The need for lifesaving options for diseases with no treatment or cure is great, and Mayo Clinic is addressing that challenge in part with a new conference focused on advancing first-of-their kind regenerative biotherapies.

RegenBio Summit: Transforming Next-Gen Biotherapeutics will be held Dec. 9 to 11 at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Save the date for an event that will bring together the best minds in medicine, biotechnology and entrepreneurship to discuss how to best bring a new class of medicines known as biotherapies to all patients. Regenerative biotherapies are made from human sources such as blood, cells and tissue and have shown potential for targeted healing with few side effects.

"We are living longer, but those extra years are often burdened with chronic disease," says Saranya Wyles, M.D., Ph.D., a dermatologist and associate director for education in Mayo Clinic's Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. "Regenerative biotherapeutics offer hope of increasing health longevity by focusing on restoring health and function."

Collaborations to advance biotherapeutics

The summit is an opportunity to build collaborations between academia, regulatory agencies and industry. Because this field of medicine is rapidly progressing, a cell or gene therapy may face different regulatory standards in the U.S. than it would in  Europe or Asia. That can raise questions that slow or stall approvals of a new drug. A key topic of discussion will be setting global guidelines for new regenerative biotherapies to advance them from research into standard of care.

Mayo Clinic will also highlight ways its unique biomanufacturing structure is designed to accelerate new discoveries from the lab to early-stage clinical trials. Mayo Clinic's advanced biomanufacturing operations are based on industry best practices and driven by patient need. The operations coordinate process development, quality control and quality assurance to ensure an emerging therapy meets standards for commercial grade biotherapies.

"We're planning to share Mayo Clinic's blueprint of how to develop and disseminate new biotherapies in the most trusted way for patient care," says Julie Allickson, Ph.D., the Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. "Our biomanufacturing model is designed to troubleshoot and address problems early, so a new regenerative intervention can be seamlessly transferred to an industry collaborator, creating the bridge for safe and effective biotherapies to improve patients' lives worldwide."

Dr. Allickson is also the Otto Bremer Trust Director, Biomanufacturing and Product Development, Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics.

Exploring the future of healthcare

Regenerative biotherapeutics are projected to make up 10% of all health care interventions in the coming years. The summit will explore a possible future with tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, cell therapies, gene and viral therapies, and cell-free interventions and how they might apply to medical practice areas such as orthopedics, cancer, cardiology, neurology and transplant. In addition, there will be sessions on training the future workforce to deliver these promising therapies to patients. The summit will bring together a global community of peers, thought leaders and organizations invested in regenerative therapies.

Registration for RegenBio Summit: Transforming Next-Gen Biotherapeutics will open in the coming weeks. Watch the summit website for announcements on keynote speakers, plenaries and fireside chats.

Attendees can earn continuing medical education credits.

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