From July 30 to 31, 2025, the 5th Annual Next Generation Gene Therapy Vectors Summit was held in Boston, USA, continuing its focus on scalable, safe, and cost-effective delivery platforms. This year’s conference further explored breakthroughs in capsid and payload optimization.

Dr. Zhong-Dong Shi, Vice President of R&D at Frontera Therapeutics, was invited as a keynote speaker to deliver a presentation themed "Engineering Payload to Increase Expression Durability & Lower Dose”.

Speaker

Dr. Zhongdong Shi currently serves as Vice President of R&D at Frontera Therapeutics. With more than 10 years of experience in cell and gene therapy vector design and payload engineering, he has accumulated extensive expertise in R&D and industrialization. As an innovative leader in the gene therapy field, Frontera Therapeutics remains committed to developing next-generation AAV delivery systems, hoping to drive gene therapies toward greater safety and efficacy by breaking through vector technology bottlenecks.

Presentation Theme: Engineering Payload to Increase Expression Durability & Lower Dose

The durability of AAV gene therapy for hemophilia A is a key focus of the industry. In his presentation, Dr. Shi introduced Frontera Therapeutics’ breakthrough progress in this area. Through the application of independently developed DREDGE™ technology platform, Frontera successfully designed and screened multiple high-activity FVIII mutants. This achievement enables long-term FVIII expression and maintenance of high activity at lower AAV doses, making sustained efficacy in hemophilia A gene therapy possible.

Dr. Shi stated, "Innovative capsid and payload engineering technology platforms will make gene therapy more durable and safer."

Summit Overview: Focus on Vector Technology Breakthroughs

As an authoritative conference in the gene therapy field, this year's summit brought together experts from global biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and technical service providers to conduct in-depth discussions on the following core topics:

• Clinical translation strategies: Accelerating the conversion of vector technologies into therapies;

• AAV capsid engineering: AI-assisted optimization to enhance targeting and reduce immunogenicity;

• Payload engineering: Optimization and modification of gene expression elements and target genes to improve efficacy;

• Addressing off-target toxicity: Enhancing vector effectiveness and safety;

• Development of other gene therapy vectors: Expanding the diversity of delivery methods;

• Production process optimization: Overcoming challenges in scaling and cost control;