Biopharma and life sciences companies strengthen their leadership teams and board with this week’s Movers & Shakers.
Gilead Sciences – California-based Gilead Sciences poached Bristol-Myers Squibb veteran Michael Quigley to head its research biology department. Quigley brings to the role deep experience in oncology and immuno-oncology biology, Gilead said. At BMS, Quigley was vice president and head of Tumor Microenvironment Modulation Thematic Research Center and site head of the company’s Redwood City, California location. In that role, Quigley was responsible for setting strategy for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s oncology discovery portfolio and business development activities, overseeing target identification, validation and preclinical development of large and small molecule therapies. Gilead also announced that Linda Higgins, has taken on the role of head of External Innovation. Higgins joined Gilead in 2010, leading a significant expansion of the company’s Biology organization that included the establishment of Biologics and Biomarker functions, as well as the addition of inflammation, oncology and immunology discovery groups.
Optibrium – U.K.-based Optibrium named Tim Hohm as its director of commercial strategy and business development. Hohm will be responsible for leading the Company’s commercial strategy and sales processes, with a focus on further expanding Optibrium’s global customer base. Hohm joins Optibrium from Novo Nordisk where he held a position as senior Competitive Intelligence Manager. His role at Novo Nordisk covered digital health and delivery technology with responsibilities including strategy development, defining target product profiles and building business cases for pipeline projects and external opportunities.
Immunomedics – Loretta Itri was named chief medical officer of New Jersey-based Immunomedics. Itri will lead all research and clinical development, regulatory, and medical affairs activities of the company. Itri was most recently the executive vice president of Global Health Sciences & Regulatory Affairs at The Medicines Company where she oversaw the development and regulatory approval of a variety of products, including the early development of inclisiran, and other cardiovascular drugs and antibiotics. Previously, she was president of Pharmaceutical Development and CMO at Genta, Inc. Prior to that, Itri served as senior vice president of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
Trevi Therapeutics -- James V. Cassella was named to the board of directors of Trevi Therapeutics, Inc. Cassella has served as chief development officer of Concert Pharmaceuticals since 2015, and prior to that held senior executive and leadership roles with Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Neurogen Corporation.
H3 Biomedicine – H3, a subsidiary of Eisai Co., named Antonio Gualberto as its new CMO. Gualberto will oversee global clinical research & development for the H3 pipeline of clinical-stage assets. Most recently Gualberto served as co-founder and CMO at Kura Oncology, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. Prior to Kura, Gualberto held positions of increasing responsibility at EMD Serono, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Takeda and Pfizer.
Sofinnova Partners – European life sciences venture firm Sofinnova Partners named Bommy Lee as head of communications. This is a new position, which reinforces the Paris-based firm’s focus on strengthening its presence and stature worldwide. Lee will be responsible for the global communications strategy of Sofinnova Partners. Lee was previously director of communications at Cellnovo Group, a medical technology company specializing in diabetes management. Prior to that, she was director of Digital Marketing at Mauna Kea Technologies.
SOPHiA Genetics – Switzerland-based SOPHiA tapped former Foundation Medicine CEO Troy Cox as Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective March 1, 2020. He is replacing Antoine Duchateau, who has served as chairman since 2013 and will continue as a board member. Cox joined the company in July of 2019 as a member of the board. Cox formerly served as CEO of Foundation Medicine. Prior to that, he led U.S. BioOncology for a period of unprecedented growth at Genentech, participating in the launch of nearly half of the products. Earlier on, Cox held executive and senior positions at numerous healthcare companies including UCB BioPharmaceuticals, Sanofi-Aventis and Schering-Plough.
Sensorion -- Gene therapy expert Géraldine Honnet was named CMO of France-based Senorion. Honnet joins from Généthon, where she spent nine years as CMO, overseeing international gene therapy clinical trials in multiple rare diseases. Honnet was previously a Medical Director at clinical research organization Parexel International and International Project Manager for Janssen-Cilag (Johnson & Johnson), before joining biotech company Transgene in 2007, where she was responsible for developing gene therapy products in infectious diseases.
Corvus Pharmaceuticals – Richard A Miller, founder and CEO of California-based Corvus, was awarded with the 2020 Drug Hunter Award by the UC Drug Discovery Consortium in a ceremony held at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). This annual award and lecture series is sponsored by the UC Drug Discovery Consortium, UCSF Innovation Ventures, the Center for Drug Discovery Innovation, and the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The Drug Hunter Award recognizes individuals that have made a significant impact in the drug development space, contributing to bringing new breakthrough drugs to market. Miller has over 25 years of experience developing successful medicines. Most notably, he played an instrumental role in developing and bringing to market both Rituxan and Imbruvica. Miller was co-founder and chief executive officer of Pharmacyclics and prior to that, he was a co-founder and director of IDEC (now Biogen).
Vanda Pharmaceuticals – Stephen Ray Mitchell was named to the board of directors of Washington-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals. Mitchell currently serves as the Joseph Butenas Professor and Dean for Medical Education at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
AskBio – N.C.-based Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) appointed scientific leader Anna Tretiakova as Senior Vice President of Product Development. Tretiakova will lead the company’s research and translational collaborations to deliver clinical candidate vectors. Tretiakova has spent nearly 10 years exclusively focused on AAV gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania Gene Therapy Program, Pfizer Rare Disease Research Unit and, most recently, SwanBio Therapeutics.
Optinose – Victor M. Clavelli was named chief commercial officer of Optinose, a pharmaceutical company focused on patients treated by ear, nose and throat (ENT) and allergy specialists. Clavelli joins Optinose from Pfizer where he held leadership roles including marketing, sales, and regulatory affairs. Most recently, he served as the North American President for Inflammation and Immunology with responsibility for a portfolio spanning topical, small molecule oral, and biologic agents.
Kallyope, Inc. – Peter Hecht, CEO of Cyclerion Therapeutics, has been appointed to the company’s board of directors. Prior to joining Cyclerion in 2019, Hecht was co-founder and CEO of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2019. In 2019, he led the tax-free separation of Ironwood’s non-gastrointestinal assets and R&D team into Cyclerion, enabling Ironwood to be a profitable GI therapeutics-focused leader. After completion of the spin-off, Hecht joined Cyclerion as its first CEO.
