Tony de Fougerolles has been named chief executive of privately-held UK biotech Evox Therapeutics.
Taking over from acting CEO Per Lundin, Dr de Fougerolles has been appointed to help to drive Evox towards its goal of creating a world-leading platform technology for the translation of exosome therapeutics.
Dr de Fougerolles joins from Ablynx, where he held the role of chief scientific officer (CSO) for four years, helping to advance and expand the pipeline of the Belgian drug developer to include more than 45 single domain antibody programs, forming major new partnerships and helping prepare the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency.
He was also CSO at Moderna Therapeutics and helped the clinical-stage biotech firm Moderna Therapeutics to secure a $240 million upfront deal with AstraZeneca.
Dr Lundin, who will continue as Evox’s chief operating officer, said: “Evox is at an exciting point in its development. After a thorough selection process, I am incredibly pleased that Tony is joining the team as we continue to develop Evox into the world’s leading exosome therapeutics company.
“Tony has an outstanding track record in progressing products through the pipeline and a strong scientific understanding. He has also been integral to his previous companies’ deal-making success and we are excited for him to bring such extensive experience to Evox.”
Dr de Fougerolles added: “Having worked as a CSO for seven years, I appreciate the fine balance between developing new drug platforms, advancing a therapeutic pipeline and building the business.
“The opportunity to further develop and progress Evox’s unique proprietary exosome drug platform is a very exciting prospect, as exosomes are the natural way that cells communicate to each other and exchange proteins and nucleic acids. I strongly believe that by harnessing this natural process, exosome-based drugs have the potential to address some of the limitations of protein, antibody, and nucleic acid-based therapies by enabling delivery to cells and tissues that are currently out of reach.
“I believe we can progress through the clinic an entirely novel class of biotherapeutics and I look forward to working with Per and the rest of the board to develop therapies with a potentially transformative impact on the lives of patients suffering from severe illnesses.”
Source: The Pharma Letter
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