Two papers introduced complementary advances for T‑cell therapies: an overview of next‑generation engineered T cell platforms and a protocol for manufacturing synthetic viscoelastic antigen‑presenting cells (APCs) to improve T‑cell activation ex vivo. The engineered‑T work surveyed design innovations in CAR and TCR modalities; the synthetic APC protocol offers a manufacturing route to standardized activation stimuli. Authors describe novel CAR designs, switchable safety modules, and strategies to improve persistence and tissue penetration. The synthetic APCs replicate mechanical and ligand cues to expand and prime therapeutic T cells with greater consistency than feeder‑cell systems. Clinical developers and CMOs can combine engineered constructs with standardized expansion using synthetic APCs to shorten process variability and improve batch potency ahead of pivotal trials.