Kosan Appoints Helen S. Kim as Chief Business Officer
Thursday January 3, 6:00 am ET
[Not quite sure why they will need a chief business officer. Maybe it is a sign that they have not been as successful as they wished in their out-licensing efforts. Anyhow, the appointment should be an indication that there are no license deals to be expected in the short term and that they are not considering to be the subject of a friendly take-over for the time being].
HAYWARD, Calif., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kosan Biosciences Incorporated (Nasdaq: KOSN - News) today announced the appointment of Helen S. Kim as Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer, responsible for the company's business and corporate development strategies, including corporate partnering and licensing. In addition to her extensive experience in business and corporate development, Ms. Kim's biotechnology expertise also includes corporate finance and strategic marketing.
Ms. Kim's industry credentials include senior positions at Affymax, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Protein Design Labs and Chiron Corporation. At Affymax, she served as Chief Business Officer where she created and implemented a new business model and was responsible for portfolio prioritization, licensing and capital formation. At Onyx, Ms. Kim established and managed corporate collaborations and had oversight for project management, strategic marketing and investor relations. At Protein Design Labs, she originated the company's marketing and research and development project management functions and was responsible for strategic marketing. At Chiron, she led the global strategic marketing function for Chiron's therapeutics and vaccines businesses including new product launches and established multiple external collaborations including licensing, co-development and joint venture transactions. Ms. Kim most recently served as Chief Program Officer for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation where she successfully developed initiatives to transform healthcare delivery practices in acute care hospitals. Ms. Kim received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and a M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
"Helen joins Kosan at an exciting time as our product pipeline grows and matures and as we aggressively entertain and pursue corporate partnering and licensing opportunities," said Robert G. Johnson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Kosan's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The breadth of Helen's experience in business and corporate development as well as new product planning and commercialization along with her demonstrated leadership skills will be of great value to Kosan. Kosan's Board of Directors and management team enthusiastically welcome Helen to our company." |
