Connect Biopharma Strengthens Leadership Team with Key Hire
New Chief Business Officer joins company as part of organizational growth strategy
SAN DIEGO and TAICANG, SUZHOU, China, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Connect Biopharma, a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with chronic inflammatory diseases through the development of therapies derived from T-cell-driven research, today announced that Dr. Selwyn Ho has joined the company as Chief Business Officer, effective January 20, 2021. In his role, Dr. Ho will oversee corporate development, business development and alliance management, public relations, and early commercialization activities and will report to Zheng Wei, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. The hiring of Dr. Ho is an important next step in the company's organizational growth strategy following the recent additions to its Board of Directors and the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board.
"Selwyn brings years of leadership experience with proven track records in complex organizations where he was responsible for leading global teams within competitive and dynamic market environments," said Dr. Zheng Wei. "The appointment of Selwyn will enhance Connect Biopharma's ability to advance our innovative product pipeline globally to achieve our goal of addressing unmet patient need."
Dr. Ho has served as an advisor to Connect Biopharma since January 2020. He brings more than 20 years of consulting and biopharmaceutical experience through his own consulting firm, and senior global, regional and country team positions in multiple pharmaceutical organizations. In these positions, Dr. Ho was responsible for product development, product strategy, medical affairs, market access and commercialization, resulting in the successful launches of medicines in the inflammation and immunology, ophthalmology and cardiovascular therapeutic areas. Most recently, he was Vice President, Head of Market Access and Vice President and Head of Strategic Marketing at Dermira Inc., a specialty dermatology company that was acquired by Eli Lilly in 2020. Prior to Dermira, Dr. Ho held several senior strategic and operational leadership positions at UCB S.A. in immunology, and at Allergan, as U.K. Managing Director & Country Manager, and Head of EAME Retina Franchise. He received his medical degree (MB BS) and B.Sc. in Pharmacology from Imperial College, University of London and practiced medicine in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care.
"In working closely with the Connect Biopharma team over the past year, I have been impressed by their deep expertise in T cell biology and the efficiency of their approach in generating a number of pipeline candidates that have significant potential," said Dr. Ho. "I look forward to working with the experienced and dedicated members of the management team to help build on the successes achieved to date and accelerate the next phase of the company's strategy."
About Connect Biopharma
Connect Biopharma is a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded by a team with broad and deep knowledge of the drug discovery process and expertise in targeting immunological pathways.
We are dedicated to improving the lives of patients living with chronic inflammatory diseases through the development of innovative therapies derived from our T cell-driven research. We apply our expertise in T cell biology to discover and develop investigational drug candidates with a goal to produce first-in-class or best-in-class drugs for inflammatory diseases. We are committed to building a rich pipeline of molecules to target inflammatory diseases with significant unmet medical needs and affecting millions of patients worldwide.
Our lead product candidate, CBP-201, is an antibody designed to target interleukin-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Rα), which is a validated target for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD) and asthma. A Phase 1b study in AD patients showed that CBP-201 was well tolerated, led to suppression of a serum biomarker of inflammation and rapid improvements in signs and symptoms of AD disease activity. As a result, Connect Biopharma believes that CBP-201 has the potential to deliver fast onset and sustained clinical outcomes with a convenient dosing frequency. We have initiated a Phase 2b global trial of CBP-201 in AD patients with moderate-to-severe AD.
Our second lead product candidate is CBP-307, a modulator of a T cell receptor known as sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1). Specifically, we are developing CBP-307 for two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).
With current headquarters in China, additional operations in the United States and Australia, and clinical development activities in those geographies as well as Europe, Connect Biopharma is building a rich global pipeline of internally designed, wholly owned small molecules and antibodies targeting several aspects of T cell biology. For additional information about Connect Biopharma, please visit our website at www.connectbiopharm.com.
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SOURCE Connect Biopharmaceuticals
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