Cell 2026

The cell and gene therapy ecosystem in Europe is reaching a critical inflection point, where the next generation of therapies for diseases with limited or no treatment options is within our grasp, powered by cutting-edge research and technologies. However, to deliver safe and effective therapies to patients at the required scale, it is now crucial that scientific and clinical development teams are equipped with robust strategies for large-scale clinical manufacturing of cell and gene therapy products.

We are teaming up with leading scientists in the field, process development and regulatory specialists in cell therapy manufacturing, as well as venture capital investment experts, to host a collaborative symposium that will address these key topics shaping the cell therapy landscape.

Join us for a focused symposium featuring:

Scientific talks providing insights into innovative cell therapy manufacturing workflows and immune monitoring.
Discussions on the current European regulations for cell therapy products and key considerations when translating workflows into clinical manufacturing and use.
Updates on the funding landscape in Europe and what venture capital investors are looking for.
Networking breaks in a relaxed social environment to give you the opportunity to foster new collaborations and connect with leaders in the cell therapy field.

Proteins, Antibodies & ADCs
Panel Discussion: What Is The Next Game Changer In Antibody Engineering?

Moderator: Karen Silence, Head Preclinical Product Development, ArgenX
Panellists include Berit Olsen Krogh, Senior Research Fellow; and Lundbeck Andrew Buchanan, Principal Scientist, AstraZeneca

Peptides
Roundtable: Regulatory Insights On Bringing A Peptide To Human Trials

Moderator: Paul Reid, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Celtic Bio

Oligonucleotides
Workshop: Development Of Targeted Delivery Systems

Two Presentations, followed by a Panel Discussion on 'The Next Chapter Of Oligonucleotide Delivery'
Moderator: Steve Hood, Senior Director, Oligonucleotide ADME Strategy, GSK

Sustainability in Tides & Biologics
Panel Discussion: Navigating The Paradigm Shift Towards Greener Approaches

Moderator: Walter Cabri, Full Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Bologna
Panellists include Daniel Sejer Pedersen, Chemical Development Specialist CMC API Development, Novo Nordisk;
Anna Maria Papini, Full Professor & Group Leader, University of Florence;
Louis Diorazio, Senior Principal Scientist, New Modalities, AstraZeneca;
Alessandra Tolomelli, Associate Professor, University of Bologna

Immunotherapy & Immuno-oncology
Presentation: How The RNA Technologies Could Help To Prevent Infectious Diseases And Could Be Applied To Various Chronic Disease Immunotherapies?

Presented by: Daniel Larocque, Innovation Lead, Innovation and Emerging Science, Sanofi

Featured Speakers for NextGen Biomed 2025

Anna Perdrix

co-CEO,

Sixfold Bioscience

Fernando Albericio

Research Professor,

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Kelly Loyet

Director and Distinguished Scientist,

Genentech

Kevin Fitzgerald

Chief Scientific Officer,

Epsilogen

Livija Deban

Chief Scientific Officer,

Prokarium

Maria Koufali

Director,

UK Vaccine Innovation Pathway

Marta Amaral

Head High Throughput Protein Engineering in Large Molecules Research,

Sanofi

Nazneen Dewji

CEO,

Cenna Biosciences Inc.

Philip Beer

Chief Scientific Officer,

Step Pharma

Rick Hibbert

Vice President & Head of CMC Science & Technologies,

Genmab

Sudhir Agrawal

Founder,

Arnay Sciences

Tristan Vaughan

Vice President Protein Engineering,

Immunocore

Sandor Batkai

Freelance Consultant,

Cardior Pharmaceuticals

Kerry Chester

Professor of Molecular Medicine, Research Department of Oncology - University College London, Director at The Antibody Society,

The Antibody Society

Dorothy Bray

Director of Clinical Affairs,

Celtic Biotech Ltd

Aaron John Balana

Scientist III,

Genentech

Aikaterini Gatsiou

Assistant Professor,

Lancaster University

Alain Wagner

Research Director,

Strasbourg University

Alastair Lawson

Fellow,

UCB

alessandra tolomelli

professor,

university of Bologna

Alessandro Gori

Group Leader,

National Research Council of Italy

Alexandria Cogdill

Head of Strategic Initiatives, Global Business Development,

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc

Álvaro Enríquez García

Medicinal Chemist,

Eli Lilly

Amita Vaidya

Principal Scientist,

Sanofi

Ammar Ahmed

Senior Scientist,

Imperial College London

Amy Li

Director, Drug Discovery,

T-Therapeutics Ltd

Anand Kumar

Senior Scientist,

Sanofi

Andreas Midbøe Hoff

Head of In Silico & AI Department,

Nykode

Andreas Reichel

Vice President, Head of Research Pharmacokinetics,

Bayer

Andrew Buchanan

Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Andrew Creese

Scientific Director, Analytical Development at Immunocore,

Immunocore

Andrew Jamieson

Professor Of Chemical Biology ,

University of Glasgow

Andrew Slee

Chief Operating Officer,

AgenusBio

Andri Vasou

Head of Platform Development,

Bioarchitech

Aneesh Karatt Vellatt

Chief Scientific Officer,

Maxion Therapeutics

Anna Hine

Professor of Protein Engineering,

Aston University

Anna Maria Papini

Professor, Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff",

University of Florence

Annelise Vuidepot, PhD

SVP CTO - Head of Pipeline & Platform Research and UK site Head,

Immunocore

Antonio Postigo

Chief Scientific Officer,

Stratosvir

Aswin Doekhie

Chief Technology Officer,

Ensilicated Technologies Ltd

Baldur Sveinbjørnsson

Chief Scientific Officer,

Lytix Biopharma

Bassam Hallis

Deputy Director of Research and Evaluation,

UK Health Security Agency

Benjamin Lindner

Data Scientist,

Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG

Berit Olsen Krogh

Senior Research Fellow,

Lundbeck

Bernard Maillere

Head of Laboratory,

CEA

Bjorn Onfelt

Professor of Applied Physics,

Royal Institute of Technology

Caleb McClain

Chief Executive Officer,

ANUNA (AI+BIO)

Callum Scott

Head of Development,

Scancell Ltd

Carla Vinals

Vice President, Global Regulatory Product Strategy,

Moderna Therapeutics

Carol Sze Ki Leung

Principal Investigator ,

Ludwig Institute, Oxford University

Charlotte Vernhes

Scientific and Medical Affairs Director,

Vaccines Europe

Christian Garde

Scientific Director, Bioinformatics,

Evaxion A/S

Christopher Scott

Professor,

Queen's University Belfast

Dan Hardy

CEO,

Microsol

Daniel Fonseca

Senior Research Scientist I ‑ Experimental Immunology,

Immunocore

Daniel Larocque

Innovation Leader,

Sanofi

Daniel Sejer Pedersen

Chemical Development Specialist,

Novo Nordisk A/S

David Brockwell

Professor,

University of Leeds

David Craik

Professor,

The University of Queensland

David Pejoski

Co-founder, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, & Board Member,

Adoram Therapeutics

David Wraith

Professor,

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

Denise Steckel

Industry Clinical Collaborations Lead,

Genentech

Deniz Eris

Principal Scientist,

Novartis

Ed Tate

Professor,

Imperial College London

Eef Dirksen

Head of Department (Analytical Validation and Quality Control),

Byondis

Elisa Marelli

Research Scientist,

Scancell

Elizabeth Boulter

Senior Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Erik Vernet

VP,

Novo Nordisk

Ernst Weber

Head of Molecular Design & Engineering & Bayer Science Fellow,

Bayer AG

Etienne Matous

Sr. Principal Scientist - Antibody Discovery and Engineering – Head of Lead Optimization,

IGI - Ichnos - Glenmark Innovation

Evan Gomes

Principal Scientist,

Sanofi

Fazel Shabanpoor

Lab Head Peptide And Oligonucleotide Therapeutics,

The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Felix Schumacher

Program Leader Targeted Therapeutics,

Roche

Francisca Wollerton

Senior Director,

AstraZeneca

Gabriel Wong

Senior Medical Director,

AstraZeneca

Georgios Skretas

Director,

Biomedical Sciences Research Center "Alexander Fleming"

Giulio Russo

Senior Scientist,

Merus

Hans Melo

CEO,

Menten AI, Inc

Hans van der Vliet

Professor, Medical Oncologist,

LAVA Therapeutics

Helen Bright

Chief Scientific Officer,

Centauri Therapeutics

Helene Kaplon

Translational Scientist,

Servier

Henry Maun

Staff Scientist,

Genentech

Hester Van Zeeburg

Project Manager Immune & Disease Monitoring,

Mendus AB

Ian Hamley

Professor of Physical Chemistry,

University of Reading

Ijeoma Uchegbu

Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience,

University College London

Immanuel Lerner

Chief Executive Officer,

Pepticom

Isabelle Sermadiras

Principal Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Itishri Sahu

Program Lead Therapeutics,

Ziphius Vaccines

Iulia Oita

CMC Manager,

Ziphius Vaccines

Janos Tibor Kodra

Principal Scientist,

Novo Nordisk

Jean Ge

Patent Attorney,

Wolf Greenfield

Jennifer Percival-Alwyn

Scientific Leader,

GSK

John Maher

Chief Scientific Officer,

Leucid Bio

Jonathan Kwok

Chief Executive Officer,

Infinitopes

Joost Uitdehaag

Head of Biology,

Crossfire Oncology B.V.

Jörg Wischhusen

Professor,

University Hospital Würzburg

Jutta Eichler

Professor Medicinal Chemistry,

University of Erlangen-Nurnberg

Karen Silence

Vice President,

Argenx BVBA

Kate Smith

UK Head Protein And Cell Sciences,

GlaxoSmithKline

Ken Chow

Health Tech Counsel,

Flanders Investment & Trade

Kevin Maskell

Research Director,

Bioarchitech

Knud Jørgen Jensen

Professor,

Copenhagen University

Kuda Muchandibaya

Lecturer for Supply Chain Management & Logistics,

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences

Laura Collins

Director Bioinformatics,

Immunocore

Laura Starkie

Director,

UCB

Leonardo De Maria

Principal Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Louis Diorazio

Senior Principal Scientist, New Modalities,

AstraZeneca

Lucia Ferrazzano

Junior Assistant Professor,

University of Bologna

Lukas Pekar

Lab Head,

Merck

Mads Hald Andersen

Professor,

National Centre For Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT-dk)

Mani Mudaliar

Director, Quantitative Biomarkers,

Recursion

Marc Vendrell Escobar

Professor of Translational Chemistry,

University of Edinburgh

Maria Fawaz

Associate Principal Scientist,

MSD

Marie McAvoy

Chief Scientific Officer,

Nanosyrinx

Marina Fedorova

Scientific Investigator,

GSK

Mark Eccleston

Director,

ValiRx Animal Health

Martina Ochs

Project Leader,

CEPI

Mathieu Cinier

Scientific Director,

Affilogic

Matthew Burrell

Associate Director,

AstraZeneca

Mattias Malm

Senior Scientist,

Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Micaela Graglia

Analytical Chemist, Molecular Design,

Silence Therapeutics

Michael Delaney

Senior Principal Scientist,

Novo Nordisk

Mihaela Bozic

Scientist,

T-Therapeutics Ltd

Mikhail Kuravskiy

Proncipal Scientist,

UCB

Naomi Coombes

Senior project team leader,

UKHSA

Nathan Alves

Research Director,

Indiana University School of Medicine

Nesrine Chakroun

Associate Director,

Merus NV

Norbert Furtmann

Head of AI Innovation NANOBODY® Platform,

Sanofi

Obinna C Ubah

Principal Scientist/Programme Lead,

Elasmogen Ltd

Owen Vickery

Associate Principal Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Patricia Alves

Head of the Sanofi Satellite Lab & Coordinator of Analytical Services Unit and Mass Spectrometry Unit,

Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica

Paul Wassmann

Senior Principal Scientist,

Novartis AG

Pawel Stocki

Vice President,

Ossianix

Peter Sondermann

Chief Executive Officer,

Tacalyx GmbH Privacy Policy Imprint

Prasun Chakraborty

CEO and Founder,

Genevation LTD

RAJ Mehta

CEO,

Adendra Therapeutics

Raymond Tesi

President & Chief Executive Officer,

InMune Bio

Reeta Daswani

Senior Scientist II,

Sixfold Biosciences

Rita Martello

Scientific Director, NBE DMPK Lead,

Merck KGaA

Robert Andrews

Partner,

Mewburn Ellis LLP

Rodrigo Abreu

Principal Scientist,

LifeArc

Russell LaMontagne

Chief Executive Officer,

BITT

Sagar Kathuria

Senior Principal Scientist,

Sanofi

Sandra Tremmel

Microbiology Engineer, Pharma Technical Product Quality- Analytical Sciences,

Roche

Sandrien Janssens

CMC Director,

Mosanna Therapeutics

Santiago Parpal

Principal Scientist,

Sprint Bioscience

Sarah Hindson

Senior Scientist,

GSK

Sarah Stuart

High Throughput Characterisation Team Leader,

GSK

Saurabh Sen

Associate Director, Cell Line Development, Mammalian Platform Biologics,

Sanofi

Sebastian Sten

Associate Principal Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Sevim Ozgur Bruderle

Lab Head,

Sanofi

Shao-An Xue

Honorary professor,

University College London

Silvia Crescioli

Business Intelligence Creator,

The Antibody Society

Simon Hufton

Section Head Molecular Immunology, Division of Biotherapeutics,

MHRA

Simone Friedrich

Director Antibody Discovery & Development,

iOmx Therapeutics

Sonia Macia

Chief Medical Officer,

Aromics Therapeutics

Sonja Merkas

Founder, Creator & Doer,

Livinovea

Sophia Karagiannis

Professor of Translational Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy,

King's College London

Sritama Bose

Associate Director of Chemistry,

Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator, Medical Research Council (UKRI)

Stefan Zielonka

Senior Director, Global Head of Antibody Discovery & Protein Engineering,

Merck KGaA

Stephen Miller

Principal Scientist,

Genentech

steve Hood

Director Oligo ADME Strategy,

GSK

Steven Schmitt

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer,

Myria Biosciences

Stine Friis Thorsen

Director Clinical Development,

Evaxion Biotech

Talip Ucar

Senior Director,

AstraZeneca

Tatyana Ponomaryov

Principal Scientist,

Plasticell

Thomas Kraft

Principal Scientist,

Roche

Thomas Powell

Senior Scientist,

Immunocore

Timothy Hickling

Immunogenicity Expert Scientist,

Roche

Tomasz Witkos

Associate Director,

AstraZeneca

Trevor Smith

Vice President,

Inovio

Ulrike Rieder

Scientific Lead & Project Leader Oligonucleotides / New Modalities,

Novartis

Vaios Karanikas

Translational Biomarker Sciences Group Head,

Roche

Victoria Legh-Land

COO,

Microsol Ltd

Vik Reebye

Head of Academic Partnerships,

MiNA Therapeutics Ltd

Vincent Dewar

Head immunoassay analytical research development Belgium,

GSK

Vincenzo de Filippis

Associate Professor Biochemistry,

University of Padova

Walter Cabri

Professor,

University of Bologna

Wen-Hsuan Chang

Associate Vice President, Discovery and Early Development,

AcuraStem

Will Nesbit

Senior Director - Process Chemistry & CMC,

Bicycle Therapeutics

Wolfgang Koch

Senior Scientist,

F-star Therapeutics Inc

Yann Abraham

Associate Director AI for Single Cell,

Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

Yiping Wu

Senior Scientist,

AstraZeneca

Zahra Rattray

Reader,

University of Strathclyde

Zinaida Dedeic

Senior Scientist,

University of Oxford