Read about India's First Summit on Retinal Cell & Gene Therapy- Foresight2023, a C-CAMP co-hosted conference
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP)
Fostering deep science research and innovation for societal impact
#Foresight2023 - India's 1st summit on retinal cell & gene therapy successfully concluded last week.
Organized by Eyestem Research , co-hosted by C-CAMP & Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (BRIC-inStem) Foresight turned out to be hotspot for discussions on ongoing clinical trials, therapeutics, new innovations, regulatory roadmaps, et al with scientists, clinician scientists, regulators, all global stalwarts working towards #retinal disease cures.
"Foresight" started off with Eyestem Research Founder Jogin Desai outlining the blue-sky science spirit of the conference, with aim to spark off #dialogues and collaborations between world's top scientists in cell and gene therapy, and India's research and innovation ecosystem.
Scintillating science was shared at keynote address by Dr Kapil Bharti , Scientific Director and doyen of induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSC derived therapies for retinal atrophy National Eye Institute (NEI) The National Institutes of Health Bethesda.
He spoke of the initial history and partial successes of transplant of Retinal Pigment Epithelial cells or RPE cells from the peripheral #retina into macula to address AMD or Age related Macular Degeneration, which led to his research on autologous iPSC patches as a means to arrest further vision loss in atrophying retinas. These patches are demonstrated to regenerate pure and mature RPE monolayers. With immature RPE cells on a scaffold of biodegradable polymers, an RPE patch that mimics Bruch's membrane, the connecting, collagen rich matrix between the RPE and the choroidal capillaries of the eye, has been constructed by his team. This RPE patch has now successfully been transplanted in a patient. He also mentioned new research directions of his team on developing dual RPE/Photoreceptor Patches for transplantation that will not just arrest atrophy, but reconstruct the retina reversing vision loss.
On Day 2 Prof @David Gamm, Director of @McPherson Eye Research Institute, 美国威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校 delivered a plenary lecture on probing feasibility of reconstruction of outer retina consisting of Photo Receptor (PR) Rod and Cone Cells and Retinal Pigment Epithelium or RPE. PR loss is central to progressive retinal degenerative illnesses like Retinitis Pigmentosa, Age-related Macular Degeneration or injury-caused damage.?
Through a detailed in vitro investigation of human pluripotent stem cell derived photoreceptors, he shared positive results on?
He also shared new developments by his group on scaled production, purification, cryopreservation of human iPSC photoreceptor precursors for clinical grade manufacturing & micro molded honeycomb outer retina scaffolds for delivery of PRs.
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Prof Gamm's team is now working on assessing functional integration of retinal organoids in laser-induced porcine models of retinal and choroidal degeneration
Later Researchers from academia and startups presented their work at the posters session of #Foresight2023 conference. Posters on how adult retinal neurons are established to gene therapy for visual restoration, genetic analysis of retinitis pigmentosa in an Indian family, stem cell-based model for studying oculocutaneous albinism, and more were showcased.
#Foresight2023 ended with a fire-cracker panel discussion on regulatory roadmap & clinical trials with Dr Geeta Jotwani ICMR New Delhi , Dr Raja Narayan L V PRASAD EYE INSTITUTE , Prof David Gamm?& Dr Chad Jackson,@Foundation Fighting Blindness
With clinicians, scientists, and policymakers across one table, discussions ranged around what changes would accelerate the regulatory roadmap for cell and gene-based therapies, the importance of selecting patients & informed consent in a clinical trial, and preclinical testing to minimize animal studies.
C-CAMP looks forward to organizing more such conferences with its deep tech startups, pushing the frontiers of science for societal impact.
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Rajarshi Pal, Ph.D. @Rajani Battu Taslimarif Saiyed, PhD
Pursuing Master in Biotechnology at Monash University | Microbiology Graduate | PG Diploma in Bioinformatics | Photography Enthusiast.
1 年Sounds like an amazing event! It's great to see scientists, clinicians, and experts coming together to discuss advancements in retinal cell and gene therapy. Looking forward to learning more about the insights shared at the summit.
Translational Scientist | Team Leader | Innovator Cell and Gene Therapies, and Vision Research | Mentor | KOL Precision and Personalized Medicine | Diversity and Equity Advocate
1 年One of the most exciting cell therapy meetings I attended in recent times #Foresight2023. I particularly enjoyed extensive discussions on important topics in #cellandgenetherapy space. Excellent organization by Eyestem Research team, in collaboration with Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (DBT-inStem) and CCAMP. thanks for the invite Jogin Desai and Rajarshi Pal, Ph.D.