The First Alberta Gene Therapy Conference

Agenda - Thursday, Nov 23, 1995, Holiday Inn, Red Deer, Alberta

The gene therapy meeting accomplished the goal that was set. Thanks for your input and support. Norman and I finished a final report and proposed a list of actions to follow. Bruce Ritchie will make the WWW home page and John Akabutu volunteered to chair the GMP facility issue. To establish an Alberta Gene Therapy Association, I need your input especially providing with your experience in other similar organizations. Volunteers in chairing different parts of the proposed actions will be more than welcome and appreciated. I will send the meeting attendees' name and e-mail and phone number to you as soon as Norman has it typed out. The report and proposed actions are attached below.

Report on First Alberta Gene Therapy Conference

by Lung-Ji Chang and Norman Wong

This conference was held on Thursday Nov 23, 1995 in Red Deer at the Holiday Inn. There were 43 attendees in total from the University of Alberta, University of Calgary and various government agencies (Alberta Research Council (ARC), Alberta Science & Research Authority (ASRA), and the Alberta Cancer Board (ACB)). Funding for the meeting was provided by AHFMR and ACB. The agenda was comprised of presentation of scientific abstracts in the morning and afternoon, followed by an open forum to discuss the need for infrastructure in the province to support such research. The abstracts presented were of high quality with topics ranging from innovative vectors used for the introduction of foreign DNA into stem cells and cancer cells to treatment of genetic and metabolic diseases using gene therapy. The information showed clearly that Alberta scientists are ready to enter into the field of gene therapy. The attendees felt that the breadth of expertise in the province is remarkable and we should exploit the potential expertise in this province.

In the open forum, there were several items discussed. The headings for each of the topics are listed below.

Should we form a provincial gene therapy group?

The general consensus was to form an association, the purpose of which was to promote the exchange of information related to gene therapy and to provide an avenue for Alberta scientists to learn of each others accomplishments. The model to be used is the North West Nucleic Acids Association. Participants at the conference felt that we should have at least one meeting per year and to notify each other of visiting lecturers or consultants who are coming to this province for lectures or visits. This information will be coordinated by the exchange of information between Drs. Lung-Ji Chang (U of A) and Norm Wong (U of C). In addition, participants raised the idea of creating a WWW-site to post messages on internet. This will allow members of the association and to easy access to new information. The exact mechanism to create such a site was not discussed but the associate dean's of both universities agreed to support such a project.

Members felt that an association would provide an entity to make possible linkages to industry, attract funds for projects and provide an avenue to announce new findings to potential interest groups in industry. Some participants felt that a brochure may be helpful but sources of funding for this idea were not discussed.

Support

What support is required for scientists to continue gene therapy research in the province? This is a very broad question. In regards to funding, it was noted that an application for funds from the government is currently being reviewed and notification of the award may come as soon as Feb. 1996. Many members felt that a GMP facility was required for human clinical trials. This is a topic of much concern for attendees. First it is not clear exactly what a GMP facility is. According to a summary provided by the Dr. W. Letts, this is a facility which is built for the manufacturing of tools (ie vectors) to be used in gene therapy. The precise contents of the facility will depend on its intended use. For example, will we use it for phase I, II or III clinical trials? It was decided that if the provincial government will provide funds to build such a facility we must know exactly what a GMP facility is. There was also mention of a GLP rather than a GMP facility. No one at the conference had any expertise in building a facility or the contents of a facility. Therefore, the decision was made to obtain advice by inviting consultants to come to Alberta and also to send members of the Alberta Initiative on Gene Therapy to US facilities. We must know what we want or need before we proceed.

Gene Therapy Champion for the Province

Members felt that the scientists in the institutions do not have the time to devote to setting up a GMP/GLP facility and such a task must be assigned to individuals who are devoted to this single task of building the facility. We need a 'Champion' who is dedicated to this task. The exact mechanisms for identifying such an individual was not discussed but it was clear that the scientists do not have the time or expertise to perform this role.

The question of whether a GMP/GLP facility would be used was approached by asking how many individuals would use it for their work. Twelve people raised their hands; of these ten said they would use it for clinical application.

Next Meeting

The meeting ended at 16:30 when Dr. Joel Weiner from the U of A summarized the need to have another meeting of the scientists in the early part of 1996, to send people to the US to bring back knowledge and set up a network to facilitate the exchange of information (ie WWW-site).

Action to follow:

  1. Report back to the Gene Therapy Committee with meeting summary.
  2. Start the preparation work for the Alberta Gene Therapy Group (AGTG).
  3. Establish a WWW homepage for the AGTG
  4. Assemble the scientific, sponsorship and advisory committees for the Spring AGTG meeting.
  5. Come up with a meeting agenda, make meeting announcement and invite outside speakers.
  6. Establish a GLP/GMP Task Force Committee to deal with the facility problem.

Only if we have an association and a group of people in charge of different issues of GT in Alberta, will we be able to accomplish the issues raised in the meeting in a reasonable period of time. Please let me know your opinion and how can we do this ASAP.

Alberta Gene Therapy Group Home Page

News

Abstracts - First Alberta Gene Therapy Meeting

AGTG Coordinators: Norman Wong & Lung-Ji Chang

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