ARCHIVE - APRIL 2007

LONDON REGENERATIVE MEDICINE NETWORK

6.00 pm Monday 30th April 2007


The April meeting of the London Regenerative Medicine Network is to be held in the evening of Monday 30th April at the Guy’s Hospital Campus of King's College London at London Bridge - Lecture Theatre 2, New Hunt's House.

This meeting is FREE OF CHARGE due to the generous sponsorship of MILLIPORE:

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Everyone welcome!

This UK-California event will include:

UK

Dr Martin Anthony - Deputy Director of the Department of Trade & Industry’s Bioscience Unit


USA

Dr. Tom Okarma - President + Chief Executive Office - Geron Corporation, California

Dr. Michael West - President and Chief Scientific Officer - Advanced Cell Technology Inc, California



SPEAKERS:

DR. MARTIN ANTHONY

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Dr. Martin Anthony is Deputy Director of the Department of Trade & Industry’s Bioscience Unit, which is part of the DTI’s Enterprise & Business Group. The overall aim of the Unit is to enhance UK competitiveness in the life sciences-based industries including the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agribusiness sectors. He currently has particular strategic responsibility for the Unit’s work on Technology & Innovation, Regulation and European issues. Dr Anthony has been strongly involved in taking forward the Government’s Technology Programme. He leads the DTI’s work to help encourage the commercialisation of stem cell research in the UK. Originally Dr. Martin Anthony trained as a chemist and subsequently carried out research in both chemistry and physics. Dr Anthony holds a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from Oxford University. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of The Institute of Physics.

The UK Government has demonstrated a very strong commitment to advancing regenerative medicine and stem cell technology in the UK. The DTI, working closely with industry, the Department of Health, Research Councils and other public sector bodies, has played its part in implementing key recommendations of the 2005 Pattison Report “UK Stem Cell Initiative”. Dr Anthony’s presentation will focus primarily on the range of activities which the DTI has brought forward to encourage the commercialisation of regenerative medicine and in particular stem cell research in the UK. The Technology Programme has provided funds to support collaborative R&D projects, Knowledge Transfer Networks, overseas fact-finding missions and underpinning metrology projects.


DR. TOM OKARMA
Geron
Dr. Thomas B. Okarma has served as Geron's President, Chief Executive Officer and a director since July 1999. He is also a director of Geron Bio-Med Ltd (UK) and TA Therapeutics Ltd (Hong Kong). Dr. Okarma currently serves on the Board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and is Chairman of the Board of Overseers of Dartmouth Medical School. From 1985 until joining Geron in 1997, Dr. Okarma was the scientific founder of Applied Immune Sciences Inc. serving initially as Vice President of Research and Development and then as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until 1995 when it was acquired by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer. He was a Senior Vice President at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer from the time of the acquisition of Applied Immune Sciences until December 1996. From 1980 to 1985, Dr. Okarma was a member of the faculty of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College and a M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.

GERON CORPORATION (NASDAQ: GERN) are developing cell-based therapeutics for several diseases based on differentiated cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), including neural cells for spinal cord injury and Parkinson's disease, cardiomyocytes for heart disease, pancreatic islet beta cells for diabetes, osteoblasts for osteoporosis, chondrocytes for osteoarthritis, and haematopoietic cells for blood diseases and to prevent immune rejection of the other cell types. Geron have developed proprietary methods to grow, maintain and scale up undifferentiated hESCs using feeder cell-free, chemically defined culture medium, before differentiating them into therapeutically relevant cells. They are now testing 6 different therapeutic cell types in animal models. In 4 of these cell types, they have preliminary results suggesting efficacy as evidenced by durable engraft or functional improvements of the treated animals. After completion of these studies, Geron expect to begin one or more Phase I clinical trials. It appears likely that the first clinical trial will focus on treatment for acute spinal cord injury.


DR. MICHAEL WEST

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Dr. Michael D. West serves as President and Chief Scientific Officer of Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) and is Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. West has extensive academic and business experience in age-related degenerative diseases, telomerase molecular biology and human embryonic stem cell research and development. Prior to joining ACT in 1998, Dr. West founded Geron Corporation and from 1990 to 1998 he was a Director and Vice President, where he initiated and managed programs in telomerase diagnostics, oligonucleotide-based telomerase inhibition as anti-tumour therapy, and the cloning and use of telomerase in telomerase-mediated therapy wherein telomerase is utilised to immortalise human cells. From 1995 to 1998 he organised and managed the research between Geron and its academic collaborators James Thomson and John Gearhart that led to the first isolation of human embryonic stem cells. Dr. West received a B.S. Degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1976, an M.S. Degree in Biology from Andrews University in 1982, and a Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in 1989.

ADVANCED CELL TECHNOLOGY (OTCBB: ACTC) is a biotechnology company applying human embryonic stem cell (hESC) technology in the field of regenerative medicine with the goal of bringing effective, patient-specific therapies to the bedside. In August 2006, the company announced a novel technique to generate ES cell lines without destroying the embryo, a breakthrough in the ethical debate surrounding stem cell research. The company also recently published positive data for its retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell animal model study and announced a collaboration with the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University to conduct preclinical trials for its RPE program. ACT expects to file an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the FDA for its RPE program in late 2007 and two additional IND’s in 2008.


AGENDA:

18.00 - Registration + networking over tea and coffee

18.30 - Introduction - Chris Mason (UCL) - Co-organiser - LRMN

18.35 - 'Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Technology: DTI's Role in Promoting Commercialisation' - Dr. Martin Anthony - DTI

18.50 - 'Human Embryonic Stem Cells - Promise and Progress' - Dr. Tom Okarma - Geron Corporation

19.25 - Q+A Session

19.30 - 'Embryonic Stem Cells and Nuclear Transfer: Challenges and Opportunities' - Dr. Michael West - Advanced Cell Technology

20.05 - Q+A Session

20.10 - 'Regenerative Medicine journal - Important News' - Elisa Manzotti - Future Medicine

20.15 - Closing remarks - Stephen Minger (KCL) - Co-organiser - LRMN

20.20 - 22.00 - Networking reception - enjoy a glass of wine or two in the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, KCL


This meeting is free of charge to everyone through the generous financial support of MILLIPORE:

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The LRMN also continues to enjoy financial underpinning from both GlaxoSmithKline and the Guy's, King's & St Thomas' Annual Fund, plus invaluable support from the Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, UCL and the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, KCL.


To reserve a place, please just email the LRMN Network Secretary, Dr. Louise Mason: louise.mason@regenmednetwork.com


*****PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A CHANGE FROM OUR REGULAR LECTURE THEATRE TO: Lecture Theatre 2, New Hunt's House, Guy's Hospital Campus at London Bridge, London SE1*****

Map: pdf LINK

Everyone welcome!




NETWORK PRINCIPLE SPONSORS


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Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Annual Fund



London Regenerative Medicine Network

"Bringing the regenerative medicine, stem cell and tissue engineering community together..."



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