About Us

Dr Houria Bachtarzi is the Principal Consultant and the Founding Director of BIOCELLGENE Consulting Ltd, with strong expertise in the development and regulatory strategic aspects of advanced biological therapies covering virally vectored gene therapy, in vivo and ex vivo gene editing, genetically modified cells for tissue regeneration, genetically engineered immune cells targeting cancer cells, cell-based immunotherapy, stem cell-based therapies; as well as other therapeutic modalities including biologics and other innovative therapies.

She started her career by first training and registering as a pharmacist in the UK; and completed her PhD in cancer gene therapy at the University of Oxford, Department of Oncology (previously Department of Clinical Pharmacology). She subsequently followed up with additional Post-Doctoral work in AAV-based gene therapy and shRNA therapeutics for degenerative neuromuscular disorders at the Centre for Biomedical Sciences, Royal Holloway – University of London, in collaboration with Benitec Biopharma, Inc. and the Institute of Myology at the Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital in Paris, France. In 2013, she was appointed a Lecturer in Biopharmaceutics and Biotechnology at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton.

Prior to founding BIOCELLGENE Consulting Ltd, Houria was a Director of CMC Regulatory Affairs (Consultancy) at Precision for Medicine, acting as an internal (for the Company) and external subject matter expert, to support organisations developing cell and gene therapy products and biologics for rare diseases and oncology indications. She also held senior positions at different product development and regulatory consultancies, notably Associate Director of Regulatory Sciences/ATMP Subject Matter Expert at ProPharma Group (formerly Diamond Pharma Services) and Senior Consultant positions at ERA Consulting (acquired by Cencora PharmaLex), NDA Group and Dark Horse Consulting.

Professional Bodies Membership

• General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registered
• Member of the Pharmacists’ Defense Association (PDA)
• Member of the British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT)
• Member of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT)
• Member of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT)