Therachon strengthens management team

Basel, Switzerland-based biotech Therachon has appointed Dr Richard Porter and Dr Jeffrey Stavenhagen to its management team, while Dr Hans Schikan joins the board of directors.

Dr Porter (pictured right) becomes chief operating officer at the rare genetic diseases specialist, brings over two decades of industry experience across multiple therapeutic areas.

Most recently, he was global head of operations management for neuroscience ophthalmology and rare diseases at Roche, and previously served as product general manager in the emerging business unit at Shire.

Dr Stavenhagen (pictured left) has been appointed as vice president of biology, bringing 20 years of scientific leadership expertise in emerging technology platforms for novel biologics.

He most recently served as a senior director at Lundbeck, leading the Danish firm's global biologics programme to treat CNS diseases, and before this held senior roles at Amplimmune and MacroGenics.

Meanwhile, Dr Schikan (pictured below right) joins Therachon's board as a non-executive director.

He currently serves as chairman of Asceneuron, Complix and InteRNA, and as a non-executive director at Hansa Medical, Sobi, Wilson Therapeutics and Dutch Top Sector Life Sciences and Health.

Prior to this, Dr Schikan was chief executive of Prosensa, and held senior strategic and commercial positions at Genzyme and Organon.

Dr Luca Santarelli, Therachon's chief executive officer and director, said: “I am delighted to have Drs Schikan, Porter and Stavenhagen join our team.

“The addition of these three tenured biopharmaceutical executives extends and deepens our scientific and business expertise.

“With their experience and successful track record, I am confident that we will be able to harness the full therapeutic potential of our drug candidate, TA-46, for children suffering from achondroplasia.”