Event Preview – Cell & Gene Therapy World Asia

Building resilient cell and gene therapy ecosystems in Asia

A central theme of the conference is how Asia's CGT ecosystem can scale sustainably while navigating the region's distinct regulatory and supply chain landscape. Chien-Tsun Kuan (President, CEO, and Co-Founder, ARCE Therapeutics) will open the conference with a leadership keynote examining the opportunities and challenges facing CGT innovation across Asia. Mohit Agarwal (Global Digital Transformation Head, Wockhardt) will join a panel discussion exploring how stakeholders can balance innovation speed with regulatory compliance and patient safety, and which partnerships across government, industry, and academia are critical to accelerating CGT growth in the region. These opening sessions will set the strategic context for the two-day program, anchoring subsequent technical discussions in the realities of building robust, future-ready infrastructure at a regional scale.

CAR-T cell therapy: from autologous to allogeneic platforms

CAR-T cell therapy will be a focal area across both days of the conference, reflecting its expanding clinical and commercial relevance in the APAC region. Ivan Horak (CEO and Founder, Tikva Allocell) will present on advancing CAR-T from autologous to allogeneic platforms, covering the expansion of CAR-T applications from hematologic malignancies to solid tumors and autoimmune diseases, and exploring in vivo approaches. Victor Li (Founder and CEO, Eximmium) will discuss unlocking new targets for first-in-class cancer immunotherapy, focusing on the challenges of current immunotherapy targets and off-tumor toxicity. Rebecca McQualter (CEO, Chimeric Therapeutics) will chart the journey of solid tumor-targeting cell therapy, discussing the current landscape and the future trajectory of the field. Further addressing manufacturing quality, Nithin Choudhary (Head of Quality, CAR-T, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories) will present on managing quality and regulatory expectations for evolving CAR-T platforms, including building flexible GMP and QC frameworks and planning for regulatory-compliant scale-up.

Gene therapy, editing technologies, and next-generation delivery

The conference will highlight advances in gene therapy vectors, editing platforms, and novel delivery modalities. Ryuichi Morishita (Professor, Department of Clinical Gene Therapy, Osaka University) will present on the development of Collategene, a plasmid DNA-based HGF gene therapy that has received US FDA breakthrough therapy designation. Kuldip Sidhu (Executive Director and CSO, CK Cell Technologies) will discuss a cell-free paradigm for regenerative medicine with a focus on Alzheimer's disease, addressing QC harmonization for exosomes. In addition, Rebecca Lim (CSO, INOVIQ) will present on accelerating clinical translation and technology transfer for exosome-based technologies.

Scalable manufacturing and quality-by-design frameworks

Manufacturing scalability and quality assurance remain central to the commercialization of advanced therapies, and dedicated sessions will address both process design and operational execution. Vipul Doshi (Chief Quality and Compliance Officer, Zydus Life Sciences) will present on building quality-by-design (QbD) frameworks for scalable CGT manufacturing, providing a structured approach to embedding quality throughout the development lifecycle. The conference will also feature discussions on operational excellence in CGT manufacturing, spanning risk management strategies to minimize batch failures, supply disruptions, and workforce readiness for advanced CGT operations.

Across two focused days, Cell & Gene Therapy World Asia 2026 will offer a comprehensive platform for exploring the science, manufacturing, and commercial strategies shaping the next generation of advanced therapies in Asia. As interest in CGT continues to accelerate across Asia, the meeting offers a timely and important forum for knowledge exchange and cross-border collaboration.

As a reader of Cell and Gene Therapy Insights, you are entitled to a 15% discount on delegate tickets – just use the code BIOINSIGHTS at checkout. You can find out more about Cell & Gene Therapy World Asia 2026 here.

Additionally, to find out what other CGT events are upcoming, you can find our online Events Calendar here.