Lauren Sciences LLC awarded second Michael J. Fox Foundation grant to further develop V-Smart? Therapeutic for Parkinson's disease

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
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Contact: Susan Rosenbaum
srosenbaum@laurensciences.com
212-737-0455
Lauren Sciences LLC

New York, N.Y., June 25, 2013 -- Lauren Sciences LLC, a privately-held biotechnology company continuing development of its novel V-Smart platform technology, announced today the award of a second grant by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The company recently completed the first stage of developing V-Smart-based therapeutics for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), which was funded by MJFF, whereby it demonstrated targeted delivery of GDNF (glial-derived neurotrophic factor) to the substantia nigra and the striatum, brain regions in which neurons degenerate during the course of PD. Targeted delivery of GDNF to these brain regions was achieved by systemic administration of the company's V-Smart nanovesicles that were customized for GDNF delivery. The new MJFF grant has been awarded to investigate efficacy of the V-Smart vesicles in a PD animal model.

"We thank The Michael J. Fox Foundation for their second award to us," said Susan Rosenbaum, J.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lauren Sciences. "This new MJFF grant has been awarded following the success of our Parkinson's disease project over the past year, and provides recognition of our innovative V-Smart drug delivery system and its potential to transform the treatment of Parkinson's disease with an effective therapeutic that overcomes the historical challenge of developing drugs that cross the blood brain barrier."

"The delivery method of trophic factors continues to be a challenge in reaching the regions of the brain where neuroprotection and repair is needed," said Jamie Eberling, Ph.D., Senior Associate Director of Research Programs at MJFF. "We are looking forward to seeing if V-Smart is proven effective in the delivery of GDNF as a potential disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson's disease."

"Optimized V-Smart vesicles formulated with GDNF have promise as a new treatment for patients," said Irwin Hollander, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development, Lauren Sciences. "We hope it will be able to stop progression of, or reverse, Parkinson's disease, unlike other drugs that provide merely symptomatic relief. It is anticipated that the successful outcome of efficacy studies of our GDNF-loaded V-Smart vesicles in Parkinson's pre-clinical models could lead to future clinical studies in Parkinson's disease patients."

"Our latest studies demonstrate that the novel V-Smart nanovesicles can encapsulate GDNF, cross the BBB and release the encapsulated GDNF in areas of the brain affected by Parkinson's," said Eliahu Heldman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Lauren Sciences. "Our next goal is to demonstrate that GDNF delivered by V-Smart vesicles is capable of protecting dopaminergic neurons from degeneration in animal model of PD. The success of this project would be an important milestone in the development of GDNF-based therapy for PD that would considerably improve Parkinson's patients' lives."

###

About the V-Smart Platform

V-Smart is a platform technology that can be used for a variety of uses including delivery of therapeutic drugs. The V-Smart drug delivery system is based on novel nanovesicles that have unique superiority to other nanovesicles, such as liposomes. Major advantages of the V-Smart nanovesicles include: high stability, large encapsulation capacity of a variety of potential drugs (e.g., small molecules, peptides, proteins and nucleic acids), ability to transport the drugs across the BBB, targeting to specific cells and release of encapsulated drugs in a controlled manner at targeted sites.

About Lauren Sciences LLC

Lauren Sciences LLC is a privately-held New York biotechnology company focused on developing its V-Smart platform to create a robust pipeline of V-Smart therapeutics consisting of central nervous system (CNS)-active drugs that normally do not cross the BBB. The company's lead program is for Parkinson's disease. Additional pipeline programs include other CNS disorders, such as neuro-HIV (supported by a grant awarded by The Campbell Foundation), Alzheimer's disease, GBM (brain cancer), ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), among others. The company's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Eliahu Heldman, is Professor Emeritus at Ben-Gurion University, Israel where he, with Dr. Sarina Grinberg and Dr. Charles Linder, developed the V-Smart technology and lead the Lauren Sciences research team.

About Parkinson's Disease

Over one million people in the US suffer from Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the CNS resulting from loss of cells in distinct parts of the brain. The current standard of care is based mostly on drugs that alleviate symptoms but do not cure the disease. The efficacy of these drugs diminishes with time and patients develop motor fluctuations that negatively affect their quality of life. GDNF might be able to restore function of degenerating dopamine-producing-cells and thus retard progression of the disease and even reverse the course of the disease.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

As the world's largest private funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research programs, and has invested over $325 million in research to date. For more information, visit http://www.michaeljfox.org.

Contact: Susan Rosenbaum, J.D., Lauren Sciences LLC, info@laurensciences.com, (917) 397-2826.

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Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Susan Rosenbaum
srosenbaum@laurensciences.com
212-737-0455
Lauren Sciences LLC

New York, N.Y., June 25, 2013 -- Lauren Sciences LLC, a privately-held biotechnology company continuing development of its novel V-Smart platform technology, announced today the award of a second grant by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The company recently completed the first stage of developing V-Smart-based therapeutics for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), which was funded by MJFF, whereby it demonstrated targeted delivery of GDNF (glial-derived neurotrophic factor) to the substantia nigra and the striatum, brain regions in which neurons degenerate during the course of PD. Targeted delivery of GDNF to these brain regions was achieved by systemic administration of the company's V-Smart nanovesicles that were customized for GDNF delivery. The new MJFF grant has been awarded to investigate efficacy of the V-Smart vesicles in a PD animal model.

"We thank The Michael J. Fox Foundation for their second award to us," said Susan Rosenbaum, J.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lauren Sciences. "This new MJFF grant has been awarded following the success of our Parkinson's disease project over the past year, and provides recognition of our innovative V-Smart drug delivery system and its potential to transform the treatment of Parkinson's disease with an effective therapeutic that overcomes the historical challenge of developing drugs that cross the blood brain barrier."

"The delivery method of trophic factors continues to be a challenge in reaching the regions of the brain where neuroprotection and repair is needed," said Jamie Eberling, Ph.D., Senior Associate Director of Research Programs at MJFF. "We are looking forward to seeing if V-Smart is proven effective in the delivery of GDNF as a potential disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson's disease."

"Optimized V-Smart vesicles formulated with GDNF have promise as a new treatment for patients," said Irwin Hollander, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development, Lauren Sciences. "We hope it will be able to stop progression of, or reverse, Parkinson's disease, unlike other drugs that provide merely symptomatic relief. It is anticipated that the successful outcome of efficacy studies of our GDNF-loaded V-Smart vesicles in Parkinson's pre-clinical models could lead to future clinical studies in Parkinson's disease patients."

"Our latest studies demonstrate that the novel V-Smart nanovesicles can encapsulate GDNF, cross the BBB and release the encapsulated GDNF in areas of the brain affected by Parkinson's," said Eliahu Heldman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Lauren Sciences. "Our next goal is to demonstrate that GDNF delivered by V-Smart vesicles is capable of protecting dopaminergic neurons from degeneration in animal model of PD. The success of this project would be an important milestone in the development of GDNF-based therapy for PD that would considerably improve Parkinson's patients' lives."

###

About the V-Smart Platform

V-Smart is a platform technology that can be used for a variety of uses including delivery of therapeutic drugs. The V-Smart drug delivery system is based on novel nanovesicles that have unique superiority to other nanovesicles, such as liposomes. Major advantages of the V-Smart nanovesicles include: high stability, large encapsulation capacity of a variety of potential drugs (e.g., small molecules, peptides, proteins and nucleic acids), ability to transport the drugs across the BBB, targeting to specific cells and release of encapsulated drugs in a controlled manner at targeted sites.

About Lauren Sciences LLC

Lauren Sciences LLC is a privately-held New York biotechnology company focused on developing its V-Smart platform to create a robust pipeline of V-Smart therapeutics consisting of central nervous system (CNS)-active drugs that normally do not cross the BBB. The company's lead program is for Parkinson's disease. Additional pipeline programs include other CNS disorders, such as neuro-HIV (supported by a grant awarded by The Campbell Foundation), Alzheimer's disease, GBM (brain cancer), ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), among others. The company's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Eliahu Heldman, is Professor Emeritus at Ben-Gurion University, Israel where he, with Dr. Sarina Grinberg and Dr. Charles Linder, developed the V-Smart technology and lead the Lauren Sciences research team.

About Parkinson's Disease

Over one million people in the US suffer from Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the CNS resulting from loss of cells in distinct parts of the brain. The current standard of care is based mostly on drugs that alleviate symptoms but do not cure the disease. The efficacy of these drugs diminishes with time and patients develop motor fluctuations that negatively affect their quality of life. GDNF might be able to restore function of degenerating dopamine-producing-cells and thus retard progression of the disease and even reverse the course of the disease.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

As the world's largest private funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research programs, and has invested over $325 million in research to date. For more information, visit http://www.michaeljfox.org.

Contact: Susan Rosenbaum, J.D., Lauren Sciences LLC, info@laurensciences.com, (917) 397-2826.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/lsl-lsl062413.php

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Obama To Lay Out Broad Plan To Address Climate Change

The Capitol dome is seen behind the Capitol Power Plant, which provides power to buildings in the Capitol complex in Washington, D.C.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

The Capitol dome is seen behind the Capitol Power Plant, which provides power to buildings in the Capitol complex in Washington, D.C.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

President Obama is expected to announce a sweeping plan to address climate change this afternoon.

Read the plan and a White House fact sheet.

The president has framed this issue as a moral responsibility, to leave the Earth in good shape for generations to come. But the nitty-gritty of any serious plan to address this problem is also a challenge, because it means gradually moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy supplies ? and that means there will be economic winners and losers.

Winners include companies that produce clean energy ? wind, solar and geothermal energy. That energy will be more in demand, and the administration intends to expand access to public lands, where companies can build windmills and solar facilities.

Public health is also a winner, because the plan would pressure coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions. Those plants not only produce carbon dioxide, but they are major sources of mercury, radioactive particles and chemicals that contribute to asthma.

Losers under this plan would eventually be coal mining companies and utilities that burn a lot of coal. That's because ? for the first time ? the government plans to limit how much carbon dioxide existing power plants can put into the air. It's a key element of the new plan, but it's also unclear just what form it will take. Those limits are supposed to be negotiated over the coming year, with input from industry as well as the states. The president's 21-page plan calls for them to be finalized in 2015, according to administration officials.

If those limits are aggressive, they could drive up electricity prices. But if the limits are too relaxed, they won't have much of an effect on emissions.

Overall, the president is striving to reach an emissions-reduction goal he laid out at the 2009 United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen: to reduce U.S. emissions by 17 percent, relative to our 2005 emissions, by the year 2020. The nation is not currently on track to meet the goal, despite some aggressive fuel-efficiency standards for new cars and a big expansion of renewable energy supplies during President Obama's first term. This new climate policy is intended to close the gap.

The plan also calls for the government to keep working internationally to reduce emissions, since climate change requires a global response. And even with a good international effort, some climate change is already inevitable. So the White House policy calls on efforts to adapt to a world with more extreme weather events.

For example, new standards for roads would assure that they are built high above flood levels. Farmers would be provided with ways to adapt to more drought conditions. And local governments would get assistance to help them plan for extreme weather.

All of these proposals can be enacted without action on Capitol Hill. That's deliberate. Many Republicans in congress reject the judgment of the National Academy of Sciences and other authorities who say climate change is a real concern.

Take me back to the top of this post.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/06/25/195466923/obama-to-lay-out-broad-plan-to-address-climate-change?ft=1&f=1007

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BlackBerry launches service to manage Android, Apple devices

By Euan Rocha

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry launched a service on Tuesday allowing government agencies and corporate clients to secure and manage devices powered by Google Inc's Android platform and Apple Inc's iOS operating system.

The long-anticipated offering, which BlackBerry had said would come out around mid-year, could help the company sell high-margin services to its large clients even if many, or all, of their workers are using smartphones made by its competitors.

The new Secure Work Space feature will be managed through BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES) 10, a new back-end system launched at the start of this year that allows BlackBerry's clients to control mobile devices on their internal networks.

The company, a one-time pioneer in the smartphone arena, is now fighting to regain ground lost to Apple's iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Galaxy devices. To compete, it has rolled out a trio of devices powered by its new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

It hopes to win back users with the Z10, Q10 and Q5 devices that were unveiled during the first half of this year. The first comprehensive look at the success of its turnaround plan will likely emerge when it reports quarterly results on Friday.

At the same time, it has indicated a shift in emphasis from smartphones to services.

"With an integrated management console, our clients can now see all of the devices they have on their network, manage those devices and connect to them securely," David Smith, the head of enterprise mobile computing at BlackBerry, said in an interview.

"We now also have a secure work space on Android and iOS that allows our clients to secure and manage the data on those devices as well."

BlackBerry has installed some 18,000 BES 10 servers since the system was launched in January, up from a little more than 12,000 servers one month ago, and more than 60 percent of U.S. Fortune 500 companies are testing or using the system.

The feature, when used to manage Android and iOS devices, will allow IT managers to fence off corporate email, calendars, contacts, tasks, memos, Web browsing and document editing from personal apps and content, which could be less secure.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-launches-manage-android-apple-devices-040438480.html

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Flight to Cuba for which Snowden booked departs

MOSCOW (AP) ? A plane took off from Moscow Monday headed for Cuba, but the seat booked by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was empty, and there was no sign of him elsewhere on board.

An Aeroflot representative who wouldn't give her name told The Associated Press that Snowden wasn't on flight SU150 to Havana. AP reporters on the flight couldn't see him.

The Interfax news agency also quoted an unidentified Russian security source in Moscow as saying that Snowden wasn't on the plane.

The airline said earlier Snowden registered for the flight using his U.S. passport, which American officials say has been annulled.

Snowden arrived in Moscow on Sunday from Hong Kong, where he had been hiding for several weeks to evade U.S. justice. Ecuador is considering Snowden's asylum application.

After spending a night in Moscow's airport, the former National Security Agency contractor ? and admitted leaker of state secrets ? had been expected to fly to Cuba and Venezuela en route to possible asylum in Ecuador.

Snowden, also a former CIA technician, fled Hong Kong to dodge U.S. efforts to extradite him on espionage charges. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government had received an asylum request, adding Monday that the decision "has to do with freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world." The anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks also said it would help Snowden.

Ecuador has rejected the United States' previous efforts at cooperation, and has been helping WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange avoid prosecution by allowing him to stay at its embassy in London.

Snowden gave documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers disclosing U.S. surveillance programs that collect vast amounts of phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence, often sweeping up information on American citizens. Officials have the ability to collect phone and Internet information broadly but need a warrant to examine specific cases where they believe terrorism is involved.

Snowden had been in hiding for several weeks in Hong Kong, a former British colony with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China. The United States formally sought Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong to face espionage charges but was rebuffed; Hong Kong officials said the U.S. request did not fully comply with their laws.

The Justice Department rejected that claim, saying its request met all of the requirements of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and Hong Kong. During conversations last week, including a phone call Wednesday between Attorney General Eric Holder and Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, Hong Kong officials never raised any issues regarding sufficiency of the U.S. request, a Justice representative said.

The United States was in touch through diplomatic and law enforcement channels with countries that Snowden could travel through or to, reminding them that Snowden is wanted on criminal charges and reiterating Washington's position that Snowden should only be permitted to travel back to the U.S., a State Department official said. Snowden's U.S. passport has been revoked.

U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said, "Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters ? including returning numerous high-level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government ? we expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged."

Still, the United States is likely to have problems interrupting Snowden's passage. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, but does with Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. Even with an extradition agreement though, any country could give Snowden a political exemption.

The likelihood that any of these countries would stop Snowden from traveling on to Ecuador seemed remote. While diplomatic tensions have thawed in recent years, Cuba and the United States are hardly allies after a half-century of distrust. Another country that could see Snowden pass through, Venezuela, could prove difficult, as well. Former President Hugo Chavez was a sworn enemy of the United States and his successor, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year called President Barack Obama "grand chief of devils." The two countries do not exchange ambassadors.

Snowden's options aren't numerous, said Assange's lawyer, Michael Ratner.

"You have to have a country that's going to stand up to the United States," Ratner said. "You're not talking about a huge range of countries here."

It also wasn't clear Snowden was finished disclosing highly classified information.

Snowden has perhaps more than 200 sensitive documents, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

___

Associated Press White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writers Philip Elliott, Matthew Lee and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington, Lynn Berry in Moscow, Kevin Chan in Hong Kong and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flight-cuba-snowden-booked-departs-105616986.html

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Friday random ten: The city never sleeps, part 10 (Offthekuff)

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How Messy Is Your Computer's Desktop?

We all aspire to a certain amount of digital desktop cleanliness, but I think rather few of us actually keep up on it. As the days go by, the clutter builds bit by bit, and it's just irritating enough to be unpleasant, but not a big enough deal to actually clean up.

So where are you in the cycle right now? How messy is your desktop? Show it off, and no quick cleaning sprees. Not until after you share, anyway.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-messy-is-your-computers-desktop-542920795

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Dolph Ziggler not cleared to compete

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2013-06-17/ziggler-medical-update

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