BioSpace Movers and Shakers: Jan. 18
SQZ Biotech – Oliver Rosen was named chief medical officer of SQZ Biotech. Rosen most recently served as CMO of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals. Prior to his time at Deciphera, Rosen held senior medical affairs and clinical development roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, The Takeda Oncology Company as well as at Genentech. Rosen has also served as associate director of medical affairs at Amgen, clinical scientist at F. Hoffman-La Roche and global project physician at Merck.
eGenesis – Cambridge, Mass.-based eGenesis named Paul Sekhri as president and chief executive officer. Sekhri succeeds Julie Sunderland, who had served as interim chief executive officer of eGenesis since December 2017. Sunderland will join the eGenesis board of directors. Sekhri joins eGenesis from Lycera Corp., where he served as president and chief executive officer. Prior to Lycera, he served as group executive vice president, global business development, and chief strategy officer for Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd. Previously, Sekhri founded Cerimon Pharmaceuticals where he served as president and chief executive officer. Prior to founding Cerimon, he was president and chief business officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals.
AstraZeneca – Chief Medical Officer Sean Bohen will be exiting the U.K. pharma giant as CEO Pascal Soriot continues his overhaul of the company. The reorganization includes the development of R&D and commercial units in the company’s biopharmaceuticals (cardiovascular, renal & metabolism (CVRM) and respiratory) area and in oncology. Bohen joined AstraZeneca from Genentech in 2015 and also serves as head of global medicines development.
Calliditas Therapeutics – Sweden-based Calliditas named Frank Bringstrup as its head of regulatory affairs. Bringstrup assumes his new role on Feb. 1. Bringstrup will have a leading role in the regulatory discussions and approval process of the company’s pivotal clinical Phase III study NEFIGARD in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Prior to Calliditas, Bringstrup held leadership roles at Novo Nordisk A/S, most recently serving as that company’s senior global regulatory lead.
Evonetix – Stephanie Brooking was named head of product management at U.K.-based Evonetix Ltd. Brooking will help define the company’s strategy for market entry and longer-term product marketing for its novel gene synthesis products. Prior to her time with Evonetix, Brooking served as head of marketing and sales at Epigenetix, as well as global commercial director at Nanopore Technologies. She has also held roles at Illumina, Applied Biosystems, Affymetrix and GE Healthcare.
NRGene -- co-founder Gil Ronen transitioned from chief executive officer to president. Jonathan Jaglom, previously chief operating officer, has taken over as the new CEO of the Israel-based genomics company. Prior to joining NRGene in August 2018, Jaglom served as CEO of MakerBot, a New York-based manufacturer of 3D printers. He has also held executive roles at Stratasys.
Cobra Biologics – Darrell Sleep was named director of innovation for U.K.-based Cobra Biologics. The appointment is part of on-going strategic expansion activities currently underway at Cobra’s Keele site. Sleep will lead the site’s innovation team which has been newly formed from the integration of existing in-house R&D and Process Development expertise.
Phico Therapeutics – Andrew Armour was named financial director of U.K.-based Phico Therapeutics. Additionally, Mark Wilcox and David Beadle were named non-executive directors. Armour is a Chartered Accountant with experience in the healthcare industry. Wilcox has held several positions at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals and is currently head of R&D in microbiology at the university. Beadle has more than 25 years’ experience within healthcare and finance, having worked in marketing and strategic development at Schwarz Pharma and Schering AG before moving into investment banking.
biOasis – Guilford, Conn.-based Bioasis named Christine Antalik as chief financial officer. Over the course of her 25-year-career, Antalik has closed over $800 million in deal transactions through initial public offerings, private and venture equity financings, debt financings, recapitalizations, research grants and mergers and acquisitions. Antalik is the managing member of Founders Bridge Advisors, LLC, a business advisory firm located in Connecticut, and has served as chief financial officer of Aeromics, Inc. since October 2016. Previously, Antalik served as chief financial officer of SurgiQuest, Inc.
Q Biomed – Pamela Ventola, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Yale University's Child Study Center, joined Q BioMed’s Advisory Committee for its QBM-001 clinical program. QBM-001 is being developed and tested for the treatment of minimally verbal or non-verbal toddlers with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Ventola also directs the Rare Disease and Pediatric Center of Excellence at Cogstate, a publicly traded company that supports pharmaceutical companies in clinical trial design.
ImmunSYS – Doug Watson, the former president and CEO of Novartis Corporation, joined the board of directors of ImmunSYS as a lead independent director. Watson currently serves as a member of the board of BZL Inc., and a member of the Advisory Board of Cancer Expert Now Inc. He was President of Ciba Pharmaceuticals’ US Division from 1986 until 1996, when he was appointed President and CEO of Ciba-Geigy Corporation. In 1997, when Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz merged, Mr. Watson became President and CEO of Novartis Corporation, the US subsidiary of Novartis AG. Mr. Watson elected to take early retirement from Novartis in May 1999.
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