Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background and what initially brought you to Purespring?
My background is deeply rooted in healthcare. I grew up in Liverpool with both parents working in medicine, my mother as a GP in inner-city Liverpool and my father as a pioneering nephrologist who invented one of the world’s first portable dialysis machines, as well as a needle that is used in haemodialysis. Growing up in a culturally diverse city surrounded by medicine instilled in me a lasting passion for improving patients’ lives.
Over a 25-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, I’ve worked across five countries in leadership roles at Merck MSD, Schering-Plough and Novartis. At Novartis, I had a number of senior roles, including leading the Gene Therapy organisation that commercialised Zolgensma, the first blockbuster gene therapy, which gave me firsthand experience of bringing transformative treatments to patients.
What drew me to Purespring was the opportunity to combine that experience with my personal connection to renal disease. Purespring’s scientific approach, utilising precision nephrology to target podocytes through low-dose, direct administration, could truly transform how we treat kidney disease.
You’ve been in the CEO role for a year now – what’s been your biggest accomplishment since joining in March 2025?
It’s been a landmark year for the company. We’ve hit critical regulatory milestones, securing IND and MHRA approval for our lead programme, PS-002, and EMA Orphan Drug Designation. This puts us in a strong position to enter the clinic this year.
For me, the biggest accomplishment has been successfully transitioning from a promising science story to a company rapidly approaching the clinic with huge ambition; to give real hope to patients with kidney disease. We’re now on track to generate first-in-human data over the next twelve months and a number of read-outs which will be the real test of our science and a major proof point for everything we’re building.
How has the shift to a smaller, more agile environment changed your leadership style?
The transition from big pharma to biotech has actually felt very natural. The core principles— aligning the team, executing effectively and enjoying the journey – remain the same. What’s different for me is leading an organisation responsible for research, clinical development and manufacturing operations.
You can’t lead a small company the same way you would a larger organisation. It’s about giving people a strong sense of purpose and fostering a culture where curiosity and innovation can flourish. The agility also allows me to make faster decisions without getting caught up in the weeds, which is critical in a fast-moving biotech.
There’s been an evolution in the gene therapy field in recent years – what sets Purespring’s approach apart?
There has been significant evolution in gene therapy in recent years, but what sets Purespring apart is our focus on addressing kidney disease at its root cause to preserve kidney function.
Our approach targets podocytes, specialised kidney cells that maintain the kidney’s filtration barrier and are implicated in the majority of glomerular diseases. Crucially, podocytes don’t divide, which means a gene therapy delivered to these cells has the potential to be truly durable. We use precision targeting using low-dose, direct administration, enabling us to overcome key challenges that have historically limited gene therapy, particularly for patients where, as a result of little innovation over the last decades, there is still huge unmet clinical need.
This combination of precision targeting, low dose and localised delivery is what makes our approach fundamentally different – indeed unique – and why we believe we can change outcomes for patients with serious kidney diseases in ways that haven’t been possible before.
What excites you most about Purespring’s mission and pipeline, and what does success look like for you over the next 12-18 months?
What excites me most is the opportunity to transform lives for patients with kidney diseases, building on the legacy my father started in nephrology. Over the next 12-18 months, success means delivering first-in-human data from the Phase I/II clinical trial PS-002, our programme in IgA Nephropathy (IgAN), which will validate our GlomThera™ platform. We’ve also just unveiled our PS-003 programme, which targets Alport Syndrome, where there is significant unmet need and very limited treatment options for patients. Beyond the clinical milestones, success means continuing to build Purespring into a company that can truly make a difference, and that’s what gets me out of bed every morning.
About Purespring
Purespring Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision nephrology company leading the development of targeted, first-in-class genetic therapies to preserve kidney function. Through its proprietary GlomThera™ platform, Purespring is able to deliver genetic therapies directly to the podocyte, offering a novel approach to the treatment of kidney diseases.
Purespring’s pipeline targets multiple renal indications with significant unmet medical need. The Company’s lead programme, PS-002, offers a highly differentiated approach for patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). By precisely targeting the site of disease, Purespring aims to transform the trajectory of kidney disease so patients can live fuller, healthier lives.
Purespring is backed by leading biotech investors, including Syncona Limited, Sofinnova Partners, Gilde Healthcare, Forbion, and the British Business Bank and has raised £115m ($150m) to date.
For more information please visit: purespringtx.com and follow us on LinkedIn.