HistoIndex Announces Global Partnerships To Expand AI-Based Digital Pathology PlatformMONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019HistoIndex announces the expansion of its AI-based digital pathology platform towards large-scale NASH preclinical programs for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to achieve quantifiable and reproducible data on therapeutic responses in NASH animal models, and to aid CROs as well as research agencies in validating new models mimicking the NASH disease.Published preclinical studies have demonstrated the use of HistoIndex's fully quantifiable Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) technology as a highly accurate stain-free method that can monitor the efficacy of various therapeutic agents, by quantifying more than 450 NASH-associated parameters in fibrosis, inflammation, ballooning and steatosis. The information of these NASH-associated parameters gathered from the entire liver tissue, provides comprehensive insights on the mechanism of action of the therapeutic agent.  As a drug discovery tool, HistoIndex's SHG-enabled digital pathology platform will allow pharmaceutical and biotech companies to select promising lead candidates for further optimization and make informed decisions in the management of their NASH drug development pipeline.In addition to ongoing NASH clinical trials, HistoIndex is currently involved in multiple preclinical studies, most of which are conducted by major pharmaceutical and biotech companies, medical universities, CROs and research agencies. Notably, HistoIndex has recently entered into a collaboration with the A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) to validate their in vivo and in vitro NASH models based on Asian-centric clinical data. Says Professor Patrick Tan, Executive Director of the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), "At GIS, we conduct our preclinical studies on fatty liver involving data from animal models based on patient-derived transcriptomic data. This has a high translational potential as it helps us to pinpoint new therapeutic targets and their validation. Therefore, using a fully quantitative, reliable and objective pathological evaluation such as HistoIndex's AI-based digital pathology platform is essential to the success of our efforts in therapeutic target discovery."HistoIndex is also a partner with globally-renowned CRO, WuXi Apptec, in advancing their NASH preclinical programs with advanced R&D and smart imaging analysis capabilities. Published study data will be available for discussions during networking opportunities throughout AASLD's The Liver Meeting® in November 2019.  "We are very excited to extend our AI-based SHG platform to preclinical studies to help companies with drug discovery programs select promising lead candidates for further optimization and subsequent clinical development," says Dr Poon Thong Yuen, Chief Executive Officer of HistoIndex. "Our SHG image analysis platform has already been used to analyze the efficacy of a series of promising drug candidates for NASH within various animal models commonly-used by the industry, and we believe these preclinical partnerships will help drive the adoption of our platform significantly."information source:pharma focus AsiaThe original link:https:https://www.pharmafocusasia.com/news/histoindex-announces-global-partnerships-to-expand-ai-based-digital-pathology-platform2019 Asia-pacific pharma IP Leader Summit: http://en.zenseegroup.com/p/510934/will be held in Beijing  on November 14-15, and will attract more than 500 industry experts from domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, governments, associations, law firms, intellectual property agents and other companies to attend.Official registration and consultation channels:Contact：AnnPhone: 021-65650305Email：Marketing@zenseegroup.comhttp://en.zenseegroup.com/p/510934

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2019AZTherapies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to extend brain health, today announced the acquisition of Smith Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company with a shared goal of targeting neuroinflammation to treat neurodegenerative disease. Smith Therapeutics’ Founder and Chief Executive Officer Philip Ashton-Rickardt, Ph.D., has joined the senior leadership team at AZTherapies as Senior Vice President of Immunology. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.Smith Therapeutics’ proprietary research platform focuses on the use of modified T cells to restore a healthy balance of inflammatory and regulatory cells in the brain. To date, Smith has successfully engineered immunosuppressive T regulatory (Treg) cells with Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs) targeting brain glial cells. Previous research has demonstrated the ability of Tregs to dampen microglial activity and reduce neuroinflammation in models of neurodegeneration, suggesting their potential utility in the treatment of diseases including Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and others.“This acquisition represents a meaningful step forward for us as we continue to strengthen our leadership position in the development of therapies targeting neuroinflammation to stop or slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases,” said David R. Elmaleh, Ph.D., Founder, CEO, and Chairman of AZTherapies. “We are excited to be working with Philip as we add this cutting-edge technology to our portfolio of innovative programs. An esteemed immunologist and inventor of the technology, Philip brings unparalleled expertise to the company and we look forward to advancing this CAR-Treg program further into IND-enabling studies and into clinical development as rapidly as possible.”Dr. Ashton-Rickardt commented on the acquisition and his appointment: “Our shared rationale of targeting neuroinflammation as the root cause of neurodegenerative disease makes this acquisition a great strategic fit for us. With AZTherapies’ expertise in drug development and clinical trial execution, we believe that together, we are well positioned to advance our CAR-Treg technology and fundamentally change neurodegenerative disease progression.”Prior to launching Smith Therapeutics in 2017, Dr. Ashton-Rickardt was Chair in Immunology at Imperial College London, Visiting Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Chicago. His work has been recognized by his peers through the award of tenure from The University of Chicago and by his fellow citizens as a recipient of the Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Bill Clinton. He has published more than 65 peer-reviewed papers in more than 30 academic journals (including Cell, Science, Immunity, and Nature Immunology), has served as an editor for several academic journals, and has been a member of grant review boards globally. Dr. Ashton-Rickardt received a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of London, King’s College with honors, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Edinburgh, and completed post-doctoral work at the University of Edinburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Molecular Biology and Molecular Immunology, respectively.information source:pharma focus AsiaThe original link:https:https://www.pharmafocusasia.com/news/aztherapies-strengthens-neuroinflammation-targeted-pipeline-through-acquisition-of-smith-therapeutics2019 Asia-pacific pharma IP Leader Summit: http://en.zenseegroup.com/p/510934/will be held in Beijing  on November 14-15, and will attract more than 500 industry experts from domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, governments, associations, law firms, intellectual property agents and other companies to attend.Official registration and consultation channels:Contact：AnnPhone: 021-65650305Email：Marketing@zenseegroup.comhttp://en.zenseegroup.com/p/510934