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The Advanced Materials for CArdiac REgeneration (AMCARE) project is now finished. The project brought together 10 partners from industry and academia with the goal to develop smart biomaterials and medical devices to deliver cell therapy for cardiac repair following Myocardial Infarction (MI). The final General Assembly meeting took place at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (Fraunhofer IGB) in Stuttgart, Germany. The final report on the AMCARE project is currently in preparation and scientific publications on the AMCARE work are also currently in review. Thanks to all the AMCARE partners for a successful collaboration!

The AMCARE project in association with sister EU projects DRIVE and NEXT organised a Winter School training event: "Translational Reality of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)" in the Galway Bay Hotel from November 28th – December 1st 2016. All three projects are focused on the development of ATMPs (cell therapy products).

Just some of the faces, projects and companies involved in the AMCARE/DRIVE Winter School: Translating Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products in Galway. Just 1 week left to sign up!

AMCARE held a Patient Panel for people suffering with cardiovascular disease in the Croi headquarters in Galway on the 19th October 2016. One of AMCARE’s goals is to integrate patients in the early development of a new CVD treatment. Dr Helena Kelly facilitated on the evening, conversation was encouraged and diverse science presentations were given to participants by Prof Garry Duffy and AMCARE’s cardio thoracic surgeon Prof Stephen Wildhirt (pictured). Patients were then able to question the experts with whatever questions or concerns that they had. The main goals were to get patient’s opinions on AMCARE’s technology and integrate their hopes, fears and expectations into the research, to enhance patient understanding of the research, to encourage acceptance of the new scientific methods and to get participant’s recommendations to the scientific world, to industry, regulators and the public. It was a very successful evening with a group of insightful and knowledgeable participants who gave great insight into the needs and desires of those who have experienced a heart attack.

The DRIVE/AMCARE consortia will be hosting a Winter School on the 'Translational Reality of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)', in Galway from 28 November - 1 December. This training event will cover all the major steps in the translation of ATMPs from bench to bedside including IP protection, industry engagement, GMP manufacturing and clinical validation, regulatory approval, attracting investment and business planning. Check the link for more information on this and to register to attend.

Cardiology has been at the forefront of many of the major movements within biomedicine. There is a long history of engineering and modeling in cardiovascular science, and the implantation and management of devices is already a core function of this specialty. The Journal of Circulation Research will be publishing articles containing visions of the Future of Cardiovascular Biomedicine in a series of reviews from each of the major areas of this field. These open articles will outline how the next few years might play out in each area of endeavor within cardiovascular biomedicine.

The AMCARE Month 30 General Assembly meeting took place in Venice, Italy on the 12th and 13th of May 2016. Several people from each partner institution partook in the meeting which resulted in a very successful meeting with open communication and good discussion. The next General Assembly meeting (Month 38) will take place in Galway, Ireland on the 1st and 2nd of December 2016.

The AMCARE 18 month review and General Assembly meeting took place in Prague on 14th and 15th. During the meeting we shared the recent results and successes in research with all the consortium partners.