Ulipristal Acetate

New Delhi: A new study suggests that a pill used for emergency contraception could be repurposed at a higher dose as an abortion drug, providing a possible alternative to mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in the most common type of abortion in the United States. Mifepristone has been under attack by abortion opponents, with several states seeking in federal court to restrict its use. Now used in two-thirds of U.S. abortions, mifepristone blocks a hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy. It's typically used with misoprostol, which causes contractions and bleeding. In the study, 133 women who were up to nine weeks' pregnant took a 60 milligram dose of ulipristal acetate, the active ingredient in the prescription contraceptive Ella, followed by misoprostol 24 hours later. For 97% of them, that drug combo was effective at inducing an abortion, an effectiveness equal to the mifepristone-misoprostol combination. Four women needed a procedure or an additional medication to complete the abortion. The 60 milligram dose of ulipristal used in the study is twice the dose of Ella, a prescription drug used for emergency contraception. The company that makes Ella says on its website that it won't end an existing pregnancy. It can be taken up to five days after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy. The findings, published Thursday in the journal NEJM Evidence, may make emergency contraception a target of abortion opponents. "I'm really worried that these results could be misapplied by anti-abortion activists to try to further their assault on contraception," said Dr. Daniel Grossman of the University of California, San Francisco, who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. Grossman praised the study but said more research is needed on ulipristal as an abortion drug before doctors would prescribe it routinely for that use. Lead author Dr. Beverly Winikoff, president of Gynuity Health Projects , a not-for-profit research group, said women need information about ulipristal, especially with mifepristone challenged in court. "At least now we would have an alternative," Winikoff said. "I think it's better to have more things that you could use."

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ScaleReady™, in collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) and CellReady™, today announced that Dr. Steve Feldman, Scientific Director and Site Head of Stanford Medicine's Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine (LCGM), has been awarded the inaugural G-Rex® Grant. Dr. Feldman's $300,000 G-Rex Grant will enable expeditious development of Stanford Medicine's LCGM's G-Rex platform for CAR-T cell therapy manufacturing, which will be offered to internal investigators and external developers who are seeking its development and manufacturing services. "Stanford's LCGM anticipates a need to support a greater number of clinical trials and the G-Rex Grant will be used to help meet that need," said Dr. Feldman. "We are honored to award the inaugural G-Rex Grant to Dr. Feldman and his team at Stanford Medicine LCGM. Stanford University is a world-class institution with faculty who have a reputation for innovative and ground-breaking achievements. Their work aligns with Wilson Wolf's mission of bringing hope to cancer patients, one G-Rex at a time" said John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Wolf and co-inventor of G-Rex. As part of the G-Rex Grant, Stanford Medicine LCGM will deploy their G-Rex-centric manufacturing process in an upcoming Phase 1 trial for GPC2+ pediatric neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. Previously, the FDA had recommended sponsors develop and implement potency assays earlier in the clinical trial process. With that objective, Stanford Medicine LCGM plans to implement Bio-Techne's leading automated multiplexing immunoassay platform, Ella™, as a potency assay for final drug product release. Furthermore, Stanford Medicine LCGM will collaborate with CellReady, the world's first and only G-Rex based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), to leverage their proven capacity to quickly create G-Rex master batch records that establish manufacturing simplicity, efficiency, and repeatability. Additionally, Stanford Medicine LCGM plans to further develop a novel technology (developed by Wilson Wolf) that enables closed-system T cell purification to be done directly in a G-Rex device, without the need for expensive ancillary equipment. ScaleReady's G-Rex Grant Program is a $20M initiative to advance the state of cell and gene-modified cell therapy (CGT) development and manufacturing by awarding individual Grant Awards worth up to $300,000. G-Rex Grant Recipients also gain access to exclusive support from ScaleReady's growing consortium of G-Rex Grant Partners who bring best-in-class tools and technologies as well as unparalleled knowledge and expertise in the areas of cGMP manufacturing, quality and regulatory affairs, CGT business operations, and more. About ScaleReady ScaleReady provides the field of cell and gene-modfied cell therapy (CGT) with a G-Rex centric manufacturing platform that enables the world's most practical, flexible, scalable, and affordable CGT drug product development and manufacturing. The G-Rex manufacturing platform is currently used by a rapidly growing list of over 800 organizations and is producing drug products for approximately 50% of CGT clinical trials as well as 4 commercially approved CGT drugs. CGT entities relying on the breadth and scope of ScaleReady's expertise can expect to save years of time and millions of dollars on the path to CGT commercialization. For more information about the ScaleReady G-Rex® Grant Program, please contact [email protected]. About Wilson Wolf Manufacturing Wilson Wolf () is dedicated to simplifying cell and gene-modified cell (CGT) therapy research, process development, and manufacturing. This is being accomplished through its scalable G-Rex® technology, which is used throughout the world in CGT applications ranging from basic research to commercial drug production. Wilson Wolf's mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® device at a time. About Bio-Techne Corporation Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne, in partnership with Wilson Wolf, is creating products such as media and cytokines that are specifically tailored to G-Rex® Bioreactors, including right-sized reagent quantities in containers that are tailored to high throughput closed-system manufacturing. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube. Contact: David Clair, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development [email protected] 612-656-4416 About CellReady LLC CellReady is the world's first and only G-Rex® centric contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in G-Rex® based cell and gene-modified cell therapy development and manufacturing. The company offers a wide range of services to support the development and commercialization of these therapies. CellReady's mission is to create hope for cancer patients, one G-Rex® process at a time. SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation