Visionary MedTech leader Andi Grant joins BioOra as CEO
When Andi was just five years old she announced to her parents she was going to be a genetic engineer or a brain surgeon. That conversation signposted a lifelong wonder for biology and medicine that hasn’t waned.
Her sense of awe at molecular biology is complemented by a strong sense of empathy for certain areas of clinical need. Andi’s drawn to deliver medicines and therapies that will improve outcomes for people living with cancer and neurological disorders. After earning her PHD in Molecular Biology at the University of Cambridge, she has gravitated to roles applying innovation and advanced technology to those diseases.
Andi tells us “When I began working I was quite academic and felt my skills would be best used in research. But I found myself energised by the commercialisation of medical innovation.”
“Developing smart technology and medicines is only half the puzzle. The other half is how you get those new developments to patients and do that in a way where you’re creating commercial return to invest in your next medical advance.”
Moving into commercial roles Andi racked up experience in business development, intellectual property and licensing, and worked with pharmaceutical companies to improve patient access to personalised medical innovation. She explains, “With the new generation of personalised medicine, you’re treating smaller populations at a higher price per person. And that’s a completely different model for our health system, which has been designed for low-cost interventions for large populations.”
Making CAR-T cell therapies more accessible
The BioOra team is pioneering automated personalised cell therapies, and they’re the only licensed manufacturer of CAR-T cell therapeutics in New Zealand. Considering Andi’s career and her interests, the task of heading up the next phase in BioOra’s evolution could be tailor-made for her experience and purpose.
Andi agrees. “Not only do I have a real passion for making new therapies for diseases available where there’s high unmet need, but in a prior role at pharmaceutical manufacturer Janssen, I helped launch access to Janssen’s CAR-T cell therapy in New Zealand. So, it was phenomenal to realise BioOra is focused on addressing the key challenges with CAR-T cell therapy.”
“We aim to bring the cost down by making the CAR-T manufacturing process more efficient and give more patients access to the therapy by bringing manufacturing closer to their bedside.”
While a number of CAR-T therapies for diseases have been registered, they haven’t reached many patients because of their laborious, costly, centralised manufacturing process. BioOra solves those two pain points.
Point of care cell therapy delivery
Andi was planning her own biotech venture when she met Bridgewest. During an exploratory conversation, she discovered their incubator company BioOra had advertised for a new CEO.
She explains the appeal. “BioOra is at a very exciting stage. It has a strong board of people with deep experience who've built global biotech businesses themselves, as well as a well resourced venture capital company providing wraparound support. They’re also in the final stages of automating their manual manufacturing process. This new end-to-end process will enable more access to transformational CAR-T therapies by delivering cells closer to patients.
“One of the biggest challenges with CAR-T cell therapy is access. Existing therapy providers must move each patient’s cells to their manufacturing hub and then back again. We've made good progress towards a platform where we have automated and shortened the manufacture of CAR-T cells. Our vision is to automate so that they can be manufactured right at the point of care. It'll take a few more years to perfect, but the platform we've built is already significantly advanced on current approaches. So, we’ll commercialise the new platform with our partners, and use it to bring therapies to clinical development here in New Zealand and Australia.”
Building New Zealand’s biotech innovation sector
Andi is most excited by the clinical outcomes of CAR-T cell therapy. “You're seeing people living with cancer who were at the end of their life become entirely tumour free. It’s important to note we’re not seeing those outcomes in every person. I don’t want to give people false hope. But it’s also important to state just how transformational these therapies can be.”
She’s also impressed by the calibre of the BioOra team she’s joined.
“Their drive and their passion for the patients is inspiring. If you have that energy in a biotech start-up, every challenge becomes soluble. And I’m excited about expanding on the excellent relationships BioOra has established with their partners, The Malaghan Institute and Bridgewest Ventures.”
“Bridgewest are unique in their approach to venture capital in New Zealand. They challenge the leaders at the companies they incubate to think strategically long term, and to have a capital plan that ensures that they're going to be sustainable for the next 10 years. I’ve no doubt Bridgewest are going to achieve their goal of building New Zealand's biotech innovation.”
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