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PharmaEssentia Appoints Robert Geller, M.D. as Head of Medical and Shawn Gibbs, J.D. as Head of Legal
[April 23, 2024]

PharmaEssentia Appoints Robert Geller, M.D. as Head of Medical and Shawn Gibbs, J.D. as Head of Legal


PharmaEssentia USA Corporation, a subsidiary of PharmaEssentia Corporation (TWSE: 6446), a global biopharmaceutical innovator based in Taiwan leveraging deep expertise and proven scientific principles to deliver new biologics in hematology and oncology, today announced the appointment of Robert Geller, M.D. as Head of Medical and Shawn Gibbs, J.D. as Head of Legal.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240423922725/en/

Shawn Gibbs, J.D. (Photo: Business Wire)

Shawn Gibbs, J.D. (Photo: Business Wire)

Dr. Robert Geller is a medical oncologist with diverse expertise across the biotechnology industry and in academia, including in drug development, medical affairs, business development and as a clinical scientist. As the new Head of Medical at PharmaEssentia, Dr. Geller will be responsible for U.S. clinical operations, reporting to Chief Medical Officer, Albert Qin, M.D., Ph.D. Most recently, Dr. Geller was the Chief Medical Officer at Aravive Inc, where he was responsible for the medical oversight of clinical trials related to the development of batiraxcept, including a Phase 3 trial in platinum resistant ovarian cancer, as well as safety and pharmacovigilance. Prior, he served as Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs at Coherus Biosciences, where he was responsible for recruiting and reorganizing a Medical Affairs team to support post marketing of UDENYCA®, and the expansion of the oncology franchise and ophthalmology and immunology pipelines. Dr. Geller has also held medical roles at Heron Therapeutics, Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Vion Pharmaceuticals. His clinical experience includes serving as Medical Director at several community and regional cancer centers across the country, as well as Partner in a specialty oncology/hematology practice. Dr. Geller received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School/Harvard-MIT Health Science Technology and an M.S. in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"I am thrilled to welcome Robert to the PharmaEssentia famiy to help advance our commitment to provide new therapeutic solutions for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms and other hematological diseases that have limited therapeutic options," said Dr. Ching-Leou Teng, PharmaEssentia Chairperson. "This is an exciting time in our Company's growth, as we continue to establish the clinical value of ropeginterferon alfa-2b-njft, marketed as BESREMi®, for myeloproliferative neoplasms and to advance our pipeline; we look forward to Robert's leadership and partnership with our physician and patient communities."



Shawn Gibbs, J.D. joins PharmaEssentia with extensive experience across legal affairs in the biopharmaceutical industry, including in corporate transactions, governance, compliance, litigation, regulatory matters, and strategic planning. He was most recently Vice President, Corporate Counsel at Sage Therapeutics, where he led the Commercial Medical Program Legal Team overseeing the launch preparation for ZURZUVAETM and was a member of the Commercial Operations and Medical Affairs Leadership Teams. Prior, he held several legal positions with Sequirus, Inc., including most recently Executive Director, Associate General Counsel, Americas, within Commercial Development and Medical Affairs. Shawn also has held legal positions with Gerber Products Company (NESTLÉ), Optimer Pharmaceuticals and GE Healthcare. He received his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.

"Shawn's expertise across legal matters within the life sciences industry will strengthen and protect our corporate footprint and reinforce our focus for patients," said Dr. Ko-Chung Lin, Founder and CEO of PharmaEssentia. "We are pleased to continue growing the PharmaEssentia organization to support our progressing programs and pipeline."


UDENYCA is a registered trademark of Coherus Biosciences, Inc.
ZURZUVAE is a trademark of Sage Therapeutics, Inc.

About PharmaEssentia

PharmaEssentia (TWSE: 6446), headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, is a global and rapidly growing biopharmaceutical innovator. Leveraging deep expertise and proven scientific principles, PharmaEssentia aims to deliver effective new biologics for challenging diseases in the areas of hematology, oncology, and immunology with one approved product and a diversifying pipeline. Founded in 2003 by a team of Taiwanese-American executives and renowned scientists from U.S. biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today PharmaEssentia is expanding its global presence with operations in the U.S., Japan, China, and Korea, along with a world-class biologics production facility in Taichung, Taiwan.

For more information about PharmaEssentia USA, visit the website, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release may contain forward looking statements, including statements regarding the clinical benefits to be derived from ropeginterferon alfa-2b, the commercial opportunity and competitive positioning, new indications or labeling for ropeginterferon alfa-2b, and business prospects for ropeginterferon alfa-2b. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar legislation and regulations under Taiwanese law. These forward-looking statements are based on management expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release, and actual results may differ materially from those in these forward looking statements as a result of various factors. These factors include whether BESREMi is successfully commercialized and adopted by physicians and patients, the extent to which reimbursement is available for BESREMi, and the ability to receive FDA and other regulatory approvals for additional indications for BESREMi. We do not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof.

© 2024 PharmaEssentia Corporation. All rights reserved.

PharmaEssentia, the PharmaEssentia logo, and BESREMi are trademarks or registered trademarks of PharmaEssentia Corporation.


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