Industry groups and private‑sector partners moved to address cell and gene therapy manufacturing bottlenecks through new standards and collaborative R&D. USP published draft standards for viral vectors and plasmid DNA starting materials and produced empty‑full ratio standards for AAV, aiming to reduce analytical variability across labs and support regulator and manufacturer alignment. Separately, Bracco Imaging and Limula launched an Innosuisse‑funded collaboration with University of Fribourg to pair lipid‑based microbubbles and automated cell‑processing instrumentation as an alternative to magnetic beads for affinity‑based cell selection and activation in cell therapy manufacturing. Taken together, the standards plus automation projects signal a coordinated industry push to improve reproducibility, scale and cost of advanced therapies — a prerequisite for broader clinical adoption and payer acceptance.