Guest blog post by Dr. Ted Lithgow, Chief Operating Officer, Humacyte, Inc.

ED Note: Humacyte, Inc., a privately held company, is a medical research, discovery and development company that bioengineers novel human tissue replacements for key applications in regenerative medicine and vascular surgery.  The company uses a proprietary technology platform to isolate and grow stable, “off-the shelf” human tissue replacement conformations, with properties similar to native tissues. Humacyte’s goal is to improve treatment outcomes for many patients, including those with vascular disease and those requiring hemodialysis.

Humacyte is both honored and excited to participate in the upcoming Department of Commerce Trade Mission with Secretary Pritzker, her staff, and other business delegates to Japan and South Korea. We are grateful to the Department of Commerce and to Secretary Pritzker for selecting Humacyte for such a unique opportunity for meaningful dialogue with influential Japanese and South Korean business executives, senior policy makers, academics, fellow innovators and leading health and technology peers within their markets.  Our intent is to understand regional requirements and medical needs, and to establish new relationships within these regions and with our mission partners. 

The United States’ fourth and sixth-largest US trading partners respectively, Japan and South Korea present ample opportunities for U.S. businesses like ours. In both countries, the government and private sector are making significant investments in both health care and energy.

Our itinerary confirms that traveling with Secretary Pritzker will provide unprecedented access to – and important dialogue with -- high-level decision makers in each of these countries.  The trip is not only a unique mechanism to establish valuable contacts, but an opportunity to introduce our technology and intellectual capital directly to Japanese and Korean health care policy makers, regulators, healthcare leaders, and potential investors.

Personally, I must say the Department of Commerce and Secretary Pritzker’s staff have done an outstanding job of organizing and facilitating advance, meaningful connections among the delegation and business leaders in Japan and Korea. My expectation is that this mission offers Humacyte – and all of the delegation participants – a true opportunity to establish or grow our operations and business relationships in these emerging growth regions of the world.