Transforming Gene Therapy: Exclusive Insights from Zandy Forbes, President & CEO of MeiraGTx
Synopsis: Zandy Forbes, Founder, President, and CEO of MeiraGTx, joins host Rahul Chaturvedi in this compelling episode. Zandy shares her inspiring journey from academia, where she developed a deep interest in molecular biology and genetics, to her significant role in biotech investing, and eventually leading a groundbreaking gene therapy company. She elaborates on Meira’s cutting-edge approach to genetic medicines, focusing on the development of innovative therapies for non-inherited diseases. Zandy discusses the unique challenges and opportunities that arise in the biotech sector, shedding light on the strategies Meira employs to navigate this complex landscape. Biography: Alexandria Forbes, Ph.D. is the President and CEO of MeiraGTx (NASDAQ: MGTX). MeiraGTx is a vertically integrated gene therapy company with core capabilities in viral vector design and optimization and gene therapy manufacturing, as well as a potentially transformative gene regulation technology. The company is developing innovative gene therapy products to cost effectively treat a range of serious medical disorders, with clinical programs currently in the eye, salivary gland and CNS. Prior to founding MeiraGTx, Dr. Forbes served as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at Kadmon Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, from September 2013 to April 2015.Before joining the biotech industry, she spent 10 years as a healthcare investor at Sivik Global Partners (Argus Partners) and Meadowvale Partners. At Sivik, Dr. Forbes was responsible for investments in biotechnology, specialty pharmaceuticals and diagnostics public equities and was portfolio manager of the Sivik Global Life Science Fund, a long-biased public markets fund investing in biotechnology companies globally. During her time as a biotechnology investor, Dr. Forbes covered over 300 companies and gained expertise in biotechnology business strategies and clinical drug development as well as a wide range of disease areas. Particular areas of focus included HIV, HCV, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disorders, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease and liver disease. Before entering the hedge fund industry, Dr. Forbes was an academic scientist studying the regulation of stem cell identity and different aspects of embryogeneis. She was a Human Frontiers/Howard Hughes postdoctoral fellow at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, where her research focused on cytoplasmic determinants and cell signaling pathways involved in the migration, establishment and maintenance of germ line stem cells in Drosophila melanogaster. Prior to this, Dr. Forbes was a research fellow at Duke University and at the Carnegie Institute at Johns Hopkins University where she studied the role of the hedgehog gene and its signaling pathway in the Drosophila embryo and adult. Dr. Forbes received her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from Oxford University, UK and attained a double first degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University, UK. Dr. Forbes serves on the Board of Directors of MeiraGTx, and as a Trustee and Director of the Selfridges Group Foundation, the European arm of the Weston Brain Institute, a charity supporting research into neurodegenerative diseases with the aim of speeding the time to the development of disease modifying treatments for these currently intractable diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s.
