News Hub

Miguel Forte, MD, PhD
ISCT President
MC4TX
Belgium

As a well-established tradition, ISCT will hold its annual meeting at the beginning of May. This year we will gather in Dublin from the 6th to the 10th of May. It is an unmissable event as the largest global cell and gene therapy translation conference. We are expecting around 3,000 delegates, enabling more than 7,000 partnering and networking meetings, with over 60 countries represented and more than 250 speakers. The number of accepted abstracts has reached a record level for ISCT, with more than 650 submissions accepted.

Under the theme of the “Golden Age of Cell and Gene Therapy,” the scientific program is divided between the Translational Pathway and the Roundtables. The Translational Pathway features informative speaker sessions reflecting the state of the art in several key areas; I would particularly highlight the Presidential Plenary focusing on the review of the past, present, and future of CAR T cell therapy. The Roundtables are a place for discussion and intense audience participation in topics of high relevance and, at times, controversy. A session I would strongly recommend is the Roundtable on HHGE (Human Heritable Gene Editing).

A central element of our annual meeting cycle will be the announcement of the major ISCT awards, recognizing the outstanding achievements and contributions of several of our members. Reflecting the growing breadth, talent, and impact of ISCT leadership, we will also present the nominations of several leaders for new terms over the coming years, including the Presidential transition with a new President and President-Elect taking over the leadership of the Society. 

For a while now, ISCT has been anchored on three pillars: Academia, Regulatory, and Industry. Through the leadership of the Chief Scientific, Regulatory, and Commercialization Officers, these pillars have allowed us to impact the field, drive membership, and address the most relevant topics in cell and gene therapy. As more products move into multiple phases of clinical development and commercialization, the clinical perspective—both during development and after authorization—has become increasingly important, requiring a dedicated clinical focus within ISCT. 

Understanding this reality, and starting at this annual meeting, we will formally establish Clinical as the fourth pillar of the society, following a by law amendment, with the appointment of our inaugural Chief Medical Officer. This additional leadership role will sharpen and strengthen our focus on the clinical perspectives, for both health practitioners and patients, further consolidating ISCT as the leading society across all stages of C&GT product translation. I see this as a milestone achievement for ISCT. 

Over the last two years, ISCT has been especially active in workforce development, regulatory stewardship, and opinion leadership. In this period, ISCT has further evolved from a purely scientific society into an organization building the infrastructure for the field: developing training standards, regulatory intelligence, commercialization support, and influence on global policy. 

As highlights and within the academic pillar, we have the multiple scientific committees in areas of critical importance for the field, such as exosomes and iPSCs. In the regulatory arena, the Global Regulatory Forum (GRF) brings together regulators from around the world into a shared experience forum, held in association with the annual meeting. In the Commercialization Committee, the focus on patient access and sustainable business models is advanced through discussions and interactions with product developers, enablers and service providers, investors and venture capitalists. 

At the same time, collaborations with other societies have expanded the impact of ISCT and contributed to significant global influence in the field of cell and gene therapy. A concrete example is our highly successful five year collaboration with JSRM (Japanese Society of Regenerative Medicine) for joint symposia, held at each annual meeting, on all aspects of iPSC development. The first session of this joint symposium series took place in Kobe, Japan, in March this year, organized by JSRM, and will continue at next year’s ISCT Scientific Annual Meeting in Toronto, under ISCT's organization. Another impactful example is the ongoing collaboration between ISCT, ARM, and ASGCT in monitoring, discussing, and educating on Human Heritable Gene Editing. A recent joint publication in Cytotherapy, ISCT's scientific journal, from the three organizations called for a 10 year moratorium on activities related to HHGE until we have a better understanding and management of the risk–benefit equation in this complex context.
 
In a world facing significant challenges and uncertainty, ISCT has, over the last few years, provided an aggregating presence and an ethical, proactive, and impactful leadership for the development of new cell and gene therapy products and their access to patients—both in orphan indications and increasingly in larger population diseases. The vision with which I began my Presidency, “ISCT as a global presence in CGT for a local impact,” has delivered membership growth and increasing relevance for ISCT in multiple geographies, developed talent, shaped policies, and, above all, brought together those who share a passion for what cell and gene therapy can do to address unmet medical and patient needs. ISCT continues to strengthen its role as a beacon of ethical influence and leadership in cell and gene therapy for the benefit of patients. Among CGT organizations, it is also the most global and continues to expand in numbers and influence worldwide. ISCT wields a strong, established presence in US and Europe, and a rapidly growing presence in other regions–particularly, Asia. 

As the leadership of ISCT evolves, with the expansion and rotation of our leaders, ISCT’s global presence continues to grow through increasing membership and activities, including the annual meeting and our regional meetings. I warmly welcome (and fully expect) your presence at our Scientific Annual Meeting in Dublin, and also at upcoming society meetings such as the ISCT ANZ 2026 Regional Meeting (Melbourne) in August, and the Inaugural ISCT Asia 2026 Regional Meeting (Singapore) in September, and again, in May 2027, for the next Scientific Annual Meeting – that time in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

ISCT is the home for everyone who cares about cell and gene therapy and, in a world of challenges and uncertainty, it is the place for those who want to develop science and products that bring ethical, tangible value to patients with unmet medical needs worldwide. I encourage you to enjoy and grow our membership, contribute to the consolidation and maturation of the field, and take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the network, our meetings and other resources offered by ISCT.

It has been a privilege to lead ISCT over the last two years and I am proud to see the Society growing in size, global presence, influence and purpose!

Looking forward to meeting and connecting in Dublin! Do not miss it!