Appointment strengthens leadership team as iXCells focuses on expanding its portfolio of custom-tailored iPSC products and delivery of enhanced preclinical services
San Diego, CA, 12 January, 2026: iXCells Biotechnologies (“iXCells”), a leading provider of human cell-based solutions and custom iPSC services, today announced the appointment of Steve Smith as CEO. Previously CCO, Steve will lead the Company to advance execution and delivery of iXCells’ bespoke human-derived iPSC preclinical services as demand increases for scalable, high-quality, and human relevant preclinical models.
Steve has over 25 years’ experience in the life sciences industry, with a career spanning senior commercial leadership roles across global life science tools and service organizations. Holding leadership positions at Thermo Fisher and Abcam, including North American Sales Leader and Vice President of Cell Lines, Steve most recently served as CCO at seqWell, a provider of genomic library and multiplexing workflow solutions. Steve’s appointment as CEO marks a significant milestone for iXCells as the Company transitions into its next phase of growth, supporting larger, more complex preclinical programs and expanding multi-study collaborations with biotech, pharmaceutical, academic, and CRO partners.
During Steve’s time as CCO, iXCells has introduced two major initiatives shaping the Company’s next phase of growth. The launch of iPSCore, iXCells’ discovery support platform designed for precision drug development in rare diseases, delivers comprehensive project management and assay development capabilities to accelerate the translation of complex research into actionable results. Steve also leads Project Mosaic1, a pilot project developing patient-specific models of sporadic ALS by adapting methods from cancer research.
“Steve’s appointment marks a pivotal moment for iXCells,” said Alex Gulotta, Principal at Great Point Partners. “His strategic vision and deep expertise in iPSC technologies and human cell-based research are exactly what we need to accelerate our mission. With initiatives like iPSCore and Project Mosaic already gaining traction under his leadership, I’m confident that Steve will guide iXCells to new heights of scientific innovation and impact.”
Steve Smith, CEO, iXCells Biotechnologies said: “iXCells’ mission is to empower scientists with high-quality, human-relevant disease models and tools to support personalized solutions that enable breakthrough discoveries. I am excited to lead iXCells through this next stage of growth, expanding our iPSCore end to end services, delivering actionable results in ongoing scientific partnerships, and providing customers with the consistency, scale, and collaboration required to advance complex discovery programs to enable the development of novel therapeutics for rare and complex diseases.”
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