Welcome to Partnology’s Biotech Spotlight Series, where we highlight the remarkable accomplishments and visionary leadership of biotech industry pioneers. This series is about showcasing the groundbreaking strides made by exceptional leaders who have transformed scientific possibilities into tangible realities. Through insightful interviews, we invite you to join us in following the inspiring journeys of these trailblazers who continue to shape the landscape of the biotech industry. The Biotech Spotlight Series is not just a celebration of achievements, but a source of inspiration and knowledge for emerging talents, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts eager to contribute to the ever-evolving realm of biotech. This week we’re recognizing:
Chief Medical Officer, Oscar Segurado, MD, PhD
Oscar Segurado is a biopharmaceutical industry veteran, as CMO at ASC Therapeutics, and previously at Symvivo Corporation and Myriad Genetics/Crescendo, Vice President Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Becton Dickinson Biosciences and Global Medical Head at AbbVie/Abbott (Humira). Physician, immunologist and molecular biologist with extensive global leadership experience in clinical research and development, translational medicine, business development and medical affairs. Led the clinical strategy for multiple CBER/CDER meetings and submissions (pre-IND through BLA/NDA) for FDA, EMA and China’s NMPA. Executive contributor to multiple funding rounds in public/private financings, including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions. Holding a tenured Professorship of Immunology at the University of Leon, Spain. Received PhD from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany and MD from the University of Salamanca, Spain.
Tell me about your background and the work you have been doing throughout your career:
I have been the Chief Medical Officer of ASC therapeutics for the past four years. We are focused on gene therapy, gene editing, CRISPR-Cas9, and allogeneic cell therapies. We primarily work in rare diseases and hema-oncology. I’m responsible for all regulatory aspects of our clinical programs and obviously execution, monitoring, everything related to ensuring that our clinical programs move forward. As an Executive in a small biotech I have several other responsibilities related to company strategy and execution, fundraising, business development, etc.
Over the past 10 years I’ve been mostly focused on gene and cell therapies. In gene therapy, I supported the Chief Medical Officers for AveXis and uniQure here. AveXis was acquired by Roche for over $8 billion. uniQure licensed their gene therapy to CSL Bearing for a few billion dollars, so I’m very proud of these contributions. At ASC Therapeutics, we are leveraging my regulatory and clinical development experience towards two IND clearances from the FDA. Now we can move forward with two clinical programs: A phase I/II in second generation gene therapy for Hemophilia-A; and a phase IIb allogeneic stem therapy.
Altogether, I’ve been working in the industry for over 30 years, starting with clinical and medical roles in big pharma and the biotechs just mentioned. My academic background is in clinical and translational medicine, primarily focusing on immunology. I ended up receiving a tenured professorship in immunology in Spain, where I was born and raised. I received my PhD in neuroimmunology at the University of Wuerzburg in Germany.
Could you describe your journey to becoming a leader in the biotech industry? What were some of the most pivotal moments or decisions in your career?
My journey started when I was in academia and clinical medicine, where I decided to help more patients simultaneously. The biopharmaceutical industry would be a good place to do that. I started with a very impactful role in oncology biomarkers at Abbott Labs in Germany, and that job eventually brought me to the US because they wanted me to help out at their headquarters in Chicago.
So that move to the US over 20 years ago was a pivotal moment in my career. Making the switch from the German biopharmaceutical industry, which is also very, very vibrant, but different from the way things are done in the United States. In the US I’ve really enjoyed a faster career progression, more efficient teamwork, and incredible learning opportunities in leadership, medical and scientific spaces.
The next pivotal moment came after 15 years with Abbott Labs, when I decided to move to California with a VP role at Becton Dickinson. Very quickly I realized that I wanted to increase my horizons by entering the biotech industry, risky but extremely exciting. Despite the risk, I would recommend it to everyone. You can make really good money or none at all, but that’s the adventure! I was lucky that one of the biotechs where I was Chief Medical Officer, Crescendo Bioscience, was acquired by Myriad Genetics. At ASC Therapeutics, although this is a hot space of gene and cell therapies, there is what I’d call a healthy uncertainty. The biotech industry is in a difficult position with the current fundraising environment. That’s the risk… and the excitement!
What are some of your proudest professional accomplishments?
I think my proudest moment was definitely my work with the HUMIRA team at AbbVie. HUMIRA is the best selling drug in history – over $200 billion. It was an amazing way to help thousands of patients simultaneously. I was able to see patients who were in a wheelchair, stand up and start walking. I joined the team before it was FDA approved back in 2002 – being one of the first Medical Directors, and watching an incredible success through clinical trials in phase II, III and IV. Just an amazing and unforgettable experience and I’m proud to have contributed to changing so many lives.
With rapid advancements in areas like gene editing, personalized medicine, and synthetic biology, what do you see as the most promising technologies in biotech for the next 10 years?
When I decided to move to the HUMIRA team in 2000, I knew that biologics could make a big difference in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. And now I see that gene editing, traditional gene therapy, and cell therapies are revolutionizing the way medicine works. Today we are moving towards personalized and precision medicine, which fits well with my experience in this space at Abbott Labs and Becton Dickinson. The industry is now realizing that although you can have blockbusters like HUMIRA, helping 1000s of patients simultaneously – we’re moving into the era of precision and personalized medicine, and cell/gene therapy is a big part of that.
But it has a big drawback: we’re starting with rare diseases and just a handful of patients can benefit. It’s very painful to get reimbursement for these very expensive and ultra complex therapies. And this is just the beginning. Everything is going to be different in 10, 20 or 50 years – but the reality is that we’re struggling as an industry in the gene therapy, gene editing, cell therapy space because of an ecosystem of reimbursement in its infancy. Many biotechs are struggling despite having market authorization for several gene therapies. We are progressing rapidly, but at the end of the day, we are not able to reach out to all those patients that are in need. So I don’t know exactly how that’s going to work in the long run, but I guess it’s going to be a painful journey.
What companies and innovations are you following right now, what do you find most exciting or disruptive?
I am mostly following the space I’m working on: gene therapies, gene editing, and cell therapies. And I think that the biggest disruption is gene editing. There are a number of approaches that can revolutionize the way we treat monogenic diseases. And there are also approaches that are going to be extremely relevant for cell therapies, because we can genetically engineer cells to do whatever job we tell them to do.
The centerpiece of all this work is the T cell. The T cell is the master regulator and modulator of the entire immune system, and it works with macrophages, it works with NK cells, with B cells. Nowadays we are able to ensure that these cells do the action by regulating how many other cells interact with each other and can eventually kill tumor cells. I think this is the most impactful area in medicine right now.
Finally, with the experience and insights you have gained, what advice would you give to young people aspiring to work in the biotech industry?
If I take my own career as a reference, I would caution any young person starting their biomedical career, to enter the biotech industry too fast. I would recommend that they spend some time in a midsize or large biopharma company first. Learn how to work in large organizations, with very well organized teams, you will get excellent opportunities to hone your skills across different functions.
Always remember that biotechs rarely survive on their own – they need big pharma at one point or another to commercialize the drugs they are creating. So it’s good to know the other side of the table. I believe starting out in a mid-size or large biopharma is just a great first step in your career as you get a lot of experience on how to work in a team and cross-functionally, also how to lead teams. You also learn about compliance, quality and many other ‘boring’ but essential functions. After being exposed to this institutional knowledge, you will sense when ready to make the leap into biotech.
Where can we find you when you are out of the lab/ office? What are your hobbies?
I wrote over five years ago a bestselling book about how to modulate stress and anxiety as a means to improve immune-driven conditions. It’s called “Mindful Framing” and available in various formats on Amazon. Last year It received a nomination at the Hollywood Book Festival. I just finished a first draft of a screenplay around one of the chapters in my book; it’s a metaphor about the immune system but the movie is actually an action-packed detective story about catching a serial killer in Lake Tahoe and Reno. The characters are named after immune cells: T cell (Therese), macrophage (Mac), NK cell (Nick), B cell (Betsy), and the serial killer is a tumor cell. Lots of fun for me and hopefully for my future audience!
