London Host  City for ISCT Silver Jubilee Conference

The International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), the global society of clinicians, researchers, regulatory specialists, technologists, and industry partners dedicated to the translation of cellular therapy into safe and effective therapies to improve patients’ lives, has awarded London as the host city for the landmark ISCT 2017 Annual Meeting to be held on May 3-6, at ExCeL London Exhibition and Convention Centre, UK to celebrate the Society’s 25th silver jubilee year. More than 1,600 international delegates are expected to attend.

The event will be led by Dr. Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD, the newly elected ISCT President, with the support of ISCT 2017 Co-Chairs Mark Lowdell, PhD, FRCPath, FRSB , Royal Free Hospital & University College London, UK, Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, TxCell, France and Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA. Dr. Bollard is currently Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Immunology at the George Washington University and Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC, USA.

 “The ISCT Annual Meeting in 2017, celebrating our 25th year as a Society, will be a critical event for the entire international cell therapy industry. Given the number of recent developments in the cell therapy industry in London and the UK, it is very important for ISCT to mark its silver jubilee year by meeting in the capital of the UK,” said Dr Bollard. “2017 will be a transformative year for the cellular therapy industry, and it will be imperative to take advantage of opportunities to deliver therapies to an increasing number of patients. There are barriers to remove, regulatory pathways to smooth, and manufacturing decisions to be taken. This will require the collaborative efforts of everyone involved in academia, industry, and regulators where we need to come together with governments worldwide to realize the potential of the cellular therapy industry. London 2017 will be the perfect venue to discuss these critical developments in our field.”

It is the first time that the ISCT has awarded the host venue status for its annual meeting to a city in the UK. London was specifically selected as it plays a vital role in the cell therapy industry, which has extensive nationwide support from the UK government. In 2017, there will be a number of cell therapy developments in the city, including the scheduled launch of the GBP 55 million, 7,200m² manufacturing centre by the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.