Cell and gene therapy success depends on more than technology or talent. It requires clarity on therapeutic intent and a realistic plan for translation: navigating regulatory expectations, aligning funding with evidence generation, and building manufacturing that can reliably deliver the product you propose.
Future of CGT is a practice-oriented conference for founders, therapy developers, academics, clinicians, and strategic leaders focused on the real constraints of CGT development and delivery. If you work at the interface of science, clinical translation, regulation, and CMC/manufacturing, please save the date.
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The Conversations CGT Leaders Have Been Waiting For
If you’re building a CGT programme, many meetings either remain highly scientific or stay at a general level. What’s often harder to find is space for practical discussion of the development decisions that determine whether a programme is feasible, well before late-stage clinical development or commercial planning.
Future of CGT is designed to support that type of exchange.
In CGT, success isn’t just about innovation. It’s about building the right company around it.
It’s where founders, operators, scientists, and strategic leads come together to share how they’re preparing for partnerships, navigating regulatory risks, planning for manufacturing before it’s urgent, and thinking commercially from day one.
It’s the kind of gathering where people stop pitching and start trading lessons about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what they wish they’d known a year earlier.
Who should join?
This event is built for people shaping CGT companies from the inside out.
- Founders making hard calls on funding and focus.
- Commercial leads figuring out how to position what’s still in development.
- Scientists and clinicians developing the therapies for patients
- Regulatory and CMC leads translating ambition into approvals.
- Investors who know the next big thing won’t look like the last one.
If you’re building, backing, or scaling in CGT —you belong here.
Data Is Not Enough: Sander Van Deventer on Safety, Politics, and the Real Work of Bringing Gene Therapy to Patients
Sander van Deventer reflects on the realities of bringing gene therapies from the lab to patients. Drawing on experience from antibody discovery to the approval struggles of Glybera and current ALS programs at VectorY, he discusses safety margins, manufacturing economics, and the political dynamics that shape whether therapies reach the clinic.
Everything Depends on the Data: Rachel Abbott on Bringing a TCR Therapy into the Clinic
Rachel Abbott, CEO of Pan Cancer T, shares what it takes to bring a TCR-based T cell therapy from academic discovery to first-in-human trials. From funding constraints to manufacturing strategy and lean team building, she reflects on the practical decisions shaping early clinical development in cell and gene therapy.
Everything Depends on the Questions You Ask: Thomas Broekhoff on Cell and Gene Therapy Policy
Thomas Broekhoff on shaping cell and gene therapy policy through better questions and clearer strategy.
Building Viable CGT Programmes from Concept to Clinic
This conference brings together practical experience from across the CGT development pathway. Sessions explore how teams align regulatory expectations with realistic timelines, design CMC and nonclinical strategies that minimise rework, and make disciplined choices around evidence generation, outsourcing, and internal capability build.
The focus is on execution and decision-making—often the “small” calls that determine whether programmes progress efficiently or encounter avoidable delays.
The Location — PLNT Leiden
Our venue is PLNT, the heart of innovation in Leiden’s biotech ecosystem. Located just minutes from Leiden Central Station, PLNT brings together startups, scale-ups, and forward-looking thinkers in life sciences and tech. With modern facilities, flexible spaces, and a rooftop view over the city, it’s built for collaboration and sharp conversations; exactly the kind of environment where the future of CGT belongs.
The Program
Besides keynote talks from CGT veterans who’ve built, led, and scaled programs across development stages, the program runs in parallel streams focused on clinical strategy, regulatory progress, and CMC readiness. Each session will offer hands-on insight into planning, coordination, and decision-making.
Alongside the main program, you’ll find a curated carousel of emerging enabling technologies, expert-led workshops on critical topics, and dedicated space for 1:1 partnering conversations grounded in real expertise.
It’s a working agenda for teams actively building the next generation of CGT companies.