Unigene Laboratories, www.unigene.com – a leader in the burgeoning field of peptide-based therapeutics which is aggressively building a robust portfolio of partnerships via its sophisticated Peptelligence™ platform, reported today the expansion of its leadership team (effectively immediately) with the appointment of Gregory T. Mayes to the newly created position of Vice President, Corporate Affairs and General Counsel.
Subsequently Roxanne Tavakkol was promoted to the position of VP, Global Regulatory Affairs and both of these appointments will report directly President and CEO, Ashleigh Palmer.
This more robust leadership profile will help the Company to fully leverage its Peptelligence platform’s assets which range from proprietary oral and nasal peptide delivery technologies to high-yield/scalable and reproducible E. coli-based manufacturing techniques.
Palmer explained that these appointments would undergird UNGE’s newly created drug delivery and manufacturing technology business unit Unigene Biotechnologies in addition to the established Therapeutics business unit which oversees the advanced clinical-stage partnerships and active preclinical pipeline.
Palmer characterized the Company’s ability to attract experienced professionals of Greg and Roxanne’s caliber as a solid endorsement of the Company’s highly-streamlined and reformatted optimization strategy.
Mayes brings his vast experience to bear on the Company’s push to define itself as a salient partner of choice for peptide drug delivery and therapeutic development with over a decade of in-house legal counsel and business experience in the biopharma sector:
• Former VP, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at ImClone Systems Corp. (wholly-owned Eli Lilly & Co. subsidiary) supported the launch of ERBITUX® (cetuximab), oversaw development of their first corporate compliance program and was instrumental in the ImClone acquisition by Eli Lilly
• Former Senior Counsel at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP, legal services overseer for five compounds in their cancer portfolio
• Former Morgan Lewis LLP, where he worked a successful private practice
• B.S. Syracuse University; J.D. Temple University School of Law
Tavakkol noted the dynamic nature of oral drug delivery peptides R&D, explaining how this largely unfulfilled area of potential represents great promise as the peptide landscape for development evolves, citing in particular the recent Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act that offers 12 years of market exclusivity for pioneer biologic products, such as peptides.
Tavakkol, who joined the Company in March of this year as Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs has over two decades of regulatory and research experience in the pharmaceuticals:
• Former Director, Regulatory Affairs for the Thrombosis Business Unit of The Medicines Company
• Former Associate Director, Drug Regulatory Affairs at Novartis in addition to other senior positions
• An exemplary registration track record for both natural peptides and synthetic drugs ranging from osteoarthritis/osteoporosis to endocrinology and reproductive health
• B.A. University of Delaware; M.S. in Molecular Biology, The Ohio State University
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