Catalyst Advisors Places Chief Scientific Officer for Mirna Therapeutics
November 6, 2015 – Search firm Catalyst Advisors has recruited Miguel Barbosa, Ph.D. as executive vice president and chief scientific officer of Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. Director Sara Hagar and partner Christos Richards led the assignment.
Dr. Barbosa joins the company with 20 years of biopharmaceutical research discovery experience. For the past decade, he served in senior leadership roles at several Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries. Most recently, he was executive in residence, therapeutic innovation at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, where he led the identification and development of new R&D and business models. Prior to that, he was VP, immunology research & external innovation, at Janssen Research & Development L.L.C., also a J&J company, where he led immunology discovery and translational research programs. Earlier in his career, he served as VP, discovery research, at J&J’s Centocor Research & Development, Inc.
“We are pleased to welcome Miguel to the role of chief scientific officer,” said Paul Lammers, M.D., M.Sc., Mirna’s president and chief executive officer. “As a highly accomplished industry executive with a proven ability to lead top research and development programs, we are confident Miguel’s expertise and strategic vision, particularly in emerging areas of science, will prove critical as we advance our pipeline of microRNA-based oncology therapeutics.”
Mirna is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a broad pipeline of microRNA-based oncology therapeutics and is the first to establish clinical proof-of-concept for a microRNA replacement therapy for cancer.
According to Catalyst Advisors’ Annual Review and Outlook on the biopharma industry, the new and more competitive environment of the sector has had significant implications for biopharma boards of directors and CEOs looking to fill key board and management positions.
Within the sector, Catalyst Advisors has taken a leadership position as a search firm of choice, recently recruiting the chief medical officer for biopharmaceutical company AveXis, board members for Momenta Pharmaceuticals and PDL BioPharma, and CEOs for Faraday Pharmaceuticals and The Learning Clinic.
With offices in New York, London and Los Angeles, Catalyst Advisors is an executive search firm devoted to finding boardroom and corporate C-suite leaders.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media
