Speaker Profile
PhD, Head of Gene Therapy, Janssen
Biography
Thomas Wechsler is the head of Gene Therapy as part of the RNA, Gene Therapy and Delivery team in Therapeutics Discovery. In this role, he is responsible for leading the discovery and optimization of gene therapy clinical candidates for a range of therapeutic areas including retinal diseases and neuroscience. Prior to joining Janssen, Thomas was an Independent Consultant and the VP of Research at Grace Science, LLC developing an AAVbased gene therapy for the rare disease NGLY1 deficiency. Previously, at Sangamo Therapeutics he contributed to the first ever in vivo gene editing program to gain FDA approval to start clinical trials using a nucleasebased mechanism and to the ongoing STAAR gene therapy trial for the treatment of Fabry disease. Thomas has earned his Ph.D. from LMU, Germany and completed his Ph.D. Thesis work at UCSF. He conducted his Postdoctoral Fellowship working on DNA repair at Cancer Research UK.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2024 Silicon Valley
Track Co-Chairs:
Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
Peter Marks, FDA
- PMWC 2024 Award Ceremony
Pioneer Honoree: Katherine A. High, AskBio
Pioneer Honoree: Timothy Yu, Boston Children's Hospital
- Piloting Interventional Genomics for Orphan Diseases
Keynote: Timothy Yu, Boston Children's Hospital
- Accelerated Approval for Small Populations: Biomarkers & Endpoints (PANEL)
Chair: Peter Marks, FDA
- Jennifer Puck, UCSF
- Maria Grazia Roncarolo, Tr1X
- Katherine A. High, Rockefeller University
- Jennifer Panagoulias, FAST (Angelman Syndrome Foundation)
- Timothy Yu, Boston Children's Hospital - Novel Clinical Design Approaches in Rare Diseases (PANEL)
Chair: Adam Shaywitz, Bridge Bio
- Salvador Rico, Encoded Therapeutics
- Eric Crombez, Ultragenyx
- Elizabeth Berri Kravis, Rush University
- Empowering Patient Advocacy in Rare Disease Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
- Justin West, KCNT1 Foundation
- Michael Graglia, Syngap Research Fund
- Wendy Erler, Alexion Pharmaceuticals - Advancing the Frontier: Gene Editing for Rare Diseases (PANEL)
Chair: Matthew Porteus, Stanford
- James Chung, Kyverna Therapeutics
- Lucas Harrington, Mammoth Biosciences
- Aron Stein, Intellia Therapeutics - Advancing the Frontier: Gene and Cell Therapies for Rare Diseases (PANEL)
Chair: Morten Sogaard, Astellas Gene Therapies
- Pooja Agarwal, BioMarin Pharmaceutical
- David Kirn, 4dmt
- Adrian Veres, Dyno Therapeutics
- Thomas Wechsler, J&J
- PMWC Showcase
- Dominic Borie, Kyverna Therapeutics
