Ustem is born

Nice find, Miami.

Withers Guides Creation Of Trans-Atlantic Stem Cell Venture

By Dani Kass
Law360, New York (September 14, 2016, 3:52 PM EDT) -- Global law firm Withers LLP advised Florida-based biotech Opko Health Inc. and an Italian startup on the creation of a joint venture that aims to replace the need to extract stem cells by developing technology to efficiently produce human tissue in a laboratory, the firm said Tuesday.

The venture, called uStem, is setting out to develop “groundbreaking” technology that would allow researchers to use laboratory-produced cells to test new medicine and therapies for a variety of illnesses and conditions as if they were being tested on stem cells, according to the London-based law firm, which is known in the U.S. as Withers Bergman LLP.

The researchers plan to make biomedical technology that can efficiently reprogram adult, nonreproductive cells, called somatic cells, into a state similar to that of embryonic stem cells. The reprogrammed cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells.

"Advising both of the parties involved in this hugely significant scientific endeavor presented us with a very exciting opportunity,” Withers associate Nicola Baù said in a statement. “This pioneering technology has the potential to benefit so many people across the world, and we look forward to continuing to assist as the project advances.”

The 50-50 joint venture is a project of Florida-based Opko, which is publicly traded in the U.S. and Israel, and Italian startup Onyel Biotech SRL. The latter company was created by University of Padua professor Nicola Elvassore and researchers from the university’s industrial engineering department, Onelia Gagliano and Elena Serena.

“We are very excited about this opportunity because we think it’s very important for European researchers to be in contact with U.S. multinational companies, because that is … the way to go,” Roberta Crivellaro, managing partner of Withers’ Milan office, told Law360. “There are a lot of high-quality researchers [in Italy]. The problem is the lack of funds. We’re very proud of being involved in a deal that is promotional of our country, our culture and our university system.”

A representative for Opko didn’t immediately respond to request for comment. Onyel couldn’t be reached Wednesday.

Roberta Crivellaro, Nicola Baù and Roberta Danese were on the Withers team.

--Editing by Mark Lebetkin.

The lawyers are being aggressive with their pr and Frost is not....he may have reasons or just a lazy or just a lazy PR company. Withers PR beat them to the bunch? Maybe...

Cousin Burn, could you interpret for moi? I cannot understand this article though kudos to you for finding it. Thank you, Miami

Update: The Legal Staff Advisors

Roberta Crivellaro and Nicola Baù of Withers Worldwide will advise.

September 19, 2016

Withers for the establishment of uStem

The joint venture with the participation of the US OPKO Health and the Italian Onyel Biotech Withers , with a team of Roberta Crivellaro and Nicola Baù, has lent his support to two companies in the biomedical sector, the US OPKO Health and the Italian Onyel Biotech , for creating uStem , a joint venture.

uStem develop innovative biomedical technologies that will effectively reprogram human somatic cells. This technology will enable the production of human tissue in the laboratory on which to test new drugs and therapies. 

• www.toplegal.it/news/2016/09/19/18577/withers-per-la-costituzione-di-ustem

Roberta Crivellaro
Partner
Education: University of Padua, Italy, LL.B equivalent
Admitted: Italy - Avvocato, 1994 • England and Wales, 2005
Languages spoken: English • Italian
Year joined: 2005
Year became partner: 2008

Roberta is the Managing Partner of the Italian practice in Milan and responsible for the firm's five Italian desks worldwide. She specialises in corporate and commercial cross-border transactions and international litigation as well as brands and residential and commercial real estate. She acts as the point of reference for many Italians and their companies doing business around the world and foreign companies and individuals investing in Italy.

Her legal training and experience, together with an in depth knowledge of various legal systems and foreign laws have heightened her ability to synthesise the principles of Civil Law (European law) with the concepts of Common Law (Anglo Saxon system).

Roberta Crivellaro, who is ‘extremely competent and very knowledgeable’, has developed considerable food and beverage sector expertise.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2016

Roberta Crivellaro’s ‘knowledge of both Italian and other EU laws is a competitive advantage to clients.’
Legal 500 EMEA, 2015

The firm received the Best Place to Work award in 2014 (Top Legal Awards)

In 2014 and 2015, Roberta was ranked as a 'Recommended Lawyer' by Legal500 EMEA.

In 2012, Roberta was listed in Italian magazine, 'A' , as one of the top 50 women Managers in Italy today.

In 2011, Roberta was named Italian Female Lawyer of the Year by 'Top Legal', Italy’s specialist legal publication and website magazine.

In 2010 Roberta was named one of Italy's 100 Women of Excellence by Elle Italia magazine.

Read More Here: www.withersworldwide.com/people/roberta-crivellaro


Nicola Bau'
Associate
Education: University of Verona, Italian Law • University of Regensburg, Erasmus
Admitted: Italy, 2007
Languages spoken: Italian • English • German • Spanish
Year joined: 2011

Nicola specializes in Italian corporate law (including corporate governance and corporate liability ex Legislative Decree no 231/2001), commercial law, contractual law, relevant to both international and domestic matters.

Nicola is also an external compliance officer (organismo di vigilanza - Legislative Decree no. 231/2001) for several major Italian companies.

Highlights

Assisting a leading Italian company in the tillage and seeding equipment sector in the negotiations of their partnership agreement with the leading Indian manufacturer of tractors including, inter alia, the setting up of a farm equipment manufacturing plant in India;

Advising on all contractual aspects (including shareholders agreements) relating to the purchase by an Italian company of a majority shareholding in an Indonesian joint venture engaged in gas distribution;

Providing contractual advice to one of the largest Italian wine producers and its affiliates in relation to their commercial expansion in the U.S., Canada, Germany, the UK and the Far East involving the setting up of subsidiaries, joint ventures and representative offices and the execution of distributorship and agency agreements;

Advising a multinational clothing manufacturer and supply chain group listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in relation to the acquisition of a renowned Italian sportswear label and the relevant going concern from a pre-bankruptcy arrangement with creditors procedure;

Providing due diligence and legal advice in relation an IPO by an Italian cargo airline company on AIM (London Stock Exchange).

Read More Here: www.withersworldwide.com/people/nicola-bau

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Nicola Elvassore
University of Padova, Padova
Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Developmental Biology

Institute: SIAIS
University of Padova
Research Area: Biological Engineering
Contact Info. nicola.elvassore@@gmail.com

Biography
Dr. Nicola Elvassore graduated from University of Padova in 1995 and received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at University of Padova in 1999. He was Post-Doc the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Padova, assistant professor 1999-2001 at Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Padova, Fulbright visiting scientist and research Affiliate and visiting Scientist at Harvard - M.I.T. Division of Health Sciences and Technology, M.I.T., Cambridge, USA and visiting scientist at Tokyo University (2010), New South Wales University at Sydney (2007 and 2009) and University of California (1998, 2004 and 2008). Since 2009 he become principal Investigator at Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, Padua and, since 2014, associate professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering at University of Padova.

Research Interests

The development of enabling technologies for biological discovery in the field of human physiology and pathophysiology.
Stem cell engineering.
Human organ on a chip.

Selected Publications

Giobbe GG, Michielin F, Luni C, Giulitti S, Martewicz S, Dupont S, Floreani A, Elvassore N. 2015. Functional differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells on a chip. Nat Methods. 12:637–640.

Luni C, Serena E, Elvassore N. 2014. Human-on-chip for therapy development and fundamental science. Curr Opin Biotech. 25: 45-50.

Zatti S, Martewicz S, Serena E, Uno N, Giobbe GG, Kazuki Y, Oshimura M, Elvassore N. 2014. Complete restoration of multiple dystrophin isoforms in genetically corrected Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patient-derived cardiomyocytes. Mol Ther – Methods and Clinical Development 1:article 1.

Aragona M, Panciera T, Manfrin M, Giulitti S, Michielin F, Elvassore N, Dupont S, Piccolo S. 2013. A mechanical checkpoint controls multicellular growth through YAP/TAZ regulation by actin-processing factors. Cell. 154(5):1047-1059.

Dupont S, Morsut L, Aragona M, Enzo E, Giulitti S, Cordenonsi M, Zanconato F, Le Digabel J, Forcato M, Bicciato S and others. 2011. Role of YAP/TAZ in mechanotransduction. Nature 474(7350):179-U212.

• www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicola_Elvassore

Paper: High-efficiency cellular reprogramming with microfluidics

— 18 July 2016 0 42
We report that the efficiency of reprogramming human somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be dramatically improved in a microfluidic environment. Microliter-volume confinement resulted in a 50-fold increase in efficiency over traditional reprogramming by delivery of synthetic mRNAs encoding transcription factors. In these small volumes, extracellular components of the TGF-b and other signaling pathways exhibited temporal regulation that appears critical to acquisition of pluripotency. The high quality and purity of the resulting hiPSCs allowed direct differentiation into functional hepatocyte- and cardiomyocyte-like cells in the same platform without additional expansion.

• www.bioera.dii.unipd.it/?p=855

BioERA lab

The overall goal of BioERA lab is the development of enabling technologies for biological discovery in the field of human physiology and pathophysiology. BioERA lab is an interdisciplinary environment composed by people from biology, biotechnology, material science, chemical and biomedical engineering. We are located at the Dept. of Industrial Engineering of University of Padova and within the Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), which is supported by the Foundation of Advanced Biomedical Research.

• www.bioera.dii.unipd.it/?page_id=31

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Onelia Gagliano
Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Padova
April 2015 – Present (1 year 6 months)Padova Area, Italy
Development of "lab on a chip" platforms for studying circadian clock and metabolism.
onelia.gagliano@gmail.com
+39 049 8275467

• www.researchgate.net/profile/Onelia_Gagliano

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Elena Serena
Post-doc at Università degli Studi di Padova
Treviso Area, ItalyResearch
University of Padova, Padova
Human Embryonic Stem Cell, Tissue Engineering
Specialties: Stem cell culture, Bioreactors, Microfluidic

• www.researchgate.net/profile/Elena_Serena

• www.bioera.dii.unipd.it/?s=Elena+Serena