Membrii și afiliații Innovative Medicine Initiative (parteneriat public-privat european în domeniul cercetării și dezvoltării med&farma) găzduiește la Bruxelles un forum printre ale cărui teme de dezbatere este și cel al celulelor stem pluripotente, o alternativă etică la celulele stem embrionare. Dezbaterea și deciziile ce se vor lua sunt cu atât mai interesante cu cât este în desfășurare Inițiativa Cetățenească Europeană „Unul dintre noi”, care urmărește oprirea finanțării unionale pentru, printre altele, cercetarea pe celule stem embrionare.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs) are a type of pluripotentstem cell that can be generated directly from adult cells. The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka’s lab in Kyoto, Japan, who showed in 2006 that the introduction of four specific genes could convert adult cells to pluripotent stem cells. He was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize along with Sir John Gurdon „for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.”
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is Europe’s largest public-private initiative aiming to speed up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. IMI is a joint undertaking between the European Union and the pharmaceutical industry association EFPIA. With a €2 billion euro budget, IMI supports collaborative research projects and builds networks of industrial and academic experts in Europe that will boost innovation in healthcare. Acting as a neutral third party in creating innovative partnerships, IMI aims to build a more collaborative ecosystem for pharmaceutical research and development (R&D).
Stem cells: breakthroughs & collaborative research
The stakeholder forum science session will focus on the latest breakthrough on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Stem cells have been the long-awaited promise of regenerative medicine. Since their discovery, research on iPS cells has shown immense potential towards developing a personalised medicine approach for patients, efficacy and toxicity testing of new therapies using iPS cells, and drug research and development. Several IMI projects are leading stem cells research in the EU within the framework of IMI.
The goal of this session is to explore the future direction of stem cell research, as well as how it is revolutionising the search for innovative therapies, and the way public-private partnerships are contributing towards speeding up this quest. (…)
Confirmed speakers
Richard Bergström, Director General, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA)
Zameel Cader, University of Oxford, IMI StemBANCC project
Magda Chlebus, Director Science Policy, EFPIA
Aidan Courtney, CEO of Roslin Cells Ltd, IMI EBISC project
Maria Beatriz Da Silva Lima, Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmacotoxicology, Lisbon University, Chair of the IMI Scientific Committee
Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, Director, Health Directorate, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
Ole Isacson, Professor at the Harvard Medical School and Director of the Neuroregeneration Research Institute of the McLean Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Ravi Jagasia, IMI EU-AIMS project, Human Neural Stem Cell Lab, Hoffmann-Roche
Asociația PRO VITA Bucureşti este dedicată protejării vieţii umane începând de la concepţie şi promovării valorilor familiei, prin educaţie eficientă, acţiune civică şi legislaţie.
