Pharma and biotech companies strengthen their leadership teams and boards with this week’s hires.
Diasome Pharmaceuticals – Jeremy Pettus was named chairman of the scientific advisory board for Cleveland-based Diasome Pharmaceuticals. As an assistant professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, he conducts clinical research on new therapeutic approaches to managing type 1 diabetes (T1D), including adjunctive therapies to insulin. Pettus, who is also a diabetic, is a co-creator of We Are One, the online network for diabetes professionals who live with type 1 diabetes. Pettus also acts as a spokesperson for the not-for-profit organization Taking Control of Your Diabetes.
Locana, Inc. – RNA-targeting gene therapy company Locana tapped James Burns as its new chief executive officer. Burns joins Locana from Casebia where he served as the chief CEO and led the team in discovering and developing new CRISPR/Cas9-based breakthrough therapeutics to treat blood disorders, blindness and heart disease. Prior to Casebia, he spent the bulk of his career at Sanofi-Genzyme, where he held several leadership roles with increasing responsibility, including North America Site head for R&D. Burns is a former board member of MassBio and also served as the industry representative for the Food and Drug Administration General Plastic Surgery Panel.
Sight Sciences – Erica Rogers was named to the board of directors of California-based Sight Sciences, Inc., a medical device company focuses on ophthalmology and diseases of the eye. Rogers is president and CEO of Silk Road Medical. She most recently led Silk Road Medical through FDA approval of its groundbreaking TCAR devices for the treatment of carotid artery disease. Prior to her role at Silk Road Medical, Rogers was the chief operating officer of Medicines360 and was previously the founder and CEO of Allux Medical, as well as the co-founder of Visiogen, an ophthalmic medical device company acquired by Abbott Medical Optics in 2009.
Parexel – Boston-based Parexel tapped four key experts for its Regulatory Consulting group. The new hires will serve as technical vice presidents and join Parexel’s team of more than 1,000 experts. They include Mark Birse, who joins the company from the MHRA where he served as Deputy Director of the Inspection, Enforcement and Standards Division and Head of the MHRA Inspectorate & Process Licensing Group; Philip E.M. Crooker, a drug development attorney who has worked with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies throughout various aspects and phases of the drug development process; Lynne A. Ensor, who most recently served as the Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Process and Facilities in the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality/CDER at the FDA; and Yuexio Li, who most recently served at the FDA as the Deputy Director of the Office of Program and Regulatory Operations (OPRO) in the Office of Compliance (OC)/CDER.
Stilla Technologies – France-based Stilla Technologies announced three key hires. Khaled Bahi joins as chief financial officer; Jerome Leclercq was named senior vice president for Commercial Operations Europe & Asia; and Quang Tran was named Quality & Regulatory Affairs Director. These hires come at a time of rapid growth for the company, with the recent opening of a U.S. subsidiary headquartered in Beverly, Mass.
Amylyx – Debra Canner was named the first global head of Human Resources at Cambridge, Mass.-based Amylyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She will oversee the company’s human resource efforts, including talent management, organizational leadership, culture and corporate responsibility.
Clarus Therapeutics – Illinois-based Clarus appointed five new senior leaders to its team ahead of its commercial launch of Jatenzo, oral testosterone capsules. Jay Newmark joins as chief medical officer. He previously serves as senior director of medical affairs at Genomic Health and OPKO Health. Frank Jaeger was named chief commercial officer. Prior to joining Clarus, Jaeger served in numerous leadership positions, including in research and development, medical affairs and business development, and oversaw licensing and contracting both locally and globally. He was a regional sales director for AbbVie. Jose Luis Rodriguez was named vice president of marketing. He held leadership positions at companies such as Astellas Pharmaceuticals, Johnson Matthey Pharmaceuticals, and EUSA Pharma. At Astellas, he managed the U.S. Marketing Oncology team. LaTonya Wright was named vice president of sales. She previously worked at AbbVie. James Holloway was named head of manufacturing and supply. He held similar roles at DSM Pharmaceuticals, Cardinal Health, Pfizer, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Most recently, he led the research and development project management office of the Infection Prevention franchise of CareFusion.
Syft – Brion Bailey was named chief commercial officer of Tampa, Fla.-based Syft, a national provider of healthcare inventory control and end-to-end supply chain cost management software and services. Bailey was previously a vice president of strategic accounts at Becton Dickinson and a sales leader at Cardinal Health.
Arcus Biosciences – Patrick Machado joined the board of directors of Arcus. Machado will also serve as a member of the company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Machado co-founded and served as CFO and chief business officer at Medivation, Inc. until his retirement in 2014 and served as a member of Medivation’s Board of Directors from 2014 until its acquisition by Pfizer in 2016. Prior to Medivation, Machado worked at ProDuct Health, Inc. where he held positions as CFO and head of business development.
Epilepsy Foundation – Philip M. Gattone is stepping down from his position as president and chief executive officer of the Epilepsy Foundation effective Dec. 31. Robert W. Smith, chair of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Board of Directors, will serve as interim CEO. The foundation’s board of directors has enlisted Odgers Berndtson to lead the national search for a permanent CEO.
CNSI – Bob McCord was named president and COO of CNSI. Previously, McCord served as president and COO of Octo Consulting until completing a successful recapitalization with Arlington Capital Partners. Prior to that, he served as president and COO of Acentia and 2020 Company LLC. Additionally, he led the healthcare business for SAIC, as well as Pearson Government Solutions, including the 1-800 MEDICARE program and the CDC-INFO program.
Neon -- Paula Mabee, the Nolop Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of South Dakota, has been selected as the chief scientist and observatory director of the National Ecological Observatory Network. Mabee is a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of South Dakota. She joined the National Science Foundation in 2015 serving until 2017 as Division Director for the Division of Environmental Biology in the Directorate of Biological Sciences.
