- Miguel Forte, current President of the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT), joins Blue Cell as a Non-Executive Director
- Highly experienced executive with deep scientific expertise, who has helped lead numerous private and public cell therapy biotechs, establishing corporate structures and raising funds
- Appointment comes as Blue Cell advances its groundbreaking “off-the-shelf” allogeneic stem cell therapies for severe erectile dysfunction (ED) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Cell Therapeutics, a biotech developing “off-the-shelf” allogeneic stem cell therapies for diseases where angiogenesis and nerve regeneration are beneficial, today announces the appointment of Miguel Forte MD, PhD, to its Board of Directors.
Dr Forte is a highly regarded industry executive with more than two decades of operational and strategic leadership experience. He also currently serves as President and Chair of the Board of Directors at the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. His appointment to Blue Cell’s board comes just two months after another leading executive, Olav Hellebø, joined as the Company’s Chairman.
Dr Miguel Forte, MD, PhD, newly appointed Non-Executive Director of Blue Cell Therapeutics, said: “Blue Cell Therapeutics has a clear vision of how to develop allogeneic stem cell treatments to address significant unmet medical needs, which are not only clinically effective, but can also be manufactured at scale. I believe my clinical, regulatory and managerial experience will complement and strengthen the Company’s board, and help Blue Cell as it progresses and seeks to commercialise its exciting technology.”
Søren P. Sheikh MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cell Therapeutics, said: “Miguel’s deep scientific knowledge of cell therapy, combined with his extensive experience leading biotechs, gives him a rare business acumen which will be invaluable to Blue Cell Therapeutics. We look forward to working together to drive forward our mission of developing curative, off-the-shelf stem cell treatments for severe erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension.”
Dr Forte brings extensive experience to Blue Cell Therapeutics. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of Kiji Therapeutics, which is developing off-the-shelf engineered cell therapies for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. He also holds positions on the boards of Swarm Oncology, StemBond Technologies and Akatsuki Therapeutics.
Previously he served as Chief Executive Officer of Bone Therapeutics, where he led the publicly listed company through multiple capital raises and a successful M&A transaction. Prior to that he was CEO of Zelluna Immunotherapy, where he established the company’s structure, secured key financing, established its leadership team and launched its strategy to develop allogeneic cell and gene therapies targeting solid tumours.
From 2004 to 2017, Dr. Forte held senior leadership positions at several biopharmaceutical companies including TxCell, UCB, and Nabi Pharmaceuticals. He has also held regulatory positions in Portugal and at the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Dr Forte holds an MD and Specialist in Infectious Diseases degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, a PhD in Immunology from the University of Birmingham, and a certificate on Health Technologies Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom
Dr Forte joins Blue Cell Therapeutics’ Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.
About Blue Cell Therapeutics
Blue Cell Therapeutics is a biotech developing long lasting allogeneic “off-the-shelf” human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies for diseases where angiogenesis and nerve regeneration are beneficial, such as erectile dysfunction (ED) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Our method enables the production of a consistent, pure and potent allogeneic cell product and, thanks to a high proliferation rate, we can create more than 70,000 treatments from cells taken from a single donor.
Blue Cell’s lead product, BlueC-231, is in development for the treatment of severe Erectile Dysfunction (ED). The Company is initially focusing BlueC-231 on the treatment of severe ED following radical prostatectomy, where we expect it will be much more effective than currently available treatments because it addresses the root causes of the problem: poor blood flow and nerve damage. BlueC-231 offers a scalable, safe and potentially curative solution for this distressing condition – restoring erectile function for extended periods and spontaneity to sexual encounters.
An early proof-of-concept study with a single dose of autologous adipose MSCs has shown that 8 of the 11 men (72%) who had undergone prostatectomy and were continent, but had had no erectile function for over a year, regained their ability to have an erection and perform sexually at six months. Subsequently, Blue Cell chose to take an allogeneic approach, which offers the potential for greater consistency and potency, plus easier manufacturability and reduced cost.
Preclinical in vitro and in vivo data for BlueC-231 have shown angiogenesis and endothelial cell and nerve cell regrowth superior to autologous cells, giving confidence for proposed phase 1/2a studies.
Some 490,000 men in the western world undergo major prostate cancer surgery each year, with most continuing to suffer severe ED a year after surgery. In terms of ED overall, it is estimated that 85 million men suffer from ED globally with 30% not responding to drug therapy.
In PAH, Blue Cell has successfully shown that BlueC-231 efficiently decreased lung blood pressure in an animal model. This initiates a preclinical programme testing BlueC-231 in addition to standard therapy.
SOURCE Blue Cell Therapeutics
