
Masterclass on First-in-Human (FIH) Dose Selection for Advanced Therapeutics

This course includes:
-
Collaborative environment that
encourages interaction - Case studies and Q&A sessions
- Training materials
-
Tools and techniques to apply
immediately in your role - Recording access
- Certificate of completion
Course outline
This two-day intensive masterclass equips participants with practical frameworks and step-by-step methodologies to confidently determine First-in-Human (FIH) doses for advanced therapeutics. Covering gene therapy, cell therapy, oligonucleotides, and ADCs, attendees will explore real-world case studies and regulatory strategies. Learn to translate preclinical findings into clinical dosing decisions while minimizing risk and accelerating drug development pipelines.
What You’ll Gain
- Master structured FIH dose calculation frameworks for multiple therapeutic modalities.
- Gain insights from real-world case studies in gene therapy, cell therapy, oligonucleotides, and ADCs.
- Understand regulatory expectations and align scientific strategy with IND requirements.
- Learn to anticipate and avoid common pitfalls in early-phase clinical dosing.
- Build confidence in designing safe, effective, and efficient clinical development plans.
Why This Masterclass?
- Determining the first human dose is one of the most critical and high-risk steps in drug development. This masterclass offers a rare combination of scientific depth, regulatory insight, and practical application. Participants gain hands-on methodologies, actionable frameworks, and expert guidance to streamline FIH dose selection for advanced modalities, ensuring safer and faster translation from bench to clinic.
Who Should Attend
- Drug development scientists and pharmacologists
- Translational medicine and regulatory affairs professionals
- Preclinical and clinical researchers in gene therapy, cell therapy, oligonucleotides, and ADCs
- Biotechnology and pharmaceutical professionals involved in IND preparation
- Anyone seeking to enhance expertise in early-phase clinical dose selection
Agenda Highlights
Day 1 – Gene Therapy & Cell Therapy (Combined Highlights)
- Overview of gene therapy and cell therapy landscapes and classifications.
- Risk assessment and delivery strategies for gene therapy applications.
- Real-world ocular and CNS gene therapy case studies for FIH analysis.
- Introduction to cell therapy types and applications, including Treg T cells.
- Case studies on CAR-DNT Cells and Double Negative T Cells with FIH calculations.
- Step-by-step FIH dose calculation frameworks for CAR-T and MSC therapies.
Day 2 – Oligonucleotide Therapeutics & ADCs (Combined Highlights)
- Classification, mechanisms, and mode of action for oligonucleotide therapeutics (ONT).
- Safety evaluation and delivery strategies for ONT IND applications.
- Practical ONT FIH dose calculation with real-world case study (RNA Editing ADAR).
- Core principles of ADCs including antibody, payload, and linker considerations.
- ADC toxicity assessment and FIH dose calculation methodology.
- Developing Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D) for ADCs with regulatory alignment.
About Trainer

Dr. David Xu is a board-certified toxicologist with over 30 years of experience in drug development across oncology, ophthalmology, immunology, regenerative medicine, and neuroscience. He specializes in First-in-Human (FIH) strategies for gene therapy, adoptive cell therapy, oligonucleotides, and ADCs.
Core Expertise:
Therapeutic Modalities: AAV, lentivirus, CRISPR/Cas9, siRNA, NK and DNT cells, CAR-T, MSCs, ADCs
Regulatory Compliance: Non-GLP/GLP studies aligned with FDA, ICH, OECD standards
Technical Excellence: PK/PD modeling, HPLC, LC-MS, DMPK tools
Leadership Roles:
Independent Consultant, Corium Innovation – pre-IND strategy advisor
Executive Director, Edigene – directed nonclinical studies for RNA-editing therapies
VP of Non-Clinical, Ruichuang Biotech – optimized CAR-T and ADC strategies for regulatory submissions
Dr. Xu combines scientific depth, regulatory insight, and hands-on development experience, offering participants practical frameworks directly applicable to FIH dose selection.
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What you'll get?
-
Collaborative environment that
encourages interaction - Case studies and Q&A sessions
- Training materials
-
Tools and techniques to apply
immediately in your role - Recording access
- Certificate of completion