Aug 25 2015
Rainbow Coral Corp. partner Nano3D Biosciences (n3D) has just inked an important sponsored research agreement with the prestigious University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. The agreement covers studies on personalized pre-term labor management and treatments.
“Thanks to this milestone agreement, we can make significant strides towards managing premature labor,” said n3D President and Chief Science Officer Glauco Souza. “Study after study has shown that pre-term labor and premature birth often lead to health problems later on for the child. Whatever we can do to help delay early delivery may reduce the short- and long-term negative outcomes for mother and child. We’re eager to apply our magnetic 3D bioprinting technology in this underserved area of medicine.”
RBCC CEO Kimberly Palmer added, “We hope this vital research will lead to new and beneficial medicines for women the world over. We’re glad to be a part of this work and look forward to what these studies will produce.”
Pre-term labor and pre-term birth are defined as labor or birth occurring at least three weeks before a baby’s due date. In 2012, pre-term birth affected more than one in nine babies born in the U.S. and preterm birth-related causes of death accounted for 35 percent of all infant deaths in 2010.
The prenatal testing industry, including research on delaying pre-term labor and birth, is a growing field of study and is expected to reach $3.6 billion dollars by 2019.