Our Main Takeaways from 2025 ISCT & ASGCT in New Orleans
This month, #TeamHPNE took to New Orleans to meet with the leaders and innovators in cell & gene therapy who are paving the way.
This May, our team was thrilled to be attending the ISCT and ASGCT trade shows, which both uniquely took place in New Orleans at the same facility a week apart.
Home to the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC), which is a supporter of the life science community and an effective incubator for local biotech startups, New Orleans is an emerging biotech cluster. Specifically, most of its biotech activity happens in the downtown BioDistrict.
As an economic development district, the BioDistrict is working to create an area that is a leader in health research and treatment while simultaneously providing opportunities for equitable, inclusive job growth.
Louisiana’s annual gross regional product for life sciences, including biotechnology, is valued at $933.3 million, representing a 25% growth of GRP over five years.
What is ISCT?
The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) was founded in 1992 and has the mission of driving clinical translation worldwide of cell and gene therapies. Their organization includes membership from over 4,000 cell & gene therapy experts, as well as representation from more than 60 countries.
They create a safe space for professionals to collaborate, using combined expertise to translate cell and gene therapy to improve patients’ lives with effective therapies. In order to provide a space for companies to showcase their newest technological advancement, and encourage networking, ISCT holds multiple annual and regional meetings across the globe.
What is ASGCT?
Following ISCT 2025 New Orleans, our team stayed in New Orleans to attend ASGCT 2025, also held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT) was established in 1996. It has over 5,000 members worldwide, and is noted to be the largest association of professionals involved in cell and gene therapy research.
Their overarching mission is to alleviate human disease by advancing education, awareness, and knowledge that leads to discoveries and eventually clinical applications of cellular and genetic therapies. From scientists to patient advocates, they have an incredibly wide range of professionals who identify as part of the organization.
Our Team’s Major Takeaways
Throughout the year, our team looks forward to attending multiple trade shows to ensure we are staying ahead of industry trends and monitoring new technologies.
This year, one of the major trends our team noticed at both trade shows was the increase in new, innovative aliquoting systems. These systems are utilized to automate the process of dividing a sample into identical, smaller portions. Benefits include reducing contamination risks, saving time, and increased precision, especially when working with large sample sets.
Additionally, the automation provided by aliquoting systems provides the operator with walk-away time. This means they are able to dedicate their focus to another task, as they can leave the system to do the aliquoting without supervision.
Other major industry trends the team noticed throughout the shows included CAR T-cell therapy, AAV, and lentivirus. CAR T-cell therapy is a way to use a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer through advanced immunotherapy. First discovered in 1965, interest in Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) gene therapy has been rapidly growing. Researchers are particularly interested in AAV due to its safety and versatility.
Lentivirus vectors, which have become a hot topic within cell and gene therapy, are being used as an effective vehicle for the delivery of genetic material into cells. Companies like Rentschler and Revvity are currently making strides with lentivirus vectors.
Finally, a continuing trend our team sees at trade shows is the broader topic of cell therapy. Many of the workshops and panels at the events we are attending are based on this subject matter, and we have noticed that many organizations are tailoring their new technologies to be effective in this industry as well.
We explore more about cell therapy and gene therapy in the section below.
The Growth of Cell & Gene Therapies
As of 2025, Precedence Research reported that the size of the global cell and gene therapy market was valued at $25.03 billion USD. They estimate a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7% from 2025 to 2034, resulting in an estimated market value of $117.46 billion USD in 2034.
Cell and gene therapies cover a wide variety of treatments, and many major players in the current biopharma industry currently have therapies in clinical trials. We explore the topic in-depth in our previous article “What is Cell & Gene Therapy?” where we define the topic and discuss some of the companies spearheading cell and gene therapy treatments.
Grow Your Process Capabilities with HPNE
When attending these events, #TeamHPNE is proud to be able to showcase our innovative bioprocessing portfolio. From drug discovery to fill-finish, we are confident we can provide the best solutions for your unique needs.
We are passionate about the life-saving possibilities of cell and gene therapies, and our HPConnexx™ Single-Use Assemblies are optimized to be customizable and scalable for your CGT discoveries. Processes can change throughout the drug discovery process; our brand agnostic assemblies can be adjusted throughout your process to grow with you.
To learn more about our full product portfolio, you can visit the all products page of our website, or stop by to visit us at one of the many trade shows we attend annually. For more information, and to stay up-to-date on trade show announcements, make sure to follow us on our LinkedIn page, where announcements are made regularly.
Want to talk directly with one of our experts? Visit our contact us page, or reach out at info@hp-ne.com.
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About HPNE
As the industry needs grow, High Purity New England, Inc. continues to supply the biopharmaceutical industry with a range of innovative products, from drug discovery and development to fill-finish, including their flagship product, custom single-use assemblies, as well as pumps, sensors, bioreactor systems, storage and handling solutions and other single-use solutions. Along with their own manufactured products for the global market, they are also a distributor for more than 18 brands in North America.
