Forge Biologics Deepens Genetic Medicine CDMO Capabilities with Leadership Team Expansion Across cGMP Manufacturing, Analytical Development, and Client Development

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Forge Biologics, a gene therapy-focused contract development and manufacturing organization, announced today the addition of three key leadership hires to further the Company’s growth as a leading manufacturer of genetic medicines.

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“Our team has built one of the largest genetic medicines manufacturing facilities in the world, with the ability for end-to-end AAV production of 50L to 5,000L,” said Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D., CEO, President, and Co-Founder of Forge. “Expanding our leadership team with these strategic hires, and the caliber of experience each member brings, supports our vision for growth and the value we provide to our more than 30 partners as we continue to expand our leadership in gene therapy development and manufacturing. I am delighted to welcome Mr. McPherson and Ms. Barsoumian, and congratulate Dr. Davis on his new role.”

Chris McPherson, Vice President of GMP Manufacturing

Chris McPherson will oversee clinical and commercial cGMP manufacturing operations of Forge’s 50L to 5,000L bioreactors in 20 cGMP suites. Mr. McPherson joins Forge with over 25 years of industry experience in commercial biologics manufacturing, technology transfer, validation and BLA/MAA preparation, bringing his expertise in continuous improvement for efficiency and compliance, problem solving, and scale up of client processes in a contract manufacturing environment. Prior to joining Forge, Mr. McPherson helped to scale processes and complete the technology transfer from 20L to 15,000L of biologics manufacturing. He’s held technical leadership positions in industry as Director of Manufacturing, Principal Scientist for Validation, Audits, and Inspections and Head of Clinical Manufacturing with Guilford Pharmaceutical, Cambrex Bioscience, WuXi Apptec, Biotest Pharmaceutical and Samsung Biologics. Mr. McPherson’s two B.S. degrees are in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University.

Taleen Barsoumian, Vice President of Client Development

Taleen Barsoumian will lead Forge’s client development strategy and new business operations across Forge’s suite of manufacturing solutions. Ms. Barsoumian was previously the U.S. Director of Sales and Business Development for Cell and Gene at Barkey Corporation, and brings 18 years of experience working with partners in academia, biotech, pharma, government and diagnostics. Prior to joining Barkey, she was the BioScience Western Regional Sales Manager for North America at Greiner Bio-One, following seven years with Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she was Senior Cardiovascular Sales Consultant. Ms. Barsoumian earned her B.S. in Epidemiology from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

Adam Davis, Ph.D., Vice President of Analytical Development

Adam Davis leads the in-house analytical development and testing team supporting clients throughout product development and manufacturing. Dr. Davis joined Forge in 2020 after 15 years of experience in recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector product development, process development, and manufacturing. His teams lead the phase-appropriate development, qualification and validation of analytics to support the production of pre-clinical and clinical recombinant gene therapy vectors. Prior to joining Forge, Dr. Davis was the Director of Manufacturing at Abeona Therapeutics, he held the position of Manufacturing Scientist at BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, and completed his post-doctoral work in gene therapy development and manufacturing at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, focusing on the rational design of recombinant AAV vector capsid for targeted delivery.

About Forge Biologics

Forge Biologics is a hybrid gene therapy contract manufacturing and clinical-stage therapeutics development company. Forge’s mission is to enable access to life-changing gene therapies and help bring them from idea to reality. Forge’s 200,000 square foot facility utilizes 20 cGMP suites in Columbus, Ohio, the Hearth, to serve as its headquarters. The Hearth is a custom-designed cGMP facility largely dedicated to AAV manufacturing and hosts scalable, end-to-end manufacturing services. Offerings include process and analytical development, plasmid DNA manufacturing, viral vector manufacturing, final fill, as well as regulatory consulting support 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. To learn more, visit www.forgebiologics.com.

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