On March 22, Boston stem cell medicine technology start-up Asymmetrex will present a free, public, online webinar with the goal of discussing how it developed a stem cell technology that has been needed since the beginnings of stem cell biology. Hosted by RegMedNet, a London-based social media network for regenerative medicine professionals, the webinar will provide a first public discussion forum on the company’s new AlphaSTEM technology for counting adult tissue stem cells for the first time.
In a Scheduled March 22 RegMedNet Webinar, Asymmetrex Discusses the Strategy for How AlphaSTEM Technology is used to Count Adult Tissue Stem Cells
BOSTON, MA (PRWEB) MARCH 17, 2016
Asymmetrex, a stem cell medicine technology start-up company headquartered in Boston, began a social media campaign in late 2015 to increase awareness of a long-standing unmet need in stem cell research and stem cell biomedicine. Since the beginnings of stem cell biology in the 1950s, it has not been possible to count adult tissue stem cells. The problem stems from difficulty discovering biomarkers that recognize tissue stem cells, but not their more abundant relatives called committed progenitor cells.
The company has a lot of interest in rekindling attention to this stem cell counting problem, which has existed for so long that some stem cell investigators are unaware of it, some try to work as best they can while knowing it, or some ignore it. Each of these responses undermines the potential of stem cell research and stem cell medicine progress. By providing a solution, Asymmetrex has the potential to improve the quality of stem cell research and greatly accelerate progress in stem cell-based regenerative medicine, including drug development and gene therapies.
Both the educational campaign and the webinar are hosted by the UK social media network RegMedNet. In anticipation of the webinar, RegMedNet posted an audio interview with Asymmetrex Director James Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. on March 14. During the campaign, Director Sherley has posted discussions that describe how the ability to count adult tissue stem cells will transform a wide range of practices in stem cell research, regenerative medicine, drug development, and even environmental health science. Suggested transformations include early identification of drug candidates that would cause organ and tissue failure later in more costly animal studies and clinical trials; evaluation of the stem cell sufficiency of cord blood bank donor samples; determination of the dose of stem cells in transplantation treatments; and increased efficiency and long-term efficacy in gene therapies and gene-editing therapeutics.
In the RegMedNet audio interview, Sherley related the scientific history that culminated in the new AlphaSTEM technology for counting adult tissue stem cells. A key partner in the development of the technology is the statistical modeling and computer simulation leader AlphaSTAR Corp. The two companies are now seeking venture funding to spin out a new company, AlphaSTEM Co., that will further develop and market the new counting technology.
In the upcoming March 22 webinar, Asymmetrex will continue its aim of introducing the attributes of the new technology to the stem cell biology, drug development, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, and gene-editing therapeutics communities. Director Sherley will present the essential elements of the AlphaSTEM method and the results of several experimental validations. Significant time will be allotted for discussion with webinar attendees. The partnering companies are particularly interested in this initial public comment.
About Asymmetrex
Asymmetrex, LLC is a Massachusetts life sciences company with a focus on developing technologies to advance stem cell medicine. Asymmetrex’s founder and director, James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert on the unique properties of adult tissue stem cells. The company’s patent portfolio contains biotechnologies that solve the two main technical problems – production and quantification – that have stood in the way of successful commercialization of human adult tissue stem cells for regenerative medicine and drug development. In addition, the portfolio includes novel technologies for isolating cancer stem cells and producing induced pluripotent stem cells for disease research purposes. Currently, Asymmetrex’s focus is employing its technological advantages to develop facile methods for monitoring adult stem cell number and function in clinically important human tissues.
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