A Medical Device Daily

The Burrill Life Sciences Media Group (San Francisco), the Genetics Policy Institute (GPI; Wellington, Florida/Washington) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI; Boston) have reported launch of an annual conference on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The "Stem Cell Summit" is scheduled for Oct. 2-3 in Boston.

Organizers said that the summit builds on a 2006 conference sponsored by the biotechnology executives, experts from Massachusetts General Hospital Innovation Fund (Boston) andHSCI. It brought together leading researchers, patient advocates, in policy, law and ethics along with key decision-makers to chart the course so that stem cell technologies will receive proper funding, flourish and fulfill the promise for cures. The organizers said that they recognized that the field of stem cell research requires the interaction of science and education, policy and advocacy and commercial interests.

"This event is unique because patients around the world are worried about the fate of stem cell research and have begun participating in the debate as never before. The promise of stem cell treatment lies not in the halls of politics but in the hearts of people," said G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company.

Brock Reeve, executive director of the HSCI, said that HSCI was established "because this is not just a scientific question — we must connect scientific research and clinical practice with the fields of law, philosophy, and policy. This meeting will help bring us closer to that goal."