Securing the future of mRNA: strategy, science, and resilience in 2026

Ajay Gupta, PhD, is Co-founder, President, Chairman & CEO of Celestial Therapeutics Inc. Dr Gupta is an accomplished executive, scientist and an entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech/CRO industry. Dr Gupta received his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Waterloo. He has extensive experience in executive management of both private and publicly traded companies, entrepreneurship, business development, medicinal chemistry, drug, device & mRNA vaccine discovery & development, design and conduct of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, analytical, bioanalytical chemistry, toxicology, cGMP manufacturing, formulation development, regulatory affairs, business development, establishing licensing agreements as well as interactions with the FDA, EMA and Health Canada.

Telmo is Process and Technology Lead for mRNA at Lonza and a key member of the External Innovations team within Cell and Gene Therapies. He is program manager for the mRNA Platform transition capabilities from R&D into GMP and QC, while aligning R&D, operations, innovation, and commercial stakeholders to drive governed execution. His role includes shaping strategic, research, and licensing collaborations and advising the Global Strategy Group on technology, innovation, and investment decisions. Previously, Telmo led automated mRNA manufacturing platforms at CureVac SE. He holds a Master’s in Biological Engineering and a PhD in Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

Andreas Kuhn has worked with RNA for almost thirty years. This started with his diploma and PhD theses on the structure and function of small non-coding RNAs using biochemical and molecular biology methods. In his post-doctoral work, Andreas studied RNA-protein interactions in the spliceosome in yeast and later worked on small molecules to affect pre-mRNA splicing. His work on mRNA-based immunotherapies began in 2007 in the academic group of Ugur Sahin at the University Clinic Mainz, and Andreas joined BioNTech SE shortly after its founding in 2008. In his current role as Senior Vice President RNA Biochemistry & CMC Development the main focus is expanding proprietary technologies to increase the efficacy of mRNA-based therapies and to develop and optimize GMP-compatible manufacturing processes for RNA.

Blair Madison is the Vice President, Head of Genetic Medicine Technology and Research Site Head for Genentech-San Diego. Previously he was the Chief Scientific Officer of Gene Therapy at Poseida Therapeutics and holds a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology. Prior to joining Poseida, he was an NCI-funded tenure-track investigator at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr Madison has studied the biology of the LINE1 retrotransposon at UPenn and has led efforts at both Transposagen Bio and Poseida Therapeutics to enhance and evolve the piggyBac DNA transposon, including site-specific versions of this technology.