Verna
McErlane, Director of Commercial Operations for miRNA specialist
Sistemic, is attending AUSBiotech 2011 in Adelaide, South Australia,
16-19 October. At this event she presented a talk entitled
‘The Challenges of Advancing Stem Cell Therapies into the clinic; a Characterisation Perspective'. The presentation formed part of the ‘Human Health - Clever cell culture for the innovation of biologics' session on 18
October.
Dr
McErlane's talk provided an intuitive overview of the cell therapy
market including future promise, what has been achieved to date,
followed by a review of some of the challenges in bringing a cell
therapy to the clinic. She then focused on cell characterisation and the
utility of using miRNA fingerprinting by showcasing recent case studies
where Sistemic SistemQC technology has provided unique insight to
assist stem cell developers produce better and more standardised cells.
"The
stem cell sector has already shown its promise in producing effective
treatments but these are just the tip of the iceberg and there is the
potential for so much more," said Dr McErlane. "The cell therapy
industry is at a critical cross-roads during its evolution into the
clinical environment and there are some real challenges ahead including a
definite need for reliable standardisation and characterisation
methodology."
Jim
Reid, CEO of Sistemic commented, "At Sistemic we are addressing key
challenges and, in conjunction with our stem cell clients, coming up
with practical solutions which will enhance the potential of these
developments in safe and effective patient treatment."
The
translation of stem cell technology from the lab into the clinic
requires reliable monitoring and characterisation methodology.
Sistemics' SistemRNA and SistemQC use a stem cell focused, miRNA-based
approach which molecularly characterises cells and monitors their
quality. Not only does it give a succinct read out on the status of the
cells, but also provides an insight into the underlying biological
effects associated with any change observed. This is being used by the
stem cell community to optimise and guide the differentiation process,
benchmark differentiated cells and, from a manufacturing perspective,
provide identity markers, purity and potency control. Such innovative
developments, together with other new tools and a consensus on the
stardardisation process, are what will really drive this industry
forward to reach its full potential.
Sistemic
looks forward to meeting old colleagues, new faces and learning about
the most recent developments in the field at AUSBiotech 2011 . Visitors
can meet the team at the Scottish Development International booth in the
exhibition hall. In the meantime, anyone interested in Sistemic and its
products should visit:
www.sistemic.co.uk Sistemic, SistemRNATM and SistemQC are registered trademarks of Sistemic UK
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