Forge Biologics Strengthens Gene Therapy Leadership with Key Hires in AAV Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs and Finance to Support Strategic Growth
- Forge Leadership team has over 100 years of combined direct gene therapy development experience
- Key hires expand AAV manufacturing and regulatory expertise
- Company is on track for GMP AAV production in 1H 2021 at 50L and 500L scales
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Forge Biologics, a viral vector gene therapy manufacturing and development company, today announced the expansion of its leadership team to strengthen expertise in AAV manufacturing, regulatory affairs and financial operations. The key hires come on the heels of Forge's emergence from stealth mode in late July after a successful $40M Series A financing.
David Dismuke, Ph.D., joins as Chief Technical Officer, Christopher Shilling as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, and Christina Perry as Vice President of Finance and Operations. All three leaders will be in place in September and join Forge's executive leadership team.
"The addition of David, Chris, and Christina to the Forge leadership team brings immeasurable value to the Forge team and expands our team of gene therapy experts," said Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D., Forge's Co-Founder, President & CEO. "We believe that our accomplished and passionate team, with demonstrated experience in manufacturing and developing gene therapy products, is the foundation of fulfilling our mission to accelerate transformative medicines to reach those who need them most."
David Dismuke joins Forge with more than 15 years of experience in large-scale manufacturing. He is an authority in the bioprocessing and design of gene therapy vectors and has led CMC operations in the large-scale manufacturing of pre-clinical and clinical-grade AAV vectors for more than 10 years. Prior to joining Forge, David was the Vice President of Manufacturing at StrideBio where he directed the development of manufacturing and analytical processes for AAV vectors that utilize novel capsids. In addition, he led the design of therapeutic and reporter transgenes and innovative molecular enhancements to improve AAV production and therapeutic function. He was also previously the Head of Vector Production at Voyager Therapeutics where he led teams in the manufacturing and analytical testing of AAV using the baculovirus/Sf9 production system. Prior to Voyager, David was the Director of the UNC Vector Core, where he oversaw GMP operations as well as the production of research-grade vectors. He earned his PhD from Vanderbilt University, focusing on the molecular biology and lifecycle of HIV-1, and then performed his postdoctoral research at UNC Chapel Hill.
Christopher Shilling joins Forge as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality. He has over 15 years of experience in development of novel gene therapies for rare and severe disorders. Christopher is an experienced leader in gene therapy regulatory affairs, pharmacology, toxicology, and project management focused on developing strategies for early phase clinical trials in support of a variety of transformative therapeutics for pediatric and rare diseases. Prior to joining Forge, Christopher started the Drug and Device Development program at Nationwide Children's Hospital which was instrumental in gaining acceptance from regulators for over twenty first-in-human gene therapy clinical trials of novel biologic products, a dozen orphan drug designations, and two fast track designations. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a Master of Science degree in Pathology both from the Ohio State University.
Christina Perry joins Forge Biologics as the Vice President of Finance and Operations. She spent the last several years as the CFO of Drive Capital where she built out all accounting and finance operations, back-office needs, and investor relations and reporting. Christina managed complex entity legal structures and has had extensive exposure to equity and debt financings. Over the last 15+ years Christina has worked with public and private companies and startups across varying industries, developing operational processes to scale with high growth. She began her career at Deloitte, is a licensed CPA in the state of Ohio, earned her Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Accountancy from Miami University.
These additions to the Forge Biologics leadership team continue Forge's momentum within the biotechnology industry in Columbus Ohio, bringing positive impact to both Ohio and the global rare disease community.
About Forge Biologics
The mission of Forge Biologics is to enable access to life changing gene therapies and help bring them from idea into reality. Forge has a 175,000 ft2 facility in Columbus, Ohio, referred to as "The Hearth", to serve as their headquarters. The Hearth will be home to a custom-designed cGMP facility, dedicated to AAV viral vector manufacturing and will host end-to-end manufacturing services to accelerate gene therapy programs from preclinical through clinical and commercial stage manufacturing. By taking a patients-first approach, Forge aims to accelerate the timelines of these transformative medicines for those who need them the most.
For more information, please visit https://www.forgebiologics.com.
Media Inquiries:
Dan Salvo
Forge Biologics
Director of Communications and Community Development
[email protected]
Business Inquiries:
Erandi De Silva, Ph.D.
Forge Biologics
Co-Founder and Vice President of Product Development
[email protected]
SOURCE Forge Biologics
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