San Antonio, Texas, May 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioBridge Global has added two new members to its Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board, a group composed of industry leaders with a wide range of scientific, product development and business experience brought together to support the organization’s continued growth in regenerative medicine.
BioBridge Global provides a range of products and services in regenerative medicine, including human cells and tissue, testing, and biomanufacturing and clinical services, through its three operating entities: GenCure, QualTex Laboratories and the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center.
The new members of the BioBridge Global Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board are:
- Chris Mason, PhD, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer at AvroBio, a publicly held, clinical-stage, gene therapy company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Mason is a professor of cell and gene therapy at University College London. He also is Senior Editor of the journals Cell and Gene Therapy Insight and Regenerative Medicine.
- Michael J. Yaszemski, MD, PhD, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the Mayo Clinic and director of its Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory. Dr. Yaszemski served as Chair of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiologic Health Advisory Committee, and is currently a member of the FDA Science Board. He is a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general.
Extended biographies are below.
The addition of new advisory board members comes at a time when BioBridge Global is launching the second phase of its GenCure biomanufacturing capacity expansion. The 21,000-square-foot facility will produce the large numbers of consistent, high-quality, clinical-grade adult stem cells needed to help bring potential new therapies into human clinical trials. The center is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
“With the addition of Chris and Mike, we now have five outstanding industry leaders that will help lead BioBridge Global become a recognized leader in regenerative medicine,” said Martin Landon, Chief Executive Officer of BioBridge Global. “Their invaluable experience and expertise will guide our research and development in breakthrough cellular therapies that ultimately will save and enhance lives.”
The BioBridge Global Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board was formed in 2018 and includes Phil Vanek, PhD, General Manager of GE Healthcare’s Cell and Gene Therapy business strategy; Gregory Bonfiglio, JD, Founder and Managing Partner of Proteus LLC, an investment and advisory firm focused solely on regenerative medicine, and Chairman of the Board of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Toronto, Canada; and Kenneth Bertram, MD, PhD, FACP, former commander of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Principal Assistant for Acquisition for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
About BioBridge Global: BioBridge Global (BBG) is a San Antonio, Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that offers diverse services through its subsidiaries – the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure and The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation. BBG provides products and services in blood resource management, cellular therapy, donated umbilical cord blood and human tissue as well as testing of blood, plasma and tissue products for clients in the United States and worldwide. BBG is committed to saving and enhancing lives through the healing power of human cells and tissue. It enables advances in the field of regenerative medicine by providing access to human cells and tissue, testing services and biomanufacturing and clinical trials support. Learn more at BioBridgeGlobal.org.
Biographies of new Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board members:
Chris Mason, PhD: Dr. Mason is Co-founder and Chief Science Officer at AvroBio, a publicly held clinical-stage, gene therapy company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He also is a professor of cell and gene therapy in the Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, University College London, working on the clinical translation and commercialization of cell and gene therapies. He has a multidisciplinary track record, spanning R&D, clinical practice, bioprocessing, regulation, healthcare economics, reimbursement and business.
He is on a number of national and international committees, working groups and initiatives related to the academic, clinical translation and commercialization of cell and gene therapies. He is the founder and CEO of the London Regenerative Medicine Network (LRMN) and a founding member of the UK-Israel Science Council. He also is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the UK Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Strategic Advisory Board of the Canadian Centre for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), and Scientific Advisory Board of the Canadian Stem Cell Network.
He is a general spokesperson for the cell and gene therapy sector, including frequent newspaper, radio and TV interviews.
He is Senior Editor of the journals Cell and Gene Therapy Insight and Regenerative Medicine.
He received his bachelor’s in molecular biology from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in 1993, an MBBS in medicine/surgery from United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospitals in 1994, and Ph.D. in biochemical engineering from University College London in 2005.
Dr. Michael J. Yaszemski: Dr. Yaszemski is the Krehbiel Family Endowed Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the Mayo Clinic and director of its Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory.
He is a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general and served in the office of the Air Force Surgeon General and the office of the President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences prior to retiring in 2013. He served as president of the Mayo Clinic medical staff from 2013-14 and had served for 10 years as the Chair of the Spine Surgery Division of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic Rochester prior to entering the presidential line.
He organized and then served as the first chair of the Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering study section at NIH and served as a member of the Advisory Council of the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering from 2010-14.
He currently is a member of the NIH Advisory Council of the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases. He served as chair of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiologic Health Advisory Committee and is a member of the FDA Science Board. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Inventors. He has 84 issued patents and 24 additional patents pending. He is an emeritus member of the Lehigh University Board of Trustees.
His clinical practice encompasses spine surgery and musculoskeletal oncology. His research interests are in the synthesis and characterization of novel degradable polymers for use in bone regeneration, cartilage regeneration, nervous tissue regeneration, and controlled delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to musculoskeletal tumors.
He received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University in 1977 and 1978, an M.D. from Georgetown University in 1983 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995.
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