​World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia News

Via Holtec International

​​We are pleased to announce that Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) has agreed to sell the subsidiaries that own Indian Point Units 1, 2, and 3, located in Buchanan, N.Y., to a Holtec International subsidiary for decommissioning. The sale, which will be effective after Unit 3 has been shut down and permanently defueled, includes the transfer of the licenses, spent fuel, decommissioning liabilities, and Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts (NDT) for the three units.
 
“The sale of Indian Point to Holtec is expected to result in the completion of decommissioning decades sooner than if the site were to remain under Entergy’s ownership,” said Entergy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leo Denault. “With its deep experience and technological innovations, Holtec’s ability to decommission Indian Point will benefit stakeholders in the surrounding community.”  
 
With this agreement to sell Indian Point, Entergy has now announced the sale of its entire remaining merchant nuclear fleet for decommissioning.
 
Following regulatory approvals and transaction close, Holtec plans to initiate decommissioning at Indian Point decades sooner than if Entergy continued to own the units. A more defined timetable will be developed in connection with Holtec’s preparation of its Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) and Site-Specific Decommissioning Cost Estimate (DCE). Holtec will submit those reports to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), likely in the fourth quarter of 2019. The transaction closing is targeted for the third quarter of 2021.
 
The transaction is subject to closing conditions, including approval from the NRC. The companies also plan to seek an order from the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) disclaiming jurisdiction, or alternatively, approving the transaction. Closing is also conditioned on obtaining from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) an agreement confirming Holtec’s decommissioning plans as being consistent with applicable standards.
 
The request for IPEC’s License Transfer will follow the ongoing Oyster Creek (N.J.) and Pilgrim (Mass.) License Transfer Applications (LTAs), which are moving smoothly through the NRC’s system, with anticipated approvals to occur in enough time to enable the License Transfer of Oyster Creek on July 1 and Pilgrim about six weeks later. These ongoing LTAs are giving the NRC, which is already quite familiar with Holtec through 15 active NRC dockets maintained by the Company, an in-depth knowledge of Holtec’s technical, financial, QA and program management capabilities that should facilitate future review of IPEC’s application.
 
Holtec and its affiliates specializing in demolition and decommissioning will deploy operating processes and methods that enable them to expedite site clean-up and minimize occupational dose to workers.Minimizing any incidental disruption of the land, water, and air at and around the IPEC site is an overarching undertaking that is a part of Holtec’s core expertise. Drawing on its own and its affiliates’ expertise in ensuring personnel safety and its pioneering decommissioning technologies, Holtec expects to accrue tangible benefits for the local community by returning the site (excluding the site’s heavily shielded storage casks on the storage pad safely storing the spent nuclear fuel) to productive use much sooner than would occur if Entergy selected the maximum SAFSTOR option under the NRC regulations. Holtec will transfer all of the spent nuclear fuel to its dry fuel storage cask systems to be stored at the on-site reinforced concrete pads, which will remain under guard, monitored during shutdown and decommissioning, and subject to the NRC’s oversight, until the U.S. Department of Energy removes it in accordance with its legal obligations, or until Holtec’s proposed Consolidated Interim Storage (CIS) facility in New Mexico, named HI-STORE CIS, is ready to begin accepting spent fuel from across the country.

Via Philadelphia Business Journal

By John George  – Senior Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
2 hours ago
 
Swiss drug maker Roche entered into a definitive agreement Monday to acquire Philadelphia gene therapy pioneer Spark Therapeutics in an all-cash deal valued at $4.8 billion.

The proposed deal is expected to close during the second quarter. It doesn’t mean Spark is leaving the city — where it has made its home since 2013 and recently announced plans to expand.

Under the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by both company’s boards but still requires regulatory and shareholder approval, Spark will continue its operations in Philadelphia as an independent company within the Roche Group.

The deal calls for Roche to pay Spark stockholders $114.50 per share, which represents a premium of 122 percent over Spark’s Feb. 22 closing price.

A Spark spokeswoman said the company, which has about 370 employees, is not making executives available to comment on the proposed merger at this time because it is still early in the transaction process.

In a statement, Spark co-founder and CEO Jeffrey D. Marrazzo said Spark has built “unmatched competencies in the discovery, development and delivery” of genetic medicines. “But the needs of patients and families living with genetic diseases are immediate and vast. With its worldwide reach and extensive resources, Roche will help us accelerate the development of more gene therapies for more patients for more diseases and further expedite our vision of a world where no life is limited by genetic disease.”

Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche, said Spark has proven expertise “in the entire gene therapy value chain” and its technology may offer important new ways to treat serious diseases. “In particular,” Schwan said, “Spark’s hemophilia A program could become a new therapeutic option for people living with this disease. We are also excited to continue the investments in Spark’s broad product portfolio and commitment to Philadelphia as a center of excellence.”

Read more.

Philadelphia International Medicine Press Release

Philadelphia, PA,  January 23, 2019 - Philadelphia International Medicine signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Panama Clinic, in Panama City, on Wednesday, January 16th.  The Panama Clinic is scheduled to open its state-of-the-art clinic and medical offices in May 2019 within a multifunctional property located inside the Pacific Center Complex, which will also contain a Marriott Residence Inn, Office Tower, supermarket, theater, gym, restaurants and a picnic area for children. 

The MOU was signed by Edgar Vesga, President and CEO, Philadelphia International Medicine and Theodoro Constantinau, President of the Panama Clinic and Dr. Edwin A. Villalobos, Medical Director, Panama Clinic. Also in attendance were Georgia Athanasopulos, Consul General of Panama in Philadelphia and representatives from the PHL Airport and PHL Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The partnership between PIM and Panama Clinic was brought together by Georgia Athanasopulos, who has been Consul General of Panama in Philadelphia since 1996.  

“Philadelphia International Medicine represents the greatest medical institutions in the Philadelphia area. Panama City is a hub, and many will benefit from the top-level care they can now receive. Before the attention was given to opening of the canal, now Panama City is investing in the medical community. I am excited to be working with Edgar who has vision and moved so quickly,” says Athanasopulos.

“This MOU will allow the Panama Clinic to collaborate with our hospitals and physicians in education and clinical care; particularly in areas of neurology, ophthalmology, cardiology and telemedicine,” says Edgar Antístenes Vesga-Arias, President and Chief Executive Officer, Philadelphia International Medicine.

The Panama Clinic is led by Dr. Edwin Villabos, Medical Director.

“We see Philadelphia International Medicine as a major health gateway for our communities in Panama, providing Access to high level medical technologies and research, “ says Villabos.
 
Some of PIM’s current partnerships include the Mexican Society of Cardiology, Cancer Tec 100 Hospital, San Javier Hospital in Mexico; the Dominican Society of Neurology, Center for Diagnosis and Medical Advancement in Telemedicine and Dominican Society of Hematology and Oncology in Dominican Republic; the Medical Association of Jamaica in Jamaica.
 
About Philadelphia International Medicine Philadelphia International Medicine
Since 1999, healthcare organization, Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM), has been dedicated to connecting international patients, doctors and practitioners with specialized services from world-renowned Philadelphia area hospitals. PIM’s current network of eight (8) hospitals includes Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as anchor organizations and affiliate healthcare organizations include Wills Eye Hospital, Rothman Institute, the Vincera Institute, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Renfrew Center.

​www.philadelphiamedicine.com
 

By Graziella DiNuzzo, Director of Communications and Development , WTCGP

President, Carlos Gonzalez Jr., walked past the stacks of unwrapped Christmas presents towering in the corner of the conference room, a few floors above the American Cable Company warehouse in Northeast Philadelphia. “I still have to wrap my grandkids presents,” he smiles.

“Welcome to American Cable Company.”

 “None of this would have happened if my dad hadn’t won the lottery to leave Cuba with me, my sister and mom in the late 60’s,” Gonzalez says with outstretched arms pointing to the shelves lined with toy sized John Deere and Caterpillar trucks and cranes.

 “When we got off the plane in Miami, the person greeting us asked my dad where he wanted to go and he said, north. We ended up in Queens New York. I still remember the milk crate on the fire escape we used as a refrigerator and how our laundry would get frozen stiff on the outside clothesline.” 

Six months after arriving in New York, Carlos Sr. accepted a job as a painter, and relocated his family to North Philadelphia. It wasn’t long before Carlos Sr. was supervising 50 people. “He was a leader,” Gonzalez says.

“He worked so hard, had an idea, and made it happen.”

After a day of painting, Carlos Sr. would hand make replacement auto battery terminals– a part sought after by area mechanics.

“I would go around Philly collecting scrap metal.”

“We would melt down the lead from scrap in a homemade 55-gallon drum furnace - in our garage. Back then we piped the exhaust through our home chimney,” laughs Gonzalez. No, we weren’t afraid.”

 “My dad would go door-to-door selling to mechanics from the trunk of his car.”

Carlos Sr. eventually quit his day job and dedicated the rest of his life to growing his idea into a business.

“I was in high school in 1976 when we first started the company,” Gonzalez recalls. “The lead would be dumped into our yard and we would hand lift every bar. Friends and family would help. It was hard, but we did it.”

​Orders were coming in fast.

“Harry” was their first distributor – one of the first in a series of instrumental people who would become like family.  

​“We didn’t have a contract, just a handshake, just our word.”

Quality Control Manager, Daryl Greene recalls, “I remember Carlos Senior’s strength, in character. And physically, he was a strong man. A good man.”

Matthew Tretter, Plant Manager adds, “This is a nice family run company. They treat everyone like family. Carlos Senior would tell us to get it done and get it right.”

In the 1980’s Edgar Huertado saw a man driving a forklift in the parking lot of American Cable’s first warehouse. He asked the man for a job and the man, Carlos Sr., told him to come back the next day – he’s been working with the family for 38 years.

“He was like a father to me,” says Huertado, now an Engineer.

Gonzalez slaps Huertado on the back “And I remember my mom asking what Edgar wanted for lunch.”

Today, American Cable Company, Inc. comprises five manufacturing divisions, which include battery cables, wiring harnesses, assemblies, components, and contract manufacturing. All products are made in America from its 170,000 square foot manufacturing facility located in Northeast Philadelphia, PA. American Cable sells their products to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), defined as manufacturers who resell another company's product under their own name and branding.

American Cable customers also include John Deere, Caterpillar and small to medium sized businesses requiring customized parts.

In 2005, American Cable began to export.

“Approximately 30% of our sales are export,” says Henke de Vos, Global Sales Manager. “We export to the UK, Poland, Germany, India, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, France, Brazil, Italy and most recently, Australia.”

With the support of Dale Foote, World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia International Trade Specialist, American Cable has set up distributors in Italy, Australia, and Poland.

 “Our company is well known for delivery and flexibility and superior engineering support,” adds de Vos.

In addition to its highly skilled, trained staff, American Cable hires and trains through IMPACT Services Corporation, a community organization that helps economically disadvantaged, as well as veterans and ex-prisoners find meaningful employment.

Carlos Gonzalez Jr. has been President of American Cable since 1990. Although retired, Carlos Sr. would start his day at the factory at 5 am every morning.  In 2010, Carlos Sr. celebrated his last birthday, his 82nd - at the warehouse.
“I know what the American dream is – it’s real. If you can make it anywhere, it’s here. I know what it took for my dad to get here,” says Gonzalez.


 ​

​http://www.americancableco.com

Download the presentation here.
View photos of the event here.

“Great But Also Good,” the title of PA State Treasurer Joseph Torsella’s recent personal commentary on President George H.W. Bush, expresses in its simplicity what so many have been sharing this week about the leader and the man.   It was how Barbara Bush spoke about her husband, then - Presidential Candidate George Bush when I first met her in 1979 at a Springfield, Mass. Chamber breakfast. I was impressed by the resume and equally impressed by how she spoke of the man, his strength, kindness, humility and above all, love of country and of family. I said, “Sign me up!”  And thus began work on the Bush Presidential primary campaign, later the Reagan-Bush campaign, that led to me Washington, DC., as a young political appointee. With earlier positions at State and USIA, I was proud to serve President Bush as an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, overseeing worldwide offices dedicated to promoting this great country of ours to international visitors.  I will always remember President Bush’s personal participation in a video showcasing the beauty and diversity of America, where the film ended with the President asking, “So what are you waiting for, an invitation from the President?  America, it’s yours to Discover.”   Soon after, we received hundreds of letters from people abroad who had seen the video. 

​One, in particular, I shall never forget, where a British citizen remarked, “How wonderful for you to publicly declare your love of country!”  I also remember his kindness toward and appreciation of staff, at every level. How President and Mrs. Bush would delay departure to Texas during the Holidays so that USSS agents would have time for family.  That was Bush 41.  Unabashedly proud of our country and considerate of others. I later worked for his son, Bush 43, as an Assistant Commerce Secretary for Trade and, then, Vice Chair at Ex-Im Bank.  So when I went to the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday, I joined so many Americans in saying thank you, President Bush, for your dedicated and principled leadership and for your love of country. And I expressed gratitude for the opportunity he gave me to experience and appreciate the nobility of public service.  It is my hope that many young people who came to know President Bush through the stories and tributes of these last few days will also be encouraged to serve our great country. 

​
Linda Mysliwy Conlin
President, World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia

Via BDP International

BIS has developed a Small Business page at www.bis.doc.gov/smallbiz to provide an introduction to the requirements of the EAR.  The webpage features a new BIS training video “Export Controls: A Quick Start Guide” that provides the basic information an exporter needs to know to comply with the EAR, in a concise and entertaining manner.

The page also offers a new mechanism to contact one of our regulatory counselors by email at smallbiz@bis.doc.gov.  While anyone can submit their questions to us via this form, it is a direct and easy way for small companies, individuals, and those new-to-export controls to get assistance.

Online Training Room:

Brand new training videos are now available on the BIS Online Training Room, including “Export Controls: Classifying your Item,” and tips for utilizing the BIS’s online application and classification system, SNAP-R.  Additional videos will be available in the coming months.  If you have an idea for a BIS training video, please send your ideas to smallbiz@bis.doc.gov.
BIS Brochures:

BIS updated several introductory guides available in the Export Control Basics page:
•         Introduction to the Commerce Department’s Export Controls
•         How to Determine an Export Control Classification Number
•         Frequently Asked Questions to Export Licensing Requirements

The material on these webpages should be helpful to all those who are new to the requirements of the EAR, and for those interested in a refresher.  If you have customers who might benefit from this material (or friends and relatives who still don’t know what it is that you do), feel free to forward these resources along.

As always, we value your feedback on the initiative and any suggestions you may have for future improvements.  Please send feedback and inquires to smallbiz@bis.doc.gov.

Via Philadelphia International Medicine News Bureau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

A co-management telemedicine solution for the international medical community
 
PHILADELPHIA, PA, USA – Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM) has launched a comprehensive platform to provide the international medical community with clinical and educational services, which provides international physicians and their patients access to U.S. academic medical options without traveling miles away.
 
Global Medical Connectivity (GMCT) is a web-based, co-management telemedicine solution, created to partner with physicians to manage their patient’s advanced cardiology, neuroscience and oncology needs. This enhanced and comprehensive alternative to a patient’s routine medical travel will focus on assessing, diagnosing and managing each patient in conjunction with his or her treating physician.
 
“We are delighted to partner with key opinion leaders and hospitals in some of our key markets to provide opportunities to co-manage patients that are not able to travel to Philadelphia. This program also supports the efforts to nurture the relationship with the in-country treating physician and our physicians. This is the future of medicine now,” said Edgar Antístenes Vesga-Arias, MPR, CMI, PIM’s Interim President and Chief Executive Officer.
 
This telemedicine solution differs in many ways from traditional medical second opinions and telemedicine services in that (1) Global Medical Connectivity (GMCT) is a co-management, physician advisory program (2) program promotes local treatment of patients (3) treating physician and patient participate live for all sessions (4) sessions are scheduled throughout the course of patient’s treatment.
 
To learn more about Global Connectivity contact Lorena Rodriguez at 215-575-3755 or 
 lrodriguez@philadelphiamedicine.com. 
 
About Philadelphia International Medicine
Philadelphia International Medicine (PIM) is a healthcare organization dedicated to bringing the services of eight prestigious Philadelphia area hospitals to the international community. PIM’s network includes Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as anchor organizations and affiliate healthcare organizations include Wills Eye Hospital, Rothman Institute, the Vincera Institute, Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and the Renfrew Center. Learn more about PIM by visiting www.philadelphiamedicine.com.    

​PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL MEDICINE® NEWS BUREAU
Contact:
Deborah Davis; +1 (215) 575-3728; dadavis@philadelphiamedicine.com; www.philadelphiamedicine.com     

By  Dave Whitman, President, Sunhillo Corporation, Dr. John Berthold, D.M. 

The skies above the United States and around the world are crowded and it’s getting worse.  On an average day in the United States, Air Traffic Control (ATC) handles over 28,000 commercial flights, 27,000 General Aviation flights, 24,000 air taxi charters, 5,000 military flights, and approximately 2,000 air cargo operations.  Globally, there are roughly 100,000 scheduled flights per day, transporting about 8 million people to their destinations.  Add the potential that tens of thousands of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS’s) could be flying and sharing the same airspace, and we have a larger challenge looming.  That is, our ability to control, surveil and safely separate all these assets fighting for space in our skies.  So, what does the future portend?  The answer is a little uncertainty laced with solutions already in place and companies working daily to solve these and other issues to provide us with a safe, and efficient global aviation system.

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system, a technology mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is scheduled to be fully deployed and operational on all aircraft by 2020.  ADS-B complements traditional ground-based radar systems and constitutes a paradigm shift in ATC toward satellite-based, cooperative, and dependent surveillance.  Unlike traditional radar systems, ADS-B provides enhanced situational awareness capabilities by empowering aircraft to automatically broadcast and report their locations.   ADS-B enhances aviation safety by making each aircraft visible, in near real-time, to both ATC and other appropriately equipped aircraft with identification and position data. The new system improves air travel safety, increases on-time arrivals and departures; and reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions significantly through more efficient air traffic routing.  ADS-B is often, colloquially and without a lot of technical jargon, known as ‘a GPS system for the skies’. 

The traditional approach for ensuring situational awareness is to rely on radar systems.  Conventional ground-based radar systems can be classified as Primary Surveillance Radars (PSR) or Secondary Surveillance Radars (SSR).   PSR systems, known to many through television and movies, transmits high-frequency signals which are reflected off the “painted” target or aircraft.  By receiving and evaluating the echoes, the range and azimuth of the aircraft can be determined.  In contrast, SSR relies on transponders in the aircraft, which respond to interrogations from the ground stations.  SSR systems contain altitude, aircraft identification codes and special information such as registration, type and class of aircraft.  Since surveillance data is derived from aircraft transponders, SSR systems are a form of dependent surveillance, similar to the airborne Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcasting (ADS-B) system.  The difference, in general terms, derives from the ability of aircraft to broadcast its own position for all to see, and for the empowered pilot to be able to surveil, ‘see and avoid’, other aircraft at greater distances while also communicating to ground ATC stations.

The “magic” in this whole process comes from the separation, translation, consolidation and transmission of surveillance data, received in multiple formats, into an acceptable form that is used by automation systems for ATC controllers to see and separate aircraft.  It is in this “gray area”, between the receipt and acceptance of usable surveillance data, whether traditional radar or ADS-B, where a very few and specialized niche companies operate.  One such company, headquartered in the Philadelphia-area, has an established and world-wide presence – Sunhillo Corporation.

For over a quarter century, Sunhillo, a small employee owned business headquartered in West Berlin NJ and within commuting distance of Philadelphia, has been providing surveillance enabling technologies to the FAA and air traffic service providers worldwide.  Its suite of products and systems collect, filter, convert, and distribute surveillance data from multiple sources including PSR, SSR and ADS-B.  For the ADS-B program, Sunhillo helped to design, produce and install its ground-based distribution network.  As a matter of fact, the ‘heartbeat’ of the ADS-B distribution network uses Sunhillo products and technologies to enable its operations.

Across the world, Sunhillo products, systems and their expertise are a valued commodity. Sunhillo’s international business is bolstered through a worldwide supply network of distributors, agents, and an office in the UK.  Sunhillo products are used in 48 countries around the world in support of air traffic operations. Customers include Eurocontrol, a European organization with headquarters in Brussels that includes 41 other member countries.  Eurocontrol was specifically created to facilitate a safe and seamless air transportation system across Europe.  In the UK, NATS, its National Air Traffic Services provider, routinely calls upon Sunhillo to offer both its expertise and products. Other Air Navigation Service Providers that call on Sunhillo include Spain, Germany, the Republic of Georgia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Chile among others.  For the defense of European skies, Sunhillo products are supplied to NATO in support of its on-going mission.  Yet, Sunhillo’s mark on the aviation community goes even deeper.
In 2013, Sunhillo was invited to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), a large UAS test site consortium comprised of academia, government, industry, economic development organizations and research parks.  The primary role of these test sites are to ensure that UAS operations can be tested in a safe environment and to gather data to help in the development of regulations and operational procedures for future commercial or civil use of UAS vehicles (drones) in our airspace.  Additionally, Sunhillo participates in an on-going NASA UAS study group on how to manage UAS assets that share our skies.  Sunhillo’s suite of products and inherent expertise in the area of ATC surveillance continues to play a pivotal role in the expected UAS tsunami to come.
There are other antidotes about Sunhillo that are not well known or publicized.  Sunhillo supports the US Secret Service in the tracking of Air Force One.  Sunhillo designed, and the FAA deployed, a mesh network of simulated or “virtual radar” coverages across the Gulf of Mexico where ground based radars are ineffectual.  Sunhillo products are used for drug interdiction missions, surveilling the southern portion of the US and Caribbean regions.  And, Sunhillo products are an integral part of our border security solution that uses Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems to surveil our southern border with Mexico.  For a small company, Sunhillo does big things to make the world a safer and more efficient place in which to fly.  Sunhillo is also a proud supporter of the Philadelphia World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia and previous winner of the prestigious New Jersey “Company of the Year” award. 

By Graziella DiNuzzo, Director of Communications and Development

Bill Leinweber, President and CEO of National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) admits that NDRI’s work is complicated, because medical research is complex. For nearly 40 years, NDRI has accepted the challenge of meeting increasing demands of the medical research community, who rely on high-quality, healthy, and diseased biospecimens to conduct lifesaving research.

 “There is not another organization that does everything we do, “explains Leinweber. “We serve researchers across the full spectrum of the life-sciences and provide everything from brain to miniscule tissues that scientists may need.”

The phone rings daily at NDRI, and trained call center staff work 24 hours per day, 7 day per week, 365 days per year to screen offers for tissues and organs from donors ranging from cadaveric to those being evaluated for transplant.
​
The requests are quite specific and follow strict protocol.

“We screen all protocol criteria until we have a match. This includes the volume, type of medium, how the biospecimens is preserved (fresh, fixed, or frozen), how it should be shipped, the day the lab will accept it- and the age, sex, and the medication the donor was taking. ” Leinweber describes.

NDRI partners with a nationwide network of over 130-tissue source sites, including organ procurement organizations, tissue banks, eye banks, hospitals, and individual donors.  As the liaison between procurement sources and the research community, NDRI is supporting major advances in the treatment and cure of human diseases.

“In the US there are 58 organ procurement organizations and we work with 56 of them,” emphasized Leinweber. “All deaths that occur in an acute healthcare setting in the United States by law have to be referred to an organ procurement organization for screening, so if someone passes away, even if they are not registered as a donor, their death has to be reported.”

Recently, NDRI received an $800,000 National Institute of Health (NIH) grant to support research for Alzheimer’s Disease, Autism, and HIV/AIDS; this in addition to a $6.5 million five-year NIH award given in August 2018 for recovery and distribution of human organs on behalf of the Research resource for Human Tissues and Organs (RRHTO).

A unique element of NDRI’s work supported through this agreement is provision and distribution for neurological research supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). In the last five years, NDRI has provided 884 neurological biospecimens to 79 researchers, including normal and pathological tissues for diseases including ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy, pure autonomic failure, Lewy body dementia and spinal muscular atrophy. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute also provides funds for tissue collection, storage and distribution in support of research into rare lung disease lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), and other heart, lung, and blood tissue research.

“For a researcher, acquiring human specimens can be costly.,” Leinweber reminds me, “The fees that are a charged to a researcher by NDRI are about passing on the cost for the procurement of the tissues. Our support from the NIH allows us to provide this service at a discounted rate to scientists supported by the NIH.”

NDRI employs 45 full time staff, which includes PhD scientists, a 24/7 call center and executive management.  Every order is customized, and some may require additional consultation from NDRI’s expert scientists.

“We provide both normal and diseased tissue. Surprisingly, about 60% of what we provide is normal tissue. There may be breast cancer tissue that is removed and the scientist is also interested in the normal tissue that surrounds the cancer that was excised,” Leinweber says.

NDRI has supported select research projects including one in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. “There is no animal model for cystic fibrosis,” says Leinweber. Using its extensive national network, NDRI provided suitable human biospecimens to support the development of several therapeutic compounds by industry partners that are now helping Cystic Fibrosis patients lead more productive lives.

“We continue to work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on the procurement of explanted lungs which were used to support the development of the first and second drugs to treat specific mutations of cystic fibrosis,” adds Leinweber.
Identifying therapeutic targets for neuropathic pain is another research project, which investigates alternatives to using opioid-based treatments for pain. Scientists at pharmaceutical companies and academic institutes reached out to NDRI’s dorsal root ganglia (DRG) program which provides researchers with a human model system to study both pain and non-pain neurons. The result? The investigators can experiment directly on human neurons leading to peer-reviewed published medical articles in Nature Medicine and Neuron.

For the past 25 years, NDRI has been partnering with Japan’s non-profit organization, Human and Animal Bridging Research Organization (HAB) to facilitate research using non-transplantable tissue from post mortem human donors, which have been extracted for research use in the US and Europe. At one time, extraction of human organs for research and implant was forbidden in Japan.

Navigating diverse, global cultural ethics in medical research is challenging. Nevertheless, NDRI remains eager to increase its entry into international markets. Dale Foote, International Trade Specialist for the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP), has been assisting NDRI to investigate opportunities in, the UK, Canada, South Korea and Singapore.  NDRI has already shipped some biospecimens to China.

When asked what obstacles NDRI may have, Leinweber replies, “Science is constantly changing and it becomes both a challenge and an opportunity. It requires us to be able to adapt. We have learned over time that researchers are doing more with less. There was a time when a researcher may have needed a whole liver to conduct a study, maybe now he or she may just need a little bit. Also, 60 to 70% of tissue we provide is fresh tissue v. frozen.”

Leinweber paints the picture, “The researcher may be from Phoenix, we may end up getting the eyes from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and the donor may have come from somewhere in New Hampshire.  Then, we have to get the courier involved, and it’s all happening in real time.”

​At the end of the day, the entire NDRI team has each had a hand in advancing medical research.  From their downtown office in Philadelphia, NDRI is navigating the complex web of delivering the organ and tissues entrusted by donor families. Once the package arrives, there is another team waiting to maximize the use of its precious contents to conduct research in hopes to ultimately extend and save lives.