iBET at the 9th Annual Bioprocessing Summit Europe: Driving Innovation in Biomanufacturing
Five Oral Presentations Highlight Breakthroughs in rAAV Production, VLP Engineering and Downstream Processing
A team of iBET researchers recently participated at the 9th Annual Bioprocessing Summit Europe, held in Barcelona, Spain (March 10-12), contributing with five oral presentations and chairing scientific sessions.
iBET scientists shared the institute’s latest advances in gene therapy, genome editing, and bioprocessing technologies with 5 oral presentations:
–Ana Coroadinha (Head of the Cell Line Development and Molecular Virology Lab) | “Capsid Engineering and Dual AAV” | Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors represent one of the most versatile clinical platforms for gene delivery. However, AAVs transduce cells poorly, resulting in the administration of exceedingly high doses in the clinic, increasing the risk of adverse events. This work focused on the rational design of novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids to improve vector cargo delivery and transduction efficiency.
–Lúcia Santos (Scientist at the Cell Line Development and Molecular Virology Lab) | “Target, Deliver, Edit: Engineering VLPs for Precision Genome Editing” | This presentation explored the use of virus-like particles (VLPs) for delivering CRISPR ribonucleoproteins. The approach enables precise genome editing with transient expression, reducing off-target effects. Proof-of-concept studies demonstrated successful mutation correction and restoration of cellular function, highlighting the therapeutic potential of VLP-based delivery systems.
–Ricardo Correia (Scientist at the Cell-based Vaccines Development Lab) | “Continuous Biomanufacturing for Virus-based Expression Systems” | The lytic nature of virus-based expression systems limits their transition from traditional batch-based to intensified continuous bioprocessing. This presentation showcased the implementation of a multi-stage bioreactor setting to leverage continuous operation using virus-based expression systems. The multi-stage bioreactor set-up was used for continuous production of influenza virus-like particles as vaccine candidate, using the insect cell-baculovirus expression vector system (IC-BEVS). Additionally, the system is also being validated to produce other biopharmaceutical products.
–José Escandell (Principal Scientist at the Sanofi Satellite Lab) | “Scaling Gene Therapy: Innovation Strategies for Cost-effective rAAV Manufacturing” | This talk highlighted key innovations in recombinant AAV manufacturing using HeLAS3 production platform, including a novel cell engineering strategy achieving up to 10-fold productivity increases, and an a streamlined selection system that accelerates stable cell line generation. These approaches contribute to overcoming major bottlenecks in scalability, cost, and efficiency.
–Cristina Peixoto (Head of Downstream Process Development Lab and Coordinator of Late Stage R&D Bioproduction Unit) | “Translating Novel Purification Strategies into Practice: Insights from Lentivirus and EV Case Studies” | Focusing on downstream processing, this presentation examined alternative purification strategies to improve yield, product quality, and process efficiency. Case studies on lentiviral vectors and extracellular vesicles demonstrated the potential of novel materials and non-conventional operation modes.
Cristina Peixoto, Lúcia Santos, Ana Coroadinha, Ricardo Correia and José Escandell at BioProcessing Summit 2026.
The Bioprocessing Summit Europe brought together leading experts from academia and industry to discuss the latest innovations in biomanufacturing and bioprocess development. Participation in this event reinforced iBET’s commitment to advancing cutting-edge solutions and contributing to the evolution of scalable and efficient biotherapeutic production processes.
