Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP Visits ReNeuron
On Tuesday 23rd July 2013, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP, visited ReNeuron’s laboratories.
The visit came at an opportune time, coming as it did just after ReNeuron’s positive news of a significant £33 million financing package and plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Wales. This fundraising is a significant boost to the UK regenerative medicine sector and represents a solid commitment by ReNeuron to growing its operations in the UK.
Meeting with Chief Executive Officer Michael Hunt, Chief Scientific Officer Dr John Sinden and members of ReNeuron’s research team, the on-site discussions covered a wide range of issues with the Minister keen to explore the state of the sector and the challenges of developing advanced therapies.
Danny Alexander meets ReNeuron CEO Michael Hunt and CSO & Founder Dr John Sinden
Discussing government support for the sector, Michael and John were able to outline the positive different schemes such as the Biomedical Catalyst, other TSB funding calls and the Cell Therapy Catapult make for a small company translating medical research towards the point of clinical proof-of-concept. As an AIM quoted SME, ReNeuron will also benefit from recent positive changes made by HM Treasury including the removal of Stamp Duty on trading in AIM shares and allowing funds held in stocks and shares ISAs to be directly invested in AIM companies.
With government changes to the fiscal environment seen as largely positive, discussions moved on to the recent House of Lords Select Committee report into regenerative medicine and in particular its recommendations around the further development of the regulatory framework for advanced therapies, such as an Earlier Access to Medicines Scheme, and the important issue of getting the UK’s assessment, evaluation and reimbursement framework clearly established and able to fairly deal with new innovative regenerative medicine products as they come to market.
There was also time for a tour of ReNeuron’s laboratories where the Minister had a chance to see the Company’s stem cell technologies first hand and understand a little more about its innovative therapeutic programmes in stroke, critical limb ischaemia and blindness-causing diseases of the retina.
CSO Dr John Sinden and Head of Cell Biology Dr Randolph Corteling explain ReNeuron’s stem cell technologies to Danny Alexander in ReNeuron’s laboratories