TRENTON, N.J. (February 7, 2022) – BioNJ, the life sciences trade association for New Jersey, announced the election of its 2022 Officers and Board Members. The election preceded BioNJ’s Annual Board Meeting on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.
Re-elected Officers include Chair Will Lewis, J.D., MBA, Chair and CEO, Insmed; Vice Chair Angela Bechan, Vice President, Head of Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility North America, Sanofi; and Secretary Michele Korfin, R.Ph., MBA, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Commercial Officer, Gamida Cell. Newly elected was Treasurer Jeffrey A. Nau, Ph.D., M.M.S., President and CEO, Oyster Point Pharma.
David Jiménez, President, Janssen Immunology, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, was newly elected to the Board. The following Board members were re-elected to another term: Mitzi Conners, Executive Director & Head of Operations, MRL Business Development & Licensing, Merck & Co.; Jayne C. Gershkowitz, Chief Patient Advocate, Amicus Therapeutics; Christian Kopfli, Esq., CEO, Chromocell Corporation; Leigh Anne Leas, North America Head of Public Policy, Novartis; Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., FACP, CPE, CEO & Executive Chairman, Outcomes Matter Innovations and President, Cellularity; Spiro Rombotis, MPH, MBA, President and CEO, Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals; Bob Smith, Senior Vice President, Global Gene Therapy Business and Early Commercial Development, Rare Disease Business Unit, Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, Pfizer; and Marco Taglietti, M.D., President and CEO, SCYNEXIS.
Newly appointed Advisors are Technology Advisor Anu Gupta, Senior Partner, Global Leader, Enterprise Strategy, IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences; Legal Advisor Emilio Ragosa, Partner and Managing Partner, Short Hills Office, DLA Piper; and Gregory Oakes, MBA.
“While the last two years have been challenging as the industry, and the world, navigated a once-in-a-century health emergency, BioNJ’s Board did not miss a beat,” said BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart. “We are extremely grateful for the continued support and guidance of BioNJ’s dedicated Board of Trustees and Advisors. Under the leadership of our Chair, Will Lewis, we have continued to forge ahead, ensuring that New Jersey remains a robust life sciences ecosystem and that Patients have access to the right medicines at the right time.
“We welcome back our notable list of returning Officers, Board Members and Advisors and are thrilled to have the addition of two new Board Members and three new Advisors who are accomplished and respected industry leaders. We look forward to working with all of them on what promises to be another busy year for BioNJ as we continue on our mission of helping our Members help Patients.”
New Board Members and Advisors:
Anu Gupta, Senior Partner, Global Leader, Enterprise Strategy, IBM Healthcare & Life Sciences
Mr. Gupta leads IBM’s Global Strategy Practice for the Healthcare & Life Sciences industries. He is a senior healthcare strategist with deep expertise in digital health. Mr. Gupta’s experience in healthcare consulting spans over 25 years, assisting leading biopharma, medical device, payer and provider organizations to achieve their strategic and performance ambitions. His work has focused on corporate and business unit strategy, technology driven innovation, digital strategy and digital health products. Mr. Gupta has been a speaker at industry forums and conferences, including the World Healthcare Congress, has lectured at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and has co-authored articles in In Vivo, Strategy+Business Magazine and Perspectives.
David Jiménez, President, Janssen Immunology, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
Mr. Jiménez has held numerous commercial, strategic and leadership positions in both mature and emerging markets across the world. He imbues a multicultural, patient-centric perspective from these unique experiences that inspires his teams to have a positive impact. In his current role, Mr. Jiménezleads the growing $10+ billion U.S. Immunology franchise, home to many of the most transformational brands in the pharmaceutical industry, including STELARA®, TREMFYA®, SIMPONI ARIA® and REMICADE®. Focused on rheumatology, dermatology and gastroenterology, Mr. Jiménez and his team aspire to relentlessly advance care for patients living with immune-mediated disease through medical innovation and enhancing the patient experience. Mr. Jiménez rose to this position with more than two decades with Johnson & Johnson in a variety of impactful leadership roles across multiple businesses within the medical devices, consumer health and pharmaceutical sectors.
Emilio Ragosa, Partner & Managing Partner, Short Hills Office, DLA Piper
Mr. Ragosa counsels clients on securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and venture capital transactions. He also advises on corporate transactions ranging from seed financings, venture financings and private placements to public offerings. Mr. Ragosa’s clients include private and public companies, as well as venture capital firms and underwriters. His experience makes him uniquely capable of advising clients from formation through capital raising until a sale or IPO. Within the technology industry, Mr. Ragosa has experience with digital media, financial services technology, e-commerce and healthcare IT. Within the life sciences sector, his experience includes biotechnology, medical devices and specialty pharmaceuticals.
2022 Board of Trustees: (Click here for full bios.)
Officers: Chair Will Lewis, JD, MBA, Chair and CEO, Insmed; Immediate Past Chair Christopher J. Schaber, Ph.D., President and CEO, Soligenix; Debbie Hart, President and CEO, BioNJ; Vice Chair Angela Bechan, Vice President, Head of Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility North America, Sanofi; Treasurer Jeffrey A. Nau, Ph.D., M.M.S., President and CEO, Oyster Point Pharma; and Secretary Michele Korfin, R.Ph., MBA, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Commercial Officer, Gamida Cell. Board Members: Sol J. Barer, Ph.D., Former Chairman and CEO, Celgene Corporation and Chairman of the Board, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries; Mitzi Conners, Executive Director & Head of Operations, MRL Business Development & Licensing, Merck & Co.; Amadou Diarra, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Global Policy & Government Affairs, Bristol Myers Squibb; Jayne C. Gershkowitz, Chief Patient Advocate, Amicus Therapeutics; Christian Kopfli, Esq., CEO, Chromocell Corporation; Emer Leahy, Ph.D., President and CEO, PsychoGenics; Leigh Anne Leas, North America Head of Public Policy, Novartis; Susan L. Levinson, Ph.D., CEO, BioAegis Therapeutics; John Maki, CEO, Bayesian Biotech; Anthony S. Marucci, MBA, Founder, President, CEO and Director, Celldex Therapeutics; Scott Megaffin, CEO, Adastra Pharmaceuticals; Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., FACP, CPE, CEO & Executive Chairman, Outcomes Matter Innovations and President, Cellularity; Stuart W. Peltz, Ph.D., CEO, PTC Therapeutics; Spiro Rombotis, MPH, MBA, President and CEO, Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals; Bob Smith, Senior Vice President, Global Gene Therapy Business and Early Commercial Development, Rare Disease Business Unit, Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, Pfizer; and Marco Taglietti, M.D., President and CEO, SCYNEXIS.
2022 Board Advisors: (Click here for full bios.)
Kathleen Coviello, Executive Vice President for Technology, Life Sciences & Entrepreneurship, NJEDA; Anu Gupta, Senior Partner, Global Leader, Enterprise Strategy, IBM Healthcare & Life Sciences; George Heinrich, M.D., Vice Chair and CEO of New Jersey Health Foundation and Foundation Venture Capital Group; Teresa Leste, Strategy & Analytics Principal, Deloitte; Gregory Oakes, MBA; Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr., M.D., Vice Chancellor, Translational Medicine and Science; Director, Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science; Professor of Medicine, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey & Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Emilio Ragosa, Partner & Managing Partner, Short Hills Office, DLA Piper; James Sapirstein, R.Ph., MBA, President and CEO, AzurRx BioPharma; and Brian Wilcomes, Strategy & Analytics Principal, Deloitte & Touche.
About BioNJ
BioNJ is the life sciences trade association for New Jersey with nearly 400 Member companies representing research-based life sciences organizations and stakeholders across the ecosystem from the largest biopharmaceutical companies to early stage start-ups. BioNJ is dedicated to ensuring a vibrant ecosystem where Science is Supported, Companies are Created, Drugs are Developed and Patients are Paramount. Because Patients Can’t Wait®, BioNJ supports its Members in the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies and cures that save and improve lives and lessen the burden of illness and disease to society by driving capital formation, fostering entrepreneurship, advocating for public policies that advance medical innovation, providing access to talent and education and offering a cost-saving array of critical commercial resources. For more information about BioNJ, please visit www.BioNJ.org.
Contact
Randi Bromberg
Vice President, Communications and Marketing
O) 609-890-3185
C) 609-955-1067
RBromberg@BioNJ.org
