Nominee Stories
David Uguen
Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory at Orchard Therapeutics
Futures Award winner 2024 - part of the Orchard Therapeutics’ OTL-200 Regulatory Team
David Uguen is Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory at Orchard Therapeutics. The Orchard Therapeutics’ OTL-200 Regulatory Team, UK, was the winner of the ‘Futures’ award at the 2024 TOPRA Awards for Regulatory Excellence, an award that specifically celebrates the role of regulatory scientists in realising the potential of cutting-edge technologies.
In this interview, David discusses the OTL-200 gene therapy for the treatment of metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and lessons learnt during the process from development through to registration.
Q: How did you feel when you were nominated?
Very happy! I immediately gave the good news to the team but tried to manage their expectations by explaining that the nomination was an important step, but not yet the award itself. Everybody was very excited by the news.
Q: What does this recognition mean to you, both personally and professionally?
The award means a lot - it's the cherry on top of the cake. Registering our gene therapy in the EU and the US was an extraordinary achievement for us in itself, but having this work acknowledged and recognised by TOPRA was a great way to celebrate and highlight again the great work that the team has done.
Q: How did you feel when you won?
We felt extremely happy and I'm so proud that our work was acknowledged by distinguished peers from TOPRA. It was a great moment.
Q: What would you say to encourage people to nominate their friends and colleagues for the awards?
I would say that nominating colleagues is always a good exercise. It allows you to reflect on the work that’s been done, which we sometimes forget to do. It isn’t a difficult exercise and it’s a great surprise to be short-listed, and especially to win the award. It’s definitely worth it.
Q: What was the most rewarding part of the Awards journey?
It was seeing the smiles on the faces of colleagues when we received the award. Everybody in the team felt proud of the work they’d done and, during the award ceremony, I was rewarded by the joy I could see in the team.