The International Advisory Board of IOCB Tech welcomes aboard new hotshots of world science and pharma
The advisory board for commercialization at the technology transfer company IOCB Tech, strengthened by three new members, has convened in Prague. The invitation to join this advisory board of IOCB Tech has been accepted by Jim Lorens, Principal Researcher at the Norwegian Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Štěpán Vyskočil, an elite medicinal chemist with many years of experience at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and William ‘Bill’ Lee, former Executive Vice President of Research at Gilead Sciences.
The enrolment of Dr William Lee is a continuation of the famous story of the molecules developed by Prof. Antonín Holý, jointly written by IOCB Prague and the said pharmaceutical company from California. William Lee started his career at Gilead in 1991 as Director of Pharmaceutical Development. He was responsible for expanding the company's research and preclinical activities in a host of therapeutic areas, including the fight against HIV and liver diseases, hematology, oncology, the study of inflammation and respiratory diseases, and the treatment of varied cardiovascular conditions. Dr Lee is one of the co-inventors of the drugs Cellcept®, Viread® and tenofovir alafenamide, a tenofovir-derived lymphatic prodrug recently approved for the treatment of HIV infection as part of the Genvoya® combination tablet.
‘We are greatly pleased that William Lee has agreed to become a member of our Advisory Board. As Vice President of Research at Gilead Sciences, he played a key role in the development of all drugs based on the discoveries of Prof. Antonín Holý. Besides professional relationships, he also has friendly personal ties with people at our institute,’ discloses Prof. Martin Fusek, Deputy Director of IOCB Prague and Managing Director of IOCB Tech.
The cooperation was also reinforced through the partnership program Gilead Sciences Research Centre at IOCB Prague, the activities of which were extended by the two parties for the third time last year. Under this program, Gilead provides financial support and collaborates on innovative research projects carried out at IOCB Prague in the area of human diseases.
The advisory board for international trade, which met at IOCB Prague at the end of March, assists the transfer company IOCB Tech in making strategic decisions. The collective knowledge of its members stems from a deep understanding of the fields of intellectual property and both local and international trade, coupled with an insider awareness of unmet medical needs and experience gained from working with large pharmaceutical companies.
