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Research
Developing relationships to advance biotherapeutics
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Mayo Clinic's pioneering approach to biotherapeutics is in the spotlight at a national biotech conference aimed at bringing new life-saving cell and gene therapies to patients. Leaders from Mayo's Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics will speak to attendees at the Advanced Therapies Week conference about the role of teamwork and Mayo Clinic's three-shield approach of research, practice and education in accelerating promising new cell-based discoveries toward daily clinical care.
"This is an opportunity for Mayo Clinic to develop new collaborations with biotech companies interested in developing new therapies for rare and complex conditions," says Julie Allickson, Ph.D., the Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics. "If new relationships could lead to licensure of some of our technologies, that could be a big win for patients."
Dr. Allickson is also the Otto Bremer Trust Director, Biomanufacturing and Product Development, Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics.
Advanced Therapies Week brings together physicians, scientists, venture capital firms and biotech companies that are interested in commercializing new drugs for patients who have no therapeutic options. Also in attendance are regulatory leaders who play a role in the Food and Drug Administration approval of new therapies.
Dr. Allickson will lead a panel discussion with Saad Kenderian, M.B., Ch.B.; David Lott, M.D.; and Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D. on how Mayo Clinic's unique collaborative approach speeds innovation in biotherapeutics. The discussion will center on Mayo's groundbreaking work in 3D bioprinting, genetic engineering and expanding chimeric antigen receptor therapy (CAR-T cell therapy) to new diseases and new types of cancer, including solid tumor malignancies.
"Our objective is to offer insights into how clinical leadership can collaborate closely with industry to streamline early-phase clinical trials and accelerate the commercialization of promising new therapeutics, so we can offer new options to patients who currently have no known treatments," says Dr. Allickson.
In another session, Dr. Allickson will join Dr. Nelson for a discussion on the future of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Dr. Nelson is the principal investigator for a first-in-human clinical trial of whether cells taken from a small patch of skin and engineered to become heart muscle could repair a rare congenital heart defect.
Advanced Therapies Week will also be an opportunity for Mayo Clinic to showcase its new biomanufacturing infrastructure that's based on industry best practices and driven by patient need. The goal of Mayo's biomanufacturing strategy is to quickly move regenerative interventions to early-stage clinical trials, and from there deliver commercial-ready therapies to industry collaborators who can bring them to late-stage clinical trials and to market for patients around the world.
"Mayo Clinic's priority is to ensure broad access to new, life-changing biotherapeutics that we've researched and developed," says Dr. Allickson. "Collaborating with industry is one of the best ways to bring new medicines to all patients."
Participating in Advanced Therapies Week, a conference dedicated to helping biotech companies bring new therapies to market, is an opportunity for Mayo Clinic leaders to build the networks needed to provide new biotherapeutics to patients with rare and complex disorders. The conference is January 16-19 in Miami.
