From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Fri Nov 23 2001 - 07:18:27 MST
In a source I doubt many have access to:
> Nov. 19, 2001--
> Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) announced today positive results of in vivo
> studies with human brain tumors in a mouse model when treated with Geron's
> proprietary anti-cancer compound, GRN163. The studies were directed jointly
> by Dennis Deen, Ph.D., professor of neurological surgery at University of
> California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Geron scientists. The results were
> presented by Tomoko Ozawa, M.D., Ph.D., UCSF associate specialist of
> neurological surgery, at the Society of Neuro-Oncology meeting in Washington
> D.C. on November 17. Drs. Deen and Ozawa collaborated with Geron through a
> sponsored research agreement that UCSF has with Geron.
> [snip]
> Developed by Geron scientists, GRN163 is a short, modified oligonucleotide
> compound that acts as a telomerase template antagonist. The compound binds
> tightly to the template domain of the RNA component in the active site of telomerase,
> blocking the activity of the enzyme. GRN163 was chemically modified to
> produce improved cellular uptake and biodistribution as well as resistance to
> degradation and enhanced binding affinity to telomerase. GRN163 inhibits purified
> telomerase at extremely low concentrations and does not inhibit other critical enzymes.
The treatment was for gioblastomas (brain cancers) in mice and in all
cases the size of the tumors was reduced -- in some cases by 70-80%.
[N.B. Buyer beware -- don't use this to rush out and buy Geron stock
unless you want it as a long term component of your portfolio.]
And the NY Times has an article about ACT's success in cloning cows:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/science/23COWS.html
In particular:
> The company created nearly 500 embryos by cloning; 30 survived to
> birth, of which 24 grew to adulthood.
Its nice to know it works, but at a 6% birth rate and 4.8% success rate
to adults it isn't exactly what one would call a "reliable" method.
Robert
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