The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the international advocacy organization for the cell and gene therapy and broader regenerative medicine sector, announced it will hold its annual Cell & Gene Washington Forum and Fly-In on May 21-22, 2019 in Washington, DC. This event honors recent accomplishments in the sector and enables ARM members to advocate on Capitol Hill for legislative support of gene and cellular therapies and other regenerative medicines.
ARM’s policy-focused programming during the afternoon of May 21 will include a lunch briefing from NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, addressing NIH’s critical scientific and policy work in the area of cell and gene therapy. Dr. Celia Witten, Deputy Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the U.S. FDA, will provide an update on the agency’s implementation of the RMAT designation and other initiatives to support the sector.
That evening, ARM will host more than 125 guests at their tenth Annual Dinner, in an intimate gathering to recognize key corporate, scientific, and policy leaders in this sector, including patients and patient advocates, disease-foundation executives, and other industry champions. Attendees will have the opportunity to network, celebrate the previous year’s many accomplishments and hear from the evening’s featured speakers, which will include Dr. Cara O’Neill, Scientific Director and Executive Vice President of the Cure Sanfilippo Foundation, and Kristin Smedley, Co-Founder and President of the Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation.
ARM will also present its “Legislator of the Year” award, given annually to key lawmakers who have demonstrated recent and substantial leadership in advancing this sector. This years’ recipients are Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA).
The lead sponsors for this year’s event are Atara Biotherapeutics and Pfizer Rare Disease, with supporting sponsors Aldevron, CTI Clinical Trials & Consulting, Lonza Pharma & Biotech, and Precision BioSciences. The table hosts are Millipore Sigma and Janssen R&D.
The following day, May 22, ARM members will participate in the organization’s tenth annual Legislative Fly-In. Members will form state delegations to meet with key members of Congress to describe the immense near-term potential of gene and cellular therapies and the need for legislation that supports the development of life-saving treatments.
The Forum and Annual Dinner on May 21 will be held at the InterContinental Washington, D.C. – The Wharf and is open to the public; however, registration is required. Complimentary registration is available to credentialed members of the media. For members of the media interested in attending, please contact Lyndsey Scull at lscull@alliancerm.org.
ARM’s Legislative Fly-In is limited to members of the organization and registration is also required. Please contact Chelsey Hathaway at chathaway@alliancerm.org with any questions about this event.
To see the full agenda and to register, please visit https://alliancerm.org/arm-event/dcforum/. The website will be updated regularly with additional event details.
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About The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine
The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) is an international multi-stakeholder advocacy organization that promotes legislative, regulatory and reimbursement initiatives necessary to facilitate access to life-giving advances in regenerative medicine worldwide. ARM also works to increase public understanding of the field and its potential to transform human healthcare, providing business development and investor outreach services to support the growth of its member companies and research organizations. Prior to the formation of ARM in 2009, there was no advocacy organization operating in Washington, D.C. to specifically represent the interests of the companies, research institutions, investors and patient groups that comprise the entire regenerative medicine community. Today, ARM has more than 330 members and is the leading global advocacy organization in this field. To learn more about ARM or to become a member, visit http://www.alliancerm.org.
