Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre to Host Symposium on Pioneering Research and Innovation in Rare Disease Treatments

OXFORD, UK and CLEVELAND, Ohio, US, 24^th September 2024 – The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (‘OHC’), a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio, aimed at delivering cutting-edge rare disease breakthroughs, is pleased to announce it is hosting its bi-annual Symposium today through 26^th September 2024, at Trinity College, University of Oxford. The event will bring together leaders from academia, biotech, pharma, venture capital, philanthropy and patient groups to connect, engage and update the diverse and growing rare disease community. The Symposium explores how cutting-edge research, innovative treatment strategies, and collaboration is driving the development of effective therapies for rare diseases.

Symposium 2024 Highlights:

• The three-day in-person event begins with Opening Remarks from Professor Matthew Wood, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the OHC, and Sir John Bell, President, Ellison Institute of Technology, and Chair of the OHC Advisory Council
• An Opening Session features Baroness Nicola Blackwood, Chair, Genomics England, Member of the House of Lords, and the OHC’s Advisory Council

Further notable speakers will include

• Jonathan S. Stamler, MD, President and co-Founder, Harrington Discovery Institute and Member of the OHC Steering Committee
• Julia Vitarello, Founder & CEO, Mila’s Miracle Foundation
• Professor Fyodor Urnov, Professor of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley

Other sessions examine critical topics in rare diseases, such as therapeutic genomics, drug development exemplars, lifelong therapies for neuromuscular diseases, and paediatric cancer. These sessions will showcase the latest research and innovations shaping the future of rare disease therapeutics.

The Symposium programme, available here, also offers updates on the OHC’s Therapeutics Accelerator, launched on October 3, 2023. This groundbreaking initiative, backed by up to £200 million in funding, operates under a unique non-profit/for-profit model through a partnership with Harrington Discovery Institute, University Hospitals of Cleveland, University of Oxford, and Oxford Science Enterprises. A highlight of the Accelerator at this year’s Symposium is AlveoGene, an innovative company pioneering inhaled gene therapy for rare respiratory diseases. This session will feature David Hipkiss (Executive Chair).

Matthew Wood, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the OHC, commented: “This year’s Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Symposium is a unique opportunity to bring the international rare disease community together to recognise scientific progress and innovation and foster collaboration among leaders in the field. I am delighted to welcome global leaders from academia, industry, government, and patient advocacy to come together with a shared commitment to translating science into tangible outcomes for rare disease patients and their families.”

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Notes to Editors

About Rare Diseases
More than 400 million people worldwide are living with a rare disease, and approximately 50 percent are children. There are about 7,000 known rare diseases, with new diseases being discovered every day. A rare disease affects one in 10 Americans, or 10 percent of the US population. Similarly, Europe has approximately 30 million people who suffer from a rare disease. The majority of all rare diseases are genetic in origin, which means they are present throughout a person’s life. Only five percent of rare diseases have a treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and similar estimates have been made for treatments approved by the European Medicine Agency (EMA). Therefore, someone with a rare disease today faces a lifelong, often life-threatening, condition with little hope for a cure, or even an effective treatment option.

About Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre
The Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (OHC) is a partnership between the University of Oxford, UK and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals, in Cleveland, Ohio, US. The OHC combines world-leading strengths in research and therapeutics development from across these organizations to set the science and innovation agenda and drive cutting-edge rare disease breakthroughs to address the unmet need in rare diseases across the globe to deliver major clinical impact for patients. For more information, visit: OxfordHarrington.org | LinkedIn | X

About the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is rated the best in the world for medicine and life sciences, and it is home to the UK’s top-ranked medical school. It has one of the largest clinical trial portfolios in the UK and great expertise in taking discoveries from the lab into the clinic. Partnerships with the local NHS Trusts enable patients to benefit from close links between medical research and healthcare delivery. The University of Oxford’s Medical Sciences Division is one of the largest biomedical research centres in Europe, with over 2,500 people involved in research and more than 2,800 students. For more information, visit: www.ox.ac.uk  

About Harrington Discovery Institute
The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development – is a translational accelerator that advances promising discoveries from academic labs into the clinic for the benefit of patients and society. The institute was created in 2012 with a $50 million founding gift from the Harrington family and is a prime example of the commitment they share with University Hospitals to a Vision for a ‘Better World’. For more information, visit: HarringtonDiscovery.org| LinkedIn | X

Media contacts:

UK/ EU – MEDiSTRAVA
Sylvie Berrebi / Mark Swallow
OHC@medistrava.com

US – For University Hospitals
Ansley Kelm
ansley.kelm@UHhospitals.org