There is huge potential for stem cell medicine to transform lives of people around the world. However, unlocking this potential and delivering widely accessible treatments with genuine health benefits will require consideration of issues beyond the scientific challenges.

Stem cell research and stem cell medicine has long been associated with high hopes for novel treatments for incurable diseases. But what this will involve can be hard to understand. Because of the perceived complexity of the subject, misinformation may spread easily. Furthermore, the pathway from scientific research to novel safe, market-ready products is likely to be long and costly, raising questions about access to the technology. The delivery of stem cell medicine is also challenged by the varied regulatory environments applied around the world and the unique considerations for each type of product.

To meet these challenges, PREPARE will bridge the gap between research, the clinical, regulatory, and commercial sectors, and the public. By working together to understand the broader implications of stem cell medicine, we can help pave the way for the responsible delivery of socially robust stem cell-based therapies to the people who need it.

An interdisciplinary research team with expertise in medical sociology, science and technology studies, science communication, bioethics, clinical translation regulation, and health economics will work with reNEW researchers at our three partner institutions to consider issues affecting potential impact, development, and delivery of stem cell medicine to the market. We will capture patient voices and concerns so that stem cell researchers can direct their product development toward what matters to the people they are trying to help.

PREPARE will focus on four topics:

• mapping hopes, concerns, and experiences across stakeholders over time,
• representing the future – partnering and engaging to enhance understanding,
• ethics and regulation in stem cell medicine,
• examining the cost and value of cell therapies.

We hope that by identifying, understanding, and working together to address concerns or barriers to stem cell medicine, we can prepare for the delivery of socially sustainable stem cell medicine outcomes to diverse patient communities around the world.