The world is still confronting complex and urgent challenges. Populations continue to grow, while many societies are ageing, placing heavy burdens of chronic and degenerative diseases on people’s lives and healthcare systems. At the same time, pressure on the planet is intensifying, raising serious concerns about sustainability, equity and whether humanity can safely coexist on Earth. Yet, there is also hope. Breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology are already emerging, carrying the potential to transform our future.
Cell Therapy: Clinical Reality and Expanding Approvals
Cell therapy (CT) has progressed from experimental trials to a growing portfolio of clinically approved treatments. By expanding healthy cells in culture and delivering them into the body, CTs can replace or support diseased or damaged cells, modulate cellular functions through signalling molecules or direct interactions, or, in the case of engineered immune cells such as CAR-T, eliminate malignant or dysfunctional cells. CTs have already transformed oncology, particularly haematological cancers, and hold promise for conditions including diabetes, chronic kidney disease and liver failure.
The global cell therapy market is valued at approximately USD 17 billion in 2025 and is projected to approach USD 30 billion by 2029.1 The stem cell therapy segment alone is worth nearly USD 19 billion this year, with expectations that it will exceed USD 78 billion by 2032.2 Regulatory momentum is accelerating; as of 2025, the FDA has authorised 44 distinct cell therapies in the United States and seven CAR-T products, while globally more than 100 cell and gene therapy products are now commercially available.3,4 The accelerated approval of lifileucel (Amtagvi) in 2024, the first tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for advanced melanoma, further demonstrates how CTs are expanding beyond blood cancers into solid tumour indications.
