What regenerative medicine therapies are being applied to patients today? What hurdles stand between stem cell therapies and real treatments in the clinic? Keynote speakers at the upcoming inaugural Translational Regenerative Medicine Forum will discuss these topics as well as provide an update on various national and regional stem cell initiatives. The forum, set for April 6-8 in Winston-Salem, is an annual event to focus on fulfilling the promise of regenerative medicine, including best practices and business models.
Keynote addresses will be delivered by Robert Klein, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine; Robert Lanza, M.D., chief scientific officer for Advanced Cell Therapy; and Lt. Gen Eric B. Schoomaker, M.D., Ph.D., U.S. Army Surgeon General.
The event is expected to attract executives from biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, and regenerative medicine companies; patient advocacy groups and medical research foundations; institutional investors from private equity and venture capital firms; academic researchers, clinical researchers and physicians; government funding and regulatory representatives, and those interested in health care innovation and personalized medicine.
In his address, "The Science: What's Next for the Clinic?" Lanza will discuss recent progress in addressing hurdles that must be overcome with embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells, as well as early potential cell applications including for retinal degenerative diseases and to generate universal donor red blood cells for human transfusion.
In "Translating CIRM," Klein, who served as author of Proposition 71 that established the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will provide an update on the initiative. The statewide ballot measure provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions. Klein is chairman of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee.
In "Regenerative Medicine and the U.S. Military," Schoomaker will discuss some of the projects that are part of an $85 million federal regenerative medicine initiative. Almost 30 academic institutions are working in five project areas, including burns and limb regeneration. Several clinical trials are under way and others are set to begin this year.
In addition to the keynote talks, 10 panels will cover all aspects of translation, from scientific updates to business models, and Buddy D. Ratner, Ph.D., University of Washington, will present and host podium presentations on scientific discovery.