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Manoa Biosciences Inc. Announces Leading Scientific Advisory Board in Transgenesis; University of Hawaii Spin-Off Company Also Launches Commercial Website Offering Products, Services for Discovery Research
(Ascribe Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) HONOLULU, Sept. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- Manoa BioSciences, Inc. (MBI), a University of Hawaii spin-off company incorporated in Delaware, recently announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board comprised of world-renowned scientists with expertise in transgenesis.
Members of the MBI Scientific Advisory Board include:
Dr. Ryuzo Yanagimachi, Professor Emeritus, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa - Yanagimachi is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, and has received numerous awards including the International Prize for Biology in 1996 from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Dr. Allan Bradley, Professor/Director, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute - Since November 2000, Bradley has led the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute as its director. Prior to that, he was a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and established an international reputation as a mouse geneticist. He founded several companies including a publicly traded genomics company, Lexicon Genetics Inc., and is the author of over 160 scientific articles and book chapters.
Dr. Malcolm J. Fraser, Jr., Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame - The Fraser Laboratory merges research in molecular virology and transgenic engineering with the particular goals of advancing applications that improve the human condition. Fraser's lab characterized and developed the piggyBac transposon, a highly versatile transposon vector with wide utility for transgenic engineering in host of eukaryotic species.
We are very fortunate to have assembled such a distinguished group of scientists who have been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences and have experience in running successful life science companies, said Dr. Stefan Moisyadi, Chief Scientific Officer for Manoa Biosciences and Assistant Professor in the Institute of Biogenesis Research at UH Manoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine.
The company also launched its commercial website offering products and services for discovery research at http://www.manoabiosciences.com/ . In 2006, research by the founders of MBI was recognized in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science for discovering the most efficient non-viral method for inserting therapeutic genes into mammalian cells. Proprietary plasmids and transgenic animals, based on this insertional method, were developed and are now commercially available to research facilities around the world. These products can potentially save time and money in transgenic labs and will help scientists create better therapies for many diseases.
MBI's gene insertion plasmids and transgenic mice offer unique solutions to determine the role genes play in diseases and to test the effectiveness of new drugs, said Moisyadi.
Until recently, gene therapy research has focused on the use of viruses for gene insertion, but this has proven difficult and dangerous to control. Additionally, the gene insertions, for the most part, create only temporary changes in the cell genome. Consequently, gene therapy testing for humans has been placed on hold, creating the need for a more effective and safe insertion method.
MBI intends to secure corporate alliances with pharmaceutical and biotech companies delivering biological molecules, with applications for human gene therapy, said Williams Ettouati, President and CEO of Manoa Biosciences.
ABOUT MANOA BIOSCIENCES, INC.
Founded in 2006 by Dr. Stefan Moisyadi of the University of Hawaii at Manoa's John A. Burns School of Medicine and Dr. Joseph Kaminski, Manoa Biosciences, Inc., is a life science corporation that has licensed best-in-its class non-viral gene insertion technologies from several universities, and creates high quality gene insertion plasmids and transgenic animals. MBI's mission is to become a leading commercial bioscience company by maximizing their transgenic technologies and by selling and forgin alliances with pharmaceutical/biotech companies and academic research labs. MBI is selling its products in the United States and is looking for partners in Europe and Japan. For more information, visit http://www.manoabiosciences.com .
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CONTACTS:
Williams Ettouati, Manoa Biosciences, Inc., 858-699-5489
Gaylene Anderson, Office of Technology Transfer & Economic Development, University of Hawaii, 808-539-3836,
Copyright 2007 AScribe inc.
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