The 1st annual meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy

The inaugural meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) attracted over 1700 participants to the Pacific gateway city of Seattle, Washington for a multifaceted 4 day meeting organised into a series of symposia, workshops, poster sessions and educational opportunities representative of gene therapy's immense diversity. Presentations from the international assemblage of industrial and academic scientists covered a blend of data from cutting edge research to current clinical investigations across a spectrum of therapeutic targets. Unique educational sessions allowed participants to gain basic information regarding areas of gene therapy research in which they lacked familiarity, whereas several 'Meet the Investigator' sessions allowed participants to interact directly with experts in small group settings in order to obtain a more sophisticated perspective through informal dialogue. A large majority of the symposia and poster presentations showcased the development and current successes of viral-mediated gene therapy although non-viral approaches received their share of attention. Despite the fact that promising results were presented from ongoing clinical trials using viral-mediated gene therapy, much of the symposia addressed the accompanying problems of immunogenicity, low levels of gene expression and lack of control of gene expression that are presently limiting the clinical success of virally mediated gene transfer.