Science Forward

Saba Sile, M.D., the clinical development lead for our medicine for Thyroid Eye Disease (TED), is dedicated to creating healthy communities through medicine development, patient engagement and empowerment. She has spent a decade in the biopharmaceutical industry leading clinical trial development across multiple indications with a special focus on rare disease. Sile’s drive to succeed comes from her desire to help people who lack adequate treatment options. “It has been well documented that certain medications—most likely due to genetic variations—metabolize differently in different populations. This is one of the reasons why diversity in clinical trials is extremely important,” Sile said.

Sile plays a pivotal role in the design and execution of important clinical trials at Horizon. “I’ve become intrigued by the racial differences in TED, and my team examined the discrepancy in the literature to understand whether there is some factor that protects Black patients with Graves’ disease from progressing to TED, or if the condition is simply underdiagnosed in this group because of disparities in care,” she said. Sile advocates for education of both patients and physicians in order to achieve more equitable clinical trial enrollment. “By pursuing this, our industry can start to address the inequity that has plagued clinical scientific research for decades.”

Sadiye Rieder, Ph.D., associate director and research scientist, spends her days in the lab asking questions about how autoimmunity develops in humans. As the leader of Horizon’s early preclinical programs, she builds research strategies to uncover new information about autoimmune diseases that have limited treatment options. She is specifically looking at T cells and the role they play in preventing these diseases. “If you understand the biology of how different cells work in the body, you can break down these disease processes and create targeted medicines that can help patients,” Rieder said.

Asking questions about scientific processes is what initially sparked Rieder to follow her career path. At a young age, she wanted to understand why people developed certain diseases. She credits several influential female mentors for empowering her to translate her autoimmune disease research into something meaningful for others. At Horizon, she aims to do the same with her female colleagues and those she mentors. “Knowing I can inspire young women to pursue a career in science by showing them that their work can ultimately turn into something life-changing for patients is what fuels me every day.”

Bill Rees, Ph.D., Horizon’s leader in translational medicine, is focused on science that puts an emphasis on people as individuals rather than on the patient population as a whole, a discipline he calls “Big Science.” Rees leads toxicology, bioanalytic, pharmacology and translational medicine teams to produce the data needed to understand diseases. “Our team recognizes that one medicine isn’t going to fit all patients with the same disease, which is unique in biotech,” Rees said.

Rees and his team work closely with Horizon’s clinical development and medical affairs teams to examine and tell the story of how Horizon’s molecules interact with the human body. He is a strong believer in the benefit of collaboration to help break down barriers and spur growth. “True strength is not in white papers or guideline documents; it’s in the people and collaboration across all functions,” Rees said. He also looks across therapeutic areas to explore treatments to help patients manage their diseases. “Our goal is to bring the right medicine, right dose and right timing to the right patient.”