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 03, 2019...
A researcher working in the lab of Kadimastem in Ness Ziona (Hagit Stavinsky)
Kadimastem Ltd., a biotechnology firm that develops cell therapies, said it has received “promising interim results” from a first group of patients treated with its new therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatal neurodegenerative condition that causes the loss of muscle control.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/looking-for-the-genes-that-drive-cancer/
Dec 01, 2012... Prof. Yardena Samuels of the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Molecular Cell Biology uses the power of DNA sequencing to identify new groups of genetic mutations involved in the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma. One of her discoveries, a mutation found in nearly one-fifth of melanoma cases, was particularly encouraging because it is located in a gene already targeted by a drug approved for certain types of breast cancer, and preliminary clinical trials are underway.
Jun 20, 2016...
Image via Shutterstock.com
The Israeli company Nucleix has developed a simple, inexpensive urine test to monitor bladder cancer, which has the highest lifetime treatment cost per patient of all types of cancer.
Bladder EpiCheck is expected to be available in Europe in the third quarter of 2016, says Nucleix President and Chief Operating Officer Opher Shapira. Right now, the product is undergoing advanced clinical trials in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Israel.
Dec 20, 2011...
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world’s largest generic-drug maker, is seeking to transform a compound once rejected by Sanofi into the first treatment to succeed insulin for Type 1 diabetes.
The therapy, DiaPep277, is made from a human protein that stops the immune system from destroying the pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy. The drug also helps control sugar levels in the blood, a late-stage study showed last month.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/unraveling-the-mysteries-of-science-and-disease/
Feb 23, 2014...
PROF. MICHEL REVEL. Photo: JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Six months after his 75th birthday, after teaching generations of young graduate and post-doctoral students at the Weizmann Institute of Science and with a wife, four children and 12 grandchildren, one could expect Prof. Michel Revel to sit back and enjoy life. Yet, the Frenchborn, internationally acclaimed molecular geneticist, who invented a major drug to treat multiple sclerosis used around the world and received the Israel Prize, EMET Prize and other major awards, has his eyes fixed on the future.
Aug 30, 2016...
Image via GeebShot/Shutterstock.com
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in people over age 60. About 90 percent of those with AMD have the “dry” form for which there is no approved therapy.
And so the race is on to find a cure. The potential is huge, as products for treating the much smaller population of those with wet AMD ring up about $5 billion in annual sales.
Mar 02, 2010...
Prof. Yoram Salomon (left) and Prof. Avigdor Scherz (right)
By combining three individually innocuous components, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers Prof. Yoram Salomon of the Department of Biological Regulation and Prof. Avigdor Scherz of the Department of Plant Sciences have created a toxic combination that destroys solid tumors. This cancer therapy, which is the result of nearly 20 years of collaboration between the two scientists, is being studied as a frontline treatment for prostate cancer. However, the strategy may work for other types of cancer as well. "In principle, right now, every solid tumor is potentially a target for this treatment," says Prof. Salomon.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/video-gallery/israel-leads-in-prostate-cancer-research/
Jun 17, 2016... Reporter Natasha Kirtchuk describes the new prostate cancer treatment developed by the Weizmann Institute's Profs. Avigdor Scherz and Yoram Salomon, along with an extended team of scientists, researchers, oncologists, urologists, clinicians, technicians, and more. The therapy involves no radiation or chemotherapy, takes just 90 minutes to complete...
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/blood-test-for-alzheimer-s/
Feb 04, 2013...
A simple blood test could be on the way for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. Image via Shutterstock.com*
“Today one of the main weaknesses in the Alzheimer’s area is that patients don’t find out until it’s too late,” says Ilya Budik, CEO of NeuroQuest, an Israeli company developing a novel blood test for early detection of the most common cause of dementia worldwide.
“There are many new therapies under development, and the most successful trials are showing the earlier a patient is treated, the better likelihood of responding to the treatment,” he says.
https://weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/can-the-organ-of-life-save-lives/
Oct 20, 2017...
Prof. Reuven Or, from the Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cancer Immunotherapy Research Center, speaks with Pluristem CEO Zami Aberman last month. (photo credit:PLURISTEM)
More than 13,000 Americans are diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of blood disorders associated with abnormal blood cell production. The average length of survival depends on the case, but the prognosis is often bad. However, according to Prof. Reuven Or, from the Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cancer Immunotherapy Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, a new method that would prolong survival and improve quality of life for these patients is on the horizon.
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