The PEPR Biotherapies Annual Meeting was held on September 30th and October 1st, 2025, bringing together all members of the PEPR community. The event stood out for the richness of its discussions, the diversity of presentations and the spotlight on new projects supported by the program.
The opening session, led by the Health Innovation Agency and the PEPR coordinators, highlighted the ambitions outlined in the National Strategy for Accelerating Biotherapies and Innovative Therapy Bioproduction. These presentations emphasized the program’s long-term vision and the collective momentum necessary to make biotherapies a cornerstone of the medicine of tomorrow.
New initiatives to boost research
The six projects selected in the 2024 call for projects – COBRAS, HIBAL, MUSCLE, OptiCELL, PARADIGM, and REPLIBIO – were presented to the audience. Their scientific objectives and consortium compositions generated significant interest, fostering constructive dialogue with already-engaged teams and encouraging the emergence of new collaborations.
Spotlight on early-career researchers
As in the first edition, early-career researchers played a central role, with 34 posters on display.
A Flash Talk session allowed eight of them to present their work to the audience, promoting exchanges around their research.
A public vote recognized the three best posters, highlighting the quality and diversity of the research conducted within the program.
Thematic focus sessions on clinical translation and cross-cutting collaborations
Several thematic sessions punctuated the annual meeting, illustrating the complementarity of approaches and the richness of networks at the interface with PEPR Biotherapies.
During the session “Advancing Towards Clinical Trials”, Gérald Perret (Genethon) shared the key steps in setting up a clinical trial, highlighting acceleration levers and lessons learned from FDA practices. This reflection is essential to help move projects from preclinical research to clinical trials.
The session “Transversal Programs in Biotherapies Development and Bioproduction” brought together the Genother biocluster, PEPR MED-OOC, and PEPR Cell-ID. Their presentations highlighted available services and platforms for scientists, as well as several cross-cutting initiatives around preclinical modeling, single-cell analysis, and quality control, paving the way for future inter-PEPR collaborations.
A European perspective opening new opportunities
In the session “Opening to Europe: Collaborative Pathways in Biotherapies”, the GeneNovate and The Drug Cell programs presented their objectives and the prospects for structuring the European gene and cell therapy ecosystem.
Discussions emphasized industrial and academic complementarities, opening the door to new opportunities.
The dynamism of the Occitanie ecosystem
Finally, the session “Biotherapy Ecosystem in Occitanie” highlighted the region’s vitality and the strong integration of PEPR within this environment.
The CEBOOC Key Challenge, Integrators TIBH and OBBI, IHU Immune4Cure and CMA BioOOC presented their activities and infrastructures.
These presentations strengthened the program’s regional visibility and helped identify new local synergies, contributing to consolidating the scientific and industrial fabric around biotherapies.
A positive outcome and promising prospects
Rich in presentations, debates, and networking opportunities, the 2025 edition confirms the collaborative momentum of PEPR Biotherapies.
With shared ambitions, new partnerships and international outreach, the community continues its commitment to accelerating the translation of innovations into clinical applications.
