TMCnet News
bluebird bio Appoints New Senior Manufacturing and Corporate Development Executivesbluebird bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLUE), a clinical-stage company committed to developing potentially transformative gene therapies for severe genetic diseases and T cell-based immunotherapies for cancer, today announced that Derek Adams, Ph.D. is joining the company as its Chief Technology and Manufacturing Officer and Joanne Smith-Farrell, Ph.D., is joining as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy. "Derek is joining bluebird at a critical time as we ready our organization and capabilities for regulatory filings and commercial launches in the coming years," said Nick Leschly, chief bluebird. "Derek not only has the broad manufacturing expertise we need, he is also an experienced leader who knows what it means to be mission- and patient-driven. He is a great match for bluebird." Dr. Adams comes to bluebird from Evelo Biosciences, where he was the Senior Vice President of CMC. At Evelo, Dr. Adams established the initial process development function and supply chain for clinical studies and drove strategy for product development in conjunction with other members of the company's leadership team. Prior to his time at Evelo, Dr. Adams served as Vice President of Technical and Strategic Product Development at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where his responsibilities included developing and supporting all manufacturing processes globally. Dr. Adams holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with High Distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Smith-Farrell joins bluebird bio from Merck, Inc., where she was Vice President, Business Development Transactions. At Merck, Dr. Smith-Farrell led the team that structured, negotiated, and executed Business Development Transactions supporting Merck Research Labs. Prior to Merck, Dr. Smith-Farrell was Vice President of Strategic Transactions at Pfizer, Inc. Dr. Smith-Farrell holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the Catholic University of America, and a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University. She was also a Fellow in Biomedical & Chemical Engineering at The Harvard-MIT (News - Alert) Division for Health Science & Technology (Dr. Robert Langer's Lab) where she received the NIH National Service Award in Research.
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