Cell Line Development & Engineering

Engineering Cells That Deliver

8/11/2026 - August 12, 2026 ALL TIMES EDT

The Cell Line Development & Engineering conference brings together experts driving innovation in expression vector design and promoter engineering to high-throughput clone screening and selection strategies to accelerate timelines without compromising quality. Sessions will also examine the rapidly evolving landscape of viral vector and AAV manufacturing for gene therapy, alongside emerging platforms for vaccine and alternative biologics production. Together, these presentations reflect the innovation driving the next generation of biologics development.

Preliminary Agenda

Session Block

ENGINEERING HOST CELL LINES

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Cell Line Design Strategies for Improving Biotherapeutic Expression

Photo of Jack J. Scarcelli, PhD, Senior Director, Head of Cell Line Development, Sanofi , Senior Director, Head of Cell Line Development , Sanofi — Jack J. Scarcelli, PhD, Senior Director, Head of Cell Line Development, Sanofi , Senior Director, Head of Cell Line Development , Sanofi

While the advent of targeted and semi-targeted integration expression systems reduced risk of cell-line instability, it has simultaneously increased focus on expression-vector engineering to enhance titer and quality. This presentation examines expression improvements achieved through strategic vector design, including optimization of vector topologies and the inclusion and use of genetically-encoded reporter proteins. These approaches enable the development of a robust expression system capable of addressing increasingly complex portfolios.

What Does Secretion Look Like in a Single Cell?

Photo of Nathan E. Lewis, PhD, GRA Eminent Scholar and Professor, Center for Molecular Medicine Complex, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia , GRA Eminent Scholar & Professor , Biochemistry & Molecular Biology , University of Georgia — Nathan E. Lewis, PhD, GRA Eminent Scholar and Professor, Center for Molecular Medicine Complex, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia , GRA Eminent Scholar & Professor , Biochemistry & Molecular Biology , University of Georgia

Photo of Jean-Sebastien Maltais, PhD, Research Officer, Medical Devices, National Research Council Canada , Research Officer , Medical Devices , Natl Research Council Canada — Jean-Sebastien Maltais, PhD, Research Officer, Medical Devices, National Research Council Canada , Research Officer , Medical Devices , Natl Research Council Canada

Photo of Laura Zielewicz, PhD, Principal Scientist, Pfizer Inc. , Principal Scientist , Pfizer — Laura Zielewicz, PhD, Principal Scientist, Pfizer Inc. , Principal Scientist , Pfizer

Photo of John Ruano, PhD, Principal Scientist, GSK , Principal Scientist , GSK — John Ruano, PhD, Principal Scientist, GSK , Principal Scientist , GSK

Transposase-mediated semi-targeted transgene integration (STI) offers substantial advantages over random integration for the development of stable, high productivity CHO cell lines. Despite increasing implementation of transposases in monoclonal antibody Cell Line Development (CLD), their performance for other recombinant proteins has not been widely demonstrated. Presented here is the successful establishment of a transposase-mediated STI CLD platform for vaccine antigens.

CLONE SELECTION, STABILITY, AND HIGH PRODUCING CELL LINES

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Adaptive Development: Aligning Cell-Line Optimization with Process Improvements for Enhanced Speed and Productivity

Photo of Christina S. Alves, PhD, Head, US Biologics Process Development, Takeda , Head, US Biologics Process Development , Takeda — Christina S. Alves, PhD, Head, US Biologics Process Development, Takeda , Head, US Biologics Process Development , Takeda

Accelerated biotherapeutics development, coupled with the need for cost-effective production, necessitates innovation in cell line and process technologies. By integrating streamlined workflows, innovative genetic tools, automation, and process intensification strategies we have developed a platform for monoclonal antibodies and adjacent modalities. Through this work the importance of constant iteration between cell line optimization and process improvements emerged as a key factor in establishing a robust, productive protein biologics platform.

Screening Methods to Identify Clones with Favorable Meabolic Signatures

Hillary Miller, PhD, Principal Scientist, Cell Engineering and Analytical Sciences, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine , Principal Scientist , Cell Engineering and Analytical Sciences , Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

Photo of Susan Sharfstein, PhD, Professor of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University at Albany , Professor , Nanoscale Science and Engineering , University at Albany — Susan Sharfstein, PhD, Professor of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University at Albany , Professor , Nanoscale Science and Engineering , University at Albany

Photo of Jackson Leong, PhD, Senior Scientist, Cell Culture Process Development, Denali Therapeutics Inc. , Senior Scientist , Cell Culture Process Development , Denali Therapeutics Inc — Jackson Leong, PhD, Senior Scientist, Cell Culture Process Development, Denali Therapeutics Inc. , Senior Scientist , Cell Culture Process Development , Denali Therapeutics Inc

Correct heavy and light chain pairing is a critical quality attribute for bispecific antibodies, yet early clone selection in cell line development often relies primarily on titer. We present a high-throughput Bio-Layer Interferometry (BLI)â€“based assay to screen chain pairing directly from culture supernatant, enabling rapid, orthogonal assessment of assembly during fed-batch production and improving clone elimination decisions in bispecific cell line development workflows.

VECTOR DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION

Plasmid Engineering for AAV Production and Increased Safety

Photo of Azadeh Sarfallah, PhD, Senior Scientist, Applied Viral Sciences, Genentech Inc. , Sr Scientist , Applied Viral Sciences , Genentech Inc — Azadeh Sarfallah, PhD, Senior Scientist, Applied Viral Sciences, Genentech Inc. , Sr Scientist , Applied Viral Sciences , Genentech Inc

Shuang Wei, PhD, Senior Scientist, Merck , Senior Scientist , Merck

Photo of Metewo Selase Enuameh, PhD, Associate Director, Vector Core Cell Line Development, REGENXBIO, Inc. , Associate Director , Vector Core Cell Line Development & Engineering , REGENXBIO Inc — Metewo Selase Enuameh, PhD, Associate Director, Vector Core Cell Line Development, REGENXBIO, Inc. , Associate Director , Vector Core Cell Line Development & Engineering , REGENXBIO Inc

Photo of Kavya Ganapathy, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Genentech , Postdoctoral Fellow , Genentech — Kavya Ganapathy, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Genentech , Postdoctoral Fellow , Genentech

Photo of Zhiwei Song, PhD, CSO, Nexa Biologics, Singapore , CSO , Nexa Biologics Pte. Ltd. — Zhiwei Song, PhD, CSO, Nexa Biologics, Singapore , CSO , Nexa Biologics Pte. Ltd.

Leveraging two proprietary technologies, we developed a novel antibody expression vector that increases yield, accelerates cell-line development, and improves stability. It features a mutated glutamine synthetase (GS) selection marker with reduced enzymatic activity to enhance selection stringency and generate highly productive, stable clones. It also incorporates an enhanced CMV promoter containing a proprietary DNA insert to boost expression. Together, these innovations increase bulk pool antibody expression four- to five-fold.

For more details on the conference, please contact:

Mimi Langley

Executive Director, Conferences

Cambridge Healthtech Institute

Email: mlangley@healthtech.com

For sponsorship information, please contact:

Companies A-K

Phillip Zakim-Yacouby

Business Development Manager

Cambridge Healthtech Institute

Phone: (+1) 781-247-1815

Email: philzy@cambridgeinnovationinstitute.com