Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium & Leiden, Netherlands - March 10, 2026
Cellistic, a global leader in allogeneic iPSC-derived cell therapy manufacturing and development services, today announced that Jason Conner has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Conner will also serve in the same capacity for Cellistic’s sister business, Ncardia, a leader in stem cell–based solutions for drug discovery and safety assessment. He has served on the Board of Directors since 2022.
“The company is well-positioned for success and we thank Gustavo Mahler for his leadership in building this strong foundation. We look forward to the next stage of growth for both Cellistic and Ncardia,” said Geoffrey M. Glass, Chairman.
Mr. Conner brings 25 years of experience in the life sciences industry within both services and products organizations. Since 2021, he has been with Kiniciti, a strategic investment platform that is Cellistic’s majority shareholder. He previously served in executive roles at Patheon and its acquiror, Thermo Fisher Scientific. He began his career in corporate development and strategy at Becton Dickinson.
“Since the Cellistic business was launched in 2023, the team has made incredible progress strengthening our iPSC platform capabilities and driving GMP manufacturing operations, the combination of which offers a unique value proposition for our customers,” said Mr. Conner. “I have had the privilege of working alongside this team as a board member, and I am excited to join as CEO to help to usher the next phase of our growth. I look forward to working even more closely with this talented team to support our clients and enable the development of immuno-oncology and regenerative cell therapies for the patients that need them.”
In a statement, the Board of Directors said: “ason has been closely involved with Cellistic and Ncardia leadership for the past several years. His deep experience, strategic commercial insight, and strong understanding of the business make him the right person to lead the business in its next phase.”
About Cellistic
Cellistic is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) delivering a full spectrum of manufacturing technologies, platforms, and services for iPSC-derived allogeneic cell therapies and regenerative medicines.
Built on the Pulse™ Cell Line Development and Cellistic Echo™ Manufacturing platforms, the firm supports biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across process development and GMP manufacturing of iPSC-derived cell therapy products. This includes tech transfer, iPSC reprogramming, proprietary STAR-CRISPR™ gene editing, and cell-type-specific differentiation.
Operating from its EMA-certified, FDA- and PMDA-compliant GMP manufacturing facility in Belgium, and drawing on more than 15 years of scientific and technical experience, Cellistic enables the scalable, regulatory-ready, and predictable production of iPSC-based cell therapy products to support clinically and commercially viable development programs.
About Ncardia
Ncardia is a research and development human iPSC technology company with facilities and offices located throughout Europe and North America. Ncardia is built on the belief that stem cell technology will help bring better therapies to patients faster. The company’s goal is to enable biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate the discovery and development of new therapeutics in any drug modality, including drug, cell, and gene therapy, through the efficient integration of human iPSC technologies. For more information, visit www.ncardia.com.