Maher Masoud, President & CEO, MaxCyte®

Your Story

Q1. What was the defining moment or insight that led you to take the helm of MaxCyte®?

I joined MaxCyte® because I believed deeply in where the science was heading. When I first saw what cell and gene therapy could do — not just treating disease but potentially correcting it at the DNA level — it changed the way I thought about medicine. Over time, I had the opportunity to work across nearly every part of the company. I was close to the science, close to our customers, and close to the strategy. That gave me a distinctive perspective on what MaxCyte® could become.

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When our previous CEO began thinking about stepping back, it was not a single moment of decision. It was a gradual realization that I was already deeply invested in the mission and the people, and that I felt a responsibility to carry it forward. What ultimately pulled me into the role was not the title — it was the opportunity to help shape a company that enables therapies capable of genuinely changing patients’ lives. That is not something you walk away from.

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Q2. In simple terms, what does MaxCyte® do — and why does it matter for patients?

At the simplest level, we help scientists turn cells into medicines. We provide the tools, technology, and expertise that allow developers to engineer cells safely and efficiently. Those cells can then be used to treat diseases like cancer, autoimmune conditions, and rare genetic disorders — and our platform supports that entire journey, from early discovery through clinical development and commercial manufacturing.

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What makes that meaningful is what it unlocks for patients. Historically, many of these diseases could only be managed. Now, for the first time, we are seeing therapies with genuine curative potential. If we do our job well, patients who once had very limited options can live full, healthy lives. That is what drives everything we do.

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Q3. Can you share a moment that reinforced why this work matters?

One moment that has stayed with me is meeting a patient who had been treated with a therapy developed using our technology. She had been living with sickle cell disease, and for much of her life even the idea of a normal future felt uncertain — finishing school, planning a career, the things most people take for granted were not guaranteed.

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After receiving treatment, everything changed. She went on to finish school, graduate college, and start building the life she had always hoped for. But what made it truly meaningful was what came next: she chose to come work with us. Last summer, she became our legal intern, and a part of MaxCyte®, contributing to the same mission that helped transform her own life and working to move therapies forward for patients in the position she once was. That is a reminder of why this work matters. It is not abstract. It comes full circle in the most human way possible.

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The Science & The Strategy

Q4. What sets MaxCyte® apart from others working in this space?

There are two parts to that answer: the technology itself, and how we show up as a partner. At a fundamental level, MaxCyte® enables the engineering of cells that can become medicines. Our ExPERT platform uses a non-viral approach called Flow Electroporation® to deliver genetic material into cells with precision and at scale. You can have a promising target and a powerful idea, but if you cannot reliably engineer the cells, reproduce that process consistently and safely, and meet the rigor required for patient use, you cannot turn it into a therapy. Our technology helps bridge that gap from discovery to real-world treatment.

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This is the same reason we acquired and are building out the SeQure suite of on-target and off-target assessment assays—to work as early as possible with developers to address any safety development risks early in the therapeutic discovery timeline and further bridge and accelerate the gap from discovery to real-world safe treatments and cures.

But just as important is how we operate. One of our core values is an obsession with customer success, and we take that seriously. Our partners are tackling extraordinarily complex scientific challenges, and when they encounter obstacles, we do not step back — we step in. We bring our scientists, engineers, and experience to help solve problems alongside them. In this field, a delay is not just a missed milestone; it can mean a patient waits longer for a therapy they need. So we see ourselves not as a vendor, but as an extension of our partners’ teams.

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Q5. What has been MaxCyte®’s most important milestone to date, and what comes next?

One of the most meaningful milestones has been seeing our technology move from early research into clinical trials and now into pivotal programs. That is when you know the science is no longer theoretical — it is reaching patients. We now support therapies across oncology, autoimmune diseases, and rare genetic conditions, and watching those programs advance has been deeply rewarding.

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Another important step was expanding our capabilities through the acquisition of SeQure, which added a critical layer of insight around gene editing safety and outcomes — increasingly essential as therapies move closer to the clinic. Looking ahead, our focus is on becoming a more fully integrated partner across the entire cell therapy workflow. The vision is that developers can come to MaxCyte® for everything they need to advance a program with confidence.

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Q6. What is the biggest challenge you are facing right now, and how are you tackling it?

The biggest challenge is the current funding environment across biotech. A few years ago there was a significant influx of capital into the space; since then, we have seen a contraction, and that affects many of our partners — particularly smaller companies pushing forward innovative therapies.

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Our response has been to stay focused and disciplined. We have streamlined the organization, prioritized the initiatives that matter most, and ensured we can continue supporting our partners through critical stages like clinical trials. At the same time, we have not stepped back from innovation — we continue to invest in new products and capabilities because we believe strongly in the long-term trajectory of this field. It is a balance: manage for today while continuing to build for tomorrow.

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Leadership & Ecosystem

Q7. What has surprised you most about being a CEO in life sciences?

What surprised me most is how much of the role is about people and culture, not just strategy. You enter thinking you will spend most of your time setting direction — and that matters — but what shapes outcomes day to day is whether your team can do their best work. That means removing obstacles, creating clarity, and building an environment where people feel confident speaking up and contributing ideas.

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The other thing that stands out is the emotional weight of the work. In life sciences, what we do is directly tied to patient outcomes. That creates a level of responsibility you feel every day — and it is both humbling and powerfully motivating.

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Q8. How would you describe the culture you are building at MaxCyte®?

We are very intentional about the culture we are building. It starts with integrity and transparency — people need to trust that what you say is what you will do. We also operate with a firm belief that the best idea wins, regardless of where it comes from. There is no room for ego in what we are trying to accomplish.

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That kind of environment is essential for science. Innovation requires people to challenge assumptions, share ideas openly, and work across disciplines. If people hesitate to speak up, you lose that. Our goal is to create a place where people feel genuinely empowered to contribute — and where the mission is always larger than any individual.

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Q9. What role does the Mid-Atlantic ecosystem play in MaxCyte®’s growth?

Being in Maryland and the broader Mid-Atlantic region has been a real advantage. There is a strong concentration of biotech companies, research institutions, and experienced talent, which creates meaningful opportunities for collaboration and for learning from others advancing the field.

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That said, our business is inherently global. Our partners are located around the world, and the therapies we support are being developed and tested internationally. So, while our local ecosystem provides a strong foundation, our reach and our impact extend well beyond it.

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Looking Ahead

Q10. Where do you see MaxCyte® in three years, and what has to go right to get there?

In three years, I see MaxCyte® playing an even more central role in the cell and gene therapy ecosystem. Our goal is to be the partner that developers turn to for the full workflow — from engineering and scale-up to safety and beyond. We want to simplify a genuinely complex process and help bring therapies to patients more efficiently.

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To get there, a few things need to happen. The programs we support need to continue progressing through clinical trials and into commercialization. We need to keep innovating and expanding our capabilities. And we need to continue building strong, trust-based partnerships. If we execute on those, we will not only grow as a company — we will help accelerate the entire field.

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Q11. What is one thing about the life sciences industry you would change — and what gives you optimism?

If I could change one thing, it would be the inconsistency of funding cycles. Science advances steadily, but investment tends to come in waves. That mismatch can slow progress and make it harder for innovative therapies to reach patients as quickly as they could.

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What gives me optimism is the science itself — and what we are already seeing in the clinic. We are now witnessing therapies that can fundamentally alter the course of disease. Patients who once had no options are experiencing outcomes that would have been unimaginable not long ago. We are witnessing cures for diseases that in the past were thought of as just a way of life—cures that span from single patient therapies to those for diseases affecting millions of people.  

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Even when programs do not succeed, we learn from them, and every step forward builds on the last. That cumulative momentum is what gives me genuine confidence in where this field is going. Scientists learn from each other; every experiment, every research, every clinical program, is a success even if it doesn’t lead to a commercial program because it allows scientists to learn from each other and build upon what was discovered before them. Such curiosity is unwavering in our industry.

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About The Big4Bio CEO Weekly Q&A

Every Monday, Big4Bio spotlights a life sciences CEO from one of our eight coverage regions — Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Philadelphia, New York City, the Capital Region, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Each feature is promoted across all eight Big4Bio daily newsletters, reaching 30,000+ life sciences professionals. CEO participation is complimentary and editorial — every CEO approves the final Q&A before publication.

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Are you a life sciences CEO or do you represent one? Contact Big4Bio editor Marie Daghlian at marie@big4bio.com to be considered for an upcoming feature.