Cell-based therapies are emerging as a promising treatment modality to complement traditional drug development focused on small molecules and biologics. While there have been major successes in using engineered T cells to treat hematologic cancers, many immediate challenges remain about how to program more precise and effective cellular behaviors, how to better manufacture and deliver cell products, and how to navigate a complex regulatory and clinical landscape. There is also growing interest in expanding the scope of potential cell-based therapies: how to apply them to diseases beyond cancer, including autoimmunity and regeneration, and how to harness a broader set of cell types, including other immune cells, microbes and stem cells.

This meeting will highlight the state-of-the-art in cell therapies, and forge new frontiers in the field. We will explore the broader question of what types of diseases cellular agents are uniquely suited to treat, and what programmable functions are needed to endow in cells to achieve this vision. In addition, we will discuss lessons learned from clinical trials, to provide bedside-to-bench insights that will drive further clinical advances. Bringing together attendees from basic and translational research areas, ranging from synthetic biologists and cell engineers to clinicians and industry scientists, this conference will provide unique opportunities for cross-disciplinary discussions that will drive innovative collaborations, accelerate clinical implementation and help define a road map for future cell therapies.

Additionally, this conference will be co-located with another Keystone Symposia conference, “Antibodies as Drugs: Engineering and Computation Tools Enabling Clinical Advances” to enable cross-talk between these complimentary treatment modalities and facilitate interdisciplinary insights and collaborations to advance therapeutic opportunities and impacts.