23 Questions with Victoria
23 Questions with Forge is our fast-paced series where our team members are challenged to answer 23 rapid-fire questions about trending topics in gene therapy development.
Victoria Maharaj, Senior Manager of Technical Sales, dives into Forge’s cutting-edge FUEL™ platform — a game-changing AAV manufacturing platform featuring innovative technologies, proven processes, and strategic optimizations. Plus, she shares insights on the unique role of Technical Sales at Forge, and her dream tennis matchup. Watch the full video below!
Read the interview:
Hi! Can we interrupt you for a quick interview? It’s just 23 questions…
Victoria: Hi! Sure. Have a seat.
Tell us who you are and what you do at Forge?
Victoria: My name is Victoria Maharaj and I’m Senior Manager of Technical Sales.
Tech Sales…that’s unique. Would you be the person to talk to about FUEL, your new AAV manufacturing platform?
Victoria: Tech Sales is a unique role at Forge and yes, I can tell you about FUEL. But first, let’s talk about why having a platform process is important.
Great! Can you explain further?
Victoria: A platform manufacturing process gives gene therapy developers the benefit of a proven foundation for their program so manufacturing can go faster.
How is that accomplished?
Victoria: It’s all about accelerated development. We have a standardized framework that has received regulatory feedback and can be easily adapted for each project. By optimizing key steps, we speed up development to set up a program for high-quality consistent results.
So, how does FUEL improve upon that?
Victoria: We’ve introduced two new technical advancements for higher productivity, more efficient manufacturing, and potentially safer outcomes.
Why is manufacturing innovation important?
Victoria: The gene therapy industry is growing. Manufacturing must keep pace. We are doing this through scaling out, scaling up, and now platform technical improvements.
Before we dive into that…looks like you’ve been on the road. On a flight, do you prefer to read books or watch shows?
Victoria: Yes, traveling is part of what we do in Tech Sales too. And books. But only philosophy books…and don’t ask me what I’m reading because it’s too difficult to explain. Gene therapy is easier!
Haha! Tell us more about your new platform. Why is it called FUEL?
Victoria: FUEL is an acronym: Foundation for Unleashing Excellence in Life-Changing Therapies. It gets right to our mission and is also a cool way to express our Forge brand and describe what this platform offers our clients – the FUEL needed to develop their gene therapy efficiently. Don’t you love it?
Clever! What makes FUEL different from other platforms?
Victoria: FUEL offers 3 main features: advanced technologies, proven manufacturing processes, and product-specific optimization packages. I think a visual might Follow me!
A picture is worth a thousand words! So, what are we looking at?
Victoria: This is something we do in Tech Sales on a regular basis too! We help clients understand how their program can be successful with Forge. This bar graph shows where the industry standard is as far as productivity—seen here in red bars—and how our FUEL platform exceeds those—The orange Bar incudes our advanced technologies, and the Blue represents our advanced technologies AND product-specific optimizations. All this is on our website. Check it out!
I will! So, let’s dig into those three features you mentioned. What are FUEL’s new advanced technologies?
How are your modified rep/caps better?
Victoria: They were designed for higher yield and safety. We’re producing more vector that’s higher quality and theoretically impossible to produce wildtype.
Are all aspects of the FUEL platform done in-house?
Victoria: Yes, everything is done not only in-house but in one facility, the Hearth. We’ve performed over 300 runs with our proven manufacturing platform process here.
Wow! The third feature is the optimization packages. What’s special about this?
Victoria: We understand that a platform is not “one size fits all” and the ability to tailor our process provides flexibility for client and product-specific customizations. We have dedicated teams committed to client success.
I’d love to be your client. Victoria, you have previous process development experience. What’s your favorite optimization package?
Victoria: Mmm, I do have experience in downstream process development, but I have to say our upstream transfection DOE.
Sorry to interrupt Victoria, but are we on for our tennis lesson later?
Victoria: That counts as a question, right? Yeah, see you on the court!So, you moonlight as a tennis pro?
Victoria: I competed through college and I coach the Cleveland State University’s women’s tennis team. And friends!
If you could play a match with any tennis star, who would it be?
Victoria: Rafael Nadal.
Seems like your tennis journey has informed your career. You said in Tech Sales you explain things, so you’re kind of like a gene therapy manufacturing coach, right?
Victoria: You’re right, I guess I am! Just thinking about playing tennis makes me hungry. I’m ready for a snack! Let’s pop by the café so we can “fuel up” and I’ll tell you more about what I do.
Yum, thanks for the treat! So, what exactly is Tech Sales?
Victoria: We are the program advisors (or coaches!) for our clients. We are scientists with gene therapy manufacturing or development backgrounds, so we can speak our clients’ language and can help them design the best manufacturing strategy for their program.
How do you do this?
Victoria: We follow our client’s program from sales through manufacturing to delivery at Forge. We are their advocates along this entire process.
One last fun question. We talked about travel. Where is your favorite beach?
Victoria: Well, my family is from Brazil. I love Florianopolis, an island with 42 spectacular beaches. Just a warning…you have one final question.
Ok, here it is…is there anything else should we know about FUEL?
Victoria: Forge stands out in the field of CDMOs because we put serious resources into R&D for manufacturing innovation. We have a team fully dedicated to molecular development to improve our manufacturing technologies. I think that is an incredible benefit for our clients.
That was 23 questions. Thanks for the FUEL lesson, but can I also get a tennis lesson sometime?
Victoria: Of course! There are courts nearby. Let’s go next week!