Progress in cell therapies for neonatal conditions: Proceedings of the Third Neonatal Cell Therapies Symposium (2025)

This special article synthesizes transformative insights from a recent international neonatal cell therapy symposium (held in Noosa, Australia) where leading experts convened to explore regenerative solutions for serious perinatal and neonatal conditions. The discussions highlighted pioneering cell-based therapies targeting preterm brain injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, fetal growth restriction, hypoplastic left heart syndrome and congenital diaphragmatic hernia; neonatal conditions that present both neonatal challenges and long-term morbidities, demanding innovation beyond conventional medical, surgical and supportive care. Advances in regenerative medicine, particularly those leveraging umbilical cord blood-derived cells, mesenchymal stromal cells from various sources, amniotic fluid and human amnion epithelial derived cells and extracellular vesicles, are redefining therapeutic possibilities through paracrine signaling, immunomodulation, and tissue repair to counteract shared mechanisms of inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and impaired regeneration. This article integrates the symposium's key clinical and translational perspectives, emphasizing system-specific developments across cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, and systemic domains, with a particular focus on scalable production strategies, and the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. IMPACT: Synthesizes global evidence from preclinical and clinical studies to define the current translational trajectory of cell therapies across major neonatal conditions. Highlights integrative frameworks combining advanced preclinical modeling, clinical trials, scalable manufacturing and stakeholder collaboration to accelerate translation in neonatal regenerative medicine.