Conference Day One

7.20 Check In & Morning Coffee

8:20 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

  • Andreas Kuhn Senior Vice President - Ribonucleic Acid Biochemistry & Chemistry Manufacturing & Controls Development, BioNTech

Visions for the Future of mRNA & Beyond: The Leadership Perspective

8:25 am CEO & Global Leaders Think Tank: Unlocking the Next Frontiers of mRNA-Based Vaccines & Therapeutics to Ensure Better Drugs Reach Patients Faster

Synopsis

  • What are the future opportunities for the mRNA field towards best-in-class drugs into 2025?
  • What are the biggest challenges you face on a day-to-day basis from asset, deals to risk-management and clinical strategy?
  • What can biotechs get most out of an investment to extend cash-flow and nuances of striking a deal for a new pipeline?

9:15 am Current Cancer Vaccine Strategies Including Initial Phase 1 Study Data of CVGBM, an Off-the-Shelf Cancer Vaccine in Glioblastoma

Synopsis

  • Cancer vaccines based on mRNA technologies have shown encouraging clinical data over the last couple of years
  • Showcasing current strategies to develop cancer vaccines focus on either personalized cancer vaccines or off-the-shelf cancer vaccines
  • Presenting CVGBM, an off-the-shelf cancer vaccine, that demonstrated encouraging immunogenicity in a phase 1 study in patients with GBM after tumor resection

9:45 am Showcasing Clinical Trial Experience & Data from BNT116 – The UK’s First mRNA-Based Lung Cancer Vaccine Trial

  • Siow Ming Lee Professor of Medical Oncology, University College London

10:15 Morning Break & Speed Networking

TRACK A: DISCOVERY & PRE-CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT

Synopsis

Chair: Nigel Horscroft, Chief Technology Officer, Stealth Mode mRNA Biotech

Showcasing New Discoveries in mRNA Medicine From Asia to Unlock Platforms for Obesity & Antibody Production

11:15 am Advancing mRNA Therapeutics: A New Frontier in the Treatment of Obesity & Metabolic Disease

  • Xiangrong Song Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, WestGene Pharma

Synopsis

  • Presenting new preclinical data from WestGene’s obesity program, demonstrating significant weight loss and metabolic improvements
  • Highlighting how WestGene’s proprietary mRNA-encoded antibody platform drives these results and opens new possibilities for therapeutic innovation
  • Exploring the platform’s broader potential, using the obesity project as a key example of its applications in metabolic diseases, oncology, and other critical areas

11:45 am Session Reserved for Henovcom

12:15 pm Harnessing In Vivo Therapeutic Antibody Production Enabled by mRNA-LNP Technology

Synopsis

  • Outlining novel mRNA-LNP platform for mRNA therapeutic antibody production
  • Exploring therapeutic antibody potential from discovery to pre-clinical development
  • Overcoming key challenges of in vivo protein expression for successful translation of mRNA-based therapeutics

TRACK B: CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT & MANUFACTURING

Synopsis

Chair: Ruben Rizzi, Senior Vice President Global Regulatory Affairs, BioNTech

Deciphering a Regulatory Framework & Guidance for Future mRNA Platforms to Harmonise Clinical & Manufacturing Development

11:15 am The Value of a Harmonised Regulatory Framework for mRNA Medicines

Synopsis

  • mRNA platform technology approaches supported by regulatory provisions
  • Diverse regulatory understanding of platform technology from various perspectives
  • Examples of platform technology – platform technology approaches today and in the future

11:45 am From mRNA Concept to Viable Drug Project – Unlocking the Full Potential of mRNA

Synopsis

  • Reduce drug cost dramatically with thermostable, robust dry product forms thanks to unique technology based on solid IP
  • Preserve or even increase mRNA activity with technology proven in-vitro and in-vivo
  • Enable dry powder inhalation of mRNA/LNP thanks to sophisticated particle engineering

12:15 pm Swiss Regulatory Aspects & Evaluation for mRNABased Vaccines & Therapeutic Pathways to Approval

  • Julia Djonova Head Division Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Swissmedic, Swissmedic

Synopsis

  • Exploring harmonisation regulatory challenges and expectations for new mRNA drugs applications and documentation
  • Delineating the mRNA platform definition for vaccine, therapeutic and broader applications
  • Highlighting regulatory progress in personalised mRNA cancer vaccines and manufacturing considerations

12:45 pm Session Reserved for: Arcalis

12.55 Lunch Break & Networking

TRACK A: DISCOVERY & PRE-CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT

Synopsis

Chair: Nigel Horscroft, Chief Technology Officer, Stealth Mode mRNA Biotech

Turbocharging new mRNA-LNP Programs to Expand Therapeutic Potential with European Research Initiatives & Collaborations

2:00 pm REGeRNA Project: Identifying & Developing mRNAEncoded Proteins Towards Novel Therapeutics for Cardiac Tissue Regeneration

  • Philippe Menasche Professor - Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Paris-Cité

Synopsis

  • Establishing the need for new treatments of heart failure
  • Deciphering a rationale for an mRNA-based strategy for reinducing proliferation of cardiomyocytes Showcasing first results and remaining challenges

2:30 pm Multidimensional Characterisation of RNA-Based Vaccines & Therapies

Synopsis

  • Evaluate potency through the identification of ribosome stalls that reduce protein production
  • Examine purity by discovering the sequences and structures that lead to dsRNA by-products
  • Measure safety through studies of off-target changes in transcription and translation

3:00 pm BAXERNA Project: On a Mission to Develop Novel Bacterial mRNA Vaccines

Synopsis

  • Introducing BAXERNA’s aim to develop mRNA vaccines against bacterial infections like TB and beyond Showcasing the development of a novel antigen discovery to Phase I pipeline for fully realised bacterial vaccines
  • Showcasing the development of a novel antigen discovery to Phase I pipeline for fully realised bacterial vaccines
  • Unlocking LNP formulation, mRNA format, and analytical development for novel mRNA vaccines

3:30 pm EXPERT Project: Immunostimulatory Triplet mRNA Cocktail in Lipid Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy

Synopsis

  • Developing a new LNP with a mRNA-encoded cytokine mix
  • Demonstrating scaled-up LNP production and characterization
  • Unleashing new delivery system on the horizon: Cell penetrating peptides and extracellular vesicles

TRACK B: CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT & MANUFACTURING

Synopsis

Chair: Andreas Kuhn, Senior Vice President – RNA Biochemistry & CMC, BioNTech SE

Forging New Commercial Partnerships to Ensure Smooth Transfer into Trials & Manufacturing at Scale

2:00 pm Unlocking mRNA Vaccines: From Platform to Products

  • Pierre Wils Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Center of Excellence & Global Scientific Advisory Lead, Sanofi

Synopsis

  • Developing an mRNA competitive platform requires a high level of collaboration between designers and developers of mRNA and LNPs
  • Evolving from platform to product needs to build the desired biological performance and the CMC performance into the design of mRNA and LNPs
  • Data science is the continuum that provides acceleration to the overall mRNA Vaccines development

2:30 pm Vinylphosphonic Acid Modified Cap Analogs and Their Performance in mRNA Vaccines

  • May Guo Chief Commercial Officer, Areterna

Synopsis

  • Development of Vinylphosphonic Acid Modified Cap GAG (CAP5011) and GAU (CAP1811)
  • Synthesis of mRNA using CAP5011 and CAP1811, and encapsulation in LNP
  • Testing of mRNA capped with CAP5011 and CAP1811, including protein expression, vaccine induced immune response in vivo and mRNA safety in NHP.

3:00 pm Panel Discussion — Finding the Right Partnership to Build a Robust & Trusting Relationship to Accelerate mRNA Development Into the Clinic

Synopsis

The mRNA community thrives on strategic alliances, which allow for cross-functional sharing of knowledge, skills, and experience across different disciplines to truly advance mRNA technologies to accelerate drug development to patients faster.

This panel will explore:

  • How to overcome the complexities of decision-making and cultural boundaries for developing, acquiring, licensing and advancing innovative approaches
  • Where are the gaps when using mRNA approaches that the service provider, biotechnology and academic sector can fill?
  • Developing successful expertise in house vs external sourcing management vs asset acquisition partnering strategies

4.00 Afternoon Break & Poster Session

Synopsis

As the landscape of innovation that is supercharging the next wave of efficacious mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, it is more important than ever to collaborate and learn for the growth of this field. Join our dedicated poster session to share your latest data and get the first look into what your peers are working on!

Accelerating Effective & Safe Personalised mRNA Cancer Immunotherapies Towards Clinical Success & Achieving Market Approval

4:30 pm Session Reserved for Thermo Fisher Scientific

5:00 pm Presenting MHRA’s Perspectives & Draft Guidance on the Licensing of Individualised mRNA Cancer Immunotherapies

  • Shirley Hopper Deputy Director of National Licensing Strategy, Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

Synopsis

  • Individualised mRNA cancer immunotherapies (cancer vaccines) pose new regulatory challenges since the mRNA sequence is matched to the patient’s unique tumour neoantigen profile and HLA type
  • The MHRA aims to publish draft scientific and regulatory guidance for developers of individualised mRNA cancer vaccines by the end of 2024. This will include sections on regulations, manufacturing, non-clinical, clinical and post-authorisation aspects
  • An overview of the key points will be presented

5:30 pm Panel Discussion – A European Industry & Regulatory Perspective on the Development & Approval of mRNA Medicines

  • Maren Von Fritschen Head of Regulatory Policy Europe, Moderna
  • Shirley Hopper Deputy Director of National Licensing Strategy, Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
  • Julia Djonova Head Division Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products, Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Swissmedic, Swissmedic
  • Ulrike Jägle Vice President Global Regulatory Affairs & Preclinical Safety, CureVac SE
  • Constanze Blume SVP - Global Regulatory Affairs, BioNTech

Synopsis

  • Uncovering how regulatory provisions can support mRNA medicines’ approval
  • Reducing the regulatory approval timeline through platform technology approaches
  • Moving towards a harmonized approach for mRNA medicines for the benefit of patients

6:15 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

6:20 pm End of Conference Day One