Join DS2 at Cell & Gene Therapy International 2026
DS2 will be at Cell & Gene Therapy International in Boston from September 22 to 25, sitting in on the manufacturing and analytics tracks and meeting customers and partners between sessions. Put a time in with us.
Let's Connect in Boston
CGT International draws 3,200 or more scientists and executives, including 800 from pharma and biotech, alongside 220 exhibitors and 250 CDMOs, CROs and suppliers. The rooms are full of process development leads, MSAT and tech transfer teams, analytical development heads and the manufacturing executives deciding how a therapy scales. Cell and gene programs live or die on material integrity, and we provide industry-leading solutions across the entire connected sample supply chain. Apheresis collection moving from site to manufacturing, cryogenic shipments with the temperature record intact, chain of custody that survives an audit, patient-specific labelling, and the return leg back to the treating center. We're looking forward to talking through how any of that gets built for a program that is about to scale.
We often find during these events that the diary fills up quickly. Use the form and we'll block a time for you to meet our team while availability lasts.
Why Attend Cell & Gene Therapy International 2026?
Informa Connect positions CGT International as "the premier global conference dedicated to advancing cell and gene therapy development, manufacturing, and commercialization," built around breakthrough discussions in processing, manufacturing and supply chain.
The 2026 numbers: Published numbers for 2026 are 3,200 or more global scientists and executives, 800 pharma and biotech attendees, 80 speakers, 220 exhibitors and more than 30 countries represented.
Three tracks through the main conference: The main conference runs across three tracks: Development of Emerging Cell & Gene Therapies, Cell Therapy Manufacturing & Analytics, and Gene Therapy Manufacturing & Analytics.
A pre-conference day of workshops: A pre-conference day on September 22 carries five workshops, including a CMC roadmap, intensified and continuous manufacturing, AI and machine learning in bioprocessing, and BPI School.
Reciprocal with BioProcess International: The event is reciprocal with BioProcess International. Informa Connect states that a BPI registration also grants access to the CGT International main conference tracks, and the two sell identical passes from the same package page.
Why Meet with DS2?
In cell and gene therapy the material is the medicine. A starting apheresis unit, a vector batch or a finished patient dose has no substitute if the chain breaks, and every handoff has to be recorded well enough to stand up in a filing. DS2 builds and runs that layer, from the kit the site collects into through to the data that lands back in your systems. What we do:
- Diagnostic and specimen collection kit design, assembly and fulfillment
- Kit-to-patient and direct-to-patient distribution
- Medical courier services, including STAT and next-flight-out specimen transport
- Cold chain and temperature-controlled logistics, with the documentation to prove the range held
- Biostorage and biorepository services
- Mobile phlebotomy and specimen collection
- LIS, LIMS and EMR integration, including HL7 and FHIR
- Chain of custody and compliance documentation
Cryogenic shipping, apheresis and starting material logistics, patient-specific chain of custody, biostorage and the integration that keeps it all visible. We're excited to talk any of it through in Boston.
Speaking Faculty
A selection of the senior faculty published for 2026.
Todd McDevitt
Genentech
Vice President, Cell Therapy
Arvind Natarajan
Iovance Biotherapeutics
Senior Vice President, Technical Development
Craig Malzahn
Regenxbio
Executive Vice President, Product Development and Chief Technology Officer
Nelly Viseux
Regeneron
Vice President, Cell Therapies Development, Manufacturing, Supply and Quality
Phillip Ramsey
Sangamo Therapeutics
Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Hari Pujar
Tessera Therapeutics
Chief Operating Officer
Mayo Pujols
Kyverna
Chief Technology Officer
Silviu Itescu
Mesoblast
Chief Executive Officer
Tadayuki Tanimura
Cuorips Inc.
Executive Vice President
Athena Russell
FDA CBER Office of Therapeutic Products
Gene Therapy CMC and Product Reviewer
Stephen Krause
Bristol Myers Squibb
Executive Director, Analytical Strategy, Cell Therapies Global Quality
Erin Kimbrel
Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Head of Cell and Gene Therapy Research
The full roster of 80 or more speakers is on the official speakers page.
The Agenda, Day by Day
Times below are as published by Informa Connect. The main conference runs three parallel tracks from Thursday, so the listing picks out the plenaries and a representative sweep of each track. The complete session-by-session agenda, including all three parallel tracks, is on the official agenda page.
Pre-Conference Day · Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Registration and morning coffee
Extended chairperson's workshop opening, across all workshops
Workshop 1: CMC Roadmap
Thomas Chattaway, Senior Life Science Consultant; Margit Holzer, Scientific Director, Ulysse Consult
Workshop 2: Intensified and Continuous Manufacturing
Speakers from Alexion, Pfizer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, AstraZeneca, Merck & Co., Regeneron and Cytiva
Workshop: AI and ML Applicability in Bioprocessing Training
Christoph Herwig, Körber Pharma Austria; Eva Aning, Moderna; Mark Duerkop, Novasign
Workshop 5: BPI School
Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry, Alkermes; Stefano Menegatti, NC State University; Christoph Herwig
Close of pre-conference day
Day One · Wednesday, September 23, 2026
BWB fitness class
Barre and pilates-inspired sculpting with low-impact trampoline cardio, at the Lululemon Prudential Center store
Registration and morning coffee
Workshop 1: Potency Masterclass
Christopher Bravery, Consulting Regulatory Scientist, Advbiols
Workshop 2: Mastering CDMO Partnerships and External Tech Transfers
James Blackwell, President and Principal Consultant, The Windshire Group
Scientific lunch presentations and lunch networking
Keynote panel: Big Pharma's Cell and Gene Therapies Wish List, Investment Priorities and Emerging Opportunities
Todd McDevitt, Genentech; Kevin Cognetti, Kite Pharma; Erin Kimbrel, Astellas; Anthony Davies, Dark Horse Consulting
Investor panel: Funding the Future, Investment Trends and Opportunities
Daniel Friedman, BroadOak Capital; Laura Stoppel, RA Capital; Christian Uhrich, M Ventures; Mark Yde, Ajinomoto Group Ventures
Keynote: Bridging Science and Regulation, Lessons Learnt from Developing the World's First iPSC-derived Cardiomyocyte Patches
Tadayuki Tanimura, Executive Vice President, Cuorips Inc.
Afternoon break and grand opening of the exhibit hall
Exhibit hall roundtables
AI in CGT manufacturing; navigating IITs in China; supply chain mastery
Networking drinks in the exhibit and poster hall
Day Two · Thursday, September 24, 2026
Biotech Week Boston Fun Run, a guided 5K along the Boston waterfront
Chair's opening remarks across all three tracks
Nicola Ambler, CGT Circle; Amy Shaw, Genetix Biotherapeutics
Keynote: In Vivo CAR-T Therapies, Product Development and Clinical Advances
Hari Pujar, Chief Operating Officer, Tessera Therapeutics
Keynote panel: Scaling Cell Therapies, Lessons from Pioneers
Arvind Natarajan, Iovance; Mayo Pujols, Kyverna; Pooja Sabhachandani, Novartis; Marcia Blackmoore, L7 Informatics
Keynote panel: Strategies for Scaling Up, Accelerating and Commercializing Gene Therapy Manufacturing
Craig Malzahn, Regenxbio; Phillip Ramsey, Sangamo; Jared Simons, Solid Biosciences; Keenan Bashour, 4D Molecular Therapeutics
Networking refreshment break in the exhibit hall
Parallel track sessions
Signal peptide engineering, CGT facility design, AAV platform strategies, allogeneic process development, AAV upstream innovation
Lunch in the exhibit hall
Parallel track sessions
Analytical control strategy for cell therapies, AAV affinity capture, AI and machine learning in GMP manufacturing, tech transfer to CDMO partners
Panel: Starting with the End in Mind, Designing Phase-Appropriate Manufacturing
Khandan Baradaran, Mill Creek Consulting; Shankar Swaminathan, Astellas; Amy Shaw, Genetix Biotherapeutics; Allen Horton, Beam Therapeutics
Coaches to the networking party
Biotech Week Boston Festival Party at the Museum of Science
Day Three · Friday, September 25, 2026
Chair's opening remarks
Christopher Bravery, Advbiols; Mariana Loperfido, Novartis; Rajeev Boregowda, Sanofi
Journey from R&D to Clinical Manufacturing
Nelly Viseux, Vice President, Regeneron
Panel: Decentralized Manufacturing in Cell Therapy
Therese Choquette, Tigen Pharma; Thorsten Gorba, Aspen Neuroscience; Tatyana Matveeva, Massachusetts General Hospital; Richard McFarland, ARMI
Panel: Navigating BLA Success
Tiffany D Rau; Scott Jeffers, GenSight Biologics; Ying Cai, Ultragenyx; Corina McCarthy, Rocket Pharmaceuticals
Parallel track sessions
RNA-LNP platforms for CAR engineering, ddPCR potency assays, flow cytometry validation from an FDA CBER reviewer perspective
Networking refreshment break in the exhibit hall
Parallel track sessions
Next-generation cell therapies for autoimmune disease, cell viability reference materials from NIST, late-stage AAV purification modelling
Lunch in the exhibit hall, last chance to meet exhibitors
Keynote plenary: Lessons Learnt on the Path to Commercialisation
Silviu Itescu, Chief Executive Officer, Mesoblast
Close of event
Useful Cell & Gene Therapy International Resources
The official event page.
Full AgendaEvery session across all three tracks.
SpeakersThe published faculty.
Sponsors & ExhibitorWho is in the exhibit hall.
Venue and TransportationGetting to the Hynes.
Book Your HotelThe official room block.
Hotel Fraud AdvisoryRead before booking through a third party.
Book NowPass types, pricing and inclusions.
Cell & Gene Therapy International 2026 FAQ
General
Fees & registration
Venue & travel
See You in Boston
Boston, September 22 to 25. Send over the program you are scaling and we'll set aside time to go through the supply chain behind it.