Biogen Appoints Executives to Spin-Off Company
Biogen has appointed two members to the executive management team of Bioverativ Inc., Biogen’s planned spin-off company focused on the discovery, research, development, and commercialization of treatments for hemophilia and other blood disorders. Rogerio Vivaldi, MD, will serve as executive vice president (EVP) and chief global therapeutic operations officer (CGTOO) of Bioverativ, and John T. Greene will serve as EVP and chief financial officer (CFO) of Bioverativ. The spin-off of Bioverativ is on track to be completed in early 2017.
Biogen announced in May 2016 that it was planning to spin off its hemophilia product business and named the new stand-alone company Bioverativ. Bioverativ will continue commercialization of Eloctate and Alprolix, indicated for the treatment of hemophilia A and B, respectively, under Biogen’s existing collaboration agreement with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (Sobi). After the spin-off, Bioverativ expects to continue development of Eloctate and Alprolix, including conducting studies to explore the potential benefits of Fc fusion technology on long-term joint health, immunogenicity, and immune-tolerance induction in hemophilia patients who develop inhibitors.
Dr. Vivaldi steps into the role of EVP and CGTOO of Bioverativ with more than 20 years of experience in delivering orphan products to patients worldwide, most notably during his tenure at Genzyme. Most recently, he served as chief commercial officer at Spark Therapeutics, a gene-therapy company, and was co-founder, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Minerva Neurosciences. Dr. Vivaldi will be responsible for building and leading all aspects of Bioverativ’s commercial organization, including oversight of sales and marketing for the franchise’s lead products, Eloctate and Alprolix. He will report to Bioverativ CEO, John Cox, who was appointed to lead the new company at the time the spin-off announcement was made.
Mr. Greene joins Bioverativ from Willis Group, where he served as CFO, where he enhanced business analytics and company performance while helping to execute a merger and acquisition program. Previously, he was CFO for HSBC Holdings, earning positions of increasing responsibility over eight years with the company, including CFO for the Global Retail Bank and Wealth Management business. Earlier in his career, Mr. Greene spent 12 years in various roles at General Electric. Mr. Greene will be responsible for all financial and fiscal management of Bioverativ’s operations, with oversight for the company’s finance, information technology, and technical operations functions. He will also work with business development, and research and development to grow the business. He will also report to Mr. Cox.
Source: Biogen