The Cell Summit ’26: Bringing CGT Leaders Together to Solve the Challenges Between Science and Delivery
Cell and gene therapies continue to represent one of the most promising frontiers in medicine. Across the industry, scientific innovation is moving quickly, clinical experience is deepening, and more teams are working to bring these therapies to patients who need new treatment options.
But as the field advances, one thing has become increasingly clear: breakthrough science alone is not enough. For cell and gene therapies to reach more patients, the industry must also solve the practical challenges that sit between discovery, manufacturing, clinical implementation, and delivery. These challenges are often found in the handoffs, in the assumptions, and in the moments where a process that works in development must hold up under real-world clinical and operational conditions.
That is the focus of The Cell Summit ’26.
BioLife Solutions is proud to partner with the Applied Gene and Cell Therapy Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for The Cell Summit ’26, taking place July 28–29, 2026, in Cincinnati, Ohio. This two-day working meeting will bring together cell and gene therapy leaders to examine the decisions, constraints, and process considerations that shape how advanced therapies can be manufactured, preserved, transported, and delivered with consistency.
A Different Kind of Industry Meeting
The Cell Summit was created to be more than a traditional conference.
Instead of a series of standalone presentations, The Cell Summit is designed as a collaborative forum where experts can engage directly with the real-world challenges impacting cell therapy development and delivery. The goal is to bring together voices from across the ecosystem, including scientists, process development leaders, clinicians, manufacturers, quality and regulatory experts, and technology providers.
At The Cell Summit ’26, discussions will focus on key decision points across the cell therapy workflow, including:
- Therapy access strategy
- Starting material collection
- Raw materials and consumables
- Process design and automation
- Downstream processing
- Cryopreservation
- Logistics and distribution
- Quality and regulatory considerations
- Clinical implementation
The meeting format is intended to encourage practical dialogue around where processes succeed, where they break down, and what the field can do to better align scientific, manufacturing, and clinical realities.
Why Cincinnati Children’s
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center brings significant clinical, translational, and manufacturing expertise to this year’s meeting.
The Applied Gene and Cell Therapy Center at Cincinnati Children’s supports the development, production, and characterization of complex cell therapy and viral vector products. Its capabilities span vector and cell product development, GMP manufacturing, analytical development, quality control testing, platform development, and technology transfer.
That combination of clinical and manufacturing perspective is central to the purpose of The Cell Summit ’26. As more cell and gene therapy programs move toward later-stage development and commercialization, the industry needs forums that connect process decisions with clinical realities. The partnership with Cincinnati Children’s helps create that connection.
“Bringing new cell and gene therapies to patients requires close alignment between scientific innovation, manufacturing execution, and clinical implementation,” said Chaozhong/Charles Zou, Executive Director and General Manager of the Applied Gene and Cell Therapy Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “The Cell Summit ’26 creates a valuable opportunity to bring those perspectives together, examine real-world challenges, and help identify practical solutions that can support the continued advancement of the field.”
Building on the Discussions from The Cell Summit ’25
The Cell Summit ’26 builds on the foundation established at The Cell Summit ’25, where leaders from across the cell and gene therapy ecosystem gathered to discuss biopreservation, closed-system processing, scale-up, cold chain management, and other practical challenges affecting advanced therapy development.
Those discussions were captured in The Cell Summit ’25 Proceedings, developed in partnership with GEN. The eBook includes expert perspectives on biopreservation best practices, cryopreservation, closed-system manufacturing, transient warming events, thawing, cold chain precision, and other topics that continue to shape the development and delivery of cell-based therapies.
For teams interested in understanding the level of discussion and technical depth expected at The Cell Summit meetings, The Cell Summit ’25 Proceedings is available here: https://promo.genengnews.com/biolife-cell-summit-25-proceedings/
Preserving the Promise of Cell and Gene Therapies
At BioLife Solutions, we believe the promise of cell and gene therapies starts with the integrity of a single cell.
Every decision in the workflow matters. The choice of starting material, the design of the process, the transition to closed systems, the cryopreservation strategy, the container, the storage conditions, the shipment, the thaw, and the final handoff to the clinical site can all influence whether a therapy maintains the quality and consistency required to reach patients.
The Cell Summit ’26 is designed to bring those decisions into sharper focus.
By creating space for honest discussion, practical case review, and cross-functional collaboration, we hope to help advance conversations that move beyond theory and toward implementation. The future of cell and gene therapy depends not only on what is possible in the lab, but on how well the field can preserve, protect, manufacture, and deliver living cells at scale.
To learn more about The Cell Summit ’26, visit: https://www.biolifesolutions.com/the-cell-summit/
