Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced it has appointed Sunil Agarwal, M.D., as President of Research and Development.
With Dr. Agarwal’s appointment, Juno will bring Research and Development under one leader responsible for the execution of Juno’s drug development pipeline, integration of translational insights into ongoing programs, and the prioritization of research and development initiatives. Prior to joining Juno, Dr. Agarwal’s last industry role was Chief Medical Officer, Executive Vice President at Ultragenyx.
“Sunil is a strong strategic thinker and experienced drug developer who will be a great addition to our executive team,” said Hans Bishop, President and CEO of Juno. “He has an established track record of bringing innovative therapies to market, demonstrated by the breadth and quality of the programs he has led. His drug development experience, instincts, and scientific judgment will be important for our next phase of growth, and we will benefit from his experience and insight in both our strategy and execution.”
Prior to his tenure at Ultragenyx, Dr. Agarwal worked in several senior leadership roles at Genentech, Inc., most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Development Head, Ophthalmology, Metabolism, Neuroscience, Immunology and Infectious Diseases. He was responsible for the global development of programs in these areas from proof of concept (PoC) through Phase IV. He was also a member of both the Genentech Research and Early Development (gRED) and Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) committees, which defined the strategy of all molecules from pre-Investigational New Drug through PoC in numerous therapeutic areas, including oncology. He has led global approvals of multiple therapies and successfully built and led large global development organizations in multiple geographies. At Juno, Dr. Agarwal will report to Mr. Bishop and will be a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
“Transforming innovative science into meaningful medicines for patients and building strong organizations fits very well with my passion, experience, and expertise,” said Dr. Agarwal. “Engineered cell and gene therapies have the potential to transform the landscape of medicine over the coming decade, and Juno is well positioned to be a leader in this era. I am delighted to join Juno at this exciting time for the company, and I look forward to partnering with the team on executing Juno’s vision.”
Dr. Agarwal obtained his bachelor of science in Neurobiology at Cornell University and earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C., and subsequently joined the faculty at George Washington University School of Medicine.
Source: Juno
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