Cambridge, UK – 10 June 2026: bit.bio, one of the UK’s leading biotech firms, last week set out a bold and ambitious vision for the future of drug discovery through human cell-based research at The Human Cell Forum 2026, its flagship industry event held for a second consecutive year at Hinxton Hall in Cambridge.
Bringing together leading voices from across academia, biotechnology and industry, the Forum showcased a rapidly accelerating shift in how human iPSC-derived cells – a human adult cell that has been reset to a blank state, then programmed into a new human adult cell - are transforming drug research and development.
Signalling a clear inflection point for the field of drug discovery, The Human Cell Forum championed the move away from traditional preclinical models, such as animal models, toward scalable, reproducible human cell systems that will improve the speed, predictability and relevance of how preclinical trials are conducted in the UK.
Opening the Forum, Lord David Prior, Global Senior Advisor at Lazard and former Chair of the NHS, delivered a keynote address outlining both the urgency and opportunity facing the UK life sciences industry.
“We are on the verge of radical change in drug discovery,” said Lord Prior. “The UK is a world-class life sciences hub, but we must get medicine out of development and into patients faster. Preclinical drug development is crucial, and current systems are failing, so reducing the cost of drugs with wide societal application is essential. We are on the cusp of something fundamental in drug discovery, and bit.bio is right at the heart of this change.”
These themes were echoed throughout the Forum, with repeated focus on the need to modernise preclinical testing, improve reproducibility, and accelerate the pace of discovery to patient impact.
“Researchers need models that not only reflect human biology more accurately, but can also be used consistently across experiments, teams and sites over a longer period, as well as integrating with AI discovery tools,” said bit.bio's CEO Przemek Obloj. “That reproducibility is critical if we want to improve confidence in preclinical data and ultimately help bring safe and effective medicines to patients faster.”
Throughout the Forum, bit.bio highlighted how consistent, scalable, and defined human iPSC-derived cells can improve the quality and reliability of biomedical research. Powered by patented opti-ox™ deterministic cell programming technology, the company's ioCells™ offer unparalleled lot-to-lot consistency. This consistency generates reproducible, human-relevant data that helps scientists make more informed preclinical decisions with greater confidence in their results.
Through its mission to democratise access to human cells, bit.bio is empowering the transition towards more human-specific research. By providing human cells for preclinical studies, the company enables scientists to adopt New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) that align with evolving regulatory guidance from agencies such as the FDA and the UK government.
A central theme of the Forum was the importance of moving from conceptual validation to practical implementation, with bit.bio’s leading scientists presenting ongoing work demonstrating daily applications of human iPSC-derived cells in neuroscience, immunology, and disease modelling.
Case studies demonstrated how human cell models are increasingly being deployed to reduce the time needed to design, optimise and validate laboratory tests, improve experimental reproducibility, enable more predictive disease modelling, and support decision-making earlier in drug discovery pipelines. Meanwhile, panel discussions highlighted the ethical and scientific imperative of moving toward more human-relevant systems, providing an inspiring conclusion to a day of provocative conversation about driving innovation across the life sciences and pushing the boundaries of human biology.
The Forum brought together leading voices from across industry, academia and the non-profit sector, including Professor Julie Frearson (IQVIA), Jovana Kovačević (VectorY Therapeutics), Professor Simone Mader (University Hospital Erlangen), Professor John Connelly (Queen Mary University of London), Dowlette-Mary Alam El Din (Johns Hopkins University), Ross Dobie (Centre for Human Specific Research), and representatives from AC Immune and Mabylon, reflecting the growing cross-sector momentum behind the adoption of human-relevant research approaches.
Find out more about how bit.bio are supporting scientists to transition to human cells