COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Forge Biologics, a gene therapy-focused contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced today the expansion of its leadership team with two key hires in process development and medical affairs. Juan Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., will lead the clinical development team as Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs; Frank Agbogbo, Ph.D., M.B.A., will head process development in CDMO operations.

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Juan Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs, Forge Biologics (Photo: Business Wire)

“I’m thrilled that we are able to bring these leaders with tremendous industry experience to our company,” said CEO, President and Co-Founder Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D. “With the strong leadership and technical expertise from Dr. Ruiz and Dr. Agbogbo, Forge’s CDMO operations growth and expanding pipeline will be poised to support our clients’ and patients’ needs.”

Dr. Juan Ruiz joins the company with more than 20 years’ experience in drug development in biotechnology and academic environments in the field of gene therapy. He has held leadership positions at Abeona Therapeutics, Lykera Biomed and Digna Biotech, where he spent more than a decade leading teams dedicated to developing gene therapy translational medicine programs. His proven track record demonstrates a start-to-finish scope, from early preclinical and proof of concept studies to manufacturing, regulatory IND and IMPD submissions, clinical trial design and execution, as well as manufacturing and quality control of the adenoviral vectors. He is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is an inventor on multiple issued patents. Dr. Ruiz earned his M.D. at the University of Navarra School of Medicine, his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Navarra, earned his MBA from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Frank Agbogbo will serve as Vice President of Process Development, bringing to Forge over 15 years of experience in industry which includes process development in small and large scale bioreactors, process optimization, process characterization and scale-up from R&D to manufacturing (cGMP and non-cGMP). Previously, Dr. Agbogbo was the Senior Director of Process Development at Cytovance Biologics overseeing cell line development, cell culture, strain development and fermentation, with oversight responsibilities over the Upstream and Downstream teams. Prior to Cytovance, he was the Application Technology Manager at Mascoma Corporation where he contributed to the launch of two commercial products. Prior to Mascoma, Dr. Agbogbo was a Principal Scientist at ICM, Inc. and a Scientist at Novozymes. He has co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to 5 patents. Dr. Agbogbo holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and an MBA with a certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Price College of Business at Oklahoma University.

World Orphan Drug Congress Presentations August 25-27, 2021

Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D., Forge’s CEO, President and Co-Founder will be participating in two presentations at the upcoming World Oprhan Drug Congress, including a keynote fireside chat on “Creating a multi-disciplinary, integrated ecosystem for patient access and affordability,” followed by a panel discussion on “Next generation manufacturing strategies for AAV,” where Dr. Miller will be joined by other gene therapy experts.

The conference is taking place August 25-27, 2021, at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. To learn more about the event and registration, please visit: https://www.terrapinn.com/conference/world-orphan-drug-congress-usa/index.stm

About Forge Biologics

Forge Biologics is a hybrid gene therapy contract manufacturing and therapeutics development company. Forge’s mission 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, “The Hearth,” to serve as its headquarters. The Hearth is the home of 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 www.forgebiologics.com.

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