Jayashree Sahni, MD, PhD, FRCOphth, EMBA

Chief Medical Officer @ AAVantgarde

About

Jayashree is a board-certified physician and senior drug development executive with over 25-years' experience at the intersection of medicine, research and pharmaceutical leadership roles at Roche and Novartis. She has diversified experience in all stages of drug (modalities: antibody, gene therapy, anti-sense oligonucleotides and small molecules) development from IND to commercialization. She has proven success & expertise in multiple key areas: translational medicine including successful proof-of-concept Phase 2 studies contributing to development of Vabysmo (faricimab) for Roche; approval of Luxturna in Japan for Novartis; agile development of medical devices and AI platforms for medical image analysis, identifying novel biomarkers and developing endpoints to support and enhance drug assets. She has strong leadership skills for managing internal and external stakeholders and establishing important global partnerships. She has experience with strategic planning and business development, driving market analysis and contract negotiations to propel innovation. She is passionate about United Nations SDG’s commitment to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and access to quality health care.

Country

Switzerland

City

Basel

Industry

Pharmaceuticals

Skill

Critical Thinking, Drug and Medical Device Development, Leadership, Business Process Improvement, Management, Organizational Leadership, Strategic Leadership, Sustainable Development, Interpersonal Skills, Research Skills, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), Business Development, Biotechnology, Business Strategy, People Development, Drug Development, Medical Education, Cataract Surgery, Medical Devices, Clinical Research

Experience

Chief Medical Officer

AAVantgarde

2024-9 - Present · 2 yrs 1 mo

Sr Global Program Clinical Head

Novartis

2021-3 - 2024-9 · 3 yrs 7 mos

Head for clinical strategy of Ophthalmology Gene Therapy (Phase 1, 2, 3 and post-approval safety study) & Digital Development programs, managing a team of 8 to 10 direct reports. Initiated Post graduate Fellowship program in Ophthalmology to foster a sustainable talent pipeline. Selected to spearhead strategic planning and business development efforts by driving market analysis and contract negotiations to develop a pipeline of innovative Teleophthalmology devices to address healthcare disparity and improve access to eye health. Managed project timeline and budget effectively. Initiated and managed valuable internal and external collaborations, expanding the projects reach and soidifying a network of global aprtnerships towards a common ESG goal. Completed a rigorous 18-month EMBA program focused on leadership, strategic management, technology and innovation to drive sustainable growth and global business perspectives.

Expert Medical Director

Roche

2019-9 - 2021-2 · 1 yr 6 mos

Basel, Switzerland

Senior Medical Director, Ophthalmology

Roche

2015-2 - 2019-9 · 4 yrs 8 mos

Basel, Switzerland

a.i. Director, Global Business Development, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Rare Diseases

Roche

2018-7 - 2019-3 · 9 mos

Basel Area, Switzerland

Head of Liverpool Ophthalmic Image Reading Centre

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust

2009-10 - 2015-2 · 5 yrs 5 mos

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Jayashree's major research interests include imaging of the posterior segment of the eye, and multimodal imaging analysis on pathological conditions of the retina and choroid. As Director of the Liverpool Ophthalmic Reading Centre (LORC) Jayashree led a team of graders to develop protocols for standardized analysis of retinal images from clinical trials. The LORC along with CARF, Belfast and Moorfields is part of NetWORC, UK.

Consultant Ophthalmologist and Medical Retina Specialist

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust

2008-11 - 2015-2 · 6 yrs 4 mos

Liverpool, UK

Honorary Senior Lecturer

University of Liverpool

2011-10 - 2015-1 · 3 yrs 4 mos

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Education

University of Liverpool

2004 - 2008-9 · 4 yrs

PhD thesis under the supervision of Prof Simon Harding Title: Optical Coherence Tomography: A new imaging technique for neovascular age-related macular degeneration.