Dr Steven Gillis joins Shire’s board of directors

Shire has appointed managing director of Arch Venture Partners Dr Steven Gillis to its board of directors.

Dr Gillis will join the Ireland-based pharma firm on October 1, becoming a member of its science and technology committee as well as its remuneration committee.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “Shire has a clear and ambitious patient-focused vision for the future and I look forward to the opportunity to help them achieve it.”

A trained immunologist, Dr Gillis has experience in the life sciences industry through his work at Arch, which provides venture capital to firms working on new life sciences technologies.

Prior to this role, Dr Gillis was a founder and director of Corixa Corporation, which was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2005 (GSK), and he was previously a founder and director of Immunex Corporation.

He currently holds a number of other roles, including as a non-executive director of New Zealand-based biotech Genesis Research and Development Corporation.