Monrovia, CA -- (SBWire) -- 02/24/2012 --Devyn M. Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Neusentis Research Unit at Pfizer to give a Keynote Presentation on “The Dating Game: Finding the Right Partner” at GTC’s 8th Stem Cell Summit (April 19-20, 2012 in Boston, MA).

The Dating Game: Finding the Right Partner

The Regenerative Medicine industry continues to expand as development assets continue to advance in the pipeline, while commercial products also continue to grow. Over the last five years there have been a series of partnerships and acquisitions in the Regen Med space. These have been a mix of licensing of clinical assets and early research collaborations with academia and biotechs. Recently, we have seen activity involving commercialized Regen Med products including an acquisition of Advanced BioHealing by Shire. In addition, we have seen some negative readouts and news around the Regen Med space. What is the impact of the negative newsflow? What are the drivers for the more recent deals? What can biotechs do to position themselves attractively to potential partners? What does the future hold for the industry, particularly as it relates to partnerships/acquisitions from large companies? We will discuss these topics in this session.

The 8th Stem Cell Summit includes two concurrent tracks including a couple joint sessions. This summit provides cutting-edge information on developments in all areas of stem cell research including the biology, medicine, applications, regulations, and the business of Stem Cells.

Recent developments in pre-clinical and clinical trials of stem cell therapy, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, cancer stem cells, stem cell reprogramming, and regulatory policies regarding stem cell research will be addressed.

In addition, focuses on the business opportunities, challenges and potential strategies for overcoming these challenges will be addressed. What categories of companies are currently commercially viable? How are they being funded? What kind of strategic relationships are available within the industry?

Session Topics for each track are shown below:

Track 1: Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine:
-Funding Opportunities (Joint Session)
-Regulatory Guidance & Updates (Joint Session)
-Novel Advances in Stem Cell Research
-Advances in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering
-Overcoming Challenges in Clinical Development
-Bringing Research to Drug Discovery

Track 2: Stem Cell Commercialization & Partnering:
-Funding Opportunities (Joint Session)
-Regulatory Guidance & Updates (Joint Session)
-Novel Technologies in Stem Cell Research
-Partnerships & Acquisitions
-Panel Discussion: Partnerships & Acquisitions
-Commercialization: Bringing Drug to Market
-Panel Discussion: Commercialization: Bringing Drug to Market

Keynote & Featured Speakers Include:
Glen Prestwich, Presidential Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah
Douglas W. Losordo, Vice President, Medical Director, New Therapies, Baxter
Leanna Caron, Vice President, Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine, Genzyme
Devyn M. Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Neusentis Research Unit, Pfizer
Sridaran Natesan, Scientific Site Head & Head, External Innovation & Partnering, Sanofi-Aventis
Brock Reeve, Executive Director, Stem Cell & Cancer Research Institute, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Tiina Palomäki, SWP and CPWP, EMA, & Finnish Medicines Agency
Gregory Bonfiglio, Managing Partner, Proteus Venture Partners

The Stem Cell Summit will also be running concurrently with GTC’s 2nd Diabetes Summit.

For more information, please visit http://www.gtcbio.com