Agenda September 23, 2026: Main Conference Day One - ET (Eastern Time, GMT-05:00)
- Natalia Cherepanova - Senior Scientist II, Abbvie
- Dylan Frabutt - Research Scientist, Elanco
- Hesam Mahjoubi - Senior Principal Scientist, Amgen
- Wade Nudson - Strategic Implementation Manager, MilliporeSigma
- Rajlaxmi Deshpande - Associate Scientist II, BioProcess Development, Alexion Pharmaceuticals
- Andrew Tustian, EngD - Senior Director, Regeneron
- Kevin Brower - Global Head of Purification Development, Sanofi
- Lei Wang - Principal Scientist, Gilead Sciences
- Veera Padmanabhan - Head of Manufacturing Sciences & Technology, AstraZeneca
- Yuxiang (Henry) Zhao - Senior Scientist, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Process intensification (PI) is transforming biopharmaceutical manufacturing by improving productivity, reducing costs, increasing flexibility, and enhancing sustainability. This presentation examines upstream and downstream PI strategies and highlights how different approaches should be selected according to development stage, manufacturing scale, and business objectives rather than applying a single universal solution. Process economic modelling demonstrates the impact of PI on cost of goods, facility utilization, and capital investment, while sustainability assessments explore carbon footprint implications. The findings show that targeted, stage-appropriate intensification strategies can significantly improve manufacturing efficiency and process performance.
- Sean Muthian, Ph.D., MBA - Chief Scientific Officer, Cytiva
- Alois Jungbauer - Professor, Dept. of Biotechnology, BOKU University (BOKU)
- Scott Wilson - Director of Raw Material & Manufacturing Innovation R&D, MilliporeSigma
This interactive workshop will run from 9am – 12:45pm.
Through a series of presentations, case studies, interactive discussion and exercises this workshop will delve deeply into the underlying science of developing potency assays.
Some of the topics to be discussed include:
- Overview of what potency is, and what it is not
- Considerations when qualifying and validating bioassays
- From initial ideas, through characterisation to the final potency method
- Clinical correlation
- Regulator objections and why
- Examples of potency assays for approved products
- Examples of a cell and gene therapy potency assays for various product types
- Christopher Bravery - Consulting Regulatory Scientist, Advbiols
This interactive workshop will run from 9am – 12:45pm.
Through a series of presentations, case studies and interactive discussions and exercises this course will focus on CDMO oversight- selection, negotiation, tech transfer and life cycle management specifically for cell and gene therapy products.
Some of the topics to be discussed include:
- CDMO Selection: Models and Process
- Contract and Quality Agreement Negotiation
- Tech Transfer: Best practices and risk management for external tech transfers
- Knowledge Management and Digital Transformation in Tech Transfer
- Quality Assurance and Quality Control
- Life Cycle & Relationship Management
- James Blackwell - President and Principal Consultant, The Windshire Group, LLC
- Yifeng Xu - Principal Scientist, Pfizer
- Tania Chakraborty Kelly - Senior Scientist, Merck
- Tomohiro Makino - Senior Director, Head of Cell Line Development at Bioprocess Technology Research Laboratory II, Daiichi Sankyo
- Yi Li - Principal Scientist, Amgen, Inc.
- Aditya Walvekar - Scientist, Genentech
- Alaina Anand - Scientist, Upstream Process Development, Bioprocess R & D, Pfizer
- Sarah Scully - Scientist, Purification Process Development, Pfizer
- Christina Passno - Senior Staff Engineer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Ran Chen - Associate Director of Process Development Downstream, Henlius Bioscience
- Bingyu Kuan - Scientist II, Abbvie
- Martin Kockx - Principal Manufacturing Systems Engineer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
- Till Briskot - Senior Scientist, Boehringer Ingelheim
- Alpana Naresh, Ph.D. - Chief Manufacturing Officer, Hinge Bio, Inc.
- Siddhartha (Sidd) Shrivastava, PhD - SVP, Head of CMC and Global Technical Operations, Cue Biopharma
- Yang Li Ph.D. - Vice President, CMC Development, Altruist Biologics
- Wei Lu - Senior Staff Engineer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Christopher Bravery - Consulting Regulatory Scientist, Advbiols
- James Blackwell - President and Principal Consultant, The Windshire Group, LLC
The CGT C-Level Forum provides a unique, powerful and valuable space for candidly sharing ideas and experiences between executives of ~20 CGT therapeutic development companies. The forum is designed to foster new ideas and create new relationships between attendees so that they can leave with tangible outcomes and that will drive their businesses and the sector forward.
An exclusive invite-only session, in a closed room setting, the forum will include 2-3 case studies discussing the right approach to engage and partner with pharma and industry. It will also include general discussion focussed on brainstorming solutions to the most pressing and current challenges of CEO/CSO/CBO/CMOs in the CGT sector.
- Sushma Nayak Teichert - Senior Global Product Manager, Cytiva
- Jinghan Li - Applications Scientist, Croda Inc.
- Daniel Buckley - Senior Director, Process Development, Samsung Biologics
- Alicia Barker - Cell Line Development- Scientist I, Just-Evotec
- Benjamin Duckless - Field Application Scientist, Nova Biomedical
- Jonathan Jones - Manager, Microbial-Upstream, CPI
- Thomas Jostock, PhD - Associate Director, Novartis
- Brian R. Berquist, PhD - Chief Scientific Officer, Wheeler Bio
- Jesse Fisher - Senior Associate Scientist, Gilead
- Alex Williams - Scientist, Biologics Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Jacob Crowe, PhD - Associate Director of Technical Services, Hamilton Company
- Duncan Omune - Senior Director of MSAT, Lonza
- Sanjay Kumar - Senior Subject Matter Expert, Lonza Bioscience, USA
- Alpana Naresh, Ph.D. - Chief Manufacturing Officer, Hinge Bio, Inc.
- Jin Yu - Senior Scientist, Process Development Downstream, Amgen
- Thomas Johnson, Ph.D. - Lecturer in Downstream Bioprocessing, UCL
- Andrew Tustian, EngD - Senior Director, Regeneron
- Daniel Yur - Senior Scientist, Merck
- Alex Vaca - Senior Engineer II, Biogen
- Christian Airiau, Ph.D - Global Head, Data Sciences, Sanofi
- Joseph Hunziker - Process Characterization and Technology Scientist, Regeneron
- David Hansen - Principal Engineer, MilliporeSigma
- Arvind Srivastava, Ph.D. - Senior Vice President, ThirdArcBio
- Christopher Marlein - Senior Principal Scientist, Process Development, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies
- Todd McDevitt - Vice President, Cell Therapy, Genentech
- Kevin Cognetti - Head of Corporate Strategy, Kite Pharma
- Angela Moore - VP, US GM, CAR-T Immunology and Oncology, Novartis
- Daniel Friedman - Managing Director, BroadOak Capital
- Laura Stoppel - Partner, RA Capital Management
- Christian Uhrich - Executive Investment Director, M Ventures
- Khandan Baradaran - Principal, Mill Creek Consulting LLC
- Tadayuki Tanimura - Executive Vice President, Cuorips Inc.
- Lea Wagner - Product Manager, INFORS HT
- Sarah Kenney - Bioanalytical Scientist, MilliporeSigma
- Jon Coffman - Executive Director of Bioprocess Technology and Engineering, Astra Zeneca
- Roundtable 1: AI Revolution in CGT Manufacturing – Beyond the Hype: Where is it Having an Impact?
Leader: Thorsten Gorba, Vice President of Process Development at Aspen Neuroscience
- Roundtable 2: Navigating IITs in China
Leader: Scott Jeffers, Chief Technology Officer at GenSight Biologics
- Roundtable 3: Supply Chain Mastery: Architecting Success from Bench to Market
- Thorsten Gorba - VP, Process & Analytical Development, Aspen Neuroscience, Inc.
- Scott Jeffers - Chief Technology Officer, GenSight Biologics
Gain an insight into some of the most cutting- edge technology and services hitting today’s Cell & Gene Therapies market through a series of 10-minute product demos live at the exhibit booths.
If you are interested in presenting your technology or service as part of the live lab tour please contact Roshni Shah – Roshni.shah@informa.com for more information.
- Aashish Tuladhar - Spectrometer Products Supervisor, HORIBA Instruments Incorporated
- Tricia Bitetto - Program Manager, Venture Café Cambridge, CIC
