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LONDON REGENERATIVE MEDICINE NETWORK

6.00 pm Thursday 18th January 2007



The January meeting of the London Regenerative Medicine Network is to be held in the evening of Thursday 18th January at the Guy’s Hospital Campus of King's College London at London Bridge - Harris Lecture Theatre, Hodgkin Building.

This meeting is FREE OF CHARGE due to the generous sponsorship of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).


UKTI_Large

The event will include:

Richard Archer - The leading pioneer of applying robots to cell culture and cell therapies, who will speak about his unique "Henry Ford approach" to delivering regenerative medicine.

Prof. Mark Ferguson - CEO of Renovo plc, who is the world leader in scar prevention and reduction research, developing pharmaceutical products to prevent and reduce scarring in the skin, blood vessels, eyes, nerves, internal organs, tendons and ligaments.

Chris Parsons - How the Government supports UK biotechnology including stem cell/regenerative medicine companies via UKTI. Chris will talk about the support available and give examples of how some London biotechnology companies have benefited including ApaTech, NovaThera & VetCell.

Ben Sykes - Hot news off the press on the new UK National Stem Cell Network!



SPEAKERS:

RICHARD ARCHER

TAP
"The Henry Ford approach to delivering regenerative medicine" - It is not always recognised that regenerative medicine therapies have unique characteristics that require manufacturing approaches that go beyond those used for conventional pharmaceutical and biologics production. The need for novel manufacturing processes combined with comparatively low commercial margins requires innovation in effective scale-up if these therapies are to be realised and widely exploited. Some of the early issues and problems as seen by some pioneers in tissue engineering scale up will be covered, together with how unusual and unique robotic technology can be applied to both autologous and allogeneic cell product manufacture.

Richard Archer was Founder and former CEO of The Automation Partnership, a UK company with unique expertise in applying robots to cell culture and other life science application. Richard has been involved in commercial cell culture processes since 1988 and has worked with many of the early tissue engineering companies to explore automated methods. Today, Richard is non executive director of a number of academic spin-out companies in the regenerative medicine field, including Axordia and MagneCell.


PROF. MARK FERGUSON
ReNovo
Mark Ferguson is a Professor in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester + Co-founder and CEO of Renovo plc. Mark’s research focuses on the cellular and molecular aspects of wound healing and scarring. He is the author of over 200 papers, book chapters and over 100 patents and patent applications and has won a number of research prizes and medals, including the 2002 European Science Prize. In 2000 he founded, with Dr Sharon O’Kane, Renovo, raising two rounds of venture capital funding and floating the Company on the MAIN List of the London Stock Exchange in April 2006. In total since foundation Renovo plc has raised £99M.

“Development of novel pharmaceuticals for the prevention and reduction of scarring” - Approximately 20 years ago we discovered that wounds made on early embryos of mice healed without a scar. Analysis of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying scar free and scar forming healing identified targets to which pharmaceutical agents could be developed. Four such drugs are now in advanced clinical development. Juvista, the lead drug, has been safely administered to more than 1,500 patients and already has four clinically and statistically significant Phase II efficacy trials. This talk will summarise both the underlying science and the clinical development of Renovo’s potential new pharmaceutical drugs for the prevention and reduction of scarring.


CHRIS PARSONS
UKTI_Small
"It is a big world out there – let Mr. Blair help you!" - Chris Parsons will describe how the Government supports UK biotechnology including stem cell and regenerative medicine companies via UK Trade & Investment, a joint initiative between the DTI and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. UKTI is the Government organisation that supports both companies in the UK doing business internationally and overseas enterprises seeking to locate in the UK. Chris will talk about the support available and give examples of how some London biotechnology companies have benefited including ApaTech, NovaThera & VetCell.

Chris joined the London Region International Trade Team of UK Trade & Investment in 2002 as an International Trade Adviser with lead responsibility for the biotechnology/pharmaceutical sector.


BEN SYKES

The UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) will be formally launched in early 2007 and will aim to co-ordinate existing stem cell research activities in the UK. Through sharing of expertise and technology it will become the focal point for communication about stem cell research to the public and industry. The UKNSCN will also be the national voice of stem cell science to policy makers as well as acting as the main initial point of contact for overseas researchers and promoting the uptake and use of stem cells by scientific, business and medical communities.

Ben Sykes was appointed Senior Programme Manager for the UK National Stem Cell Network in October 2006. Before that he represented BBSRC's interests in stem cell research for over two years as Senior Programme Manager for the Council's Genes and Developmental Biology Committee.



AGENDA:

18.00 - Registration + networking over tea and coffee

18.30 - Welcome - Dr. Stephen Minger (KCL) - Co-organiser - LRMN

18.35 - "It is a big world out there – let Mr. Blair help you!" - Chris Parsons - UKTI

18.55 - Q+A Session

19.00 - “Development of novel pharmaceuticals for the prevention and reduction of scarring” - Prof. Mark Ferguson - Renovo plc

19.25 - Q+A Session

19.30 - "UK National Stem Cell Network” - Ben Sykes - UKNSCN

19.40 - "The Henry Ford approach to delivering regenerative medicine” - Richard Archer - Founder, The Automation Partnership

20.05 - Q+A Session

20.10 - Closing remarks - Chris Mason (UCL) - Co-organiser - LRMN

20.15 - 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 UK Trade & Industry. 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 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: Harris Lecture Theatre, Hodgkin Building, Guy's Hospital Campus at London Bridge, London SE1*****


Map: pdf LINK


Happy New Year!

Stephen Minger + Chris Mason
Co-founders + Co-organisers, London Regenerative Medicine Network.
www.lrmn.com

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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