A CEO has been appointed to lead BioCurate, the $80 million venture launched last year by Monash University and the University of Melbourne and supported by the Victorian Government.
Chair of BioCurate and former Victorian premier, John Brumby AO, announced the appointment of Dr C. Glenn Begley as the CEO.
Dr Begley has held senior academic positions in Australia, and worked in small biotech and large pharmaceutical companies. Most recently he was the Chief Scientific Officer of a privately-funded biotech company Akriveia Therapeutics, based in California.
“I’m delighted to welcome Dr Begley back to Australia and into a pivotal role within this new enterprise,” said Mr Brumby.
“Dr Begley brings an extraordinary combination of commercial, academic and clinical insight to this significant venture – the first of this scope and scale in Australia - whose ambition is to unlock the exceptional research capabilities of the University of Melbourne and Monash University and their partners in hospitals, medical institutes and industry, enabling significant new discoveries to be translated more rapidly into new medicines. The social and economic implications for Victoria and Australia are profound.”
AusBiotech CEO, Glenn Cross, welcomed Dr Begley's appointment, who has been involved with AusBiotech over the years. “We have worked with Glenn previously and look forward to re-connecting with him as he returns to Australia to head up this important initiative,” he said.
A clinical haematologist and medical oncologist, whose academic and commercial roles include board level and senior positions in Australia, the US and the UK, Dr Begley said he was looking forward to playing a leading role in shaping the strategic direction and operations of BioCurate.
“I am delighted to be joining BioCurate at this important moment in its development,” he said.
“Now more than ever it’s critical that important medical discoveries make it from the lab into new medicines and that the clinical and commercial benefits accrue to Australia. I am confident that BioCurate, building on the combined research strength of these two outstanding universities will ensure transformational drug candidates become a reality.”