SpyBiotech announces the appointment of Simon Jones as VP, Finance and Operations and expansion of the scientific team
Oxford, UK, 16 November 2021: SpyBiotech, a biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology targeting infectious diseases, cancer and chronic diseases, today announces the appointment of Simon Jones as VP of Finance and Operations, and the expansion of its scientific team with four new hires.
Simon takes up the permanent position of VP Finance and Operations from Vien Phan, who held the role of Interim Finance Director, steering the company through its Series A fundraising in February this year. Vien will continue to serve as a strategic advisor to SpyBiotech for a transitional period.
Simon has served as a CFO in the life sciences sector for 18 years, working with early- to mid-stage, high growth healthcare and medtech businesses ranging from drug development and drug delivery through to marketing licensed products. Most recently, Simon spent eight years at Karus Therapeutics, an Oxfordshire-based clinical-stage biotech company developing small molecule enzymatic inhibitors for the treatment of haematological and solid-tumour cancers. After graduating in Physics from the University of Warwick, Simon qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and subsequently held positions in a number of large telecoms firms, including Vodafone. He is currently a member of the Bioindustry Association’s Finance and Tax Advisory Committee.
In addition to Simon’s appointment, SpyBiotech has further strengthened its scientific expertise with the addition of four new hires in virology, immunology and protein production. The Company will continue to build out its scientific resources with further appointments planned.
Sumi Biswas, co-founder and CEO of SpyBiotech, commented: “I am pleased to welcome Simon Jones as our new VP of Finance and Operations. Simon brings a wealth of experience from across the UK life sciences industry which will be invaluable as we embark on the next phase of the Company’s development. SpyBiotech is at the forefront of medical innovation in vaccinology and Simon’s appointment, as well as the expansion of our scientific team, reflects the progress we are making in scaling up our scientific and operational resources.”
“Vien joined SpyBiotech in April 2019 and has played a key role in bringing on a high calibre of new investors in our first major funding round. I would like to thank Vien for his contributions over the past two years and am pleased that he will continue to support the company during this period of transition.”
Simon Jones added: “I am delighted to be joining SpyBiotech at this exciting time. Its unique platform technology has broad applicability and the scope to tackle some of the biggest challenges in healthcare. I look forward to working with the team to ensure we are future-ready as we expand our operations and advance our pipeline of innovative vaccine candidates.”
ENDS
For further information contact:
Powerscourt (Public Relations)
Sarah MacLeod T: +44 7747 602739
Ibrahim Khalil T: +44 7943 759042
spybiotech@powerscourt-group.com
Notes for editors
About SpyBiotech
SpyBiotech is a biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology targeting infectious diseases, cancer and chronic diseases.
Based on science developed at the University of Oxford, SpyBiotech’s novel vaccine platform is based on a proprietary protein “superglue” technology which binds antigens to vaccine delivery platforms in a way which minimises delivery risk and enhances immunogenicity and efficacy.
The technology is one of the safest and most effective ways to create vaccines. It is cost-effective and highly scalable. This makes it ideal for use against infectious diseases in challenging environments, such as in the developing world, but also with potential application in non-infectious disease settings such as cancer.
SpyBiotech has the exclusive rights from the University of Oxford to apply, commercialise and sub-license the SpyTag/SpyCatcher technology in vaccine development.
The company’s lead candidate is against human cytomegalovirus (CMV), with clinical studies planned for 2022 and the company sees a range of development opportunities in infectious diseases and beyond. In 2020, SpyBiotech signed an exclusive global licensing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for the development of a novel virus-like-particle (VLP) vaccine targeting COVID-19.
SpyBiotech is supported by high quality investors including Braavos Investment Advisers, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), the capital investor for the University of Oxford, and GV (formerly Google Ventures). The company has raised $39 million in funding to date. For more information, visit: www.spybiotech.com