2022 Timothy J. Miller, PhD (GRS ’08, pharmacology)

Miller smiles at the camera, wearing a black suit and patterned tie

Timothy Miller is committed to producing lifesaving gene therapies targeting rare childhood diseases.

As the co-founder, CEO and president of Forge Biologics, he aims to provide more manufacturing capacity and patient access for such therapies. The company develops its own therapies and manufactures others for client companies. Forge currently has a therapy in clinical trials to treat patients with Krabbe Disease, a rare genetic disorder of the nervous system that is fatal, often by the age of 3.

The Columbus, Ohio-based company only launched in 2020, but in two years raised $330 million from four rounds of financing.

“Gene therapies can help us change the way we treat patients with genetic diseases and bring hope to millions of families suffering from diseases that 20 years ago had no treatment available,” said Miller, who also has partnered with the National Center for Regenerative Medicine at CWRU to attract students to gene therapy manufacturing and teach them best practices. “Forge is accelerating access to these potentially life-changing therapies, and we’re building the Ohio ecosystem to help support future growth.”

This piece, written by Jo Steigerwald, originally appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of Think Magazine.