While last month saw many pharma executives leaving their positions to head towards smaller biotech companies, this month saw members of the industry climbing the ladder from all different starting points.
Clinigen’s C-suite will have a former pharmacist turned qualified account heading up financial matters, and bio-technology companies like Oxford Genetics will be bolstered by experienced managers.
While last month saw many pharma executives leaving their positions to head towards smaller biotech companies, this month saw members of the industry climbing the ladder from all different starting points.
Clinigen’s C-suite will have a former pharmacist turned qualified account heading up financial matters, and bio-technology companies like Oxford Genetics will be bolstered by experienced managers.
Jocelyne Bath will take on the role of chief operating officer at the Oxfordshire-based synthetic biology-based technologies company. Bath has extensive experience working in science and engineering technology sectors. Prior to joining Oxford Genetics, she was chief revenue officer at EYOTO, an eye care technology company, and previous to that, VP of commercial strategy for P2i a company focusing in liquid repellent nano-coating technology.
She has additional experience in product, revenue, and commercial management from holding roles in product pricing and analysis leading to strategic commercial management.
At Oxford Genetics, Bath will be responsible for commercial positioning and business operations.
Bath commented on her appointment to this role, “Oxfordshire is a fantastic center for science and technology, I’m delighted to be part of the Oxford Genetics team and looking forward to the journey ahead. I’ve joined at an exciting time, with innovative solutions, a strong team and sound backing, Oxford Genetics has a bright future.”
Calico Life Sciences, a Google backed company focused on developing treatments for age-related diseases, has appointed Aarif Khakoo, as head of drug development. After Google was restructured into Alphabet Inc. in 2015, Calico became a subsidiary of Alphabet along with Google and other companies.
In this role, he will lead early-stage development for the company focusing on therapeutic candidate selection and pre-IND studies through Phase II clinical development.
Before joining Calico, Khakoo was most recently VP and head of translational medicine, global development at Amgen, in which his work focused on early clinical development. Prior to his work at Amgen, Khakoo worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center, exploring the implications of clinically significant cardiac toxicities in patients treated with cancer therapies.
Arthur Levinson, CEO, and founder of Calico, commented on the appointment, “Aarif has spent much of his career in one of the most critical areas of drug development – as a bridge between basic research and early clinical development where critical decisions are made about the viability of potential therapeutics. This experience will serve Aarif and Calico well as we continue to discover new potential molecules for aging and age-related diseases. I am looking forward to his many contributions to our efforts as he leads our drug development programs.”
According to Khakoo, “The company has built an impressive portfolio of early- and late-stage research candidates from their aging discovery and age-related disease efforts, and I’m looking forward to working with the team and our external collaborators to move the lead therapeutic candidates into clinical studies in the future.”
Khakoo received his medical degree and a master’s degree in business administration at Columbia University. In addition to his role at Calico, he maintains an academic appointment as an adjunct clinical associate professor at Stanford University.
Clinigen Group appointed Nick Keher as chief financial officer to replace Martin Abell, who has resigned and will leave the business on March 31, 2019. Keher will take over the role beginning on March 19, 2019.
Keher joins Clinigen after leaving Royal Bank of Canada, where he was a managing director and head of the bank’s European Healthcare equity research team. His experience in the European healthcare space extends over eight years, at both the Royal Bank of Canada and a previous position at Investec.
He began his career as a pharmacist before joining GlaxoSmithKline where he worked within the group’s research and development and finance teams and trained as an accountant. He is both a qualified pharmacist and accountant.
“Nick brings considerable pharmacy and pharmaceutical experience as well as financial expertise, both as an accountant and from working in the financial markets. He has a deep knowledge and insight into our business through his research and analysis of Clinigen since its IPO in 2012. He will be a key addition to the executive management team,” said Shaun Clinton, CEO of Clinigen.
The clinical stage biopharmaceutical company appointed Robert Friesen as chief scientific officer, effective February 2019. In this role, he will lead the company’s science, discovery, and pre-clinical development activities, which is concerned with building Kiadis’ scientific platform and identifying programs for potential in-license.
Friesen joins Kiadis from Ablynx, where he also served as CSO until it was acquired by Sanofi. At Ablynx, Friesen oversaw a team of more than 300 people and was responsible for more than 40 development-stage product candidates across a wide range of diseases. Previously, he also served as SVP of ProQR Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company, heading the science and early development division. He also worked at Janssen and the Crucell Vaccine Institute, both subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson.
In his role as CSO, Friesen will report to Arthur Lahr, CEO of Kiadis, who commented on Friesen’s appointment, “I am delighted to welcome Robert to Kiadis. His outstanding scientific track record and experience in innovative drug development will add further depth and breadth to Kiadis as we progress the development of ATIR101 through Phase III clinical trials.”
Additionally, Friesen stated in regard to his new appointment, “I am very pleased to join Kiadis Pharma at this exciting stage as the company approaches the potential approval of its lead product candidate, ATIR101, in the EU. I look forward to working with this dynamic and talented team to build and maximize the potential of our pipeline.”
Jonathan Symonds will step into the role of chair of Genomics England, after John Chisholm stepped down in late January 2019. The appointment of Symonds will be the first appointment to this position as Chisholm has held the role since the company’s inception. His decision to leave the company came after Genomics England realized its 5-year goal of sequencing 100,000 whole genomes in early December.
Symonds has more than 30 years of experience in life sciences enterprises. He previously held the role of senior non-executive director on the Genomics England board and has been a part of the initiative since 2014.
Symonds stated on his appointment, “I am delighted to accept the honor of becoming Genomics England’s chair. John’s shoes will be hard to fill. We have an exciting challenge ahead in partnership with the NHS, as we continue our efforts to prevent disease, unlock new treatments, improve and accelerate diagnosis and to help patients receive the best care tailored to their needs.”
CEO of Genomics England, John Mattick, is set to leave the organization after completing its initial mandate of sequencing 100,000 genomes. Genomics England’s chief scientist, Mark Caulfield, will step in as interim chief executive while the search for a permanent appointment begins.
Mattick stated, “I am very sorry to be leaving Genomics England at this time. Genomics England has an exciting future through its partnership with NHS England to deliver personalized medicine, and fuel innovation and investment in genomic medicine. I am pleased with the contribution I was able to make in developing the vision for the next 5 years that the Secretary of State announced in October, and in laying out a plan to achieve this vision. I wish Professor Mark Caulfield and all the staff at Genomics England well with their future endeavors.”
