Science Advisory Board, which will be providing onsite coverage of MOTM, recently spoke with Stephen Majors, senior director of public affairs at ARM, about what to expect at the annual meeting including more than 20 panels on a range of topics related to CGT development.

ARM, the Washington, DC-based advocacy organization which represents the CGT industry, is expecting a record number of nearly 1,800 in-person attendees at MOTM including therapeutic developers, academic and medical institutions, investors, patient advocacy leaders, policy makers, and regulators.

"That connecting, networking element of the conference is very important," Majors said, noting that the three-day meeting brings together the investment community and leading CGT companies. On the scientific side, he sees continued advancements for the industry.

"There's an opportunity for 1:1 partnering meetings," Majors added. "Our therapeutic developer members and our tool and service providers will get together at the conference to talk about how everyone can collaborate in different ways to advance the sector. Obviously, in those discussions M&A [mergers and acquisitions] and investment are a key part of what goes on at Mesa as well."

Timothy Hunt, who recently succeeded Janet Lambert as ARM's CEO, will kick off the three-day meeting on October 11 along with Emile Nuwaysir, PhD, CEO of in vivo genetic medicines company Ensoma and chairman of ARM.

Dr. Peter Marks, PhD, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will deliver a keynote address on October 12 about "Taking Cell and Gene Therapy to the Next Level" at the meeting.

Marks will also participate in a panel at the MOTM on the "Opportunities for Regulatory Convergence in Cell and Gene Therapy" with representatives from the European Medicines Agency and Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency.

"This has been a record year for the approval of new gene therapies to treat rare disease," Majors said. "Gene editing continues to advance. We could see the approval of the first ever CRISPR-based therapy next year to treat sickle cell disease."

Watch the video below to learn more.