Gil Van Bokkelen has been in the stem cell industry for more than a decade. In recent years, the co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Athersys Inc. has stepped into regenerative medicine’s forefront, acting as a spokesman for the industry as well as demonstrating his love of science and passionately advocating for patients. In this interview with The Life Sciences Report, Van Bokkelen explores the past, present and future of the cell therapy and regenerative medicine industry, and outlines the investment possibilities in small companies on the sector’s cutting edge.

“The field of regenerative medicine is giving birth to a whole interrelated group of companies and industries that are leveraging their respective strengths, expertise and capabilities to move the field forward.”

When the effort was first initiated more than a decade ago, we recognized that concerted cooperation and joint effort was needed to address some of the bottlenecks that impede translational activity. You can imagine that the field of cell therapy and regenerative medicine had some unique complexities associated with it, including conducting preclinical studies where investigators used human cells and evaluated their safety and efficacy in animal models, as well as actual clinical application of various types of therapies in human patient populations. It is not as simple as giving somebody a pill. The investigators dealing with these types of studies have to be aware of the complexities. The organization was originally formed to help satisfy that need.

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine was formed in 2009. It is a lobbying group, but really it is much more than that. Both large and small companies, and a couple of large pharmas, were among the founding group of members.

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