What compels a scientist to leave academia for the high-stakes world of finance and then become the CEO of a publicly-traded biotech company?

In this episode of Oxford+, host Susannah de Jager sits down with Zandy Forbes, the CEO and co-founder of MeiraGTx. Zandy shares her fascinating career journey, explaining how her experience as a hedge fund analyst shaped her unique approach to building a resilient, multi-asset genetic medicine company.

They discuss MeiraGTx's pioneering work, from developing a mind-blowing technology that turns the body into a drug manufacturing facility to their successful clinical trials that are changing the lives of patients with inherited blindness, Parkinson’s, and other diseases. 

• (00:00 ) - Welcome to Oxford+


• (00:58 ) - Meet Zandy Forbes: From Academia to CEO


• (02:08 ) - Transitioning to Wall Street


• (03:57 ) - Discovering the World of Biotech


• (07:15 ) - Founding MeiraGTx


• (09:45 ) - Innovative Gene Therapy Approaches


• (13:04 ) - Breakthroughs in Genetic Medicine


• (14:46 ) - Success Stories: Transforming Lives


• (20:36 ) - Challenges and Strategies in Biotech


• (27:41 ) - Navigating the Public Markets


• (31:27 ) - The Future of Biotech in the UK

Zandy Forbes: The CEO and co-founder of MeiraGTx, a NASDAQ-listed clinical-stage genetic medicine company. She holds a double first in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Oxford. Before co-founding MeiraGTx in 2015, she spent over a decade as an analyst and portfolio manager at a healthcare-focused hedge fund.

Connect with Zandy on LinkedIn

Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital.

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Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and Oxford North.

Produced and edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.