“Genesis 2023” Participation Report

In this blog post, Aurélien Petit, Project Manager of our Clinical Development Department, reports on his attendance at the December 2023 conference in the U.K.

I am Aurélien Petit, Project Manager for the Cellusion Clinical Development Department. I attended the Genesis 2023 conference organized by One Nucleus on 7 December 2023. 

It was held at the prestigious 1 Wimpole Street venue in Central London, fittingly the home of the Royal Society of Medicine. The annual Genesis conference gathers the life science ecosystem together to reflect and learn from the common experience of the year. The event is structured to offer plenty of networking opportunities, and a wide range of attendees ensures lively open discussions.

During the three days preceding the in-person event, multiple online sessions with diverse topics enabling discussion of key opportunities and challenges facing today’s Life Science industry were organized. I had the opportunity to make a presentation “Development of a regenerative cell therapy with iPS cell technology for corneal disease” and emphasis on how the use of Cellusion’s technologies could provide a means to not only address the worldwide shortage of cornea donors but may also result in a treatment option that restores corneal transparency with a single injection in the cornea anterior chamber. 

I had the feeling that the Genesis conference strongly encouraged all participants to join the discussion panel occurring all day and actively interact with the presenters. I specifically attended the session “Incorporating Real World Evidence into R&D Strategy” as this is a topic I found to be fascinating and that could become key in refining our R&D strategy. In addition, being an exhibitor for Cellusion, I was able to connect with people from various companies expanding our network, which is critical considering our wishes for international expansion in the near future.

Being in London was also a chance to meet in person the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Head of Transactions and International Business Development. It was an opportunity to discuss our potential partnerships for international development and have a visit to their facility, located at Guy’s Hospital, which includes technology and process innovation laboratories for cell and gene therapy process development. 

Lastly, being for the first time in London, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to go and take a picture of the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing, evoking memories of the Beatles album. The studios are visible behind fencing and unfortunately cannot be visited. The path to the studio shop is a zebra crossing inspired by facts telling you about the studio on the way in. No trip to London is complete for a Beatles fan, and music fans in general without popping by this historic location!