Sensorion (FR0012596468 – ALSEN) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company which specializes in the development of novel therapies to restore, treat, and prevent inner ear diseases such as hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo, announced that John Furey will join the board of directors as an independent board member. Furey was most recently Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Spark Therapeutics, a global gene therapy developer. This appointment will be effective at the next meeting of the board of directors of the company, in September 2019.
John Furey
“I am absolutely delighted to join Sensorion at this pivotal time,” said Furey. “Its unique position in the field of inner ear and its diversified pipeline, including next-generation gene therapies, present a great potential. I look forward to working with the Board and the management team to support the advancement of Sensorion in this new class of innovative medicines to improve patients’ standard of care.”
Nawal Ouzren, CEO of Sensorion said, “With one of the richest pipelines of the inner ear field, including two assets in Phase 2 in addition to our new gene therapy portfolio, Sensorion is transforming its profile. The experience and leadership of John will be valuable to build bridges with the US investment community and guide our efforts to develop a successful leading global biotech company.”
Furey is currently a non-executive director of Adaptimmune, a company developing T-cell therapies. He served most recently as chief operating officer (COO) for Spark Therapeutics, a global gene therapy developer. In that role, he was responsible for global commercial operations, medical affairs, technology development, and technical operations. According to Sensorion’s announcement, he led the successful launch of the “first gene therapy in the US” (Luxturna) and advanced the overall operational maturity of Spark Therapeutics.
Prior to Spark Therapeutics, Furey was senior vice president and head of global operations for Baxalta, where he is said to have directed manufacturing, quality, engineering, and process development. He actively managed a $2.5 billion production budget across Baxalta’s global network and led a first-in-class supply chain organization for rare diseases. He also spent two years in China as general manager of Pfizer’s vaccine business unit following a role with responsibility for global pricing and reimbursement at Pfizer Vaccines. Earlier in his career, he held both commercial and operations positions of increasing scope and responsibility with Pfizer and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Furey has an executive MBA from St Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, a BS from Trinity College, Dublin, and a diploma in Environmental Health from the Dublin Institute of Technology
Source: Sensorion
Image: LinkedIn
