TiGenix appoints Dr Marie Paule Richard

Belgium-based cell therapy company TiGenix has appointed Dr Marie Paule Richard as its new chief medical officer.

An immunologist with over 25 years of experience in the global biopharmaceutical industry, Richard has previously served as chief medical officer at Aicuris in Germany and vice president of clinical development, pharmacovigilance and medical affairs at Crucell in Switzerland.

She joins TiGenix from PharmaBioDev, the consultancy she led, and also brings experience to the role from GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi.

In her new role Richard will be responsible for the development of several products in Europe and the US, including rheumatoid arthritis and severe sepsis candidate Cx611 and Cx601, which is in phase III trials for complex perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease.

Eduardo Brave, chief executive officer at TiGenix, said: “The whole focus of TiGenix is the successful clinical development, regulatory approval and future commercialisation of the new products in its development pipeline.

“We are very fortunate to have biopharma development, regulatory and commercialisation heavyweight Marie Paule joining the TiGenix management team. She brings a wealth of experience and ability in areas which will be key for the success of the company in the near future.”