Summary:
This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Huma Qamar, Chief Medical Officer at Ocugen. They discuss her journey from arriving in the US with $88 in her pocket to leading gene therapy programs, Ocugen’s breakthrough in retinal disease, and how gene-agnostic therapies could transform treatment for conditions like retinitis pigmentosa.
Show Notes:
0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast
00:59 Welcome to Huma
01:40 How Huma arrived in the US from Pakistan with $88 and went on to do medical training and research at Yale and Harvard
06:47 Huma’s approach to challenges throughout her journey and how networking helped boost her career
09:30 Ocugen’s mission to develop therapies for retinal disease and recent successes, including obtaining pediatric breakthrough designation
12:10 Technical advantages and disadvantages of Ocugen’s retinal gene therapy
15:18 Insights from Huma’s experience across gene therapy trials versus oncology trials
19:17 Clinical landscape and genetic mutations in retinitis pigmentosa and the advantage of Ocugen’s gene-agnostic and gene modifier platform
23:17 Therapy mechanism of reactivating degenerating photoreceptors via master regulators
26:32 Clinical trial design and regulatory considerations
29:15 Huma’s vision and hopes for retinal diseases over the next 5-10 years
30:20 Huma’s experience as an interpreter and dedication to supporting immigrants and refugees
32:12 Closing remarks and Huma’s message to women and patients
Find out more
Ocugen (https://ocugen.com/)
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