Workshop on the Prospects for Controllable Cell-Based Therapies
City University London, Room AG01, College Building, St John Street, London EC1V 4PB, UK
22-23 February 2016
Organisers
- Claire Marris, Sociology Department, City University London
- Guy-Bart Stan, CSynBI, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London
- Karen Polizzi, CSynBI, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London
- Jordan Ang, CSynBI, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London
Funding source
Funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as part of the project ‘In vivo integral feedback control for robust synthetic biology’ (grants EP/K020781/1 and EP/K020617/1)
Workshop Description and Programme
Workshop Description, Programme, and List of Participants
Key participants
This workshop brought together diverse stakeholders to discuss the prospects for an emerging category of medical applications of synthetic biology that we are calling ‘controllable cell-based therapies’ (CCBTs) including:
- Scientists conducting cutting-edge research to enable CCBTs
- Firms seeking to commercialise CCBTs
- Staff from agencies involved in the regulation of CCBTs
- Independent experts on regulatory frameworks and translation for CCBTs
- Staff from patient advocacy groups with expertise in medical innovation and regulation
- Social scientists with expertise in medical innovation and regulation
Core aspects and questions discussed during the workshop
- What is the current scientific, economic and regulatory landscape for CCBTs?
- How do CCBTs compare to alternative approaches to health and medicine?
- How can we ensure that these new therapies reach the clinic and provide actual benefits to patients without generating unreasonable risks?
- What implications might the use of bacterial (as opposed to human) cells have in terms of safety, regulatory frameworks and other challenges for translation to the clinic?
Summary of the feedback received from participants
A summarising report on the feedback received from the workshop participants can be found here.
List of talks with links to supporting slides
- Claire Marris, Intro slides and suggested case studies
- Eric Lange, Patient/carer perspectives on PKU
- Alison Silva, Synlogic: Powering the microbiome with synthetic biotics to correct dysregulation throughout the body
- Matthew Chang, Reprogramming microbes to combat pathogens
- Richard Stephens, Patients perspectives on cancer treatments
- Neil Forbes, Engineering bacteria to target tumours
- Patrick Celis, The European Union Regulatory framework for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)
- Christopher Bravery, Controllable Cell-Based Therapies: Regulatory Challenges & Opportunities
- Luis-Angel Fernandez, Overview on the use of engineered bacteria as therapeutic agents
- Tim Lu, Closed-Loop Therapies as Adaptive Medicines
- Tim Reed, Consumer advocacy for public health
- Jesper Jorgensen, Health technology assessment and commercialisation
- Jacqueline Barry, Translational challenges & opportunities
- Guy-Bart Stan, Moving forward: Advantages and challenges of ‘closed-loop control’ for cell-based therapies
