BOSTON– Nirogy Therapeutics (“Nirogy” or “the Company”), a privately-held biotechnology company developing novel small molecules to target cellular transporters, today announced that it has appointed life science veteran Simon Pedder, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Pedder takes over the position from the founding CEO, Vincent Sandanayaka, Ph.D., who will be transitioning to the role of President and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Dr. Pedder brings over 30 years of drug development and commercialization experience to Nirogy.
“We are delighted to have Simon join us as CEO and on the Board. He brings considerable development know-how to the team at a pivotal time in the Company’s growth, as we prepare to file our first IND for our lead oncology candidate in the next 12 months,” said Dennis McWilliams, a Partner at Santé Ventures and member of Nirogy’s Board of Directors. “Simon’s guidance and expertise in clinical development, regulatory processes, and the commercialization of products in the oncology and autoimmune spaces will be critical as we advance our pipeline and grow the company.”
“I am thrilled to join Nirogy as it pioneers a new approach to drug development by targeting cellular transporters. The breadth of targets that Nirogy’s platform has the potential to reach is exciting as we look to develop new potential medicines to address significant unmet medical needs for people suffering from cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Dr. Pedder.
“It has been a pleasure to lead Nirogy since its inception. I look forward to focusing on the science as CSO and working with Simon to advance our new potential modality of treating cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Vincent Sandanayaka, Founder, President and CSO of Nirogy. “Simon brings a wealth of team-building and development experience that will help shepherd our company into clinical development and beyond.”
Dr. Pedder joins Nirogy from Athenex Pharmaceuticals, where he served as served as Chief Business and Strategy Officer. Prior to Athenex, he was President and CEO of Cellectar Biosciences and of CEO of Chelsea Therapeutics before that. Earlier in his career, Dr. Pedder held senior leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Hoffmann-LaRoche, including as an Officer of the Company, Vice President of Oncology Pharma Business, Life Cycle Leader and Global Project Leader of Pegasys/IFN, and as global Head of the Hepatitis Franchise. Under Dr. Pedder’s leadership, he oversaw the development and commercialization of numerous global brands, such as Tasmar®, Copegus®, Northera®, and Kliseryi® and Pegasys®, which became the standard of care for Hepatitis B and C for over a decade.
Dr. Pedder began his career as a faculty member in the Department of Pharmacology in College of Medicine in the University of Saskatchewan, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacology. In addition to his Ph.D. in Pharmacology, Simon obtained a Master of Science in Toxicology from Concordia University, a Joint Honors Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies/Biology from the University of Waterloo and completed the Roche-sponsored Pharmaceutical Executive Management Program at Columbia Business School.
