2^nd Annual Summit on Stem Cell Research, Cell and Gene Therapy November 9-10, 2018 Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Track 1: Cell Therapy

Cell therapy or cytotherapy is the transfer of cells into a patient with a goal of improving the disease.  From beginning blood transfusions were considered to be the first type of cell therapy to be practised as routine. Later, Bone marrow transplantation has also become a well established concept which involves treatment of many kind of blood disorders including anemia, leukemia, lymphyoma and rare immunodeficiency diseases. Alternative medical practitioners perform cell therapy in the form of several different names including xenotransplant therapy, glandular therapy, and fresh cell therapy. It has been claimed by the proponents of cell therapy that it has been used successfully to repair spinal cord injuries, strengthen weaken immune system, treats autoimmune diseases like AIDS, help patients with neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. 

Related Conferences

9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cell & Gene Therapy World Event, Jan 22-25, 2018, Miami, USA; Combined CAR-T Congress Europe, Jan 30-31, 2018, Berlin, Germany; Annual Cell and Gene Therapy Innovation Summit, Feb 7-8, 2018, Berlin, Germany; 3^rd Annual Genome Editing & Engineering Conference, Feb 8-9, 2018, San Diego, CA, USA; International Society for BioProcess Technology 8^th Spring Meeting- Viral vectors and vaccines, Mar 5-7, 2018, Norfolk, Virginia.   

Track 2: Gene Therapy

Gene therapy basically involves the introduction or alteration of genetic material within a cell  or organism with an intention of curing the disease. Both cell therapy and gene therapy are overlapping fields of biomedical  research with the goals of repairing the direct cause of genetic diseases in DNA or cellular population respectively. The discovery of recombinant DNA technology in the 1970s provided tools to efficiently develop gene therapy. Scientists use these techniques to readily manipulate viral genomes, isolate genes and identify mutations involved in human disease, characterize and regulate gene expressions, and engineer various viral and non viral vectors. Various long term treatments for anemia, haemophilia, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Gauscher’s disease, lysosomal storage diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and diseases of bones and joints are resolved through successful gene therapy and are elusive today. 

Related Conferences

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Public Engagement, Mar 15, 2018, Oxford, UK; International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting, May 2-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada; American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 21^ST Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2018, Chicago, IL, USA; Gene Therapy Bioproduction Conference, Aug 13-16, 2018, Boston, USA; XXVI Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 16-19, 2018, Lausanne, Switzerland.   

Track 3: Molecular Medicine

Molecular Medicine is a branch of medicine that develops ways to diagnose and treat diseases by understanding the ways genes, proteins and other cellular molecules work. It is a broad field where physical, chemical, biological, bioinformatics, and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of the disease, and to develop molecular interventions to correct them.  Molecular Medicine has now a days proved to be an exciting field of research as some of the recent advancements has led to improved clinical benefits for human health. These are LPS- induced inflammatory response is suppressed by Wnt inhibitors, Dickkopf-1 and LGK974, Selective inhibition of Ebola entry with selective estrogen receptor modulators by disrupting the endolysosomal calcium, ApoA-IV improves insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake in mouse adipocytes via PI3K-Akt Signalling and many more.   

Related Conferences

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Annual Conference Autumn 2018, Nov 23, 2018, London, UK; XXVII Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 28-31, 2018, Barcelona, Spain; International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2018 Annual Meeting, June 20-23, 2018, Melbourne, Australia; The 2018 World Stem Cell Summit, Jan 22-26, 2018, Miami, Florida; ICSCB 2018 : 20^th International Conference on Stem Cell Biology, March 12-13, 2018, Miami, USA

Track 4: Immunotherapy 

Due to rapidly advancing field of cancer immunology in past few years, there has been production of several new methods of treating cancer called Immunotherapies. Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that increases the strength of immune response against tumors either by stimulating the activities of specific components of immune system or by counteracting signals produced by cancer cells that suppress immune responses. Some types of immunotherapy are also called as biologic therapy or biotherapy. Recent advancements in cancer immunotherapies have provided new therapeutic approaches. These include tumor-associated macrophages as treatment targets in oncology, in-situ activation of platelets with checkpoint inhibitors for post-surgical cancer immunotherapy, immune checkpoint blockade and associated endocrinopathies and many more. 

Related Conferences

9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cell & Gene Therapy World Event, Jan 22-25, 2018, Miami, USA; Combined CAR-T Congress Europe, Jan 30-31, 2018, Berlin, Germany; Annual Cell and Gene Therapy Innovation Summit, Feb 7-8, 2018, Berlin, Germany; 3^rd Annual Genome Editing & Engineering Conference, Feb 8-9, 2018, San Diego, CA, USA; International Society for BioProcess Technology 8^th Spring Meeting- Viral vectors and vaccines, Mar 5-7, 2018, Norfolk, Virginia.   

Track 5: Genetic Medicine 

Genetic Medicine or Medical Genetics is the branch of medicine that differs from human genetics, and involves the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders. Human genetics may or may not apply to medicine, but medical genetics refers to the application of genetics to medical care. Genetic Medicine basically involves different areas such as gene therapy, personalized medicine, predictive medicine and the rapidly emerging new medical specialty. Now a days, medical genetics has wide range of scopes in many conditions involving birth defects and dysmorphology, autism, mental retardation, skeletal dysplasia, mitochondrial disorders, cancer genetics, connective tissue disorders and some more.  

Related Conferences

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Public Engagement, Mar 15, 2018, Oxford, UK; International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting, May 2-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada; American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 21^ST Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2018, Chicago, IL, USA; Gene Therapy Bioproduction Conference, Aug 13-16, 2018, Boston, USA; XXVI Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 16-19, 2018, Lausanne, Switzerland.     

Track 6: Clinical and Translational Research

According to National Institute of Health (NIH), Clinical Research is defined in 3 ways i.e. (1) Patient oriented research. Research which is conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator (or colleague) directly interacts with human subjects. This definition excludes the in vitro studies that utilize human tissues that cannot be linked to a living individual. Patient oriented research involves: (a) therapeutic interventions, (b) mechanisms of human disease, (c) clinical trials, or (d) development of new technologies. (2) Epidemiological and behavioural investigations. (3) Outcomes research and health services research.

Translational Research on the other hand includes two areas. One is the process of utilizing discoveries generated in the laboratory during research, and in preclinical studies, to the development trials and studies in humans. Second arena of translation concerns on research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community. An important part of translational science also includes cost effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies.  

Related Conferences

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Annual Conference Autumn 2018, Nov 23, 2018, London, UK; XXVII Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 28-31, 2018, Barcelona, Spain; International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2018 Annual Meeting, June 20-23, 2018, Melbourne, Australia; The 2018 World Stem Cell Summit, Jan 22-26, 2018, Miami, Florida; ICSCB 2018 : 20^th International Conference on Stem Cell Biology, March 12-13, 2018, Miami, USA

Track 7: Cell Therapy Bioprocessing

Cell Therapy Bioprocessing activity mainly focuses to accelerate the safe, cost- effective translations and clinical efficacious of cell therapies into commercial products. This activity covers the entire range of cell therapy activities as well as tissue engineering. In order to succeed, commercial success of at least a few late-stage products are required to develop which will be funded to develop next generation tools and technologies for this field. Recent achievements include, preclinical filing for Phase 1 clinical trials for cell therapy in acute spinal cord injury, clinical proof of concept studies in tissue- engineered trachea, clinical trials for tissue-engineered larynx and routine clinical practice in the regeneration of corneas. The future research priorities will focus on novel cell and bioprocess engineering techniques in order to improve the manufacturing efficacy and methods for health technology assessment to support rapid clinical adoption of new cell therapies.  

Related Conferences 

9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cell & Gene Therapy World Event, Jan 22-25, 2018, Miami, USA; Combined CAR-T Congress Europe, Jan 30-31, 2018, Berlin, Germany; Annual Cell and Gene Therapy Innovation Summit, Feb 7-8, 2018, Berlin, Germany; 3^rd Annual Genome Editing & Engineering Conference, Feb 8-9, 2018, San Diego, CA, USA; International Society for BioProcess Technology 8^th Spring Meeting- Viral vectors and vaccines, Mar 5-7, 2018, Norfolk, Virginia.   

Track 8: Cell & Gene Therapy Development & Production

Cell  and Gene Therapy products manufacturing focuses on various strategies like the manufacturing process must protect the product, patient, should focus on product characterization, process control, high throughput and parallel processing to achieve scale. The process/analytical development throughout clinical trials involve ongoing, iterative development of manufacturing process and characterization of profile and FDA expecting increasing control and characterization as clinical development progresses. Steps involved in individualized manufacturing and running in parallel for high throughput involves cell selection, expansion, activation, centrifugation and cryopreservation. 

Related Conferences

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Public Engagement, Mar 15, 2018, Oxford, UK; International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting, May 2-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada; American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 21^ST Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2018, Chicago, IL, USA; Gene Therapy Bioproduction Conference, Aug 13-16, 2018, Boston, USA; XXVI Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 16-19, 2018, Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Track 9: Rare Diseases & Orphan drugs

Rare diseases are life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions, affecting no more than 5 in 10,000 persons in the European Community according to the Regulation (EC) N. 141/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council. It is estimated that between 6000 to 8000 distinct rare diseases affect up to 6% of the total EU population. Therefore, these conditions can be considered rare if taken individually but they affect a significant proportion of the European population when considered as a single group. Several initiatives have been taken at international, European and national level to tackle public health as well as research issues related to diagnosis, prevention, treatment and surveillance of these diseases. An Orphan drug can be defined as the one that is used to treat an orphan disease. An orphan disease in USA is defined as the one that affects fewer than 200000 individuals, but in Japan the number is 50,000 and in Australia is 2000. In past 20 years efforts have been made to encourage companies to develop orphan drugs. The Orphan Drug Act in the USA (1983) was succeeded by similar legislation in Japan (1985), Australia (1997), and the European Community (2000). The encouragement takes three forms: tax credits and research aids, simplification of marketing authorization procedures, and extended market exclusively. 

Related Conferences 

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Annual Conference Autumn 2018, Nov 23, 2018, London, UK; XXVII Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 28-31, 2018, Barcelona, Spain; International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2018 Annual Meeting, June 20-23, 2018, Melbourne, Australia; The 2018 World Stem Cell Summit, Jan 22-26, 2018, Miami, Florida; ICSCB 2018 : 20^th International Conference on Stem Cell Biology, March 12-13, 2018, Miami, USA

Track 10: Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine

Stem cells can self renew themselves and differentiate or develop into more specialised cells. They are the foundation for every organ and tissue in our body.  Due to this ability of the stem cells, they have tremendous promise to help us understand and treat a wide range of diseases, injuries and other health related problems. Bone marrow transplantation is the most widely used stem cell therapy , but some of the therapies are derived from umbilical cord blood are also in use today. Likewise, blood stem cells are used to treat diseases of blood, a therapy that has saved thousands of lives of children with leukemia. Some bone, skin and corneal (eye) injuries and diseases can be treated by grafting or implanting tissues and the healing process relies on stem cells with implanted tissue. Regenerative medicines aims to replace tissues or organs that have been damaged by disease, trauma, or congenital issues which is in contrast to the current clinical strategy that focuses primarily on treating the symptoms. These regenerative medicines have wide appropriateness in treating degenerative scatters including dermatology, cardio vascular, and neuro degenerative diseases. Cell treatment is the quickest developing fragment of regenerative drug and this undeveloped cell treatment is making up the biggest part of this business sector.   

Related Conferences 

9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cell & Gene Therapy World Event, Jan 22-25, 2018, Miami, USA; Combined CAR-T Congress Europe, Jan 30-31, 2018, Berlin, Germany; Annual Cell and Gene Therapy Innovation Summit, Feb 7-8, 2018, Berlin, Germany; 3^rd Annual Genome Editing & Engineering Conference, Feb 8-9, 2018, San Diego, CA, USA; International Society for BioProcess Technology 8^th Spring Meeting- Viral vectors and vaccines, Mar 5-7, 2018, Norfolk, Virginia.     

Track 11: Technologies in Stem Cell Research  

Stem cell technology is now a days a rapidly emerging field that combines the efforts of cell biologists, clinicians and geneticists. This offers a hope for effective treatment for a variety of malignant and non-malignant diseases. Research has also shown that other than hematopoietic stem cells there are stem cells present in other sites. Hematopoietic stem cells research has made much progress than research in solid tissue stem cells. But the tissue stem cells have proven to be ideal for cell replacement therapy as it has the ability to integrate into the tissue cytoarchitechture under the control of host microenvironment and developmental cues. Moreover, it has also been found that transferring gene into hematopoietic stem cells may allow treatment of genetic diseases. Neurone replacement is done by using neuronal stem cells in disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntingdon’s diseases. As a result of integrative effort with clinical applications of manipulated stem cells combining developments in transplantation and gene therapy, stem cell technology is advancing. 

Related Conferences 

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Annual Conference Autumn 2018, Nov 23, 2018, London, UK; XXVII Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 28-31, 2018, Barcelona, Spain; International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2018 Annual Meeting, June 20-23, 2018, Melbourne, Australia; The 2018 World Stem Cell Summit, Jan 22-26, 2018, Miami, Florida; ICSCB 2018 : 20^th International Conference on Stem Cell Biology, March 12-13, 2018, Miami, USA

Track 12: Cellular and Technological Breakthroughs in Cancer

Cancer is a process where the cells grow aberrantly and this growth of cancer cells results in damage of normal tissues, causing loss of function and often pain. The cancer therapeutic drugs are those drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules (molecular targets) that are involved in the growth, progression and spread of cancer. Moreover, gene therapy approaches may be designed to directly kill tumor cells using tumor killing viruses, or through the introduction of genes termed as suicide genes into the tumor cells. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved many cancer therapies in order to treat specific types of cancers. To develop targeted therapies it requires the identification of good targets that is, those targets that play a key role in cancer cell growth and survival.  One way to identify potential targets is to compare the amounts of individual proteins in cancer cells with those present in normal cells. Gene silencing has also been designed to inhibit the expression of specific genes which are activated or over expressed in cancer cells and can drive tumor growth, blood vessel formation and allow resistance for chemotherapy. 

Related Conferences 

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Public Engagement, Mar 15, 2018, Oxford, UK; International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting, May 2-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada; American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 21^ST Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2018, Chicago, IL, USA; Gene Therapy Bioproduction Conference, Aug 13-16, 2018, Boston, USA; XXVI Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 16-19, 2018, Lausanne, Switzerland.   

Track 13: Nuclear Medicine

Nuclear medicine is a branch of medical imaging that involves the application of radioactive substances called radiotracers that are generally injected into the bloodstream, inhaled or swallowed. The radiotracer then travels through the area being examined and gives off energy in the form of gamma rays, which are detected by a special camera and a computer to create images of inside the body. It is used to diagnose or determine the severity of or treat different types of diseases like many types of cancers, heart disease, neurological disease, gastrointestinal disease, and other abnormalities inside the body. As nuclear medicine techniques are able to identify molecular activity within the body, they offer the capability to detect diseases in its very early stages as well as a patient’s immediate response to therapeutic interventions. There are two most common imaging methods in nuclear medicine, one is Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography or SPECT and the other is Positron Emission Tomography or PET scans.  

Related Conferences 

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Annual Conference Autumn 2018, Nov 23, 2018, London, UK; XXVII Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 28-31, 2018, Barcelona, Spain; International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2018 Annual Meeting, June 20-23, 2018, Melbourne, Australia; The 2018 World Stem Cell Summit, Jan 22-26, 2018, Miami, Florida; ICSCB 2018 : 20^th International Conference on Stem Cell Biology, March 12-13, 2018, Miami, USA

Track 14: Advances in Biomedical Engineering, Imaging and Screening

Biomedical engineering can be defined as the application of design concepts and engineering principles to medicine and biology for healthcare or therapeutic purposes. It has various applications which include development of biocompatible prostheses, regenerative tissue growth, various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic biological. In recent times, advancements in cell engineering, imaging and screening has reached a great height in the field of science & technology and also in the business world. It has attracted many scientists from academia and also established or emerging companies in the field to present their latest scientific achievements and exciting technological solutions through presentations in several sessions. This has helped in improving the scientific knowledge among the people, scientists, researchers and exhibitors from all over the world thus enhancing their scientific curiosity and providing robust solutions against technological issues. 

Related Conferences

9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cell & Gene Therapy World Event, Jan 22-25, 2018, Miami, USA; Combined CAR-T Congress Europe, Jan 30-31, 2018, Berlin, Germany; Annual Cell and Gene Therapy Innovation Summit, Feb 7-8, 2018, Berlin, Germany; 3^rd Annual Genome Editing & Engineering Conference, Feb 8-9, 2018, San Diego, CA, USA; International Society for BioProcess Technology 8^th Spring Meeting- Viral vectors and vaccines, Mar 5-7, 2018, Norfolk, Virginia.     

Track 15: Synthetic Biology and CRISPR Technology

Synthetic Biology is one of the emerging field of research that can be broadly described as the design and construction of novel artificial biological pathways, organisms or devices or the redesigning of existing natural biological systems. 

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) Technology is one of the most powerful yet simple tool for genome editing. It helps and allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene functions. It has many potential applications that include correcting genetic disorders, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops. CRISPR popularly used as CRISPR-Cas9 where CRISPRs are specialized stretches of DNA and Cas9 is the protein which is an enzyme that acts like a pair of molecular scissors, capable of cutting DNA strands. The promise of CRISPR technology however raises ethical concerns as it is not 100% efficient. But the development of CRISPR-Cas9 has revolutionised the synthetic biology industry in today’s world, being a simple and effective gene editing tool.  

Related Conferences 

2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Signaling and Cancer Therapy, Sep 19-20, 2018, Philadelphia, USA; 2^nd Annual Summit on Cell Therapy and Stem Cell Research, Nov 9-10, 2018, Atlanta, USA; 2nd World Biotechnology Congress, Dec 4-5 2017, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 9^th International Conference & Exhibition on Tissue Preservation and Biobanking, Nov 9-10 2018, Atlanta, USA; 10^th World Congress and Expo on Cell & Stem Cell Research, March 19-21, 2018 in New York, USA; British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT) Public Engagement, Mar 15, 2018, Oxford, UK; International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting, May 2-5, 2018, Montreal, Canada; American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) 21^ST Annual Meeting, May 16-19, 2018, Chicago, IL, USA; Gene Therapy Bioproduction Conference, Aug 13-16, 2018, Boston, USA; XXVI Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), Oct 16-19, 2018, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Importance and scope of cell therapy and stem cell research

Cell therapy deals with the administration of live whole cells or maturation of a specific cell population in a patient for treatment of a disease. In recent times, cell therapy is expanding its range of cell types, for administration. Various treatment strategies of cell therapy include isolation and transfer of specific stem cell populations, administration of effector cells, and induction of mature cells to become pluripotent cells and reprogramming of mature cells. By administrating a large number of effector cells has benefited a large number of cancer patients, transplant patients with unresolved infections, and patients with chemically destroyed stem cells in eyes. Gene therapy on the other hand is expressed as an experimental treatment that involves introduction of genetic material into the cells in order to correct the defective genes. Retroviruses and adenoviruses are among the most commonly used viral vectors in trials for treating diseases under gene therapy. Other viral vectors such as adeno-associated viruses, pseudo typed viruses and herpes simplex viruses are also gaining popularity. Several diseases benefit from both cell and gene therapies. For example, some patients have a severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) but unfortunately do not have a suitable donor for the bone marrow. Several dozens of patients have been treated with both combined cell and gene therapy approach. More evidences for wider clinical applications for both cell and gene therapy are expected as more cell and gene therapy studies progress from preclinical phase to clinical trial.

Stem cells play an important role in living organisms in many ways. For example, in a blastocyst the inner cells give rise to an entire body of the organism, including all of the many specialized cell types and organs such as heart, skin, lung, eggs, sperm and other tissues. Moreover, in adult tissues like bone marrow, brain and muscle, discrete populations of adult stem cells develop replacements for cells that are lost through injury, diseases or normal wear and tear. Having remarkable capabilities in their regenerative abilities, stem cells provide new potentials for treatment of diseases such as heart diseases and diabetes. However, in order to understand how to utilize these cells for cell-based therapies to treat diseases, much work remains to be done in the lab or clinic which is also referred to as regenerative medicine. Now-a-days, scientists are already using stem cells in the laboratory to screen new drugs and to develop model organisms to study normal growth and to determine the birth defects’ causes. Stem cell research has become one of the most fascinating areas in present-day biology, with most expanding fields of scientific enquiry, research on stem cells has raised scientific questions as rapidly as it generates new discoveries. Transplantation of stem cells to repair or replace damaged tissue either by disease or injury has provided promising scope for treating diseases and is a feasible alternative to organ transplantation. Recent research studies on stem cells are being done to prevent or cure diseases and injuries such as Type 1 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s disease, burns, strokes, osteoarthritis, vision and hearing loss. Following this, various potential therapies came out using stem cells to cure these diseases such as adult stem cell therapies, embryonic stem cell therapies and induced pluripotent stem cell therapies. But side effects were found accompanying these studies and further investigation and much research are needed to be conducted in future as these studies give us hope for future therapeutics with stem cell research.

Why Atlanta ?

As both cell and gene therapy has gained many applauds from all over the world, due to this reason these therapies are given much more importance from the beginning of their inceptions. Cell and gene therapies both are well performed worldwide in order to treat many types of diseases like SCID, cancer, cardiovascular diseases Type 1 diabetes and many more. In spite of many legal and ethical issues, these therapies are now accepted worldwide but still face many challenges in some countries and this is the reason that many people are still out of reach of their benefits especially on human health. According to ClinicalTrials.gov, North America has conducted maximum number of studies related to cell therapy (3,259) and stem cell research (2,449) among other countries which shows a huge scope for promoting the benefits of both cell therapy and stem cell research by the scientists, researchers and clinical industries to treat many diseases which do not have a proper treatment till date. Gene therapy products have not been currently approved by US FDA and therefore gene therapy products are still in the investigational stage. Some of the promising treatments that are not yet licensed are mainly available through a clinical trial. As many recent researches have been conducted in USA on human diseases by using different animal models, hence it has resulted in development of new technologies, new therapies and showed exciting improvements in disease treatments. Therefore positive hopes lies with these therapies in future also in spite of failures and non-approval. Advancements in cell and gene therapy products in USA are just one step away.

Societies associated with Cell Therapy and Gene Therapy

·         American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT)

·         Australasian Gene and Cell Therapy Society (AGCTS)

·         Austrian Network for Gene Therapy

·         British Society of Gene Therapy

·         European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT)

·         French Society of Cellular and Gene Therapy (SFTCG)

·         German Gene Therapy Society (DGGT)

·         International Society for Cancer Gene Therapy (ISCGT)

·         Irish Society for Gene & Cell Therapy (ISGCT)

·         Japan Society for Gene Therapy (JSGT)

Societies associated with Stem Cell Research

·          Adult Stem Cell Research Network

·          International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)

·          Stem Cell Society Singapore

·          American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

·          American Cancer Society

·          American Society for Cell Biology

·          Australian Society for Stem Cell Research

·          American Society of Clinical Oncology

·          Cell Therapy Foundation

·          Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society

Market Research on Cell Therapy and Gene Therapy

The market of cell therapy in terms of revenues is $3 billion and its global market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 23.27% during the period 2017-2021. The market of stem cell therapy is expected to reach USD 145.8 million by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 11.0% during the forecast period 2016-2021. The global stem cell therapy market on the basis of the mode of treatment is segmented into allogenic and autologous stem cell therapy.

The gene therapy market in spite of presenting few marketable products and being nascent in terms of revenue generation holds tremendous growth potential. As per a new estimation carried out in a latest study, the global gene therapy industry has the potential to become a multi-million dollar industry by the end of 2018 as new products, especially those in the advanced stage of clinical studies or with pending approvals, may enter the market to boost the growth.

Among other techniques of cell therapy, CAR-T cell therapy is one of the most widely used techniques approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The use of CAR-T cell therapy until now has been restricted to small clinical trials. But after its success in August 2017 for treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), it has captured attention of researchers and public because of the remarkable responses it has produced in some patients. 

Fig:-1 Graph showing trend in number of CAR cell trials : CD30 vs. BCMA (targets) 

Fig :-2 Graph showing Gene Therapy Clinical Trials

Market Research on Stem Cell Research

By 2025, the global stem cell market US expected to reach USD 15.63 billion, growing at a CAGR of 9.2% according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increment in the research studies that aims at expanding the utility scope of associated products is expected to drive the market growth. There is an increasing demand for stem cell production as scientists are engaged in discovering novel methods to create human stem cells. This has led to the potential investigation in disease management and also accelerated the development of regenerative medicine, thus driving the industrial growth. 

Fig :- 3 Graph showing stem cell therapy for diseases

Companies associated with Cell and Gene Therapy

·         Cynata Therapeutics

·         CellTherapies

·         Living Cell Technologies

·         Mesoblast

·         Regeneus 

·         Ascend Biopharmaceuticals

·         Activartis

·         Aposcience

·         Bone Therapeutics 

·         PluriCell

·         Addgene

·         Advanced Cell & Gene Therapy, LLC

·         Advanced Vision Therapies, Inc

·         AlphaVax Human Vaccines, Inc

·         Altogen Biosystems

·         Applied Tissue Technologies LLC

·         Ark Therapeutics Ltd

Companies associated with Stem Cell Research

·         Aastrom Biosciences, Inc.

·         Advanced Cell Technology

·         Apceth

·         Athersys

·         Bioheart

·         BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics

·         Cardio3 Biosciences

·         Cell Cure Neurosciences

·         Cryo-Cell International

·         Cytori Therapeutics Inc

·         Gamida Cell

·         Geron Corporation

·         Invitrogen

·         International Stem Cell Corporation (ISCO)

·         NeoStem

·         Neuralstem, Inc.

·         Novocell