Main Conference Day 1 (28th April 2026) - CET/CEST (Cent Europe Summer, GMT+2)
- Lasse Ebdrup Pedersen - Associate Professor, The Technical University of Denmark
- Jesús Lavado-García - Co-PI and Group Leader of the Mammalian Cell and Bioprocess Engineering Group, DTU Biosustain
- Michael Palige, PhD - Drug Substance CMC Lead - Biotherapeutics Process Development Europe, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
- Ulrich Rümenapp - Senior Biotech Program Lead, Bayer AG
- Alois Jungbauer - Professor, Dept. of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences
- Hubert Mayerhofer - Senior Manager DSP Development, Novartis
- Felix Wittkopp - Director of Purification Development Gene Therapy - Gene Therapy Technical Research & Development, Roche, Germany
- Jordan Turnbull - Co-Founder, Co-CEO, CSO, Fuse Vectors
- Thibaut Angevin - Director CMC Proteins, BioNTech SE
- Kat Kozyrytska - Founder, Cell Therapy Manufacturability Program
- Francisca Gouveia - Innovation Data & Digital Lead, Novartis, France
Have a Solution for This Challenge?
This session is your platform to demonstrate leadership and technical expertise. Present your data, case studies, and innovative solutions to a targeted audience of senior scientists and engineers looking to solve hurdles in their production processes.
To learn more about sponsoring this session, contact us at Partners@informaconnectls.com
- Lovro Kramer - Senior Principal Scientist, Cell Line Screening and Development - Biologics Research Center, Novartis Biomedical Research
- Bjørn Voldborg - Director CHO Cell Line Development, The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability
- Ali Saleemi - Associate Director, Bayer
- An increasing number of molecules is coming through the pipeline because of AI for drug discovery and clinical trials, requiring process development and operations to become more cost and time effective.
- With the rise of AI, the expectation is for digital tools to streamline process development while delivering robust, high performance processes.
- Examples of data management and process modeling applications will be shown, which indicate that wet-lab experimentation can be reduced, when used alongside the traditional way of working.
- Moritz von Stosch - Co Founding Partner, HINA Bioventures
- Sabrina Simpson-Koch - Senior Scientist - Gene Therapy Technical Research & Development, Roche
EVs are rapidly growing, but with no established purification platform
Current state-of-the-art purification strategies
Pros and Cons of differing approaches:
Centrifugation
Filtration
Chromatography
The future of EV purification: what will a platform look like?
- Bernd Giebel - Founder & CTO, Exosla Therapeutics
- Kristin Luther - VP of CMC & Analytical Development, AGS Therapeutics
- Patricia Pereira Aguilar - Senior Scientist – Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering, BOKU
- Hollie Bartley - Director, Process Development, Resolution Therapeutics
- Pablo Mancheño Corvo - Associate Scientific Director, Takeda, Spain
- Peter Satzer - Founder & CTO, print4biotech (p4b)
This presentation explores how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning contribute differently to modern bioprocess optimization. Five industrially relevant showcases will be discussed - spanning upstream and downstream processes, from monoclonal antibodies to viral vectors, and from small-scale development to manufacturing scale. Emphasis will be placed on the digital transformation journey from manual development work toward fully autonomous biomanufacturing, highlighting solution paths that enable faster, more consistent, and intelligent process optimization across the product lifecycle.
- Mark Duerkop - Chief Executive Officer, Novasign, Austria
Explore a showcase of scientific excellence. Discover the latest data and technical breakthroughs in our dedicated Poster Hall in the Exhibit Hall. Engage directly with the authors to discuss their findings, methodology, and results during this focused networking break.
- Harry Starkey - Research Manager, Informa Connect
Join this dynamic, peer-led session to tackle biopharma's biggest challenges. Choose a table and engage in an open discussion to share insights and find collaborative solutions.
Choose Your Topic, Come away with actionable learnings.
Topics will include:
- The USP-DSP Handshake: Debate how to create a truly integrated process to solve downstream bottlenecks caused by upstream intensification.
- Validating AI in a GMP World: Tackle the practical steps and regulatory risks for validating AI/ML in a GMP environment.
- Is The 'Platform' Dead for Downstream?: Discuss the future of purification beyond the traditional mAb platform for novel modalities like bispecifics and ADCs.
- Learning from History: What ATMPs can Learn from mAbs: When will cell and gene therapies have their "CHO moment"? Explore key lessons to accelerate ATMP industrialization.
- The ATMP COGS Crisis: Brainstorm radical solutions to drive down the commercially unsustainable manufacturing costs for cell and gene therapies.
- The Sustainability Mandate: Discuss the practical implementation of sustainability as it moves from a "nice-to-have" to a regulatory and business imperative.
- Emerging Markets & Global Supply: Discuss the challenges and opportunities of building biomanufacturing capacity and supply chains in emerging markets.
- Katharina Bruno-Thakur - Principal Scientist, F. Hoffmann-La Roche
- Manuel Carrondo - Vice President, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET), Portugal
The latest state of play on the European Biotech Act to be proposed by the European Commission at the end of 2025, and its impact for the biotech industry.
- Thomas Van Cangh - Deputy Head of Unit - DG SANTE, European Commission
- Daniela Ottini - SVP, Manufacturing and Supply Head of Specialty Care, Sanofi
- Andrea Johnston, PhD - Senior Director, BioPhorum
- William Doyle - Business Technology Partner, MSD, Ireland
