April 2020 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 38 -39
// APPOINTMENTS //
Appointments
Mover of the Month
AstraZeneca has named Tom Keith-Roach as president of its UK business. Having already worked within the company for 17 years, he joins the UK team following multiple senior in-country, above-country and global therapy area leadership positions. Most recently he was senior vice president of the Global Respiratory & Immunology Franchise. Commenting on his new position, he said: “I’m very pleased to join our team in the UK. We have a deep-rooted presence here at the heart of the UK life sciences industry and I look forward to accelerating our efforts to improve patient health and to shape a thriving world-class healthcare environment for the longer term.” AZ operates in five different locations in the UK, employing around 8,300 people across R&D, manufacturing, supply, sales and marketing, and supplying 40 different medicines to the NHS.
Sutura Therapeutics has added James Noble and Eduardo Bravo to the company's board of directors. James will take the position of chairman of the board, having held numerous senior executive positions, and bringing over 35 years of experience in the international biotechnology industry and investment banking. He has previously served as finance director for British Biotechnology Group, raising over $300 million and taking the company public in London and on NASDAQ. Eduardo has over 25 years’ experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and a strong track record in leading and growing international biotech and pharmaceutical organisations. He is currently chairman of Vivet Therapeutics, and holds a degree in business administration and an MBA from INSEAD.
Professor Gillian Leng, CBE, has been appointed as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) new chief executive. Gillian has held the post of deputy chief executive at NICE since 2007, and is also currently its director of health and social care. She will take up her new role on April 1 this year when Sir Andrew Dillon, who has led the organisation since it was established in 1999, steps down. A visiting professor at King’s College London, Gillian trained in medicine at the University of Leeds and worked on clinical trials and epidemiological research at the University of Edinburgh, and in London as a consultant in public health medicine. The appointment was made by the non-executive members of NICE’s board following open competition.
Mark Bridgewater has been appointed as Vectura's new chief commercial officer, a newly created role focused on helping the company to transform into a successful contract development and manufacturing organisation. In his new position, the organisation says that Mark will implement strong sales processes in order to secure new business, as well as building out a commercial team and driving Vectura’s brand market presence. He brings more than 20 years of experience in medical device and pharmaceutical services to the company, with Will Downie, Vectura's chief executive, saying: “I am thrilled to have Mark join Vectura, where he will play a pivotal role in driving the future growth of the organisation. He comes to the Company with an impressive track record of delivering sustained growth and market success in each of his previous roles.”
Mitchell Harris has joined Genomics plc from Abcam, assuming the role of chief strategy officer. Mitchell was previously head of proteins portfolio commercial and business development, and brings to Genomics substantial commercial expertise within strategy, transactions and operations. He also has a deep understanding of the policy and public affairs landscape, as prior to McKinsey, Mitchell was a fast-stream civil servant at the UK Cabinet Office. He commented: “I am thrilled to be joining Genomics plc and to work alongside world leaders in human genetics and data science. This is an exciting and pivotal time for the company’s growth as we accelerate and deepen our impact within drug development and genomic prevention.”
Four Health has announced that Richard Springham and Kelly Smith have both been promoted to managing directors within the group. Under the new roles, Richard will head up Four Health Media, the HCP media planning and buying specialists, and Kelly will lead Four Well Being, a new initiative focusing on all aspects of patients and healthcare consumer communications. Richard has over a decade of experience working across the health sector; leading teams within international publishers and the NHS, and most recently three years working with the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies at Four Health Media. Kelly is a leading healthcare strategist in running both Healthcare professional media and patient-centric communication campaigns in media and sector specialist publishing, with over 12 years' experience.
Freeline has announced the appointment of Julie Krop as chief medical officer. Dr Krop most recently served as the chief medical officer of AMAG Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw the clinical, medical affairs, programme management, pharmacovigilance and regulatory functions. During her tenure she built a fully integrated development organisation and was responsible for overseeing three successful regulatory approvals. Further to this, she has more than 20 years of drug development experience across multiple therapeutic areas, including rare and orphan indications. Prior to joining AMAG, she held leadership positions at Vertex, Pfizer, Millennium and Stryker Regenerative Medicine.
Makara Health has kicked off 2020 with additional new hires, having now doubled its senior headcount since January 2019. Tony Knibb has joined as digital development director, bringing nearly 20 years of digital and creative experience, having most recently worked as digital media manager at Halesway and FCB Health Hampshire. Helen Rodway also joins the team as senior account director, with a background in brand strategy and delivery, joining from MJL where she was a group account director and, prior to that, at DDB Remedy and Pfizer. In addition, Grainne Maguire takes on an associate director role within Makara’s PR team and Bea Perks further strengthens the scientific team at Makara in a senior medical writer role.
Liva Healthcare has announced that Jonas Hjortshøj has joined the company’s ranks as chief commercial officer, following an investment of 8 million euros from three German venture funds last year. Jonas joins the team with over 10 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held several roles with Novo Nordisk, such as commercial partnering activities in the obesity area and associate global director. The news comes as Liva also announces 13 new contract wins, including two NHS England CCGs, several multinational pharmaceutical companies,
and a contract extension with the Municipality of Copenhagen.
Medica Group has appointed Dr Robert Lavis to the newly created role of clinical director, starting June 1, 2020. Robert will report to Dr Stephen Davies, the company’s medical director. He joins Medica from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where he is currently a consultant radiologist and former clinical director. He has extensive experience of clinical practice starting his career as a surgeon before entering radiology with a specialist focus on oncology. “With his background of working in the NHS, combined with his expertise in oncology reporting, Robert brings a highly relevant breadth and depth of experience that will help Medica to continue to drive quality and performance improvements and to expand the service offering to our clients and their patients,” said Dr Davies.
Achilles Therapeutics has appointed Professor Sergio Quezada as its new chief scientific officer, with effect from April 6. Sergio is a professor of cancer immunology and immunotherapy at University College London Cancer Institute and a CRUK senior cancer research fellow. He unveiled the critical role of Fc receptors and the tumour microenvironment in the mechanism of action of anti-CTLA-4 antibodies, and also co-led the development of a first-in-class Treg-depleting anti-human CD25 antibody with TUSK Therapeutics. Sergio holds a PhD from Dartmouth Medical School, as well as a past post-doctoral position at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Elizabeth Mily has been appointed executive vice president, strategy and business development at Bristol Myers Squibb, effective March 30, 2020. In this role, Elizabeth will oversee company strategy and all business development activities, including strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, as well as other strategic initiatives. She joins BMS from Barclays, where she was the managing director and chair of the Global Lifesciences group in the global healthcare unit. During her career she has executed over $200 billion in completed M&A advisory assignments and has advised on an extensive amount of debt, equity and equity-linked financings.