Ori Spotlight

On this episode of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, we're joined by Daniel Gibson Director of Cell and Gene Therapy Services at Anthony Nolan. Anthony Nolan is a charity on a mission to improve the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders, by connecting patients and stem cell donors, funding research into cell therapies, and supporting patients along their transplant journey. Together,...

On this episode of the Ori Spotlight podcast, we're joined by Dr Elizabeth Woo, Vice President of Cell and Gene Therapy at ThermoFisher. With 20+ years of experience at ThermoFisher, Betty has contributed to the growth of the company's revenue from $4B to $40B through various technical, commercial and leadership roles. Throughout this episode, Betty provides her insights into how the cell...

On this episode of the Ori Spotlight podcast, we're joined by John Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Cell Therapy at the Center for Breakthrough Medicines . With 20+ years of experience in cancer cell biology at Janssen and GSK, spanning small and large molecules and cell-based therapeutics, John unpicks some of the biggest challenges facing the cell and gene therapy industry. One hot top...

We’re back with the Ori Spotlight Podcast, where we’ll be hosting conversations with experts and advocates from across the cell and gene therapy sector, and exploring the latest challenges and opportunities within the industry. In this episode, we talk to Amy Kappen, founder of the Best Day Ever Foundation . Amy founded the Foundation after her daughter Sophia passed away after battling with acute...

On episode 25 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Philip Vanek, CTO at Gamma Biosciences as they explore how the industry is evolving in a digitally connected world.    Gamma Biosciences is a life sciences innovator focused on bioprocessing tools and technologies for the development and production of advanced therapies, including vaccines, biologics and cell and ge...

In episode 24 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Matthew Durdy, CEO of CGT Catapult as they discuss the progression of the cell and gene therapy industry.  CGT Catapult is an independent center of excellence that aims to advance the growth of the UK cell and gene therapy industry, by bridging the gap between scientific research and full-scale commercialization. CGT Cat...

In episode 23 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Jonathan Hay, Partner at Delin Ventures and Ori board member. Delin Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough technologies and life science businesses that can have a positive impact on human lives.  Having supported Ori in their $100M Series B round, Jason joined Jonathan to discuss how Ori’s missi...

In episode 22 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Elliot Menschik Chief Digital Officer at Resilience, and Kevin Gordon Chief Digital Officer at Ori.  Founded in 2020, Resilience is a manufacturing and technology company building a sustainable network of high-tech, end-to-end manufacturing solutions to ensure the medicines of today and tomorrow can be made quickly, safe...

In episode 21, Ori CEO Jason C. Foster had the honour of being joined by two families, both of whom are strong advocates for increasing the accessibility of CAR-T therapy: Emily, Kari and Tom Whitehead from the Emily Whitehead Foundation, and Lucy and Lewis Jones, parents of Opie Jones. Aged 5, Emily Whitehead was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). After relapsing twice following c...

In episode 20 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Jason Bock, CEO at CTMC (a joint venture between Resilience and MD Anderson Cancer Center) as they discuss bringing advanced therapies to patients at scale. Jason has also recently joined Ori as a member of our SAB - we’re honored to have Jason’s expertise and insights support us in achieving our mission. Jason Bock has subst...

For episode 19 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Isabelle Rivière, Director of Cell Therapy and Cell Engineering Laboratory at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), one of the world’s leading cancer centers. Isabelle has also recently joined Ori as our newest SAB member – we’re honored to have her supporting us in achieving our mission.  To this episode,...

For episode 18 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Ori’s very own Chief Technology Officer, Stuart Milne.  Stuart has extensive experience in the CGT sector, having held leadership positions across R&D, startups and scale-ups – including leading a multidisciplinary CGT R&D team from start-up (Asymptote, 2012) through to acquisition (GE Healthcare, 2017) and dive...

For Episode 17 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Mike Paglia, COO of ElevateBio, a centralized R&D and manufacturing company developing its own innovative cell and gene therapies. Mike has 20 years of experience in biotechnology, working across the industry from therapeutic antibody manufacturing to drug development. Together, Jason and Mike discuss how ElevateBio supp...

For episode 16 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by Germfree CEO, Kevin Kyle and VP of Regulatory and Business Development, Carol Houts. Germfree specializes in the manufacture of mobile and modular cleanrooms, laboratory equipment, cGMP facilities and biosafety labs to deliver solutions across the life science spectrum. Together they sat down to explore how Germfree supporte...

For episode 15 of Ori Spotlight, Jason C. Foster is joined by Jo Anne Valentino, Chief Operating Officer at Minaris Regenerative Medicine as she shares her insights into cell and gene therapy development.   Jo Anne has extensive experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing, having previously held senior positions at Merck and Novartis. Minaris Regenerative Medicine is a CDMO dedicated to the pr...

In episode 14 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster is joined by John Connolly, Chief Scientific Officer at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, who explained why and how the industry needs to increase the accessibility of CGT for patients. The Parker Institute is a research institute on a mission – to break down infrastructure barriers that have slowed progress in the developmen...

In episode 13 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast Jason C. Foster sits down with Mike Nicholson (President and Chief Operating Officer) and Matt Haines (Vice President of Manufacturing Operations) at Inceptor Bio, as they share their insights into the cell and gene therapy space. Inceptor Bio is on a mission to cure difficult to treat cancers using next-generation cell therapy platforms. Their unique par...

In Episode 12 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast, Jason C. Foster sits down with Northpond Ventures, investor in both Ori’s Series A and Series B funding. We caught up with Directors Adam Wieschhaus and Shaan Gandhi, as they share their insights into the cell and gene therapy space.  Northpond Ventures is a $2.15 billion venture capitalist firm focused on life science, medicine, and technology; wit...

In episode 11 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast we sit down with Paul Meister, Partner at Novalis LifeSciences - lead investor of Ori Biotech’s series B round - as he shares his perspectives on the potential for CGT. Paul has extensive experience across the pharmaceutical, biotech and life science fields, having orchestrated the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific before becoming chair of T...

In episode 10 of the Ori Spotlight Podcast we sit down with Farlan Veraitch, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Ori Biotech.  Farlan is an internationally recognized expert in CGT-manufacturing, with 15 years’ experience as a leading academic at University College London, pioneering innovative technologies in CGT bioprocessing. At Ori, he leads the research and development of Ori's re...

On episode nine of the Ori Spotlight Podcast we sat down with Qasim Rafiq, Associate Professor of Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocessing at University College London, and Thomas Heathman, Ori's Vice President of Commercial Operations. Qasim leads the world first MSc in Manufacturing and Commercialization of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies, and was named as one of the top 20 influential and inspirational...

On Ori Spotlight episode eight we sat down with Robert Preti, strategic advisor at Ori.  Robert has an illustrious background in cell and gene therapy leading innovation as Chief Strategy Officer for Minaris as well as leading the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) for several years as chairman.  Joining Ori Biotech's CEO Jason C. Foster, the pair discuss where cell therapy all beg...

On episode seven of the Ori Spotlight Podcast we sat down with Dr. Annalisa Jenkins, Strategic Advisor for Ori and advisor to the FDA, to discuss the changes she's seen in CGT pricing and market access models over the years.  As board chairman for many private and public companies, Annalisa recounts how it all started and how she sees the industry evolving. She's passionate about the idea tha...

Dennis Powers, Vice President of Business Development & Sales Engineering at G-CON Manufacturing joins Jason C. Foster for the new episode of the Ori Spotlight Podcast.   Dennis explains how manufacturing powerhouse G-CON is injecting innovation right into the heart of cell and gene therapy with their prefabricated cleanrooms called PODs.  Drawing on his wealth of experience in...

Rahul Singhvi, Co-Founder and CEO at Resilience joins Jason C. Foster for the new episode of the Ori Spotlight Podcast.  With extensive experience leading vaccine technologies and biotherapeutics at Merck and Takeda, Rahul co-founded Resilience in order to create the next generation of life science manufacturing, to meet the urgent need at what is an inflection point for the biotechnology ind...