About Us
Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the benefit of humanity.
Oct 29, 2014...
Receiving a vaccine (illustrative photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
A universal flu vaccine developed by Israel’s BiondVax has been granted patents by both the European Union and Japan, the company announced Wednesday. BiondVax’s technology had previously received patents in the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, China, Russia and Mexico, and the two new approvals extend its reach dramatically.
With the newest patent approvals, the company said that it can now enter into wide-scale development programs with pharmaceutical companies and governments that will license its technology to develop a one-stop-shop vaccine for influenza.
Nov 22, 2011... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—November 22, 2011—The clinical trial conducted by Andromeda Biotech on a drug developed by Prof. Irun Cohen of the Weizmann Institute of Science to treat Type 1 diabetes was random, regulated, double-blinded, and broad-based. The drug was tested on 457 patients, aged 16-45, who had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a short time before joining the trial. The trial took place in around 40 medical centers in Europe, Israel, and South Africa. The involved patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one received the trial drug, DiaPep277®, through a subcutaneous injection once every three months, for a period of two years, while the second group, a control group, was given a placebo in the same way. In addition, all of the patients received insulin as needed to stabilize their glucose levels.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/one-patent-three-drugs/
Mar 16, 2016...
A protocol that arose from Weizmann Institute of Science research has led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new biological drug for the treatment of a certain form of lung cancer. This is the third cancer drug to be developed on the basis of studies conducted by the Department of Immunology’s Prof. Michael Sela and colleagues.
Prof. Michael Sela
All three drugs are antibodies that block a receptor called the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR. This receptor, which is on the surface of cells, plays a role in the formation and spread of cancerous tumors. Used in combination with chemotherapy or radiation, blocking EGFR may prevent cancer from growing. Prof. Sela and colleagues Drs. Esther Aboud-Pirak and Esther Hurwitz discovered, a number of years ago, that EGFR-inhibiting antibodies produce a synergistic anticancer effect when used together with chemotherapy.
Mar 19, 2019...
BiondVax CEO Dr. Ron Babecoff (upper row, center) and employees at the company’s new Jerusalem production facility. (photo credit: Courtesy)
New vaccines are developed every year, based on three strains of the influenza virus that experts believe to be most likely in the upcoming season. Frequent and unpredictable mutations of the virus, however, mean that vaccine effectiveness significantly varies from year to year.
Dec 10, 2015...
Prof. Michal Schwartz
CHARLESTON, S.C., Dec. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — NeuroQuest Development Center, Inc., today announced they have entered into a service agreement with the University of California, San Diego for collection and processing of blood samples for their U.S. clinical validation trials.
The South Carolina-based biotech company is developing a blood test for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Apr 03, 2016...
Cancer cells (Pixabay)
Scientists at the Weizmann Institute may have found the cure for prostate cancer, at least if it is caught in its early stages – via a drug that doctors inject into cancerous cells and treat with infrared laser illumination.
Using a therapy lasting 90 minutes, the drug, called Tookad Soluble, targets and destroys cancerous prostate cells, studies show, allowing patients to check out of the hospital the same day without the debilitating effects of chemical or radiation therapy or the invasive surgery that is usually used to treat this disease.
Apr 08, 2019... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—April 8, 2019—The project, led by Prof. Eran Segal and his team in the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics and Department of Molecular Cell Biology, aims to use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies to generate personalized predictions for disease risk factors. The 10K project is a longitudinal study designed to collect lifestyle and clinical data from 10,000 individuals who will be recruited from the Israeli population, and is suitable for Hebrew speakers only.
May 06, 2020... A year and a half ago, biochemist Prof. Ruth Arnon, Israel Prize recipient for medicine and past president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, received an email from the editor of a science journal. The editor asked whether she planned to attend a conference on multiple sclerosis that was to take place a few days later. Arnon, who was one of the scientists responsible for the research that led to the MS treatment, Copaxone, said she wouldn’t be attending, but was sending a researcher from her lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Sep 10, 2020...
A novel treatment for Alzheimer’s, developed by one of Israel’s top scientists, is preparing to launch a Phase 1 clinical trial and, if successful, it could change the course of the disease and arrest its progression.
The therapy, developed by ImmunoBrain Checkpoint and based on 20 years of work by Prof. Michal Schwartz of the Weizmann Institute of Science demonstrating that the immune system is needed for the maintenance of healthy brain function and repair, would contribute to the understanding of the biology of Alzheimer’s disease.
Aug 04, 2022... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—August 4, 2022—The myriads of microbes in our gut, collectively termed the microbiome, are considered important to our health, but they can also harbor bacteria that contribute to inflammatory bowel disease or other disorders. Currently, however, it is impossible to target such disease-contributing bacteria without harming the surrounding beneficial microbes. Antibiotics kill friendly microbes along with the harmful ones, and in any event, they tend to trigger bacterial resistance and to have side effects. In a study published today in Cell, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers have demonstrated the feasibility of a potential therapy for killing inflammation-causing gut bacteria in a targeted manner: by using viruses that infect them.
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