Made Scientific, a leading Princeton-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in cell therapies, announced the formation of its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with the appointments of Miguel Forte, M.D., Ph.D., Paul K. Wotton, Ph.D., Shishir Gadam, Ph.D. and Young K. Hong, M.D.
The SAB will play a key role in advancing Made’s vision to redefine cell therapy manufacturing and testing. By bringing together multidisciplinary leaders experienced across the domain of cell therapy product translation, bioprocess and analytical technologies, and regulatory and clinical application, the board will provide strategic guidance to strengthen Made’s CDMO platform and accelerate innovation for its customers.
Their insights will help drive strategic initiatives at Made focused on lowering the cost of goods (COGS) for cell therapies and enabling partners to deliver more accessible, reliable and transformative therapies to patients globally. Made Scientific plans to further expand the SAB later this year.
- Miguel Forte, M.D., Ph.D., is CEO of Kiji Therapeutics and president of the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT). Before joining Kiji Therapeutics, he was CEO of Bone Therapeutics and Zelluna Immunotherapy, and CMO/COO of TxCell. Dr. Forte also served at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and holds leadership roles with the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. He earned his M.D. from the University of Lisbon and Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham.
- Paul K. Wotton, Ph.D., currently serves as CEO and chairman of RBL LLC, a Houston-based biotech accelerator, and executive director of the Biotech Launch Pad at Rice University. He also serves on the boards of Vericel Corporation, Cynata Therapeutics, Morphocell Technologies and Combined Therapeutics. Dr. Wotton’s past executive leadership includes CEO roles at Obsidian Therapeutics, Sigilon Therapeutics (acquired by Eli Lilly), Ocata Therapeutics (acquired by Astellas), Antares Pharma and Topigen Pharmaceuticals. He received his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Nottingham.
- Shishir Gadam, Ph.D., is chief technical officer at Marea Therapeutics and former head of technical operations at Cargo Therapeutics, where he built manufacturing infrastructure and advanced novel CAR-T programs. Previously, he was global head of cell therapy MS&T at Juno Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb), playing a key role in launching two commercial CAR-T therapies. Dr. Gadam’s earlier roles include biologics development at Genentech and Roche. He holds a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- Young K. Hong, M.D., is a dual board-certified general surgeon and surgical oncologist/hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon at Cooper University Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. He serves as director of clinical research and cellular therapy, assistant director of surgical research and director of the Surgical Outcomes Research Group. He completed three fellowships, including the Clinical Immunotherapy and Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the NIH/NCI, and earned his M.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and MPH in Health Policy from the University of Louisville.
“The establishment of our Scientific Advisory Board marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to innovation,” said Syed T. Husain, chairman and CEO of Made Scientific. “Miguel, Paul, Shishir and Young each bring world-class expertise across cell therapy, manufacturing science, commercialization and clinical practice. Their guidance will directly shape our service priorities, ensuring we deliver advanced, accessible and scalable solutions for patients globally.”
