-Salem’s economy and have improved their company’s bottom line through innovation and creativity. Find out what you can do to implement change in your own organization.

March 10; program: 8:30-9:30am; networking and refreshments: 9:30-10:30am; Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, 251 N. Spruce St., Winston-Salem. Free. Learn more and register.

Moderated by Dr. Michael Lord, co-author of Innovation That Fits: Choosing the Right Innovation Strategy for Your Business; regular columnist and commentator on innovation; Associate Professor, Strategy & Entrepreneurship, Wake Forest University.

Panelists:
Dr. Greg Gatto -- Sr. Director of Preclinical Pharmacology, Targacept
Matthew Gymer -- Director of Innovation, Novant Health
Micah Ray – Innovation Champion, Liberty Hardware
Kurt Weber -- Vice President, Ocular Systems, Inc.

Sponsored by: Cook Medical, BioNetwork, DataChambers, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Targacept Announces Termination of Strategic Alliance Agreement with GSK

Targacept announced the termination of its strategic alliance agreement with GlaxoSmithKline, effective in May 2011. Following termination of the agreement, Targacept will have full rights to its programs subject to the alliance, including compounds discovered or advanced as part of the alliance. The two companies entered into an agreement in 2007 with the goal to discover, develop and market novel therapeutics that selectively target specified neuronal nicotinic receptors in five therapeutic focus areas--pain, smoking cessation, addiction, obesity and Parkinson's disease. Read more.

Targacept CEO & President to speak at SciTech Lecture, March 17th, 2011.

Forsyth Tech Community College and the National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce present in celebration of Forsyth Tech's 50th Anniversary, the SciTech Lecture Series.

Dr. Don deBethizy CEO & President of Targacept will speak on "The Targacept Story: From the Bench to the Clinic". 4PM March 17th, 2011 in the Ardmore Auditorium, Forsyth Tech Main Campus - 2100 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC.
This lecture is FREE and open to the public.

Hear scientists, researchers and industry thought leaders explore how science and technology are combining to change our world.

For further information please contact Mona Cofer or call her at 336.734.7205.