Touchlight’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Jill Makin, discusses how the rapid evolution of advanced therapeutics is reshaping the industry, and why cell‑free DNA is has emerged as a foundational technology for the next wave of therapeutic innovation. With pipelines expanding across gene editing, non-viral gene therapies (NVGT), and viral vector–based therapies, developers are facing unprecedented pressure to improve speed, affordability, and manufacturability.

Moderated by Will Downie, Touchlight Non-Executive Director and Operating Partner with Advent International. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of both Argenta and Vectura.

Topics will include:

• Why cell‑free DNA is becoming essential infrastructure for modern genetic medicines, and how it addresses key bottlenecks in purity, scalability, and regulatory expectations.
• How gene editing and NVGT programs depend on cell‑free circular single-stranded DNA to unlock their full therapeutic promise.
• How viral vector programs can dramatically reduce cost-of-goods (COGS) and accelerate timelines by replacing plasmid‑based workflows with cell‑free DNA.