Unfortunately, the self-regenerative capacity of our body to repair itself is not unlimited. Unlike the Gecko Lizard, we cannot regrow our limbs in case severe damage occurs. As an example, fibrosis (or scarring) helps our body heal fast and survive, but does not necessarily helps to restore 100% of its functionality.

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More so: trauma, diseases, or age-related degeneration can affect most of our body tissues and result in a permanent impairment of our body functions – whether it is movement, respiration, nutrition, blood circulation - with a severe impact on the quality of our life.

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What if we could regrow our tendons, nerves, or bones by just taking a pill?

What if 3D-printing new tissues during surgery becomes a routine operation in our hospitals?

What if we could combine molecular and imaging biomarkers to predict and improve surgical outcomes?

To explore these topics, and possibly find answers rooted in groundbreaking scientific discoveries and clinical translation, the Univ. Basel Innovation Office has initiated CHARMED, the Center for Human Advanced Regeneration and Mobility in Education and Discovery, as a public-private partnership between academia, hospitals, and industry.

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The partners can benefit from complementary competencies, as the cutting-edge input of ideas and technology from academia on one side as well as the expertise from industry to turn a medical technology into a product, ultimately benefitting the lives of millions, on the other side.

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With a bottom-up approach, we have scientists from “both worlds” share their latest thrilling discoveries, but also their needs and the issues they face. By sharing ideas on how to work together & tomorrow on a low-to-zero budget as well as drafting concepts for moonshot projects with unlimited budget, we can build a bridge from the lab to the patients.

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Under the motto: “Regenerate Mobility!” the CHARMED-mobility is our first initiative. It is aimed at finding new and groundbreaking ways to restore the function of our musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

We plan to build further initiatives within CHARMED to explore the full potential of regenerative medicine, i.e. to restore the functionality of virtually any tissue or organ in the human body.

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The first core of the project brings together the University of Basel, the University Hospital Basel, and Novartis. From this initial group, we are growing CHARMED into an open global platform of partners.