Announcing the 2025 Biologics Summit

This Biologics Summit, jointly hosted by the Controlled Release Society and IPEC-Americas, will address the current state and prospects for future advancements related to device technologies for the application of biotherapeutics.

                                            

PART I: IPEC-Americas Excipient World 2025 May 12-14, 2025 - National Harbor, MD, USA
PART II: CRS 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition July 14-18, 2025 - Philadelphia, PA, USA

PART II: CRS 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition

Monday, July 14, 2025 - 8:30 am - 1:00 pm

Pennsylvania Convention Center
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Next Generation Drug Delivery Devices: Facilitating Decentralized Care and Global Access to Biotherapeutics

The increasing pressures on global healthcare systems, exacerbated by the recent pandemic, underscore the need to enhance drug delivery in decentralized settings. These settings encompass dosing in clinics, physician offices, community centers, as well as at-home and self-administration, thus considering individual preferences and capabilities. A reduction in dosing frequency to limit in-clinic visits is also part of this strategy and is expected to improve access to medications, particularly in countries with limited healthcare infrastructures and rural regions.

Especially for biotherapeutics requiring parenteral administration, dosing regimens are typically complex, requiring close supervision by professional caregivers.

Drug delivery scientists and device engineers play a crucial role in realizing the broad applicability and affordability of novel drug delivery devices. Close collaboration with regulators, payers, healthcare providers, and patients is necessary to co-create customer-centric devices that meet the needs of a broader population.

The symposium will feature experts from the pharmaceutical industry, biotech companies, and academia sharing insights into the latest status of drug delivery devices. Administration routes discussed will include subcutaneous and intravitreal dosing, inhalation devices, as well as oral delivery.

Participants will learn about challenges and opportunities associated with various device types, be introduced to the regulatory framework underlying the approval process, understand user preferences and co-creation approaches, and explore novel clinical development approaches.

Agenda

8:30 AM - 8:35 AM
Words of Welcome & Opening
Beate Bittner, PhD, F. Hoffmann - La Roche Ltd
Simon Matoori, PhD, Université de Montréal


8:35 AM - 8:45 AM
Introduction to Nucleic Acid Delivery
Simon Matoori, PhD, Université de Montréal


8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
Optimizing Non-Viral Delivery to Enable Gene Editing Therapies
Luis Brito, VP, Delivery Platform, Beam Therapeutics


9:15 AM - 9:45 AM
Understanding Hypoxia's Impact on mRNA Lipid Nanoparticle Therapies
Owen Fenton, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
Redefining Lung Therapy Through Inhalable RNA Dry Powder Formulations
Benjamin Winkeljann, Engineer, Department of Pharmacy at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich


10:15 AM - 10:30 AM  *  BREAK 


10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Advancing Glioblastoma Treatment with RNA Vaccines: When Immunotherapy Meets Nanomedicine
Flávia Moreira De Sousa, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen


11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Keynote Address
Dan Anderson, MIT


12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
AI-Driven Design of Lipid Nanoparticles for mRNA Delivery
Bowen Li, University of Toronto


12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Conclusion & Closing Remarks 
Beate Bittner, PhD, F. Hoffmann - La Roche Ltd
Simon Matoori, PhD, Université de Montréal


* Biologics Summit - Part II - is included with registration during the CRS 2025 Annual Meeting & Exposition