Miami, FL, Jan. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The international regenerative medicine community concluded a week of sharing breakthroughs, facing challenges and developing collaborations at the 2019 co-located Phacilitate Leaders World and World Stem Cell Summit (WSCS) at the Hyatt Regency Miami, January 22-25, 2019. The cure and treatment-focused meeting featured presentations on miraculous innovations in identifying the causes of disease, growing mini-brains, engineering body tissues and organs, reversing the aging process, accelerating wound healing and more. Organized by the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF) and Phacilitate, the conferences hosted 1,500 attendees from 40 nations, representing more than 200 organizations, and 300 speakers. The event garnered extensive media coverage, promoting the discoveries that are revolutionizing the practice of medicine.
“This year’s World Stem Cell Summit moved us closer toward finding cures,” said Bernard Siegel, Founder of the WSCS and Executive Director of the RMF. “The brilliant men and women working in this field are so focused on their research and their patients: it is remarkable how invigorating and inspiring this week of collaboration can be. We all share the mandate to improve health and deliver cures; that is what ‘stem cell’ week was all about.”
“We decided early in our planning that the success of this year’s Phacilitate Leaders World would be built on setting up the right partnerships to unite the industry and create an unforgettable and enjoyable experience for all attendees. Every member of our team led with a partnership-first approach, thus resulting in an unparalleled experience and networking opportunity for Phacilitate and World Stem Cell Summit attendees. Overall, the experience was a success in solidifying regenerative medicine’s position in healthcare internationally. We are looking forward to “Advance Therapies Week in 2020 in Miami” and taking our event to the next impactful level” said Michael Adeniya, Event Director at Phacilitate.
Regenerative Medicine and cell-based therapies are profoundly impacting our world. This biomedical revolution will have as great of a societal impact as the development of the Internet and human flight. Phacilitate Leaders World and The World Stem Cell Summit accelerate this revolution by convening scientists, philanthropists, government leaders, bioethicists, regulators and companies from around the world to share their incredible breakthroughs and forge super-additive collaborations.
The 2019 WSCS was led by the Regenerative Medicine Foundation and principal organizing partners, Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, The Cure Alliance, Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine and media partner Leapsmag. Contributing partners include Mayo Clinic, Sanford Health, New York Stem Cell Foundation and Nova Southeastern University Cell Therapy Institute. The 2019 Phacilitate Leaders World was sponsored by\ Anemocyte, Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, American Society of Cell & Gene Therapy, BioInformant, BioInsights, Biotech and Money, Cord Blood Association, Emily Whitehead Foundation, Global Alliance for iPSC Therapies (GAiT), MedNous, Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Society and Stem Cells Translational Medicine.
For the second year in a row, the World Stem Cell Summit was co-located with the industry's premier partnering event, Phacilitate Leaders World. The organizations share a common goal revolving around pioneering and creating necessary collaboration to deliver global cell and gene therapies.
Recognizing Global Leaders
The 2019 Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Award honorees were recognized at a gala reception and dinner on Wednesday, January 23rd at the Hyatt Regency Miami. This year’s Inspiration Award was awarded to Doug Oliver and the Regenerative Medicine Outcomes Foundation; the International Advocacy Award to Desirée Cox, MD, PhD, founder of HEALinc Future Health Innovation Summit; the International Advocacy Award to Robin Smith, MD MBA, from Unite To Cure and author of Cells Are the New Cure (2017); the International Achievement Award to Lu Daopei Medical Group, a top hospital group in China, specializing in hematology, including blood disorders like leukemia, aplastic anemia, lymphomas, immune deficiency disorders and cellular immunotherapy; the Leadership Award to the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, enabler of a new era of stem cell and regenerative medicine research in space aimed at improving life on Earth; and the Stem Cells Translational Medicine “Young Investigator Award” to Dr. Yong-Beom Park.
A Brand New Stage
Phacilitate:TALKS, sponsored by Anemocyte, was a brand new stage at this year’s Phacilitate Leaders World. Anemocyte, Diamond Partner of the conference, is a leading Biotech Manufacturing Organization (BMO), boosting change and innovation in the field of Cell and Gene Therapies (CGTs). Impressive and diverse speakers participated in Phacilitate:TALKS. Examples of stories include, "Space – the next frontier for ‘global’ pharma,” by Jana Stoudemire, Chief Commercialization Officer, Space Tango; "How to ask strangers for money, and get it,” by Pierluigi Paracchi, Co-Founder and CEO, Genenta; "Drawing the future of advanced therapies,” by Neil Canavan, Scientific Advisor, Solebury Trout; "Gene therapy drug development, a history of synergies between academia and industry…” by Federico Mingozi, CSO, Spark Therapeutics, who drove the development of multiple first-in-human gene therapy drug candidates for the treatment of inherited disease; “The next chapter starts here, and ends with a cure,” by Nicole Gularte, Leukemia survivor and advocate for CAR-T Cell Therapy.
A Platform for New Research
The WSCS Poster Forum was overseen by Tina Belle of AlphaMed Press; Joshua Hunsberger, PhD, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine; and Alan L. Jakimo, RMF Senior Public Policy Research Fellow.
Posters were assessed based on creativity, scientific method, contribution to science and/or medicine and communicative power. The top posters at this year’s summit were CRISPR-mediated Gene Modification of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Beta Thalassemia IVS1-110 Mutation By Wael Aboelkheir and Hala Gabr from Military Medical Academy – Egypt, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocyte Proliferation is Enhanced by Co-Culture Female Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Activation of WNT Pathway by Amarylis Wanschel, Alessandro G. Salerno, Konstantinos E. Hatzistergos, Ivonne H. Schulman, Wayne Balkan, Joshua M. Hare, Marilia S. Zuttion, and Yu Wendou from University of Miami, and Validation of an Axonal Injury Model by Scanning Electron Microscopy Imaging by AnnaLisa V. Wilson and Victorio M. Pozo Devoto from Meharry Medical College.
Yacht Party Fundraiser
In an effort to bring more awareness to pediatric cancer immunotherapy research, the Emily Whitehead Foundation and Phacilitate joined together to hold a one of a kind fundraising event in Miami, Florida on January 24, 2019. The exclusive event took place during Phacilitate Leaders World’s iconic yacht party, and attracted international immuno-oncology and cell and gene therapy industry leaders.
About Phacilitate
Phacilitate believes in the power of partnerships and that through collaboration, anything can be achieved. By fostering the community and bringing together a diverse range of expertise from across the advanced therapies ecosystem, Phacilitate is creating a network of partnerships that brings the industry closer to achieving the ultimate goal of improving patient care and developing commercially viable curative treatments. This is the future of healthcare. Phacilitate unites people through award-winning events, which focus on the business and the science of advanced therapies, creating unforgettable experiences and memories to connect and inspire. Phacilitate Leaders World, Phacilitate Leaders Europe and Phacilitate Leaders Asia are the pillars of the calendar and bring together the entire advanced therapies ecosystem. For more information about Phacilitate, please visit: phacilitate.co.uk.
About the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF)
The nonprofit Regenerative Medicine Foundation fosters strategic collaborations to accelerate the development of regenerative medicine to improve health and deliver cures. RMF pursues its mission by producing its flagship World Stem Cell Summit; honoring leaders through the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Awards; publishing The World Stem Report with our journal partner, Stem Cells Translational Medicine; and promoting policy and educational initiatives. For further information about RMF please visit: http://regmedfoundation.org/
About the World Stem Cell Summit
Produced by the nonprofit Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF) for 14 years, the World Stem Cell Summit 2019 is co-located with Phacilitate Leaders World. It is the most inclusive and expansive interdisciplinary, networking, and partnering meeting in the stem cell science and regenerative medicine field. With the overarching purpose of fostering biomedical research, funding, and investments targeting cures, the Summit is the single conference serving the diverse ecosystem of regenerative medicine stakeholders. For more information about the 14th World Stem Cell Summit (WSCS), please visit: worldstemcellsummit.com.
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