Sitting Down With… The Past: Sandy Macrae
We dive into the archive of 2021 for insight and inspiration – this time with Sandy Macrae.
Credit: Author supplied
It is not exactly common for a physician/scientist to lead a cell and gene therapy company, but that is exactly what Sandy Macrae does at Sangamo Therapeutics. Macrae, who credits much of his success to the power of purpose, shared his thoughts on leadership, industry insights, and his ultimate vision for the future of cell and gene therapy.
On leadership:
“A leader must inspire – think Henry V at Agincourt – and give people a real sense of purpose. Fortunately for us, most people in the pharmaceutical industry are inherently purpose-driven. To keep employees motivated and engaged, we need to join the dots between what they’re doing and the patient. We spend a lot of time bringing patients into the organization – last week we had a couple of children with autism and before that we had men with BLS (an inherited immunodeficiency); meeting patients really helps people make those connections.”
On his learnings:
“Leaders with my background will lean on a good chief business officer, with a real understanding of how to make our therapies available to patients – how to price them and how they’ll fit into the various healthcare systems. Similarly, someone from a business background would require a strong head of R&D or chief medical officer. A good balance of skills and perspectives is a must.”
On his ultimate vision:
“The dream: for those with inherited diseases to have the choice to get it remedied by a single DNA-editing treatment. But there’s also the prospect of being able to identify genetic factors in more common diseases and modify them so that we reduce the probability that you’ll develop it in your lifetime – that’s the next stage.
… Eventually I envisage a world with three treatment pillars: vaccines used to prevent disease, short-term treatments to alleviate things like pain and hypertension, and changes to fundamental DNA to reduce your risk of disease – or even cure it. I don’t know how far away we are, but the field is moving so quickly that, if delivery is sorted, the tools are ready to be used.”
