CGT Innovations: The Three-Pronged Strategy for Industry Growth (Part 2)

In an interview with BioPharm International® during the 2025 Cell and Gene Meeting on the Mesa, which occurred on Oct. 6–8 in Phoenix, Ariz., Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, CEO of Kiji Therapeutics, president of the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, and board/executive committee member of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, presented a visionary framework for the future of the cell and gene therapy field. He posits a "three product focus" that will define technological and strategic directions for developers and investors alike.

The first product type is autologous therapies—personalized treatments, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell and tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapies—tailored to each patient. Forte emphasizes the importance of automation and closed-system manufacturing for these therapies, which streamline production, reduce operator dependency, and enhance quality. Autologous products, he notes, allow manufacturing to occur closer to the patient, improving both efficiency and patient outcomes.

The second product type are in-vivo products, in which the therapy is delivered directly to the patient using gene material and a delivery vector—often a virus. Innovation in this area centers on improving the specificity, safety, and payload capacity of the delivery mechanism, Forte says. He highlights growing alternatives to viral vectors and advancements in targeting, with the aim of reaching the right cells with the right genetic payload.

The third product type are allogeneic therapies, or off-the-shelf treatments, derived from sources like donor cells or induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs). The promise here lies in scalable, cost-effective solutions, Forte points out. Engineering and optimizing IPSCs could make these therapies more accessible and consistent, mirroring the reliability of traditional biologics.

Forte stresses, "It's not just the fantastic science and the clinical results. It's the optimization of the value proposition, by making sure that your product is cost effective, is high quality, and is convenient to use."

As investment returns and industrial models become ever more crucial, these three product types provide a roadmap for stakeholders seeking both innovation and sustainability in cell and gene therapy, he concludes.

Click above to view the interview.

Click here for Part 1 of Forte’s interview.

Click here for more conference coverage.

About the speaker

Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, CEO, Kiji Therapeutics; Board Member, ARM; President, ISCT

Miguel Forte holds several roles as CEO and co-founder of Kiji Therapeutics, executive chairman of Akatsuki Therapeutics, board member of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, StemBond, and Swarm Oncology, and president of the board of directors for the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy. He holds an MD and Specialist in Infectious Diseases from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon; a PhD in Immunology, University of Birmingham; and a certificate on Health Technologies Economics, Stockholm School of Economics. He is a fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom.