In today’s roundup: Big news for prostate cancer, biofuels and biotech crops. Let’s take a look…

HEAL: USING ESTROGEN TO BATTLE PROSTATE CANCER – Biomedical researchers at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australian have identified a new way to treat prostate cancer using a drug compound to selectively activate the prostate’s beta estrogen receptor cells. Co-author of the study, Gail Risbridger, explained the innovation behind the use of hormones:

…this [process] has the effect of targeting for cell death a small but important population of cells in the prostate cancer tumor that are often resistant to conventional therapy and can lead to recurrent incurable disease…the studies provided proof of the controversial concept that estrogens — hormones mainly thought to be important for women — could be good for men and used therapeutically to treat prostate cancer.

FEED: EU APPROVES MONSANTO’S GM CORN – Reuters is reporting that The European Commission said has approved three genetically modified maize varieties made by American agricultural biotech firm Monsanto for food and feed uses and import and processing in the European Union

“The three GM maize types MON863xMON810, MON863xNK603, and MON863xMON810xNK603, received a positive opinion from EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) and underwent the full authorisation procedure set out in the EU legislation,” the Commission said in a statement.

FUEL: EFFICIENCY AND COOPERATION SPELLS THE FUTURE OF BIOFUEL - Yesterday, Biofuels Digest outlined the processes behind two innovative biofuel solutions that, when combined, may lead to the direct conversion of poplar trees into high-density biofuels such as jet fuel. The first, developed at the University of Wisconsin, involves the direct conversion of cellulose to jet fuel via an old fuel pathway (GVLs) that have now been made substantially more efficient.

To envision it, first think about biodiesel, and how that is produced from virgin or waste oils by a process called transesterification. It’s a process found in nature — and if you’ve ever had a ripe Gouda cheese, one of the flavoring components is a product called a lactone, ultimately formed from milk but specifically a transesterification of a hydroxy fatty acid. Lactones, like milk products, are many in number and wide in uses. They are divided by the number of carbon molecules — and generally speaking, the more carbon, the more dense a fuel made from them. A five-carbon lactone is valerolactone (now you know where Valero got its name), and one type of valerolactone is gamma-valerolactone (GVL) referring to the location of carbon in its molecular chain.

The second project, headed by researchers at the University of Maryland and Bowie State University and funded by a $3.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Plant Genome Research Project, utilizes the recently completed poplar tree genome and focuses on ways to improve the poplar tree’s nitrogen processing capability, enhancing its growth rate and feasibility for use in fuel production:

“What we’re looking for is the most efficient way for these plants to process nitrogen,” explained Ganesh Sriram, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the UNiversity of Maryland. “It’s like dealing with traffic. Imagine you’ve got cars on a road, each can only hold one passenger, and that can’t be changed. If you want more people to get to a destination in a certain amount of time, you can increase the speed limits, add more traffic lanes, reroute the cars onto parallel roads, avoid delays, or change the timing of the traffic lights. That’s what we’re doing on a genetic and molecular level for poplar.”

The Olympics may be over (sigh) but biotech is like that Energizer bunny … it keeps going on and on and on and on …

Our videos for the past week include:

BIOTECH AS THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PARADIGM – Did I just write that?  A bit over the top but this is the thrust of a fascinating a series of videos by Ronald Openshaw, Chief Executive of Lucia Capital. He goes through what he sees as the top ten rules for management of emerging companies keying off lessons from biotech companies.  Very good stuff.

CALLING ALL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS – Label this one MIT meets high school biotech. This one of a series of videos from MIT introduces high school students to a topic they would not ordinarily study in school, biotechnology, and to different applications of biotechnology that relate to the main theme of the module – making the desert greener.

IF YOU’RE AN AFFLUENT ANTI-GMO TYPE, PLEASE WATCH THIS – It is very nice for folks from affluent countries to grumble about GMOs.  Funny.  You don’t hear that type of grumbling from people in nutrition starved countries … like Ghana.  Here’s an interview with Prof. Walter Alhassan, coordinator for the Project on Strengthening Capacity for Safe Biotechnology Managemt in sub-Sahara Africa (SABIMA), FARA Headquarters, Accra, Ghana.

NINE BILLION SERVED – That’s biotech, not McDonalds.  And yes, that’s the number of people we are going to have to feed not just once … but on a daily basis.  How?  Glad you asked.  Yes, biotech.  This is one of a series of videos of the recent symposium in Washington DC hosted by BIO (our sponsor), CropLife Inernational, and Council for Agriculture Science Technology.

DR. TARGAN’S BACK! – Talk about the Energizer Bunny.  Dr. Targan is just pumping out videos left and right.  Produced by BIO (our sponsor) these videos are targeted to junior and high school students.  This one is all about genetically engineered animals.

With the help of biotechnology, scientists are discovering new ways to genetically engineer animals to not only help them become resistant to deadly diseases and reduce their carbon footprint, but also to produce proteins used in pharmaceuticals to treat blood clots, malaria, hemophilia, and arthritis. Dr. Targan explains how genetic engineering in animals works, as well as a few of the benefits that both animals and humans can appreciate.

Now for a few stories that ran over the weekend worth checking out …

• MONSANTO BETTING ON CLIMATE CHANGE – That was the title of an article in the St. Louis Post.  You may not think it is happening but Monsanto scientists do.
• UNIVERSITIES FIGHT ATTEMPTS TO END GENE PATENTS – Good piece in the Chronicle of Education on this difficult topic.
• BIOTECH ON DISPLAY – This week in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the Translational Regenerative Medicine Forum.

Happy Friday everyone! Congratulations, you made it through a rough work week! So go out and celebrate tonight! But first, let’s see how biotechnology is HEALING, FUELING and FEEDING your world today!

HEAL: MAYO CLINIC MAKES PANCREATIC CANCER BREAKTHROUGH – Scientists at the Mayo Clinic have discovered an oncogene that is already important cases of colon and lung cancer is also linked with poor pancreatic cancer survival. The researchers said they determined the oncogene PKC-iota is over-produced in pancreatic cancer and that genetically inhibiting it in laboratory animals led to a significant decrease in pancreatic tumor growth and spread:

The drug, aurothiomalate, is being tested in a phase I clinical trial in patients with lung cancer at Mayo Clinic’s sites in Minnesota and Arizona. Based on findings to date, a phase II clinical trial is being planned to combine aurothiomalate with agents targeted at other molecules involved in cancer growth.

FUEL: COMPANY IS “WASTING” FUEL- Waste company giant, Waste Management, has invested a cool $51.5 million in Enerkem, a Quebec-based company that turns municipal solid waste, construction wood and agricultural residue into a gas that can be refined into ethanol. This is just one step in a greater goal of reaching sustainability:

Waste Management operates 115 landfill gas-to-energy facilities that use methane from decomposing organic material to generate electricity, according to the company. It also has 16 waste-to-energy facilities that use mixed municipal sold waste to generate electricity and reduce its need for fossil fuels. In all, Waste Management generates enough electricity to power 700,000 homes every day.

FEED: THE STATE OF BIOTECH CROPS – In the wake of the recent ISSAAA report that revealed a record 14 million farmers in 25 countries are using agricultural biotechnology, The Economist profiled the current state of biotech crops, including the growth potential in China:

The greatest potential for growth is probably in China. In late November the government gave its blessing to GM varieties of rice and maize. Both were developed by local researchers, without funding or other help from Western firms. As rice is the most important food crop in the world and maize is the main form of animal feed, these decisions could have a big impact. Clive James of ISAAA calculates that the GM rice alone could deliver benefits (in the form of higher yields, greater productivity, savings on pesticides and fertilisers, and so on) of $4 billion a year to China’s 100m-odd rice-growing households.

We have a GOLD MEDAL ALERT as Canada takes on USA in women’s hockey tonight. We also have a REMARKABLE-UNUSUAL-INNOVATIVE-LIFE-SAVING BIOTECH NEWS ALERT to get to:

SWINE FLY VACCINE FROM TOBACCO PLANTS – Texas A&M University researchers have been awarded $40 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to produce an H1N1 vaccine derived from the tobacco plant. This doesn’t sound so crazy when you consider that the tobacco plant has been extensively researched, is cheap to grow and can yield large amounts of vaccine at a much faster rate than the current process of growing the vaccine in chicken eggs. Here are the details of process of project “GreenVax”:

As a first step, researchers at Fraunhofer isolated a protein from the H1N1 virus known to trigger a protective immune response in a patient without causing an infection. A gene for this protein was then introduced into a bacterium. Tobacco plants were placed in a special chamber and dipped into a soup of the bacteria, which caused the plants to get infected with the gene-carrying bacteria.

The infected plants then began to produce the protein from H1N1 in large quantities. The plants grew for about a week. Their leaves were then chopped up and crushed, and the protein from H1N1—the essence of the vaccine—was extracted from the slurry and purified.

According to the article from the Wall Street Journal, GreenVax hopes to produce the initial 10 million doses of H1N1 vaccine within 12 months. Large-scale human clinical trials are expected to begin in 2011, and could take up to 18 months to complete.

PROTEIN IN BAT SALIVA GENETICALLY ENGINEERED TO TREAT STROKE – Researchers at the University at Buffalo are participating in a worldwide clinical trial for stroke patients using a drug based on a genetically engineered protein found in vampire bat saliva. The drug, called desmosteplase, has the potential to open blood vessels, restore blood flow and minimize damage to the brain. According to the article from Buffalo Business First, one of the major benefits of the drug is its ability to be administered up to nine hours after the onset of stroke symptoms. Currently, the only FDA-approved medication to treat acute strokes must be administered within three hours.

MARYLAND CONTINUES TO BOLSTER BIOTECH SECTOR – Maryland’s Montgomery County and Johns Hopkins University just signed a memorandum of understanding that aims at improving the area’s biotech sector. Under this MOU, the two parties will begin to meet semiannually to establish a strategy in attracting more private-sector companies and to ensure that their biotech industry stays competitive. Montgomery County Councilmember Mike Knapp elaborated on the benefits of this agreement:

“This MOU with John Hopkins — in addition to other recent initiatives — reaffirms our commitment to ensuring Montgomery County remains a national leader in the biosciences. It is critical to have this type of scientific commitment from one of the world’s premiere research institutions in order to implement a biosciences strategy that will enable our community to lead the way in improving human health throughout the world. The strength of our relationship with Johns Hopkins is also key to attracting and retaining talented life sciences professionals in our community.”

President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Jim Greenwood, officially kicked off the nomination process for the third annual George Washington Carver Award. The award recognizes significant contributions by an individual in the field of industrial biotechnology, including applications in biological engineering, environmental science, biorefining and biobased products. Know anyone that fits this criteria? Share their story and submit your nomination here.

The deadline for submitting nominations is April 12th and the award will be presented at the 2010 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, June 27-30, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

This week, we were reminded of the huge strides in cancer treatment that are being made with the help of biotechnology. Two articles in the New York Times over the past few days explain how new treatments that are targeted to the specific genetic profile of a cancer are making a huge difference in patients’ lives.

From one of the articles:

For the melanoma patients who signed on to try a drug known as PLX4032, the clinical trial was a last resort. Their bodies were riddled with tumors, leaving them almost certainly just months to live.

But a few weeks after taking their first dose, nearly all of them began to recover.

Lee Reyes, 30, of Fresno, Calif., who had begun using a feeding tube because of a growth pressing against his throat, bit into a cinnamon roll.

Nothing, he told his mother, had ever tasted as good.

Rita Quigley, who had been grateful just to find herself breathing each morning since learning she had the virulent skin cancer, went shopping for new clothes with her daughters at a mall in Huntsville, Ala.

Randy Williams, 46, who drove 600 miles from his home in Jonesboro, Ark., to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to get the experimental drug, rolled out of bed. “Something’s working,” he thought, “because nothing’s hurting.”

It was a sweet moment, in autumn 2008, for Dr. Keith Flaherty, the University of Pennsylvania oncologist leading the drug’s first clinical trial. A new kind of cancer therapy, it was tailored to a particular genetic mutation that was driving the disease, and after six years of disappointments his faith in the promise of such a “targeted” approach finally seemed borne out. His collaborators at five other major cancer centers, melanoma clinicians who had tested dozens of potential therapies for their patients with no success, were equally elated…

Read the full article here and find Part 2 here.

Good morning biotech community! Have any of your friends or colleges made any significant contributions to the field of industrial biotechnology, including applications in biological engineering, environmental science, biorefining and biobased products? Well don’t just sit there! Nominate them for the 2010 George Washington Carver Award, which will be presented at the 2010 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, June 27-30, 2010 in Washington, D.C. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) just announced that it is accepting nominations here.

Now, let’s see how biotechnology is HEALING, FUELING and FEEDING the world today!

HEAL: MICE WITH HUMAN LIVERS MEANS HOPE FOR THOSE WITH HEPATITIS – Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have engineered a mouse with a HUMAN liver (well, mostly human) by injecting human liver cells, or hepatocytes, into the mice. These mice could serve as a new model for discovering drugs for viral hepatitis, a disease that is apparently notoriously difficult to replicate and study in a lab setting.

In the laboratory, hepatitis and the liver cells it infects can be cagey and temperamental. Human liver cells immediately change character when taken out of the body, and are difficult to grow in a petri dish. What’s more, hepatitis only infects humans and chimps, having virtually no effect in other species, meaning conventional lab animals like mice and rats are useless as live models. “You could do chimp studies, but that is not very convenient, and it is of course an ethical issue,” says Karl-Dimiter Bissig, first author of the group’s paper, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. “There’s really a need to develop animal models where you can make a human chimerism and study the virus.”

This brings new hope to the 4.4 million Americans infected with chronic hepatitis B and C.

FUEL: CAN’T GET ENOUGH JATROPHA – So what if the name sounds like the new Terminator villain, this is big step for the biofuel industry. SG Biofuels, who already specializes in developing jatropha biodiesel, has announced a new variety of the plant that has double the oil output of normal jatropha. This new variety, dubbed JMax 100, is optimized for growing conditions in Guatemala with yields 100 percent greater than existing varieties. And while the yields double, the profitability triples, producing more than 350 gallons per acre at $1.39 per gallon.

FEED: WORLD CONTINUES TO SUPPORT AG BIOTECH – According to a recent report by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), a record 14 million farmers in 25 countries are using agricultural biotechnology today. Ninety percent, or 13 million, of these are resource-poor farmers in developing countries. Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, Executive Vice President, Food and Agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), commented on the findings:

“The annual ISAAA report is proof positive that the global adoption of biotech crops – especially corn, soybeans, cotton and canola – increases each year as more and more farmers gain access to this technology. Agricultural biotechnology provides solutions for today’s farmers in the form of plants that are more environmentally friendly while yielding more per acre, resisting diseases and insect pests and reducing farmers’ production costs.