CELL THERAPY CONFERENCE 2026
Engineering the Next Generation of Cell Therapies: From Precision Gene Delivery to Functional Potency
Day Two: 9th December 2026, London, United Kingdom
GENETIC MODIFICATION & GENE DELIVERY
09:10 Engineering the Next Generation of Cell Therapies: Precision Gene Delivery for CAR-T and TCR Therapies
Efficient gene delivery is a critical determinant of the performance, consistency, and safety of engineered cell therapies. This talk will explore the challenges of achieving controlled transgene delivery and expression in CAR-T and TCR platforms, with a focus on reducing unwanted genomic effects while maintaining robust therapeutic potency.
09:30 Beyond Gene Transfer: Controlling Expression, Safety, and Potency in Engineered Cell Therapies
Successful genetic modification is not simply about getting a therapeutic gene into a cell—it is about controlling where, how much, and for how long it is expressed. This presentation will examine how gene delivery strategies influence expression variability, genomic safety, and functional consistency in CAR-T and TCR therapies.
09:50 Precision Gene Delivery: Closing the Gap Between Genetic Engineering and Therapeutic Performance
Variability in gene transfer can translate directly into variability in therapeutic activity. This talk will discuss emerging approaches to improve the precision and reproducibility of genetic modification, addressing key challenges in transgene expression, genomic integration, and potency across engineered immune-cell products.
10:10 From Delivery to Function: Optimising Genetic Engineering for Consistent Cell Therapy Potency
The quality of a genetically engineered cell therapy depends on more than successful gene transfer. This talk will connect gene-delivery parameters with downstream cellular phenotype and function, highlighting how better control of genetic modification can improve consistency, potency, and safety in CAR-T and TCR therapies.
10:30 Engineering Control into Gene Delivery: Managing Genomic Risk in CAR-T and TCR Therapies
As engineered cell therapies become increasingly sophisticated, controlling the genomic consequences of gene delivery is essential. This presentation will explore strategies for achieving efficient genetic modification while minimising unintended genomic effects and maintaining predictable transgene expression and therapeutic function.
11:00 Networking Tea Break To Connect With Peers, Exchange Insights, And Explore Shared Interests.
11:30 Moderator Recap Sessions Before Break
11:40 Making Gene Delivery Predictable: Overcoming Variability in Next-Generation Cell Therapies
Variable transgene expression, inconsistent potency, and genomic safety concerns remain major challenges for engineered cell therapies. This talk will examine how advances in gene-delivery and genetic-engineering technologies can move the field toward more predictable, reproducible, and controllable CAR-T and TCR products.
12:00 Interactive Discussion - The interactive discussion provides a platform for presenters and panellists to exchange perspectives, address critical industry challenges, share real-world experiences, and explore practical strategies to strengthen strategic positioning and drive meaningful outcomes. Discussion topics are:
How can gene delivery achieve precision without compromising therapeutic potency or scalability?
Should predictable transgene expression matter more than achieving maximum gene transfer efficiency?
What strategies best minimise genomic risk while maintaining durable therapeutic cell function?
How do delivery methods influence phenotype, potency, persistence, and patient-to-patient variability?
Can next-generation gene delivery realistically eliminate variability across engineered immune-cell therapy products?
Where should developers prioritise control: integration site, expression level, duration, or timing?
How can manufacturing teams translate sophisticated gene engineering into reproducible clinical products?
Are current potency assays adequately capturing variability created during genetic modification processes?
What trade-offs emerge between transient expression, stable integration, safety, and therapeutic durability?
How should regulators evaluate emerging gene-delivery technologies with increasingly complex engineering strategies?
13:05 Lunch Break
MAINTAINING CELL QUALITY AND POTENCY
14:10 Beyond Cell Count: Maintaining Quality and Potency from Manufacturing to Clinic
Cell therapies are defined by what cells can do—not simply by how many cells are delivered. This talk will explore how exhaustion, differentiation, senescence, and functional decline can emerge during manufacturing and storage, and how these changes can undermine potency assays and ultimately clinical performance. We will discuss strategies to monitor and preserve critical cellular attributes throughout the product lifecycle.
14:25 The Cells Are There—But Are They Still Working?
A cell therapy can meet its target dose and still fail to deliver the intended biological effect. This session will examine the hidden loss of cellular functionality that can occur during expansion, processing, cryopreservation, and storage. We will look at practical approaches for maintaining cell quality and developing potency strategies that better reflect true therapeutic function.
14:40 From Cell Quantity to Cell Quality: Rethinking Potency in Cell Therapy
Traditional manufacturing metrics often focus on cell number, viability, and identity, but these parameters do not fully capture therapeutic potential. This talk will examine how cellular state—including exhaustion, differentiation, senescence, and functional fitness—affects potency. We will discuss how integrating quality attributes with functional assays can provide a more meaningful picture of product performance.
14:50 Protecting Cellular Fitness: The Missing Link in Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Maintaining viable cells is not the same as maintaining functional cells. Manufacturing and storage conditions can progressively alter cellular fitness, creating challenges for potency testing and increasing uncertainty around clinical performance. This presentation will explore key drivers of cellular deterioration and strategies to preserve functional quality from process development through final product storage.
15:00 Networking Tea Break To Connect With Peers, Exchange Insights, And Explore Shared Interests.
15:30 Moderator Recap Sessions Before Break
15:40 Potent on Paper, Functional in Practice: Ensuring Cell Quality Across the Product Lifecycle
Cell therapy potency is influenced by a dynamic combination of phenotype, metabolic state, differentiation, exhaustion, and functional capacity. This talk will address why conventional release measurements may not fully predict therapeutic activity and how potency assays can evolve to better capture clinically relevant cell function. The focus will be on connecting manufacturing controls, cell quality, and meaningful measures of biological activity.
15:50 Keeping Cells Fit for Purpose: Managing Quality, Function, and Potency
Cellular products can change substantially between manufacturing and administration, even when conventional quality attributes remain within specification. This session will explore how to define and monitor “fitness for purpose” across the cell therapy lifecycle, with particular attention to exhaustion, differentiation, senescence, storage effects, and functional potency. The goal is to establish a stronger link between product quality attributes and expected clinical performance.
16:00 Interactive Discussion - The interactive discussion provides a platform for presenters and panellists to exchange perspectives, address critical industry challenges, share real-world experiences, and explore practical strategies to strengthen strategic positioning and drive meaningful outcomes. Discussion topics are:
How can manufacturers distinguish viable cells from genuinely functional, clinically potent cells?
Which cellular attributes best predict therapeutic performance beyond viability, identity, and cell count?
How do exhaustion, differentiation, and senescence develop during manufacturing and storage processes?
What manufacturing decisions have the greatest impact on preserving cellular fitness and potency?
How can potency assays better reflect clinically relevant cellular function and therapeutic activity?
Should potency testing assess dynamic cellular function rather than static release characteristics alone?
How can cryopreservation and storage conditions minimise functional decline before patient administration?
Which critical quality attributes should be monitored throughout the complete product lifecycle?
17:00 End of Conference