Actualités
October 15, 2024
Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products are transforming organ transplantation with groundbreaking innovations such as gene therapies and tissue-engineered products. But despite their life-saving potential, ATMPs face significant hurdles—regulatory complexities, economic barriers, and uneven access across Europe.
The ESOT - European Society for Organ Transplantation ATMP Task Force has just published a comprehensive position paper in Transplant International, outlining key strategies to overcome these challenges:
❗ Streamline Regulatory Processes: Accelerate approvals without compromising safety and efficacy.
❗ Increase Funding: Prioritize investment in ATMP research and clinical trials to push new therapies forward.
❗ Build Specialized ATMP Facilities: Establish centralized and pre-ATMP facilities for efficient testing, production, and quality control.
❗ Harmonize the Hospital Exemption Pathway: Ensure consistent access to ATMPs for patients with urgent needs across Europe.
❗ Leverage Real-World Evidence: Use robust data to improve treatment outcomes and regulatory decisions.
❗ Engage Patients: Involve patients early to align innovation with real-world needs.
These steps are vital to ensuring that ATMPs transition from lab breakthroughs to life-saving treatments. Europe has the potential to lead, but it requires collective action, collaboration, and a shared commitment to innovation.
🙏 A big thank you to the dedicated members of the ESOT Task Force for leading the way in transforming transplantation and ensuring patients gain access to life-saving therapies.
July 15, 2024
On July 15th, 2024, the VANGUARD face-to-face meeting took place in Turin, Italy, at the Molecular Biotechnology Center. The event was kindly hosted by Prof. Follenzi from the University of Eastern Piedmont and her team who gathered 21 representatives of the VANGUARD consortium for a two-day programme.
The agenda consisted of project updates, planning sessions, and discussions. This time, the Work Package (WP) presentations were given in a different order than usual – the agenda commenced with a WP9 presentation while WP1 concluded the consortium meeting on day two. This change in the usual order was intended to provide a fresh perspective.
During the consortium meeting, partners have also planned their future collaborations including patient engagement, open science events and the VANGUARD Symposium. The next event “The Researchers’ Night” will be organised by the University of Eastern Piedmont on September 27, 2024. Stay tuned as we release more details about this event.
The meeting concluded with closing remarks from the project coordinator, Ekaterine Berishvili, thanking all consortium members for their dedicated work and collective efforts in advancing the bioengineering of the endocrine pancreas towards reality.
The next consortium meeting is planned for January 2025.
March 29, 2024
DR. Berishvili gave a talk at the French Transplant Society’s Spring Hits, addressing 'Xeno Islet Transplantation vs. Islet Organoids.' The presentation explored cutting-edge strategies and innovations that are rapidly advancing the future of transplantation, highlighting the exciting developments within the field.
January 29, 2024
Dr. Berishvili is announcing the ESOT Task Force for ATMP at the 13th EPITA Symposium. We're committed to bringing advanced therapies from concept to reality for patients in need. Big dreams, but we're ready to make them real!
October29, 2023
Our lab was honored to discuss our latest advances in endocrine pancreas bioengineering at the IPITA-IXA-CTRMS meeting in San Diego.
