September marks 'back-to-school' in the northern hemisphere: and for many pharma execs it's also a fresh start with new roles in new companies.
And like many students worldwide, new execs are faced not only with the need to buckle down and get to work - they also need to learn how to deal with the challenges and changes of a COVID-19 world.
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has appointed Dr. Jean-Christophe Rufin – a pioneer of Médecins Sans Frontières - as President of the Sanofi Espoir Corporate Foundation.
The foundation's mission is to help reduce health inequalities among the world’s most vulnerable populations, and Sanofi says Rufin’s previous roles across both medicine and international relations give him the right experience for the job.
The French doctor, diplomat, and writer was a pioneer of Médecins Sans Frontières, of which he was vice-president (1991-1993), and President of Action contre la Faim.
His previous positions also include adviser to the Secretary of State for Human Rights (1986-1988), the cultural and cooperation attaché in Brazil (1989-1990), and advisor in charge of peacekeeping operations for the Minister of Defense (1993-1995). From 2007-2010 he was French Ambassador to Senegal and the Gambia.
An Officer of the Legion of Honor, Rufin is Doctor honoris causa of Laval University (Canada) and the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), and a member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium and the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Rufin has also written a series of novels and narratives that reflect his international experience; and he was awarded France’s Goncourt prize in 2001 for Brazil Red.
He was elected to the Académie française in 2008.
Jean-Christophe Rufin succeeds Xavier Darcos, who presided over the Foundation since 2015.
Pic credit: Francesca Mantovani-Gallimard
Vibalogics has appointed Tom Hochuli as Chief Executive Officer. Hochuli will be responsible for accelerating the German CDMO’s expansion plans in the US and globally: with its sights set on a late phase and commercial virus manufacturing facility on the East Coast of the US.
Vibalogics specializes in the manufacturing of oncolytic viruses, viral vector vaccines and viral vectors offering process development, manufacturing, testing and fill-finish services for early phase clinical trials from its 50,000 sq. ft. GMP certified facility in Cuxhaven, Germany. The company was acquired by private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners last year.
Vibalogics has been selected by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, a Johnson & Johnson company, as one of its manufacturing partners for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate (which has just entered Phase 3 trials).
Hochuli has more than 25 years’ experience with CDMOs and large pharmaceutical companies; and was previously head of cell and gene therapy operations for Lonza Houston.
Vedanta Biosciences has appointed Jeffrey Silber, MD, as Chief Medical Officer.
Dr Silber’s experience in drug development spans multiple therapeutic areas at Merck, AbbVie and EMD Serono. He will now guide the advancement of Vedanta’s clinical programmes.
Dr Silber has overseen multiple regulatory submissions and approvals worldwide over his career to date, and held departmental head responsibilities spanning clinical research, project management, programme leadership, pharmacovigilance, biostatistics, epidemiology and translational medicine. His academic and professional awards include the highest honours awarded by Merck Research Laboratories and by Merck & Co.
Dr Silber earned his BA in biology from Harvard University and his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University; with additional training in internal medicine at New York University/Bellevue Hospital and in infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania.
Vedanta Biosciences is developing oral therapies based on rationally defined consortia of bacteria derived from the human microbiome. The company’s clinical-stage pipeline includes product candidates being evaluated for the treatment of high-risk C. difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases, advanced or metastatic cancers, and food allergy.
Tizona Therapeutics’ Chief Operating Officer Christine O’Brien has become the company’s new Chief Executive Officer.
O’Brien joined Tizona in 2015 and has helped advance the company’s novel programs like TTX-080, the first anti-HLA-G antibody, into the clinic. By blocking the interaction of HLA-G with its receptors, TTX-080 prevents the suppression of both innate and adaptive immune activity and has the potential to enhance anti-tumor responses. It is currently enrolling patients in a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the medicine as both a monotherapy and in combination with other agents in patients with advanced cancers.
In July Tizona entered into a transformative alliance with Gilead Sciences, with Gilead purchasing a 49.9% equity interest in Tizona with the exclusive option to acquire the remainder of the company.
Enosi Life Sciences, a San Diego drug research and development company, has appointed antibody therapeutics pioneer Dr. James N. Woody as Executive Chairman.
The former Commanding Officer and Director of the U.S. Naval Medical Research and Development Command has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the biotech, pharmaceutical and venture capital sectors. Dr. Woody led the Centocor team that developed Remicade, the first tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor biologic, working with Sir Ravinder Maini and Sir Marc Feldmann.
His experience will now be used to lead Enosi’s development of anti-TNF therapeutics for inflammation, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Dr. Woody has also previously served as CEO of MaraBio Systems, Chairman of the Board of Viracta Therapeutics, General Partner of Latterell Venture Partners, Founding President and CEO of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, President and General Manager of Roche Biosciences (formerly Syntex Pharmaceuticals), and Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Centocor.
In his role with the U.S. Navy, Dr. Woody and his colleagues founded the National Marrow Donor Program, which provides matched bone marrow for recipients without matched donors.
He holds a Doctor of Medicine from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Immunology from University College London.
Pic:getty/benny winslow
Evelo Biosciences, which is developing a new modality of orally delivered, systemically acting biologics, has appointed Julie Carretero as Chief People Officer to support the next phase of the company’s growth.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech expects up to six clinical readouts over the next six to 12 months; and plans to build out the organization following interim Phase 2 data for its candidate EDP1815, expected in mid-2021 (EDP1815 is one of four product candidates Evelo has in development: EDP1815, EDP1867, and EDP2939 for the treatment of inflammatory diseases including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and COVID-19, and EDP1503 for the treatment of cancer).
With more than 20 years of experience, Carretero will assume leadership responsibilities for people initiatives - including talent acquisition and employee development - and will be a member of the Evelo Leadership Team.
She joins Evelo from FXI Corporation, a private equity held manufacturing company, and previously worked for Novartis Pharmaceuticals (most recently as Human Resources Lead for the Cardiovascular Business Unit).
Picture: getty/oatawa