3DHEALS2020: A Not So Lonely Planet

Only a few weeks away from 3DHEALS2020, and I just got off the phone with one of our speakers, Dr. Ho, from NAMIC Singapore. Our brief interview reminded me just how much I enjoyed Singapore—its start-up like government, incredible universities, and its beautiful modern architecture, chili crabs, and unpredictable rainstorms. Now, I’m on my way to some of the best meals in my life with another 3DHEALS community event in a foreign city. Looking back, there are many stories like that: in Detroit, Vigo, Paris, Shanghai, or Boston, my work with 3DHEALS communities has been a journey of adventures and friendships. 3DHEALS2020 is really a way to summarize my travels from the last two years. It is my version of Lonely Planet—the healthcare 3D printing version.

I really felt more alive when people have welcomed me into their cities; when they have showed off their latest innovations; when they have bantered enthusiastically with one another in a local pub till midnight after 3DHEALS events. And they felt the same way.

Sadly, however, this pandemic is putting old methods of human connection into question. Perhaps, a virtual summit is a stopgap solution for conferences, but, more likely, it is time for us to explore alternative and better ways to stay connected and informed.

The virtual 3DHEALS2020 summit will be a good start.

While we can’t serve you delicious San Francisco Blue Bottle coffee, there are three things we aim to do right with this conference:

1. Awesome live content

One upside about the virtual summit is that people who could not be available due to logistic barriers are now more available. We added 20+ speakers since the pandemic began and are still adding more parallel workshops to the existing program. Some of highlights include:

A. Biofabrication/Bioprinting Panels and Workshops:

Welcome to the holy grail of healthcare 3D printing applications!

These panels and workshops collect some of the brightest minds in the world of tissue engineering, biofabrication, and bioprinting. It includes the newest generation of startup founders. Names such as Stephanie Willerth, Adam Feinberg, Jordan Miller are already well-established and loved in the scientific communities and just founded their own startups within the last 12 months. More established startup founders whose companies are also critical to the eventual success of biofabrication, tissue engineering, and cell therapy at large will also join us live, including Melanie Mathieu from Prellis Biologics, Jon Rawley from Roosterbio, John O’Reily from Xylyx, Taciana Pereira from Allevi, and Kevin Caldwell from Ossium Health. Qrquidea Garcia (“Orchid”) from JNJ Innovation will also join us on this panel, discussing how an industry leader can work with innovators and startups in this exciting, burgeoning field.

B. Regulatory and Legal Landscape of Healthcare 3D Printing

For those who put their skin in the game, this is probably one of the most must-attend sessions. 3D printing in healthcare is a super new field, and legal experts in this field who have established track records and legitimacy are only a handful. This session will include the most comprehensive list of legal and regulatory concerns specifically for healthcare 3D printing, including intellectual property/patent issues, product liability, FDA pathways, manufacturing standards, and more. Steven Bauer, from FDA CBER, just joined the panel to directly address concerns related to cell therapy from the biofabrication and stem cell communities. The speakers are not just well-versed on how to interpret the law and policies, but also how to interact with scientists, policy makers, organizations, and standards bodies at this early stage of the industry, with practical, real-life examples.

C. Global Perspectives

One lesson from this pandemic is that globalization has consequences. Having a well-rounded worldview of the global healthcare 3D printing ecosystem is a requirement for future success. Our early morning sessions are reserved for international speakers all over the world to meet the audience and share their unique perspectives, needs, and hopes. Both America Makes director John Wilczynski and NAMIC director Dr. Chaw Sing Ho, along with experts from Turkey, India, and Taiwan, will share how healthcare innovations can thrive in both local and global environments. On day two (June 6^th), the audience will learn about how different countries are implementing the concept of 3D printing for Point of Care, which cannot be taken out of context of different healthcare systems and cultures. The audience will meet and learn from the leaders at UCSF, Stanford, Germany (Kumovis), India (Anatomiz3D), and developing countries.

2. Pre- and post-event networking opportunities

The attendees will have the opportunity to meet other attendees, speakers, and conference organizers as soon as they sign up the event using a dedicated conference app. They can send direct messages, post threads, share photos, host their own virtual events days before the conference. The app will be available to registered attendees for six months after the conference ends.

3. Entrepreneurship

One of the most exciting aspects of 3DHEALS2020 is its focus on entrepreneurship. Pitch3D has been a quarterly free and online pitch platform to selected early-stage startups in healthcare 3D printing and bioprinting spaces for the last two years, introducing 30+ startups from all over the world to institutional investors. 3DHEALS2020 also gathered some of the most experienced VCs and entrepreneurs in the space to share their stories, perspectives, and directly engage with the startups and the 3DHEALS2020 attendees directly during both pitch sessions and investor panels. There will be ten startups pitching each day at 5-6 PM PST. Interested startups can apply here.

This is the time of uncertainty and change.

Join us at 3DHEALS2020, connect with the world, and take control of your future. This is a Not So Lonely Planet.