Professor Revel began his career in a laboratory associated with the
Pasteur Institute in Paris, where he discovered the initiation factors of
protein synthesis. This discovery opened up a field of research on the
mechanisms controlling the translation of genetic information.
Revel also discovered the human
gene for the cytokine Interleukin-6, and elucidated its activity in protecting
nerve functions and the nerve myelin coating in neuropathies. In recent years,
Revel's laboratory focused on human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and succeeded
to produce from them mature nerve myelinating cells that reconstitute the
myelin coating after transplantation into myelin-deficient animals. Large scale
culture technology for hESC can also be used to produce differentiated human cells
such as insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. This in recent years has lead
Prof Revel to become involved in a novel commercial project—Kadimastem, a
biotechnology company focused on the industrial development and
commercialization of hESC-based products. One of their products, already in use
by Merck-Serono, applies the hESC-derived myelinating cells in a drug-screening
platform for new MS drugs.
A WORD WITH PROFESSOR REVEL:
Bioassociate: What do you feel has been the most rewarding
accomplishment in your scientific career?
Prof Revel: The opportunity to pursue my basic
science interests and to translate results into medical applications. I studied
Interferons (IFN) as a translation control system which selectively inhibits
viral protein synthesis. These studies required us to produce a lot of IFN and
we therefore cloned the human gene for IFN-beta and developed the first
efficient expression of this glycoprotein in mammalian cells. This attracted
the attention of Serono, making it possible to develop IFN-beta production in
their Israeli plant Interpharm, where I worked as Chief Scientist. Our studies
on IFN-induced genes, in particular the HLA genes, shed new light on
immuno-regulatory effects of IFN-beta which could be applied in autoimmune diseases.
Serono’s clinical trials led to the registration of Rebif as an MS drug in
1998. To see one's research become a medication that helps hundreds of
thousands of patients is indeed most rewarding.
Bioassociate: Tell us a little about your current project –
KadimaStem
Prof Revel: This is really a continuation of
our efforts to find new treatments for MS and other neurological diseases, by
using pluripotent stem cells to produce cells that are damaged in such
diseases. We developed at the Weizmann
Institute a procedure to derive human oligodendrocytes, and these myelinating
cells can be applied to screen chemical libraries for molecules that stimulate
nerve myelination. Present drugs for MS slow down the destruction of myelin by
the immune system, but agents which stimulate the repair of myelin could be of
great interest. The first product of Kadimastem, a three-year old biotechnology
start-up at the Weizmann Science Park of which I am today the Chief Scientist,
is such a drug screening platform already in use under contract with Merck
Serono in their search for new oral drugs for treatment of MS. A main project of Kadimastem is the
production of pancreatic islet cells which could be applied in the future for
cell replacement therapy in Diabetes. A third project is production of human
astrocytes which hold promises for treatment of ALS, since ALS patients have
abnormal astrocytes that do not anymore exert their neurotrophic functions.
Kadimastem has a scientific staff of 25 (with 6 PhD researchers), and works
with human embryonic stem cells and iPS cells licensed from Hadassah (from
Prof. B. Reubinoff) and from Shaarei Zedek Medical centers.
Bioassociate: What do you think about the President’s recent
initiative to make Israel a leading neurotech hub in
the world?
Prof Revel: All initiatives to support and
promote scientific research in Israel are welcome. A country is not measured by
its size and Israel can be a big country by its contributions to Science and
Technology. President Shimon Peres always understood this and his Israel Brain
Hub initiative should therefore be taken seriously. Hopefully, the government, granting
agencies and investment funds will listen to his appeal and make it happen.
Financing academic and biotech research is one of the best investments for the
State of Israel.
Bioassociate: Many people have said that Israel has been
exceptionally successful at attaining scientific progress and commercializing
scientific developments. Why do you think this is?
Prof Revel: The vision and support from
generous donators in the Jewish Diaspora have given Israel the means to make
important discoveries. Commercializing research is relatively easy in Israel,
and technology transfer offices do help many scientists become involved in
industry. Israel is excellent in the medical device sector, and it is no
accident that analysts say that it is uniquely positioned to develop leadership
in Brain-Machine interface and therapeutic neuro-stimulation devices. The
pharmaceutical market is slower to grow mainly because it takes so much time to
reach the market. But successes in developing new drugs can bring much larger
returns, in the many billions of dollars, which should appeal to long-term
investors. The two medications for multiple sclerosis coming out of Israel,
Teva's Copaxone and Merck Serono/Interpharm’s Rebif, are examples that make the
point. The Biotech drug, gene and cell therapy sector ought to be supported
much more actively, with larger R&D budgets, and treated as national
priority projects. Personally, I am proud that contributions to development of
Israeli Biotechnology were mentioned in my Israel Prize and Emet prize awards.
Bioassociate: What do you think is today’s most
important/pressing therapeutic area which neuroscience could address?
Prof Revel: Understanding the human brain is
the new frontier following the genome project. For therapeutics, the main challenges
are neuro-degenerative diseases like strokes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease, ALS, neuropathies, spinal cord injuries and progressive forms of MS.
There are many advances in these and other neurological diseases, with new
drugs (e.g. Azilect of Teva, developed by Prof. Moussa Youdim), gene products
(e.g. antisense RNA for myasthenia gravis of Prof. Hermona Soreq) and stem cell
derived products (e.g. Hadassah stem cell pioneering trials in ALS patients of
Prof. Karousis, BenHur and Slavin, and stem cell-derived astrocyte-like cells
for ALS treatment being developed by Dr Daniel Offen at Brainstorm).
Bioassociate: Which obstacles do you perceive in Israel’s path to
becoming a world leader in neurotechnology?
Prof Revel: The main obstacle is that the
scientific potential of Israel is still not estimated at its real potential by
government and Industry. Compared to other sectors in which receive millions of
dollars in funding, many bio- laboratories and startups could thrive with five
to ten millions, but lack the funds. Opportunities are lost due to lack of
understanding of the needs of scientist. To become a world leader in neurotech,
dedicated funds must be earmarked and long-term investments be encouraged by
the Israeli government. The Industry and Trade Ministry's Chief Scientist
Office is doing a marvelous job but it is not enough. The private business
sector and large companies (e.g. Teva) ought to join hands with the government
to create the real opportunities that will better exploit the human resources
with which Israel is blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment