Calendar events are a great motivator and serve as a milestone to plan for and to work towards. Researchers from academia and science councils, clinicians, industry representatives and scientific vendors came together for one such networking event- the 5th National Cell and Gene Therapy Meeting, on the 26th and 27th of September 2019 at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria. The purpose of the meeting was for stakeholders active in the field to showcase their research. The two-day event attracted close to 70 delegates from across South Africa.
The stakeholders presented their efforts to find therapies for different diseases and ailments. The work presented touched on a range of applications and possibilities; from the different uses of multiple cell types and genes to different ways to administer said cells in therapeutic treatments. Lively discussions followed almost every talk that due to the high quality and relevance of the work being presented. Symposium panel discussion sessions focused on relevant issues around cell and gene therapy such as CAR-T cells, genome editing, technology exploitation and possible harms.
The meeting was also used to launch the special edition of the South African Medical Journal on Cell & Gene Therapy. The attendees were fortunate to receive a free copy of the journal to take home. The issue presented another opportunity and platform to showcase the great work that is being done by the different SA groups and researchers.
At the end of the two days, Professor Michael Pepper from the University of Pretoria made a strong plea for stakeholders to contribute to ongoing development and drafting of specific policies and legislation governing Cell and Gene Therapy in South Africa. It is critical to have appropriate regulatory frameworks to allow patients to benefit from advances in the field, while at the same time protecting them from exploitation and harm.
The organizers (Prof Michael Pepper, Dr Janine Scholefield and the ACGT Team) would like to thank Haemotec, Separations Scientific, the Scientific Group, inqaba biotec, Beckman Coulter, Whitehead Scientific and ACGT for the financial support. Without their contribution the travel and accommodation arrangements for some of the delegates would not have been possible. The organizers would also like to extend their sincere gratitude to the speakers and panellists for their participation in the meeting. The speakers represented the Universities of Pretoria, Cape Town, the Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch as well as the South African Medical Research Council, Royal Holloway University of London, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Biolawgic (Pty) Ltd, University College Cork, Ireland and the Albert’s Cellular Therapy centre (ACT). Without their involvement this event would not have been possible. We hope to see the delegates again at the next meeting. The date for the next meeting will be communicated soon. For more images use this link.
