The news summaries appearing in BIO SmartBrief are based on original information from news organizations and are produced by SmartBrief, Inc., an independent e-mail newsletter publisher. The information is not compiled or summarized by BIO. Questions and comments should be directed to SmartBrief at bio@smartbrief.com.

Today's Top Story

• Nobel laureate warns against unproven stem cell treatments
  A growing number of clinics and hospitals worldwide are offering unproven and potentially dangerous stem cell therapies to treat diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, spinal cord injuries and other ailments, and Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka warned consumers away from these unproven treatments. "If there are no preclinical data in the efficiency and safety of the procedure ... it could be very dangerous," he said. Yamanaka and John Gurdon share this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on induced pluripotent stem cells. Reuters (10/9)     

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Health Care & Policy

• Biotech conference comes together in Ore.
  Oregon Bio 2012, the annual conference of the Oregon Bioscience Association, is bringing an expected 250 participants to Marylhurst University. The two-day event, which started Tuesday, features seminars on digitization of research data, and how to find biotech investment and partners. American City Business Journals/Portland, Ore. (10/8)     

• FDA approves Duke medical school's cord blood stem cell product
  The Duke University School of Medicine obtained approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell Ducord, a stem cell product derived from cord blood, for use in transplants between unrelated donors and patients. Ducord was approved for patients whose diseases or treatments incapacitate bone marrow cells. The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.) (free registration) (10/9)     

• MedImmune and 2 cancer institutes team up for drug R&D
  MedImmune is partnering with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Cancer Research Institute to evaluate combinations of cancer immunotherapies in clinical trials. Among treatments to be tested are MedImmune's monoclonal antibody drug candidates tremelimumab, anti-OX40 and MED14736. The trials will be carried out by the cancer institutes. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (10/9)     

• Crucell licenses technology from Mucosis to develop vaccines
  Crucell Holland, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, will use Mucosis' Mimopath technology to develop vaccines against infectious diseases, as part of a deal for research and license options. The agreement entitles Mucosis to upfront and milestone fees. Pharmaceutical Business Review Online (10/9)     

• Researchers see promise in use of iPS cells for macular degeneration
  An experimental therapy based on the use of skin cell-derived induced pluripotent stem cells has the potential to treat macular degeneration in people, according to a study published in Molecular Medicine. "With eye diseases, I think we're getting close to a scenario where a patient's own skin cells are used to replace retina cells destroyed by disease or degeneration," said Dr. Stephen Tsang of Columbia University Medical Center. United Press International (10/7)     

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Company & Financial News

• Life Technologies boosts companion Dx work with Compendia buy
  Life Technologies paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Compendia, which specializes in cancer bioinformatics. The deal will allow Life Technologies to create its own commercial and laboratory-developed tests, bolster its development work on companion diagnostics and strengthen its position in the pharma sector. GenomeWeb Daily News (free registration) (10/8)     

• Maker of personalized wrinkle therapy pulls in $45M in stock sale
  Fibrocell Science, which developed the first FDA-approved personalized cell therapy for wrinkle reduction, secured $45 million in a private stock sale. The maker of Laviv will use the money to upgrade its production capacity and to develop other applications for the treatment, including as a therapy for burn scars. MedCityNews.com (10/8)     

Food & Agriculture

• Over 30 newspapers urge Californians to reject biotech labeling law
  More than 30 daily newspapers in California, including the state's largest, have urged their readers to vote "no" on the Proposition 37 biotech labeling law. "Prop 37 could add to food costs for consumers, hurt small businesses and create yet another avenue for costly litigation," according to an editorial in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. PorkNetwork.com (10/9)     

Industrial & Environmental

• Brazilian pulp company to enter biofuels sector
  Brazilian pulp and paper company Fibria Celulose plans to start making biofuels from forestry assets to lessen its reliance on pulp production, which accounted for about 94% of revenue in 2011, CEO Marcelo Castelli said. The company, in partnership with U.S.-based Ensyn Corp., expects to open a wood-to-fuel plant in Brazil in 2015. Bloomberg Businessweek (10/9)     

News from BIO

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