Therapeutic strategies for tissue regeneration.

Tissue regeneration represents an emerging approach to the development of new medicines. It has even been described as the major therapeutic approach of the 21st century. Realization of this promise depends on overcoming a number of significant challenges. In the Society for Medicines Research symposium, held on June 6, 2005, in London, United Kingdom, and organized by Prof. Ian Morris (Hull York Medical School, York, UK) and Dr. Alan M. Palmer (Pharmidex, London, UK), several visionaries shared their confidence and determination to overcome these challenges. It is clear that persistence in this difficult area of research is increasingly paying dividends as the commercial potential of strategies for tissue regeneration are recognized by the biopharmaceutical industry, investors and government funding agencies worldwide.