The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Elects Edward Lanphier as Chairman, Welcomes New Officers and Executive Committee Members

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Elects Edward Lanphier, CEO of Sangamo, as Chairman and Robert Preti, Ph.D., Co-founder, President and CSO of PCT and CSO of NeoStem as Vice-Chairman.

WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) November 10, 2014

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the international organization representing the regenerative medicine and advanced therapies community, announces the election of Edward Lanphier, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sangamo BioSciences SGMO, as its next Chairman. Robert Preti, Ph.D., Co-founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of Progenitor Cell Therapy (PCT) and CSO of NeoStem, has been named Vice-Chairman. Claudia Zylberberg, Ph.D., CEO of Akron Biotech, was elected as Treasurer and Phil Vanek, Ph.D., General Manager Cell BioProcessing at GE Healthcare, was elected Secretary. Mr. Lanphier will replace Geoff MacKay, President and CEO of Organogenesis Inc., who will complete his two-year term as Chairman on December 31, 2014.

“During his term as Chairman, Geoff oversaw record membership growth as well as the creation of ARM's three technology sections for cell therapy, gene and gene-modified cell therapy and tissue engineering and biomaterials. He was also involved in the formation of the organization's European Section, a result of a membership merger with the former Alliance for Advanced Therapies. We thank him for his tireless leadership and efforts to advance both ARM and the rapidly evolving field of regenerative medicine, and are pleased he has agreed to remain on in an ex-officio capacity going forward,” said Michael Werner, Executive Director of ARM. “With the election of Edward, ARM's chairmanship now passes to one of the most experienced and respected CEOs in the advanced therapies and regenerative medicine sector. He's the right leader at the right time as ARM enters its next phase of influence and growth,” added Morrie Ruffin, Managing Director of ARM.

“ARM has made tremendous progress in the five years since its inception, and I am honored to be elected Chairman of what has become the leading organization representing the gene and cell therapies sector. I look forward to building upon the work that Geoff and the others who have come before me have initiated, and to leading the organization during such an important juncture for our field,” said Mr. Lanphier. “During my term, I hope to continue the expansion ARM has recently experienced and further accelerate progress of these important products, ensuring these technologies achieve their potential and rapidly reach patients in need.”

In addition to the officers, the other elected members of the 2015 ARM Executive Committee include:

• Rahul Aras, Ph.D., President and CEO, Juventas Therapeutics
• Eduardo Bravo, Managing Director and CEO, TiGenix NV
• Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The ALS Association
• Douglas Doerfler, President and CEO, MaxCyte
• Flagg Flanagan, Chairman and CEO, DiscGenics
• Douglas Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Medical Director, Clinical Development, Biogen Idec
• Perry Karsen, CEO, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics
• Dena Ladd, Executive Director, Missouri Cures
• Geoff MacKay, President and CEO, Organogenesis Inc. (ex-officio)
• Michael May, Ph.D., CEO, Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM)
• C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., President, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)
• Martin McGlynn, President and CEO, StemCells, Inc.
• Keith Murphy, Chairman and CEO, Organovo
• Bernard Siegel, Executive Director, Genetics Policy Institute
• Jay Siegel, M.D., Chief Biotechnology Officer and Head, Scientific Strategy and Policy, Johnson & Johnson
• Donna Skerrett, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Mesoblast Ltd.
• David Smith, Head, Cell Therapy Manufacturing, Lonza
• Devyn Smith, Ph.D., Head of Strategy for Pharmatherapeutics, Worldwide R&D, Pfizer
• Susan Solomon, Co-founder and CEO, New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF)
• Doris Taylor, Ph.D., Director, Regenerative Medicine Research; Director, Center for Cell and Organ Biotechnology, Texas Heart Institute
• Keith Thompson, CEO, Cell Therapy Catapult
• Gil Van Bokkelen, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, Athersys, Inc.
• Alexander Vos, CEO, PharmaCell B.V.

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, DC 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 200 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.

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